Saturday, June 07, 2003

I had a great night last night - I went to see Bend It Like Beckham, finally!

I also managed to hang out with an old friend of mine, David Zaga. We went to Europe together the summer before my junior year in high school. I met a lot of great people on that trip, but David's the only one that I still converse with. I like being around him; he's full of energy and strange opinions. I can be at my goofiest and do strange things, and he only encourages more outlandish behavior. I like that about him.

We went to the Edward's complex on I-10. This place has a huge movie theater, a lot of restaurants, shops, a Jillian's... It reminds me a bit of Universal CityWalk. Due to my foresight, we bought our tickets for the 7:35 showing when we arrived, at about 6:15. The lines were a LOT shorter, so this really saved us a lot of time. Then we went to eat at Red Robin, a decent burger joint. (I'd say it's comparable to Island's, for the Los Angeles folks reading this.) I had tortilla soup, a sandwich wrap, and some fries. I'm on a quest for the perfect bowl of tortilla soup, so if a restaurant serves it, I will order it. On a scale of 1-10, I'll give the Red Robin a 6 and a half for their attempts. We scarfed down the meal, tortured our waiter, and possibly scarred the children in the family dining behind us. We made our way to Cold Stone, where I flirted with the ice cream scoop who looked like he was still in high school. Oh, well, just call me a cradle robber. Then we went to Van's, a huge store/skate park/arcade. I'm not kidding you, I saw the most tortured pre-teens/teenagers in this place. If you're an adolescent skater, are you required to wear a black tee-shirt and a menacing sneer? I didn't think so... but that's the clientele. Finally, David and I ran back to the movie, and of course I needed to pee. So I stand in the ENORMOUS line in the women's restroom and hear a story about a knife fight in a showing of 2 Fast 2 Furious. That's comforting, especially when you're about to embark on a movie viewing venture.

Now, thoughts on Bend It Like Beckham?



I discussed this with Jay later that evening... but Jonathan Rhys-Meyers is hot. I would venture to say that he's hotness personified. If you don't believe me, just look at this picture.



Yeah, he's pretty dreamy. But the love arc is just one facet of the amazing parts of this movie. If you combine Billy Elliot, My Big Fat Greek Wedding, and Monsoon Wedding, add a dash of handsome actors and a pinch of London attitude, you will have a formula for success, ie Bend It Like Beckham. I'm not a huge football fan, but I really enjoyed the sporting aspects of this film. Also, I just can't get over how much I liked the Jess's family. There's not a bad guy or a bad person; there are just cultural differences.

I HIGHLY recommend this movie; in fact, I'm counting the days until I can buy it on DVD.