On the media

DALY CITY, CALIF.—Will & Grace‘s Jack, on what Thanksgiving means to him: “What am I thankful for? So many things, really. The smell of jasmine, a kitten’s purr, InStyle magazine, Telemundo…” I’m so tempted to work these into a parody of “My Favorite Things.”

So today my parents and I had planned to see Die Another Day, but we underestimated to day-after-Thanksgiving movie-going public. Apparently the whole city was in the mood for a movie, and converged at the Century Theatres. The showtime we wanted was sold out, so instead we saw The Emperor’s Club. I think this is another case of good actors taking on bad writing. I do like Kevin Kline and Emile Hirsch–they play the inspirational teacher and clever but underachieving student, respectively–but as I watched, I felt a little restless, knowing that these actors are capable of more. The script is uneven: it starts out rather flat and methodical, and only in the latter half of the movie do the characters take on some depth. Any crisis they encounter is conveyed just superficially enough that I couldn’t feel for them. Ah, well. I wanted to like it, but I give the movie a hearty “so-so.”

Speaking of movies, a couple I’m adding to my to-see list: Far from Heaven, with Julianne Moore and Dennis Quaid; and Pedro Almodóvar’s latest, Talk to Her.

In Will & Grace news, it looks like Leo (Harry Connick, Jr.) will be sticking around for a while. NBC is planning to make him a regular character. Hm. Again I say, what about Will?

At the moment I’m filling out my application for the Gap casting call. There are two seemingly simple questions requiring a description of what you like about Gap, and your personal style, but each is limited to a twenty-five-word response. I feel like I’m writing ad copy–which I suppose, it is (or will be)–or given the brevity, poetry, even. I’m spending way too much time on this. (By the way, I really like Gap’s “Love Train” commercial. I do a little dance whenever it comes on TV.)