Present Perfect

I must admit this movie's title didn't exactly fill my heart with anticipation. Sounded like another sappy romcom. But hey, one of my 2008 New Year Resolutions that I kept for this new year is to go out and see movies, so when a friend wanted to go, so did I.

It got better reading the description, which mentioned the still-excellent Clerks as a reference point. And the rest sounded good too.

Well, I must admit I was blown away by the end. And so was the audience - I don't think I've ever heard an audience clap at a regular movie showing. I can see the Clerks reference, being shot in black and white and linking both juvenile and acid-black humor contrasting well with the actual story. The dialogue is excellent, the tempo is high, weird things happen, and you feel the connection they're making. It definitely helps that these are mostly unknown actors and that they went for a realistic style.

The description also mentioned Before Sunset, but I haven't seen that one (out of romcom fear). It did recall both Manhattan (which I didn't like that much) and Chasing Amy (which is still in my top 5). It is a rare movie that can make sex on screen look realistic or tender, and this movie pulls off both.

There's two particular things that grabbed my attention. The first is that at some point they're discussing (without mentioning the name) PostSecret, an awesome project I've been following up on for a while. Last Christmas I got some of his books, a few for me and a few to give away to some friends. PostSecret's idea is so incredibly simple yet powerful, it's one of those rare ideas I wish I had had. As an idea, just as powerful as (but awesomely more artful than) the Million dollar homepage.

The second one was the orphaned shoes bit. If it's true that lost shoes only show up alone, then yeah, taking pictures of abandoned shoes for an art website is an awesome idea. (It also speaks to my particular fascination with shoe separation, for those of you who know me personally)

So, in short, a romantic comedy that is actually funny and appeals to my sense of romance. I'm sure there's people who'll find reasons to hate this movie, but if you've liked any of the aforementioned movies, I'm sure you'll leave the theatre with just as big a grin on your face as I did.

I must admit this movie's title didn't exactly fill my heart with anticipation. Sounded like another sappy romcom. But hey, one of my 2008 New Year Resolutions that I kept...