31 May 2005

Twice the Twice the Fun

Suh-weet!

I got to spend Memorial Day in the company of the Lagemæ again! They treated me to a movie in honor of my birthday and then took me out to dinner! I'm either the luckiest or the free-loadin'-est human on the planet! I've yet to decide.

We went to see Madagascar, about which I'll admit to having had major reservations. It was, in my pre-movie-viewing opinion, the best option only 'cuz it was serving as a substitute for more serious fare. I wanted to see Crash and a couple of other movies, but just wasn't in the mood -- it being a sunny summer holiday and all -- for a depressing-ass filmic experience.

Well, I'm here to eat a little crow, my friends. I found Madagascar thoroughly delightful. I'm generally very suspicious of DreamWorks/PDI animated movies. I'm the only person in the whole world who wasn't blown away by Shrek and actually didn't like Shrek II. The thing about them is that they're generally really pretty to look at (kudos to all the artists out there in DW/PDI Land), but they generally lack any sort of heart -- I'm never sucked into the story emotionally like I am with just about any Pixar flick. My least favorite Pixar movie is probably Toy Story II, and that thing just plain kicks ass!

So it was not just a pleasant surprise, it was delightful. The thing that I dislike about DW/PDI movies, generally, is that they go so out of their way to cram in pop-culture references that I generally walk away feeling as though most of them ended up in the story just so the creators could feel pleased with themselves with how clever they are. And people who're smart and are generally pleased with how smart they are annoy the living hell outta me.

Anyway, this one was different. The American Beauty reference practically made me pee my pants.

After the show, we went to dinner at P.F. Chang's, which I always enjoy. The food's good, the service is very personable, and it doesn't hurt that they seem to hire a collection of the most comely young people in Pittsburgh. God bless the Chinese, say I.

It's days like this, you know, that remind us why we work.

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