some things take time .. the secret life of walter mitty

[frenchy]

i watched this movie tonight and i have to admit while it was kinda cute here and there, for the first 45 minutes or so i was thinkin i could probably be doin somethin else .. but then somethin happened and it was like dorothy in the wizard of oz when she walks out into the color of oz from the drab black and white of kansas . kristen wiig appeared in mitty's fantasy singin a space oddity ( and in the film she did a pretty good job just her on a 12 string guitar ) i tried to find a clip of it from the movie but they all have a different version . and believe me i checked .. all of em .. and it was that clip and that song that turned the whole movie around for me .. up to that point mitty was just fantasizin his life away and he had a quick choice to make .. get on the helicopter .. or not .. and if you see the film you'd see how that song spurred him to make that choice . from there it was like a big hill and you're goin downhill really fast on a skateboard .. as a fater of mact it was exactly like that .. but the real kicker was saved for the very very end .. and it took me completely by surprise .. all the while you're thinkin this is quite an entertainin movie for somethin that started off kinda slow .. and at the end they switch gears and you see it really has a heart .. anybody else see this movie ??

 

[crestofwaves]

I taught "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty" to freshmen for years, so I  had no desire to see this movie.  I'm thinking it is not like the short story by Thurber other than the guy is a dreamer and those dreams are triggered by what he  happens to be doing in real life at the moment.

[frenchy]

i saw the original version with danny kaye so long ago i don't really remember it so i can't say this was exactly like that .. i can say it was different because our protagonist in this version works for life magazine and his job is to archive all the negatives for all the pics they use .. and life is gonna go digital .. online only .. no more actual magazine .. so the story has been updated somewhat .. and even if you taught this story to freshmen for years i think this version will surprise you .. i'll admit it started out kinda slow but it did get much better .. and i thought the ending was superb .. it made the whole thing worthwhile .. it actually made me think back to a job i had when i was in my 20's .. i worked there for 6 years so at the time it was the longest i had ever stayed anyplace .. and that counted places i lived , schools i had gone to , i mean everything .. and the company bought out another company that was 10 times bigger than they were . more of a case of jonah swallowin the whale than the original story .. so they had to scramble to make ends meet cause they really bit off more than they could chew .. i was in management but truth be told i was not in the upper ranks.. and the funny thing about it i was offered the job in management and i turned it down 3 times till the vice president cornered me and asked me why i didn't want to advance myself .. i told him i was happy where i was and because there was a union i had job security .. he said job security ?? if thats a problem let me tell you as long as i'm here i promise you they'll never ever touch you . and then he offered me a lot of money , i said i'd think about it and he offered me more .. and more .. and more till i finally said yes .. well when things got tight guess who was one of the first people to get the axe ?? nope not me .. the vice president.. so my dutch uncle was now gone .. and every week they'd let someone in management go .. i thought as much as i make they still ain't gonna get to me .. i pretty much ran the place .. well never bullshit yourself into thinkin you're indispensible .. cause you ain't .. nobody is .. the world goes on anyway no matter what .. and here's the point to this story ( you were probably wonderin if i had one or not i bet and how does it tie into this movie ) well i do have one .. and it does tie in .. when they gave me my severence pay and said toodoloo to me i didn't shed a tear .. i smiled and left with my head held high .. it didn't faze me then .. well, when i saw the last scene in this movie it all came floodin back .. and it made me cry .. it might not effect you the same way cause you might not see the parallels in your own life to this . or then again , you might ..but it had an effect on me .. it made me think how fast life can go by .. and how you can see your memories in your minds eye , or in a photo .. but you can't reach back and touch them .. only feel them .. and that life is made up of all these moments .. snapshots in time .. you live them only once , and then they're gone.. except in your minds eye , or a photo .. did i mention i had my own photo business .. a custom darkroom , a portrait studio , 60 minute photo .. the works .. i captured quite a few moments .. and  developed even more .. anyway , maybe this movie won't effect you like it did me .. but if you saw it to the very end all that i typed will make more sense to you than it does now ..      

[crestofwaves]

You are such a good raconteur, Frenchy.  I read every word you write.

[frenchy]

does that mean you're gonna watch this movie now to the end to see what i was talkin about cresty ?? you know the old sayin is you can't teach an old dog new tricks but i have to disagree .. i see things all the time and its a learnin experience for me .. like don henley sang all the things i thought i knew i have to learn again ..been tryin to get down to the heart of the matter and my will gets weak and my thoughts seem to scatter but i think its about . forgiveness .. forgiveness.. even if even if you don't love me anymore ..  it might just give you a whole new angle to view this mitty guy that you're so sick of .. or .. maybe not .. but that last scene .. the lost negative .. the final cover . it made the whole movie worthwhile .. altho kristen wiig singin david bowies space oddity was a great scene too .. i just love a girl who can sing and play an instrument .. those are the ones that can get me in so much trouble .. soooo much trouble ..they suck me in everytime ..