A month ago, I tried to rent Light of Day from my favorite video store, but they couldn't find the VHS tape (it's not on DVD) when I went to check out. "Our copy must be lost," they said. "The computer says it hasn't been rented since 2004."
On Friday night, I was back in the store. "Did you guys ever find your copy of Light of Day?," I asked an employee who wasn't involved in the original tape search. "You know what? I bet I can find it," he said. And about three minutes later, he had the tape in his hand. It had fallen behind the store's VCR. "We were just watching it in the store a few days ago," he said. "It was a double-header with Satisfaction."
So anyway, I just watched Light of Day. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Joan Jett plays Patti Rasnick, a rock-n-rolling single mom from Cleveland. Although her life is a mess, she finds spiritual relief in coin-op video games — especially Gyruss. I love this frame still (actually a photo of my TV) from near the end of the movie:
PATTI: I've been trying to live my life by an idea. You see that machine? [Pointing to Centipede.] That's an idea. Rock 'n' roll — that's an idea. All those video-game monsters, bip-bip-bip. All those bipbips are separate. No moment is any more important than another. Nothing comes together — no heaven, no hell, just moments.... I go out there every night just to hear the beat: dvv-dvv-dvv-dvv, dvv-dvv-dvv-dvv, dvv-dvv-dvv-dvv. And that's all there is, man.
Clearly, Patti has never played Super Mario Bros. The movie was released in 1987, but its heart is in 1983 or '84.
I don't know why this movie isn't on DVD, but here's my best guess: There is a naked bathtub scene involving Michael J. Fox's character and his nephew, a 5 year-old boy. It's a touching scene in the most innocent sense of "touching." If the child's penis is what's holding up the DVD release, someone should just add digital underwear to the kid, or a strategic suds dollop. Then copies can be pressed for Netflix and Target asap.
On Friday night, I was back in the store. "Did you guys ever find your copy of Light of Day?," I asked an employee who wasn't involved in the original tape search. "You know what? I bet I can find it," he said. And about three minutes later, he had the tape in his hand. It had fallen behind the store's VCR. "We were just watching it in the store a few days ago," he said. "It was a double-header with Satisfaction."
So anyway, I just watched Light of Day. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Joan Jett plays Patti Rasnick, a rock-n-rolling single mom from Cleveland. Although her life is a mess, she finds spiritual relief in coin-op video games — especially Gyruss. I love this frame still (actually a photo of my TV) from near the end of the movie:
PATTI: I've been trying to live my life by an idea. You see that machine? [Pointing to Centipede.] That's an idea. Rock 'n' roll — that's an idea. All those video-game monsters, bip-bip-bip. All those bipbips are separate. No moment is any more important than another. Nothing comes together — no heaven, no hell, just moments.... I go out there every night just to hear the beat: dvv-dvv-dvv-dvv, dvv-dvv-dvv-dvv, dvv-dvv-dvv-dvv. And that's all there is, man.
Clearly, Patti has never played Super Mario Bros. The movie was released in 1987, but its heart is in 1983 or '84.
I don't know why this movie isn't on DVD, but here's my best guess: There is a naked bathtub scene involving Michael J. Fox's character and his nephew, a 5 year-old boy. It's a touching scene in the most innocent sense of "touching." If the child's penis is what's holding up the DVD release, someone should just add digital underwear to the kid, or a strategic suds dollop. Then copies can be pressed for Netflix and Target asap.
Wowwy zowwy!! I love this post.
Publicado por: El Machino | 14/06/09 en 20:26
So many reasons this movie should be on DVD:
- Written & directed by Paul Schrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, American Gigolo, Mishima, etc).
- The downtrodden/upbeat theme song ("Light of Day") was written, just for this movie, by Bruce Springsteen. And then 14 years later, following 9/11, Springsteen got re-interested in the song, and perfomed it live a bunch of times.
- Great cameo by Del Close, who plays a gravely serious oncologist.
- Micro-cameo by Trent Reznor, who plays 1/3 of a new-wave band called "The Problems."
- It's a good movie -- far better than its 4.8 or 4.9 IMDB rating.
Seems to me like a good candidate for Criterion.
Publicado por: mcM | 14/06/09 en 23:14