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orangegoby
Reviews
Touch of Pink (2004)
not as unoriginal as some might think
Sure, the underlying plot of a son hiding his sexuality from his conservative mother isn't original and completely unpredictable, but there is a lot more to it, unlike many successful Hollywood movies. There's no nonstop violence and destruction, celebrity appearances, explicit sex scenes, or crude humor--not that those always make bad movies.
The characters have varied depth (as do real people), the dialogue is great and sometimes even clever, and of course there are some good laughs. It's tasteful and maybe a little bit 'artsy', but that's completely okay. The details of the plot are different enough to keep it interesting. Some touching character secrets are revealed. 'Too bad it didn't have a wider release in theaters or more well-placed publicity. I think it would've been more successful. I definitely rank it as one of my favorites.
As always, don't let the opinions of strangers be the only deciding factor for seeing a movie. Sometimes we agree, sometimes we don't.
Mad Mad House (2004)
fun twist on reality tv--finally
The Sci-Fi Channel's attempt to attract higher ratings with a "reality TV" show was a decent one. Other reality shows have been boring and mostly unimaginative. Manufacturing the next pop sensation, eating gross thing after gross thing, and competing for some random guy or girl just doesn't intrigue me. The Sci-Fi Channel knows its viewers don't want that invading their sanctuary from popular TV programming, so they add an appealing spin to the idea.
The best aspect of the show is that it takes the guests out of their comfortable, familiar lives and puts them in an environment where they have to experience the lifestyles and values of five "freaks". Challenging what the contestants might think and then using their responses and openness as criteria for elimination was a nice break from the fastest, strongest, and most popular advancing.
But of course, it is a reality show. Drama, plotting, unusual situations, and a big prize are part of it. Putting people through all of that just for the sake of viewers' twisted amusement and no other purpose gets kinda boring. At least find a real (or an almost real) reason to have guests drink blood and stand waist-deep in unpleasant stuff. Sci-Fi did well enough with that. My biggest qualm is that the prize details should have been played down to the guests or even kept secret until the end.
Despite my qualms with the show I enjoyed it. Unlike some, I don't feel the need to discredit and trash the Alts. I still think they are genuine people after watching . Anyway, people really do live those sorts of lifestyles. It's nice to be able to get a glimpse into them. Sci-Fi scored points with a lot of disappointed viewers who have been waiting a while for something decent to watch.