12 days of Christmas movies, 3 days of Marilyn, and 2 days of Jeff & Liz

In a nutshell, that was my holiday season. I tortured Anthony and the kids with all the fluffity-happy Christmas movies they could stomach before escaping to North Carolina, and then I spent the last 3 days of the Christmas season “Jew-ing it up,” as it were. The Sunday before Christmas, Marilyn treated a few of us to a home-cooked meal with a side of bronchitis (or whatever other awful-sounding affliction she has). The theme of the evening was “stuffed” – stuffed mushrooms, stuffed peppers, and, most importantly, stuffed chocolate chip cookies. If you know Marilyn (or even if you don’t), you should tell her how you really need to have a couple dozen chocolate chip cookies stuffed with Reese’s peanutbutter cups (unless, of course, you’re Eric; then that would be baaaad). They are the most divine baked good to be introduced to my palate this holiday season! (Although I have to admit that the cheesecake my coworker Charles concocts for the annual work holiday party and some other coworker’s cherry pie are close seconds – tying for second place because the two should be eaten together.)

Christmas Eve was spent in Annandale at Il Mee, a great little Korean BBQ joint that caters to a mostly Asian clientele – except on Christmas Eve, when it also catered to seven Jewish friends and little ol’ me. I recommend the spiced beef and I also suggest that you not let your food burn on the tableside grill (something about all 8 of us leaving smelling like Korean BBQ).

We then drove out to Tyson’s Corner to see Charlie Wilson’s War. My honest opinion can be summed up in a single word, even a single syllable: meh. The most brilliant thing about the movie is Phillip Seymour Hoffman, as usual. Tom Hanks was a poor choice for a womanizing, partying senator from the south, and every time Julia Roberts was onscreen, I just wanted to reach across and rip off that godawful blond wig. There were a few amusing dialogue exchanges in there (for example, Tom Hanks saying, “For Christ’s sake, will you help us?” to his Israeli associate who is supposed to help him get a coalition of Arab nations to work together to provide the Afghanis with the appropriate weaponry to fight the Russian army), but I am a little surprised at all the Golden Globe nominations this movie is racking up. I wasn’t bored by any means, but I also wasn’t riveted. Like I said, meh. (On the Netflix rating scale, the movie would rate 3 stars.)

Christmas Day itself was spent painting my bedroom (shhh! Don’t tell Anthony; it’s a surprise!) and then joining Marilyn and another crew of her Jewish friends at the E Street Theatre to watch Juno. This is another 3-star movie pick. It could have been a really, super fantastic movie because the story line was good, but it felt a little amateur so I didn’t fall in love with it. The movie starts out with a handful of characters: Juno, her stepmom, her father, her little sister, her best female friend, and her best male friend. The majority of the characters are written so they all feel like the same person – a rookie writer mistake, no doubt. Then the best male friend (Michael Cera from Superbad) is totally underdeveloped. I would be surprised if he was given more than five lines through the whole movie. Yes, he gets to run around in his hot shorts (read: track shorts) and wear a headband throughout the movie, but he barely says anything. The other characters in the movie portray him as not-too-swift, the kind of guy who doesn’t have an original idea in his head, but he is also simultaneously smart in school. Anyway, he melts into the wall and we’re somehow supposed to believe that this guy is Juno’s love interest.

The good news is that the movie improves dramatically after the adoptive parents are introduced (Jennifer Garner and Jason Bateman). All of a sudden, the whole cast of characters get individual personalities. And somehow, near the end, Juno tranforms from this sarcastic, Napolean Dynamite type character into a deeper, more emotional member of the human race. (Although, to be nitpicky, the transformation was not well-done; when she cries, you sort of empathize with her situation but the movie doesn’t pull you in and make you feel like crying with her.)

Anyway, I recommend Juno far more highly than Charlie Wilson’s War. Like I said, the storyline of Juno had so much potential, and the actors really carry this movie through to the end. You will feel invested in the lives and stories of the characters.

Oh, as an aside: 3 Doors Down needs to fire its agent. That flippin’ National Guard music video that is running as part of movie previews these days is a joke. Instead of coming across as supportive of the troops, it comes across as a shallow advertisement that really doesn’t do justice to the brave men and women who have fought and continue to fight for our freedoms. It’s a ridiculous ploy to sell albums and it reeks of bad judgment. (Okay, so the rights to the video are actually owned by the National Guard, but that doesn’t make it any better in my opinion. The video is still cheesy and I feel it makes a mockery of the sacrifices of generations of soldiers.)

So yes, where was I? Ah, sangria! We found ourselves at La Tosca after the movie, surrounded by pitchers of sangria. Then we wandered over to Eat First in Chinatown. The service was awful (I basically had to punch the waitstaff to get their attention) and the food was middling to average, but good times were had by all. Especially by Marilyn, who extolled the virtues of a lazy susan for a full day leading up to the event.

And that, my friends, has been my Christmas thus far. The rest of Christmas is expected to occur sometime on Saturday, when my Anthony returns from his southern travels. I’ll tell you all about the gifting sometime after then.

In the meantime, I’m putting in my request to Mother Nature for some freakin’ snow already. This sixty degree weather and rain is starting to grate on my last nerve (just like the constant mewing of the cat – gosh!).