Recent dramas, the fun kind

OK, firstly I promised an update on the play I saw last month. A friend of mine teaches at a private religious school, and they did Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with the kids who participated in the summer drama camp. It was adorable. It was especially fun to watch the little girls who play brats (especially Veruka) figure out how much fun it is to play the bad guy - all the attitude, none of the consequences. I felt that way giving an in-character report on Athena in grade school. Actually, the whole thing reminded me of dramas of my youth: I was an oompaloompa in our 5th grade production, which meant I got to narrate. I handled my orange wig coming off correctly, not stopping or breaking character. I was proud of myself. We used to put on plays for my parents a lot, too. They would go out on their date night, and we would compose a drama. They were never scripted, we would just plan "And then you say something about where he might have gone, and then I'll run out and do the special effects!" We liked our special effects. They were always mild and extremely homemade, but they were fun. I miss that improv. For some reason I can't do it with anyone but siblings; I'm just too self-conscious. We had a great time, though. Back to the performance that sparked this little nostalgia kick - I did think having all the little girls perform "Diamonds are a Girls Best Friend" from Moulin Rouge in fishnets was a bit risque for a grade school production (every golden-ticket-holding child had a theme song, and that was Veruka's), but the music was fun, the scenery well done for the budget, and there is some real talent among those kids.

On a new but not entirely unrelated note, I saw Get Smart last night, and was very pleasantly surprised. I often have difficulty with Steve Carrell because the ratio of pain to any other emotion is a bit high and the humor cruder than I prefer in his characters. As Maxwell Smart the awkwardness was dialed down just a little, the endearing traits dialed up a touch. In fact, there was a lot about Max and 99 that felt startlingly genuine in a movie that relies so heavily on slapstick. 99 was played by Anne Hathaway (in her first truly adult role that I've seen) , and her slowly diminishing frustration with Max felt reasonable, the vulnerability beneath her super-sexy ultra agent present but not overplayed. Gentle fun was poked at Max, the analyst oblivious to the fact that he might be a little too detail oriented and trying just a little too hard turned often inept field agent who's still trying a little too hard, but it did not deny him (or invalidate) his triumph, or his virtues as a man who's man enough to be honest and to see the person in the people around him. I noted the same treatment (with very good effect) of several of the supporting characters: gentle fun with obvious weaknesses and/or stereotypes, but a triumph granted without condescension that lets you remember the movie without the cringing I usually do when reflecting on episodes of The Office. The dance-off was one of my very favorite parts, and there were some fun lines. Lots of fun little surprises with the casting, too -- shout out to Masi Oka, who I love. "The spiders have to be individually milked. They don't like it." :)

When I'm not seeing the one movie I've been to since spring, I've mostly been in the lab, which is a bit of a mixed bag. I really, really do love molecular biology, I'm just _so frustrated_ with the inordinate amount of things that go wrong, especially since I can almost never trace them to their source and eliminate them. Can I just be the person who designs experiments and analyzes them? I totally bonded with a guy in the lab yesterday while designing an experiment. Well, bonded is perhaps too strong a word, but I certainly experienced a rapport. :) I'm such a nerd. But it was fun! I am slogging away at my project, though, and it might eventually get done. If it doesn't get firmly off the ground in the next week and a half I'm just calling it quits and going home. I miss my family, and I've been homeless now for nearly a month (although I really appreciate all of those who have either made that more pleasant or offered to, especially Tanya for lending me her amazing bed). I've also been considering other career directions, but more on that later. Hopefully my project is underway for real, and I can get on with my life.

This post is already inordinately long, so I'll take a break now, but I'll be back soon, I promise!