leapin' lizards!

I love you Miss Hannigan!

I love Annie.  LOVE that musical.  I especially love the 1982 film version which was always one of my "comfort" movies as a child.  [I was somewhat of a sickly child, and when I was growing up, the grocery store in my town had a small video rental section by the pharmacy.  After a trip to the doctor, while waiting to get my medications, my mom would let me pick out a movie to watch.  I associate comfort movies with being sick, but it's not a negative memory for me.  Funny.]  From the opening credits with the locket, til the very end, I'm entranced with the film.  I would sing all of the songs over and over again, as I'm sure many young girls did.  I romanticized the idea of being an orphan, which now sounds so silly from my adult perspective (I am super thankful for my family & the home I grew up in!), but being with all those other girls, singing and dancing and jumping on beds seemed like a lot of fun!  To this day, I still watch this movie every few months because it puts me in the best mood.  Annie is a great example to us all.  Her life isn't the greatest, an orphan in Depression era NYC, living with Miss Hannigan of all people to watch over her, but she still has fun and keeps a great attitude.  Then she gets a chance of a lifetime and continues to spread her joy when she moves in with Daddy Warbucks.  Throughout everything she always thinks of others and making her friends happy.  She's pretty awesome.  And the songs are so easy to belt out and enjoy.  John actually gifted me the dvd this past Christmas, up until that point I had been watching it on Netflix (which we don't have anymore, so I'm even more glad I have the movie) because I only had it on VHS and have long lived without a working VCR.  I was SO HYPED to get this movie.  Click here to see what our exchange was like when I opened it! Ha :)

Anyway, I bring up Annie because I've been reading articles about the Broadway revival and the casting of the new Annie.  A young lady named Lilla Crawford will be playing her in the Fall 2012 run.  Reading these articles reminded me of a documentary I watched last year called Life After Tomorrow.  I would definitely recommend this documentary because, frankly, it's rather disturbing.  I don't think that was its intent, but that is how I found it.  Annie came to Broadway in the late 70s and ran through the early 80s, during that time a slew of young girls played Annie and the main orphans.  This documentary interviews them, their experiences then and their life now.  The most famous of these, of course, is Sarah Jessica Parker.  I took away a lot from this documentary and it made me question some things.  These girls are between the ages of 9-13, the musical is wildly famous and they are welcomed at establishments that are NOT meant for children (Studio 54, for example), and are worked day and night and sent on tour to continue to work day and night.  The most frightening thing to me however was how damaging it was to the girls views of womanhood.  They were so scared to grow up.  Annie is an 11 year old girl, and as you know, it can be a difficult time for girls as they are entering puberty.  The title role was so coveted, and all the main orphans wanted to be Annie, that the girl that had the role was afraid for the day she'd grow breasts and get taller because the director would literally rip the wig off her head as she came off stage for her bow, put the wig on another orphan and send that child out to be praised by the public because she would be a new Annie.  It was devastating to these small girls.  Can you just imagine all the psychological damage from that?  Their hard work was ripped from them the moment their bodies do what they are supposed to do and so they resent becoming a woman.   It's crazy.  I do hope people have seen that documentary now that Annie is coming back to Broadway again.  Hopefully the way the girls are treated is better now than it was then.  I feel like conditions are probably a lot better now than they were, but then again, I do not know.  But I do wish the best of luck to the new cast and Lilla Crawford (and her, hopefully involved, parents).  I would like to see this musical on stage sometime soon.

So yes, check out Annie... whether it's rewatching the 1982 version, giving the documentary a try, or seeing it this fall in New York City!  It's a delightful story of hope.

photo credits:  one / two

documentaries. [favorites of Jan/Feb '12]

Since the new year began I've made it a point to keep track of every new-to-me movie & documentary I watch, as well as each new (I have a bad habit of rereading books constantly, those don't count on the list) book I read.  It's been fun & rewarding looking back at everything I've read & watched in the year the past two months, I can't wait to see the finished lists in December.  With books, my goal is to read at least 52 by the end of the year.  With movies & documentaries, I don't have a set number goal, but I am purposefully trying to watch things I've never seen before.  Again, this is hard as I like to rewatch things -- case in point, over the last several days John & I haven't watched anything new because we decided to have a Lost mega-marathon, but we're halfway through season 4 already so that'll be finished soon and I can move onto new things.

Today I figured I'd blog about some of my favorite documentaries I've watched so far this year.  I'm going to pick just 5 that I would definitely recommend to everyone.

The Pixar Story - this documentary is wonderful because it illustrates the beginnings of the animation company and how it became as beloved as it is today.  It's interesting to see it's ties (& battles, & then friendships) with Disney and how Steve Jobs  kind of resuscitated the company & believed in Pixar & its amazing animators.  Makes you love Steve Jobs even more!  Ha.  I also loved the behind the scenes footage of the making of Toy Story.  Kinda crazy how Toy Story really did change the animation world.  Wonderful documentary to watch if you love Pixar films. And really, let's be honest, who doesn't love AT LEAST one of those movies?

IMDB info found here
official site found here

Best Worst Movie Okay, so this documentary makes you feel all kinds of awkward/second-hand embarrassed - just a warning.  But it is a very compelling documentary about "the worst movie ever made" Troll 2 (I watched this doc before I watched the movie for some reason but immediately watched Troll 2 after ... a movie which does not even have one troll in it... ).  This movie has become a cult classic over the years and you can see why -- the actors are so earnest & genuine, they weren't trying to be really bad or make a horrible movie, but they did.  The director of Troll 2 is this crazy Italian man who thinks he made one of the best movies of all time -- oh man, is that guy a trip.  Just watch this doc!  And catch the movie it is based on too!

IMDB info found here
official site found here

A State of Mind is probably the most interesting and insightful documentary I've watched so far this year.  Definitely my favorite.  It is a British documentary that follows two young North Korean girls as they prepare for their country's Mass Games.  The Mass Games is the world's largest choreographed gymnastics performance and it is amazing.  What is even more incredible is the look at life in North Korea.  The brain washing - children watching cartoons that feature US "imperialists" as the bad guys.  The propaganda - radios are installed in every kitchen that broadcast pro-North Korea, pro-Communism 24/7 and they cannot be turned off. The dedication to their "Great" or "Dear Leader" -- it's just, like the poster says, jaw-dropping.  This documentary made me start researching North Korea like crazy.  Please, if you don't watch any other of my recommendations, watch this one!

IMDB info found here
Official site found here

Freakonomics This documentary features segments from 6 different filmmakers based on the popular book Freakonomics.  John has read the book, & it's sequel, but I have only seen the documentary.  I highly enjoyed it.  Although I wish my least favorite (though still super interesting) segment on corruption in Sumo wrestling were a lot shorter to give length to other segments that I found more interesting - like how baby names shape the future of the child or how much money it takes kids to succeed in school.  Controversial topics are deconstructed from an economic point of view and paired with awesome visuals from gifted filmmakers.  A must-see.

IMDB info found here
Official site found here

Okay... the last documentary, you'll hate me for, but I had to throw it in the mix...

Justin Bieber: Never Say Never guys, I never caught the Bieber Fever before.  But when this gem popped up on Netflix Instant my temperature started to rise a bit!  While I'm not crazy for this Teeny Bopper Heartthrob (which is kiiiiinda unlike me) I do, after watching this documentary, think he's pretty talented and that he'll go far in life.  This has sparked heated debates between John (he's never watched the documentary, nor researched JB in any way) and I.  My argument, in summation, is Justin Bieber is more of a Justin Timberlake than a Nick Carter -- translation -- yes, he plays to his audience and is branded (much like N*Sync-ers & BSB-ers in their time) but it is backed by talent (just watch the doc to see) and a real drive that I think will make him successful.  Whoever woulda thunk Justin Timberlake would have been as crazy successful & grounded as he is today while he was Bye-Bye-Bye-ing in the late 90s?  Mark my words, the Biebs will stay successful, one way or another.  Now if he goes the crazy drug route & is still singing "Baby baby baby oooooh"  in 10 years, I'll owe John a lot of money...

IMDB info found here
Official site found here

WHAT DOCUMENTARIES ARE YOU WATCHING?!

... that's all folks!  I think I'm going to start posting my favorite movies & documentaries & books read each month on this blog.  Next up, I'll pick 5 of my favorite movies watched so far.  January & February will just have to be linked since I didn't do posts for January.

what's your obsession?

If you know me, you know that I tend to really really really LOVE the things I'm interested in - people, places, media, etc.  I've had obsessions from a very young age.  First it was New Kids on the Block - show-n-tell for me in school had me bringing in NKOTB paraphernalia while my peers were still stuck on Seasame Street - mom was embarrassed.   Then it was My So-Called Life - let's not get into the melodrama my poor mother had to endure as I dressed and acted like Angela Chase pining for Jordan Catalano a few years before this behavior was "age appropriate."  I won't even get into the dark days of my Dawson's Creek years - that obsession hit pretty scary levels that I still can't even articulate sometimes.  I've had some obsessions since (& STILL DO! HARRY POTTER?!), but none as strong as my childhood & adolescent stages.  We could probably psycho-analyze why it is a particular person, me, felt the need to hold so tightly to something, but let's not.  Moving on...

I was surfing good old NETFLIX - seriously this is probably the best thing to happen in technology in the past couple some years - for some documentaries (my favorite!) and came upon a gem, the 2008 documentary about Tiffany (ya know, the one-hit-wonder MALL girl) obsessed fans called I Think We're Alone Now.  Boy oh boy was it ... interesting.  {I'M JUST GLAD THAT NONE OF MY OBSESSIONS, NO MATTER HOW SCARY I THOUGHT THEY WERE THEN, WERE EVER THIS BAD.} This documentary follows two obsessed Tiffany stalkers - one, Jeff, even had a restraining order - and gives light into their love of the pop star.  Jeff is a 50 year old man with Asperger's Syndrome that really genuinely believes he and Tiffany have a deep connected relationship.  The other is a 30something hermaphrodite, Kelly, that believes she and Tiffany are friends and that Tiffany has helped her become who she is today.  It's an interesting documentary because it really shows the sadness surrounding these people's lives and gives you a different way of viewing these "stalkers."  I actually had to stop the movie a few times and didn't think I'd finish it - it's hard to watch in a heartbreaking way.  And it's heartbreaking in a you feel bad for these people, wish you woulda been there when they were growing up to be their friend kinda way.  Does this make sense?  Well, I finished it and I'd recommend it to you if you like obsessions and/or Pop Starlettes.  It's available for instant streaming on Netflix so give it a try!  The trailer is below.