The Cat in the Hat; Kucinich Event
It’s been a long time since I’ve walked out on a movie. It has to be really, really bad for me to call it a loss and give in. Dragnet (the Tom Hanks/Dan Akroyd version) was pretty damn terrible but I stuck it out to the disappointing end. Same for American Beauty.
Not so The Cat in the Hat.
We caught a matinee on Saturday and lasted 40 minutes before giving up. It didn’t help that it was India’s first movie and we found out she’s not a movie baby. That didn’t happen until we were 30 minutes into the suckfest and were already whispering about leaving as it was obvious that Isaac was equally unimpressed. Basically, it falls victim to a horrible script and the always ill-fated combination of egotistical comedian and first-time director. Boo!
Friday was a different kind of disappointment as the Kucinich event, “Bringing Vision Back into Politics,” highlighted my biggest concern about his campaign: lack of crossover. The audience was mostly white, mostly older with a smattering of college-age kids – almost all of them the types you generally see at peace rallies (not protests, but rallies) and left-leaning non-profit benefits; all likely voted for Nader in 2000. Nothing wrong with that, per se, it’s just that they’re the choir. (NOTE: I never did write about the MeetUp I went to back in August for similar reasons.) Thanks to Dubya trying to ram his offensive energy and Medicare “legislation” through Congress, Kucinich couldn’t even be there in person, appearing via a videotaped speech and live audio from Washington, DC during a short recess in the session. He presented himself well despite the awkward format and certainly energized the audience.
The best line of the night came from the moderator, James Schamus, introducing the opening band, Harbor of Refuge – an impressive acid jazz/rock quintet – noting that none of them would be voting for Kucinich next year as the oldest member was 15, but that in four years he hoped they would still be playing their musical instruments and not carrying Bush’s weapons of war. And, of course, casting their vote to re-elect Kucinich.
It was a sobering moment that stayed with me through the night, putting into words the worst case scenario of four more years of Bush: perpetual war.
Today is another debate, this time from Iowa, and MSNBC will have it live @ 4pm, then rebroadcast at 9pm. I look forward to more Dean-bashing and hope Kucinich can break through the pack with something the media can’t ignore. Maybe bitch-slap Dean when he claims to be the anti-war candidate or something?
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