This just happened, my 19 year old son, home from college asked me and I quote “Mom, want to go see a movie?” You could only imagine my shock, as I struggled not to faint, not to question. I wondered, had I heard him right, or was I just imaging those words that came out of his mouth. Maybe he was asking me for money so he could go to a movie.
Even before I questioned myself any longer; I said “Of Course”, grabbed him, my purse and ran out the door. I did not even sneak a look over at the pile of work I had on my desk and the laundry still sitting on the floor. I knew I had to jump in the car with him and speed off quickly–because I didn’t want him to realize that he had actually asked me to go see a movie with him or that maybe he might get a text from a friend and he would change his mind. In a flash, we went out of the house and on our way — to a movie!
Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan
As we got into the car, I had no idea what time any movie was playing or where. It didn’t matter. He was now held captive in my car driving. I did pinch myself just to be sure I was not dreaming. Very laid back, my son mentioned he wanted to see “The Great Gatsby”. All I knew from my motherly instincts was that I was to drive to a movie theater not in our neighborhood, out of the sight of potential humans who might notice he was with “Gasp”, his mom. I knew that I should drive a community of two over.
As we drove into the theater, I knew that there had to be at least one showing in the next hour or so. We walked in to see that there was a 4:20 movie, perfect. It was 4:26. I asked for 2 tickets and the counter girl said that will be $30. Now, I know I have not been to a theater for a long time but $15 a ticket! She then proceeded to hand me two 3D glasses and told me to enjoy the show. CRAP I hate 3 D, but heck I was with my son, in the middle of the day, at a movie. I was in heaven!
I enjoyed “The Great Gatsby”. It was a lot different then what I was expecting. The cinematography was beautiful and as a boomer, I kept thinking how all those young people had so much money to live in those homes. I know it’s a movie. Then I notice that there were very few people over the age of 30 in the movie, but it didn’t matter, I loved looking at the clothing, scenery, design and food.
Oh and my movie review, well, It had a lot of style – much of which we will be seeing on the store racks all summer, little that any boomer would wear. The characters seemed a bit flat Tobby Macquire was too wide eyed and simple in his portrayal of Nick Carraway and the narrator of the story. Wispy Carey Mulligan was wonderful as Daisy Buchannan. I felt her emotions as the movie played out and she did a brilliant job with her unspoken dialog using facial expressions, moods and movements. Jay Gatsby, Leonardo DiCaprio, seems to hover between characters. At times, I felt as if I was watching “The Aviator” where he was Howard Hughes or as Frank Abagnale Jr in “Catch Me If You Can” . Even that similarity was ok to play the part of Gatsby. Those are big shoes to fill. Leonardo pulled it off.
Many of the other characters seemed a bit forgettable, but they all filled their shoes well as the movie moved along. I give it a B -. for it’s attention to detail, amazing styles, wondrous party scenes and use of soundtrack.
