If anyone gets the chance to go see ‘Tristram Shandy: A Cock and Bull Story’, directed by Michael Winterbottom, starring Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon, I heartily recommend it.
I dragged
During our wait in line, we also touched on the awesomeness of Carmen Sandiego (both the PC game and the TV show – M. even gave me a mini-rendition of the Rockapella theme song and she knows all the words) but I was left with the burning question: if I want to dress up as Carmen for Hallowe’en this year, what the hell colour is her hair?!? The all-knowing Internet is giving me conflicting information on this topic (see images below).
Anyhow, back to the movie. ‘Tristram Shandy’ is an anarchic rendition of a book that many people claim to be unfilmable, mostly since it is a bildungsroman about the life of a young man named Tristram Shandy who has such a severe case of shiny-object syndrome / A.D.D., that by the end of the 700 page novel of his life, he has digressed so frequently he hasn’t even been born yet.
Anyhow, the movie, like the book, tends to segue wildly off onto new topics, including the lives of the actors. The opening dialogue between the two protagonists (or co-leads, or leading man and supporting role, or what have you), is some of the funniest stuff I have heard in a long time. The feel of the movie sits somewhere between Monty Python, Broken Lizard and Merchant Ivory. Weird, wild, historical, hysterical and really good.
There are some lovely cameos by Stephen Fry, Gillian Anderson, Shirley Henderson (who you will remember as Jude from ‘Bridget Jones’ Diary’ as and as Moaning Myrtle in ‘Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets’), Dylan Moran (the total prick in ‘Shaun of the Dead’), and the girl who played Diane the Naughty Schoolgirl in ‘Trainspotting’. There is also a gigantic womb, and part of the soundtrack was scored by Michael Nyman of ‘The Piano’ fame.
It’s a celebration, bitches. Go see.
I recently downloaded the Carmen Sandiego theme song, uts fantastic.
let me know if you figure out how to illuminate that globe 😉
fun times yesterday, i enjoyed it. let’s hang out again sometime soon!
The book is called The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, and the back of CJ’s copy of it said “This book contains very few of the opinions and almost none of the life of Tristram Shandy.” I borrowed it from her, oh, about 2 years ago, and haven’t quite gotten around to cracking it open yet. Maybe I will try to wade through it before the movie comes out on DVD.
-CP
Shirley Henderson was also Isabelle on Hamish MacBeth!
I’m a dork, which is why I am loveable.
given that i watched the Carmen Sandiego kiddie game show three days a week for 3-5 years, i find it rather fitting that i should know the words after all this time. plus, it’s a freaking sweet song. 😉
also, i am totally stealing your carmen sandiego icon. have been contemplating how to make a travel-related icon for a while and thought that lifting one from you would be easier. that is, unless you would like to help me make one of my own?