Tribute to a Scrappy Little Nobody
I don’t write frequently enough
to call myself an expert but I watch an inhuman amount of movies. It is
probably why I am still single. If you ask me what I want to do it will
probably be watch a movie. I’m not an expert but I have actors that I will see
any movie with them in it. We all do. How many crappy Al Pacino movies have we
all watched because that one time he was Michael Coreleone or Scarface or the
fucking Devil… we do it because we don’t want to miss another good one. I have
an embarrassing one but as usual dear reader I am not afraid to admit it to
you. You don’t judge me…do you? I often think a lot of people are judging me.
Maybe I won’t tell you…because damnit I don’t understand why you would judge me
for this when I have so many other things to be judged about. You don’t
understand me! I don’t owe you anything. Wait… what was that? You don’t care?
Oh then it’s totally Anna Kendrick.
I love that Scappy Little Nobody (the title
of her book…available on Amazon as are two to three “books” by yours truly)
star of Pitch Perfect and that one awkward dream where I made sweet love to her
in the middle of a French pastry shoppe (and it had that extra “e” because it
was classy as shit). Yet all that is beyond the point I am trying to make. What I want to say is there is no movie I
could watch her in without falling for her character and loving every moment of
it. She could play a serial killer who only killed people named Peter who writes movie blogs and I’m
sure she’d be delightful and I’d want to meet her because maybe I could change
her and make her kill douchebags named Brent or Lucas or Brandon. She just has
that quality. You’d risk your own murder just because she crinkled her nose at
you. So for this post I’m going to go through some movies looking at them
through my Anna colored glasses.
Twilight
It’s hard to read a review of
Twilight which is positive these days. The story is severely lacking especially
this opening gambit. I mean literally nothing happens. Bella moves to Forks,
meets a boy, boy is a vampire, boy wants to eat her (typical), they play weird
baseball and some other vampires come. It’s just not an action-packed
adventure. Yet there is a moment when a talkative little lady steals the show
and brightens the grey skies. Anna plays Jessica, the sort of best friend to
the main character Bella and is arguably the better choice. She’s as attractive
and had, you know, a personality. I have a feeling she might of objected to
Edward’s stalky behavior and Jacob’s possessiveness. Honestly she probably got
off lucky. I remember watching Twilight and while I had enjoyed the novels (I
am a teenage girl at heart) I did, in the movies, find myself drawn to Jessica.
She seemed so sweet and well real. Anna
Kendrick brought that. Sadly the movies decided that the Bella/Edward/Jacob
storyline was the more “profitable” and “romantic” storyline. I just wondered
why there was not a Team Jessica…
50/50
50/50 is the story of Joseph
Gordon Leavitt and his struggle through cancer…well his character Adam’s
struggle. Anna comes in as Katherine, his therapist helping him to deal with
his cancer and the depression that follows. The movie is just fantastic. Again,
Anna is real and creates a subtle damaged character who is stuck between her
feelings for Adam and her role as his therapist. It’s a role that could easily
have gone kind of creepy or over the top and yet Katherine comes across as a
good person and not a therapist trying to use her power over Adam to seduce
him. The genuine Anna came through and made her a sympathetic character put in
an untenable situation. She elevates the movie and creates a true romance
between Katherine and Adam. It’s hard to do this and yet it is a common
occurance with Anna’s characters. She is strong, independent woman who can be
innocent and romantic. She is at her best here and if you’ve never seen 50/50,
I’d recommend you run out to the video store…wait… run to Amazon and buy it.
You won’t be upset you did… no matter the cost.
Pitch Perfect
A musical? Wait she’s a brilliant
actor, funny, smart and can sing. Yup. Talking true 5 tool actress here. I
walked into this movie to attempt to prove my theory that even a talented
actress will make a stinker and then that graceful angel did something amazing.
She made me cry. I know, a man of my manliness and never the heart of an 13
year old girl, cried. I’ll admit it I was entertained by that damn movie even
if ever fiber of my being wanted to hate it. It was Aca-awesome… and when Becca
raises her fist…into the air as the Bellas sing “Don’t You Forget About Me”… I
mean come on. You probably teared up just by that awesome synopsis… or you are
too busy laughing at me that you have tears in your eyes. Either way you’re
crying. So point proven. Seriously though Pitch Perfect is one of those movies
that entertains just by being a fun and happy movie. Anna (because we are buds
by this point in the blog post and I am on a first name basis) is the star and
yet yields so much to her co-stars. It’s just the type of Aca-tress she is… I’m
sorry.
The Last Five Years
Another musical. Anna is Cathy…
one half of a relationship that is doomed to fail even as they seem so perfect
for each other. The movie is a grand experiment and for the most part it
succeeds. It isn’t an easy watch. I initially started this entry while watching
it and soon I realized I wasn’t watching the movie but trying to be pithy and
cute with you guys like a jackass. How dare I not watch? Cathy demanded my
attention and Jeremy Jordan’s Jamie (you may know him as Winn from Supergirl) is
just as powerful. It’s a great movie and emotionally really puts you through
the ringer. You experience joy and romance and utter crushing heartbreak all in
one fell swoop. The two leads earn their roles and at the end of the day I am
left feeling sympathy for both. Actors draw you into their characters and the
knowledge of their impending doom does not make you hope for a rewrite. It’s
just too real and raw but Anna is amazing. Her voice is on point, her emotions
are real and at the end of the day the performance and movie are perfectly
done. It’s a film that becomes life and life that becomes a film.
I could go on and on listing
movies and writing why Anna Kendrick is amazing and elevating in all of them.
She’s the type of actress I look for and just by the very fact that she is in
it I would see it because I know she’ll have me captivated. And while I wait for the eventual restraining order and an order to never attempt to contact Ms. Kendrick I will admit it isn't just my school boy crush but a recognition of her talent. I’d love to say that I didn’t buy her book and
laugh where she wanted me to, feel for her when she wanted me to, and enjoy
reading it because she wanted me to. That’s the one thing that no amount of
praise can tell you about Anna Kendrick. She genuinely wants her audience to
enjoy themselves. Not that other actors don’t but she strives for it. She works
to make movies better and I can think of no other reason to follow her. If you
don’t wanna take my word for it… well then...
Mr.
Unhappy sez: Just watch her.
