Point of Pride

Wow, three posts in one day! WTF? WTF indeed...

Okay, so it's after midnight, so technically it's the next day, but I haven't gone to bed yet so nyeh!

I may, in fact, be a bit tipsy at the moment, but whatever...

At any rate, the moment that spawned this post occurred a few moments ago as I was sitting in front of the TV looking for something to unwind in front of for a few minutes before climbing into bed. I saw a preview for the new movie "Jumper," and I flashed back to the first time I saw a preview for this film.

Has anyone else seen one? If not, imagine one of those typical sci-fi/action movie previews full of really fast cuts that show tiny bits of the most exciting scenes in the movie, but only give a tiny idea of plot and an even tinier idea of who the actual actors are.

Yet the first time I saw it there was perhaps a 3 second shot of a guy with an Irish accent and I immediately said "Hey! That's the kid from Billy Elliot!", and a quick trip to the IMDb proved that I was, in fact, correct.

And, I gotta say it, I was fucking proud.

Because in my family? We do this All. The. Time.

We'll be watching a movie, or a tv show, or a 30 second commercial for deoderant, and we'll see a familiar face. And it immediately becomes an aural collage of

"Hey! That's that guy from _____ !"

"No it's not, it looks like him, but it's really the guy who played ______ in ______ ... you know, the one who showed up for 2 seconds right before that building blew up? And then he died?"

"No Way!"

"No!!! Really!! I'd wager my first born!!"

"Damnit, I am your first born! And you're wrong!!"

And so on and so forth until someone peels their drunken ass from the couch and goes to the IMDb to verify or deny the claim.

Sometimes someone is right, and earns gloating rights at least until my next visit to The Sticks. Sometimes we're both wrong and it really is some obscure actor who never got another job but will live off those three seconds of fame for the rest of his life.

But those moments when you are right? When you pulled the most obscure movie connection known to man completely out of your ass with a magnifying glass, a pair of forceps, and sheer, blind, faith?

Those moments, my friend, are fucking sweet.

Yes indeed.