Friday- Still fighting off a cold, I went to Pho Pasteur with Carolina and ate a giant bowl of spicy soup for dinner. At home, I watched Dreamgirls, the movie adaptation of the musical based on the Supremes. Three young women from Detroit get their big break by singing backup for a well-known soul performer James "Thunder" Early, played by Eddie Murphy, who probably would have won as Oscar for the role had he not decided to follow it up with Norbit. Under the guidance of their ambitious manager Curtis, played by Jamie Foxx, the girls become pop stars, and the drama and backstabbing begins. The performances were all excellent- Jennifer Hudson does have an amazing voice and was perfectly cast as Effie, although thought her character was a little too stereotypical Big Angry Black Woman. I've heard people criticize Beyoncé, but I thought she was also a natural for her role as the pretty one with less talent but more marketability, kind of like how Eminem did a great job portraying a white rapper from Detroit in 8 Mile. Anika Noni Rose is the underrated Dreamgirl- her part wasn't as big, but her subtlety went a long way. Overall, I liked the movie but thought it could have been better. The musical format didn't appeal me- I would have preferred to keep all of the songs as performances or rehersals, and not have the characters occasionally burst into musical dialogue. I also thought the tempo started off strong and dragged through the middle of the film, only to be picked up by the reappearance of Effie towards the end.
Oh, I finally joined Netflix. If you have an account and want to do be Netfilx friends, drop me a line in the comments. I'll show you my queue if you show me yours.
Saturday- Went to a Mexican-themed surprise party for Lori’s 30th birthday. Good times. Learned what happened when adults hit piñatas with baseball bats instead of whiffle bats- the excitement factor goes up exponentially. I continued on with the 5 de Mayo theme by having a delicious taco dinner, complete with muchas margaritas, at Lisa’s house.
Sunday- I attended the first birthday party for the son of my friends Carlos and Pilar. No piñata, but lots of food and booze. You know you’re getting older when there are children and babies at the same party as you. I ran some errands in Framingham and caught the Suns vs. Spurs (a.k.a The Real NBA Finals) game with my dad. I have complete point guard envy. Forget about Durant or Oden, the Celtics should trade whatever it takes to get a top-notch veteran point guard. Steve Nash certainly looked like an MVP, and I bet if his gushing nose wound hadn’t kept him on the bench, the Suns would have won. In other news, Roger Clemens signs with the Yanks. As if Red Sox Nation needed another reason to despise either of those two parties. I hope he comes to Fenway and serves up meatballs.
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