Cool Daddy-O Patio: Papa Don't Beach Without Sunnies

This is just the kind of post title that I always said I'd never use.  I mean, cool, daddy-O?  What am I, a beatnik?  But it is Father's Day, and I decorated these (albeit very girly women's) sunglasses.  So.

Speaking of Father's Day, I ordered Being a Dad is Weird, by Ben Falcone, online as a gift for my dad.  But when it arrived, it had an unidentifiable yet unmistakably sticky something smeared on the cover.  So I bought my dad another copy and kept the original.  After all, I like to read, and I like Ben Falcone.  Whether it's his performance as the sexually harassed Air Marshall in Bridesmaids, the power trip-fueled fast food manager in Tammy, or (and this is my personal favorite) the music teacher in that old Target commercial who plays the piano and sings about denim, Benji always brings the odd.  (He refers to himself as Benji at least once in the book, so I think it's okay for me too).

Filled with amusing anecdotes about growing up with an intellectual and outlandish writer father, Being a Dad is Weird is a lighthearted walk down memory lane.  Like many comedy writers, Falcone was an awkward kid (he rocked an acid wash denim jacket with Led Zeppelin and U2 pins).  But not that awkward (he played sports, dammit!).  Just awkward enough to use humor to defuse many a -- wait for it -- awkward situation.  Anyway, he compares having a father to being a father to his two daughters with wife Melissa McCarthy, and it's all very sweet and heartwarming.  Well, as sweet and heartwarming as something can be when liberally peppered with F-bombs.

Earlier today my sister and I were dismayed to find out that we had both bought my father this book.  So there are now not one, not two, but three hardbound copies floating around our family.  Perhaps we should start a Ben Falcone fan club.       

That said, maybe next year I'll shoot for a more PSA-themed Father's Day post, something like Ray Ban Man: Fathers Fighting Fried Retinas.  That way the dads get to be the heroes. And I get a free pair of Ray Bans.

Movie Moment: Bridesmaids

I'd been looking forward to seeing Judd Apatow's Bridesmaids for a long time. The bf and I caught the last showing on Memorial Day, right before it was yanked from local theaters. It was funny, a veritable wishing well of wedding planning disasters. The heroine is Annie ("Saturday Night Live's" Kristen Wiig), a down-on-her-luck thirtysomething whose childhood best friend Lillian ("Saturday Night Live's" Maya Rudolph) is getting married. As if dealing with a failed bakery, a disturbing brother and sister duo for roommates, a humiliating job selling engagement rings, a clunker car, and an insensitive friend with benefits (Jon Hamm) aren't bad enough, Annie's new role as maid of honor puts her head-to-head with Lillian's new pal, wealthy, prissy, one-upper Helen (Rose Byrne). Of course, the clunker jump starts the meet-cute for Annie and nice-guy cop Officer Rhodes (Chris O' Dowd), a guy as quaintly charming as his oh-so-appropriate moniker.

I've never been a bridesmaid (well, not as an adult anyway), but everything I've read or heard about the in-fighting, jealousy, and pettiness that plague bridal parties was in full flower in this comedy. Kristen Wiig is funny and sympathetic as the always-one-step-behind Annie. With an all-star supporting cast including "Mike & Molly's" Melissa McCarthy (hilarious) and "The Office's" Ellie Kemper (so like her naive receptionist character Erin), a "Brady Bunch" reference, and an appearance by Wilson Phillips belting out "Hold On," Bridesmaids is fun and, dare I say, heartwarming. (Beware, as a gentle plot spoiler lurks within the next two sentences.) In the end, Annie finds out that her nemesis Helen has her own "stuff" to deal with, and that it's these very insecurities that account for her unpleasantness. Although the two don't become best friends (that would be unrealistic), they join forces to give Lillian the wedding she deserves, reminding us of the importance of kindness. That's a little deeper than I meant to get reviewing a comedy. But then again, even the zaniest, most outlandish blockbusters are built on a few grains of truth, offering us windows into the emotional minefields of our own lives.

Movie Moment: Something Borrowed

Each spring, movie theaters are flooded with flicks about weddings. Something Borrowed, a story of unrequited love and back-stabbing best buds, is text book. Like Water for Elephants, it's based on a novel of the same title (which, also like Water for Elephants, I didn't read). But before I even begin to talk about the plot I feel the need to say this: It was icky.

I've never been a fan of the home wrecker romance. Most of us have shoulda woulda coulda moments, but trying to rewrite them doesn't make destroying other people's lives okay. And Something Borrowed is about just that. The main character is Rachel (Ginnifer Goodwin), a lawyer and your typical buttoned-up, hard-working good girl. Her best friend, Darcy (Kate Hudson [can't help but think of Pride and Prejudice's Mr. Darcy every time I hear that name]), is your typical self-absorbed, manipulative party girl. Darcy is engaged to Rachel's law school friend, Dex (Colin Egglesfield), aka Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome but Jerky. The problem? Rachel's always had a crush on Dex and still does.

You see where this is going, right?

Yes, Darcy is awful. Shallow and over-the-top, she's the embodiment of every high school mean girl all grown up. But I couldn't help but feel that she's painted that way so viewers don't feel guilty about rooting for Rachel. As for Dex, he masquerades as a sensitive guy who's just doing what his parents want. But he's really a coward who wants to have his cake and eat it too. Although put-upon, Rachel is only marginally sympathetic as the other woman. Not only does she poach her best friend's fiancé, but she allows herself to be treated badly, fulfilling the tired old mistress cliché.

From this mess, only Rachel and Darcy's childhood friend Ethan (the ever-affable John Krasinski) emerges as likable and funny, offering up witty observations from the sidelines during the crew's seemingly endless Hamptons weekends. Sure, he spends most of the movie dodging a woman he slept with and then dumped. But next to Dex and their mutual sleazy slacker friend Marcus, he still manages to channel the nice guy vibe of his "Office" character, Jim. (Who says there's no such thing as type casting?)

At one point, I thought the plot was going to wrap up in a predictable but still feel-good-sort-of-way that would have saved things. (Good little blogger that I am, I won't spill any more, should you decide to see the movie despite this uncharitable review.) But it didn't. It ended in a crescendo of insultingly cheesy soap opera incidents and a finale that could be described as only -- you guessed it -- icky.

If I have such an aversion to cheating hearts, then why did I see this movie? Because it's a romantic comedy, and I feel compelled to see all romantic comedies, no matter how seemingly stupid.

Next stop, Bridesmaids. I know the fuchsia taffeta won't disappoint.