Weekend Report

I finally saw Synecdoche this weekend- I was really happy to see it having read the script some months back and while I did enjoy it, I think this is a case where the parts are better than the whole. There are some really poignant moments throughout the film and the cast is fantastic but by the end, it just doesn't feel like the emotional weight adds up. On the same night, we hit The Smoke Joint in Fort Greene but we sat in a new section of the restaurant since apparently they closed down Little Piggy Market (news to me) that use to be one of their off shoots. It was good BBQ but obviously way filling. Almost too much so. On Saturday, I saw the warm up at Union Hall to the Stella comedy troupe's upcoming tour. David Wain, Michael Showalter and Michael Ian Black have a such a great ease with each other - some of my favorites parts were them just riffing off each other or on people from the audience. They were still VERY much in warm up mode, still working out technical kinks, music cues and they were reading off script the whole time but overall, it was pretty funny. It was cool to see what worked and what didn't as they tried to refine the act. (On a David Wain tangent, I also saw Role Models that same week and I have to say, I surprised how much I enjoyed it. I mean its basically an Apatow-bromance ripoff but charming nonetheless.) Anyways, I leave you with this clip from Paul Rudd on Conan promoting Role Models with his ode to Mac and Me.