The Brand (Abilene, Tex.), Vol. 94, No. 4, Ed. 1, Tuesday, February 28, 2006 Page: 5 of 6

                                
OPINION ENTERTAINMENT
Sophisticated Comedies: Comedies? Sophisticated?
by Lee Ramse
staff writer
The other day as I walked
to class I pondered the mean-
ing of life. After that got boring
I reflected upon stories and mov-
ies I have seen. I thought about
romances and dramas action
movies and comedies. Then I real-
ized that there are quite possibly a
thousand subcategories of come-
dies: the romantic comedy regular
comedies the teen comedy and of
course the newcomer to this once
happy family the sophisticated
comedy. For those of you unfa-
miliar with these so-called come-
dies they include movies such as
Sideways The Life Aquatic The
Royal Tenenbaums and many
others.
It seems that anymore any
movie that comes out with no
definable genre is slipped into the
so broad category sophisticated
comedy. This causes two big prob-
lems for movies labeled in this
way. One some movies labeled
"sophisticated comedy" are not
in fact sophisticated nor are they
comedies; this makes the gen-
era unpredictable and difficult to
actually categorize since they fit
no specific norm. The other prob-
lem is that it plays with the expec-
tations of moviegoers. Someone
goes to see a comedy and instead
gets a bittersweet movie artfully
done about nothing in particular
(I.e. Sideways).
Well sure all this is true but
what is the point so what if its just
a mis-categorization of movies?
Well I'm getting there. The real
problem I have with sophisticated
comedies is their very obvious
route to intellectual superiority. I
mean if someone does not get the
"humor" in a movie like Sideways
they either are not apparently
sophisticated or missed the
extraordinarily deep meaning-
ful humor inherent in the movie.
Not to say that Sideways was a bad
movie because it was well acted
and interesting but it was just
not funny. The fact that sophisti-
cated or intelligent is inherent in
the categoiy demand acceptance
because to not accept means intel-
lectual inferiority. Therefore it is as
if these movies bully the populace
into their acceptance instead of
allowing for objective judgment.
It angers me that something
as simplistic and unsophisticated
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Publicity shot courtesy ofWikipedia.
as movies or TV shows now allow
for intellectual superiority to be
had by the general populace. Not
to say it is undeserved but it used
to be that to hold some sort of
intellectual satisfaction one had
to read a book a long book and
(gasp) understand it. Now all
it takes is a thought provoking
movie where all that is required is
sitting and two hours of attention
no skill talent or comprehension
at is needed just the acclaim of a
movie titled sophisticated.
New Texas Band to Watch: Flyleaf
by Nathan Hale
entertainment co-editor
Flyleaf a new female fronted
hard rock band from Belton TX
is definitely one you will want to
keep your eyes on for some time to
come. They're not incredibly well
known yet but you may have heard
thqixsingle on the radio "I'm So-
Sick." .Their sound is hard to nail
down in just a few words but it's
sort of like an alternative flavored
nu-metal meets very angry Avril--turned
hardcoremixed with
Evanescence-like lyrics and sensi-
tivity. They can rock and put out a
good ballad too. Flyleaf is a solid
band that brings fresh color to a
grey landscape that is rock radio
today. Check 'em out and let us
know what you think.
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Photo courtesy of Flyleaf official website.
The Clothes Exchange
(Teens and Young Adults)
Buy Sell Trade
150 S. Willis Abilene (325)670-0196
M-F 10:00-5:30 Sat 10-5
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Recycling retail store just for teens and young adults
We buy and sell the latest looks in gently used clothing and
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Perhaps an easy solution to
this problem would be to simply
remove the title "sophisticated"
from the genre; it is simply a con-
flict of interests. Please under-
stand I believe that there is a time
and place for intellectual superi-
ority and it involves reading and
actually knowing or getting some-
thing out of a work of literature
that others do not. It does not or
at least should not involve uncon-
scious media such as movies or
TV.
Smashed
Pumpkins
Reassembled?
by Nathan Hale
entertainment co-editor
Rumors have swirled in the
rock music world since this past
June when Smashing 'Pumpkins'
mastermind Billy Corgan took out
an ad in a Chicago paper asking for
hisbandmatesto return with him to
the stage. Rumors have placed the
Pumpkins at this year's Coachella
festival and Lollapalooza. Both of
those rumors have basically been
squashed but Pumpkins insiders
have confirmed that Corgan fully
intends to take a current cata-
logue of tunes into the studio with
drummer Jimmy Chamberlain
to lay the foundations for a new
Pumpkins album.
One of the best outfits of the
early 90's rockboon the Pumpkins
had a prolific run under Corgan
that produced 7 albums and scores
of record sales well into the mil-
lions. Corgan's perfectionism and
ambition led him in many direc-
tions and eventually away from
the Smashing Pumpkins.
The Pumpkins' most suc-
cessful lineup consisted of Corgan
bassist D'ArcyWretzky drummer
Jimmy Chamberlain and guitar
player James Iha. It really mat-
tered little who was performing
the parts because Corgan wrote
and recorded most of the music
himself in Paul McCartney style.
CorgananddrummerChamberlain
would woodshed out the riffs in
the studio under the guidance of
various engineers. They invited
Wretzky and Iha along for gigs
and for select studio opportuni-
ties. It's not completely necessary
for the original cast to assemble
around Corgan and Chamberlain
for the reunion to be successful
but Pumpkins' enthusiasts would
much rather have Iha and Wretzky
sharing the stage with Corgan
than Melissa Auf Der Maur (for-
merly of Hole) and another select
player. No matter who joins the
crew with Corgan you can guar-
antee that their live shows will be
extraordinary loud and exciting.
Be sure to bring your earplugs.
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