Film: Boy

If I'm looking a little teary-eyed today, put it down to nostalgia.

I enjoyed a preview of the film "Boy", which is an immediate kiwi classic for it's constant references to popsicles if for nothing else. (Seriously, popsicles were the awesome 50c dairy treat of all of our childhood...).

Apparently it's a smash hit in New Zealand, which didn't surprise me much seeing New Zealand typically produces one mainstream film per year, if that. Not a lot of competition going on. But the bright side of that is that when they do make a big movie they can capture plenty of raw, untapped and genuine talent. So Boy is actually good, well-written and meaningful viewing. There's drama, humour, sex, violence, innocence, family dynamics and basically anything else you could look for in a film. There's even a taste of glamour and wealth thanks to the very active imagination of our protagonist.

This film is a true kiwi film from A to Z. My very Aussie friend, Amanda, admitted that it wasn't until at least halfway through before she finally realised they were calling each other "eggs" because the accent was a little hard to understand. I had no problem with the accent, but when I first heard "egg" it was a moment before the word registered for me. And then it came flooding back - egg!! You're such an egg. And that word conveyed such meaning. That's what we used to say, before we learnt the F-word or other dirty words, or at least before we had the guts to use them. So this film absolutely hit home with me in a silly way. And it was fun - if for nothing else, the Maori version of Thriller performed during the closing credits makes this movie absolutely worth watching.

My only concern with this film is the perception it creates on the world stage. Yes, the film is funny and very realistic. But it's funny because we relate to it as the way our society was, not the way it is now. I would hate for anybody to believe that we haven't made progress in the past 25 years in terms of domestic violence, caring for children, and general quality of life. This is almost an in-joke. It's the life that we all relate to on some level, but it's not a modern depiction of New Zealand today. That's not to say the modern NZ is a sugar-coated paradise, but it's advanced further both for the good and for the bad. The issues we face now are deeper and more serious. Likewise, the good has increased, there have been improvements in many areas. That may seem ridiculously obvious, but my interactions with people from across the world consistently tell me that their exposure to us is minimal, and therefore they do take whatever they see rather seriously. So let's hope they see this for what it is - a clever indie classic, not a picture of the life of every Kiwi kid.

When: 18th August, 2010

Where: Event Cinemas, George St

Verdict: Entertaining.

Thanks to SeeFilmFirst for the free tickets!

West Side Story - Lyric Theatre

My theatrical outing on the night of August 4th was exceptional for one reason - I was accompanied by my lovely husband. This show was on at the casino and therefore a slightly further and more interesting excursion than usual. So it seemed appropriate to go together and make an evening of it. Sadly, there was nothing else particularly exceptional about the evening. It was enjoyable, but nothing to write home about.

To be fair, our West Side Story experience was nearly a disaster before it began. At approximately 11am I popped onto my email to double-check the show's start time as I couldn't remember whether it was 8pm or 8:30. To my horror I discovered that I had mistakenly purchased matinee tickets, with the show commencing at noon, and proceeded to have a minor freakout in the office. It took 30min on the phone to ticketmaster, a portion of that on hold while they spoke to the production manager, but they very kindly resolved it for me. Instead of front row and centre we were 20 rows back on the side, but better than nothing. So that evening after a tram ride and a quick feed at the casino buffet we headed down to the theatre. It was a full house (possibly due to the short run of the production) and started promptly.

A coworker of mine had complained that the set was too sparse. While this is true, it's hard to do anything elaborate with sets and costumes when the story is set in a harsh, poverty stricken environment. I do believe the backdrop and lighting could have been used more effectively, as it was very minimalistic and didn't have the impact I would expect. One day I will hopefully be able to compare to a Broadway rendition and find out whether this is a production fault or actually the way the play is supposed to be presented.

The vocal performances were acceptable, although the augmented fourths were a little dicey even to a poor musical ear such as mine. The dancing was a pleasure to watch, but honestly this was due more to the fabulous choreography than to any standout effort from the cast.

Overall, while there was nothing particular to fault about the production, neither was there anything to write home about. Usually when I see a show there'll be at least one performer who stands out, where I'll find myself wondering about their past and future work - checking out their wikipedia page the following day - and knowing that this is a name to watch out for. Nobody in this production had that impact. It was a pleasant evening, but I didn't feel the level of emotional tug that this story should

So, how do I rate West Side Story?

The show:

8/10. The story is a classic, and the score is fantastic. One Hand, One Heart just tears at my heartstrings and has me wringing all two of my hands with glee at the beauty of it.

This production:

6/10. They did ok. It didn't quite have the impact I would hope, and the overall feel of the production was sparse and rushed.

The crowd:

Fairly good. The ladies next to me whispered for awhile but a few carefully timed glares shut them up. There was a group at the front who missed the lock-out and were let in after a couple of scenes, which was particularly disruptive as there were nearly a dozen of them. Rude people!! Get your act together and show some respect. If you can't arrive punctually, then don't come at all.

Highlights:

• Officer Krupke. The boys did a good job, and performed this song in the hilarious and ironic way it should be presented. It's back on top of my playlist again. :-)
• During the very emotional, dramatic ballet scene a slight "oops" occurred. Specifically, one of the female performer's top came entirely undone and fell down, exposing her bra. She handled it very professionally, managing to finish the scene while acting as nonchalant as possible, and waiting to exit in a graceful and deliberate manner once the rest of the cast had returned to the stage and she could do so with subtly.

Lowlights:

The crowd. Certain members of the audience tittered like a football crowd when the aforementioned incident occurred. Seriously people, her undergarments were a full built-in section of the dress, there was nothing titillating or inappropriate. And it's seriously uncool to mock somebody just because things haven't gone as planned. Grow up.