Something Else I Like - Bridesmaids.

If you haven't noticed yet, I am a lover of comedy.  I'm fascinated by a great set-up and unexpected twist in the punchline and I actually take comedy pretty seriously, if that makes any sense.  I've liked comedy for a long time but over the past year, I've gotten slightly obsessed (I use the term "slightly" very liberally here) with it.  Basically, I'm that girl that has a SUPER crush on comedy...I doodle his name on my binders at school and I've already named our future kids (Murphy Brown and Angus, if you are wondering)...but I'm not sure if he even knows I exist, know what I mean?

I've even been taking an Improv class with my friend Cat and a group of strangers at a place called The Actor's Place in Virginia Beach.  I've learned a few things - the rules of improv and so forth - and I've gotten a chance to start working on my skeelz.  I really enjoy sketch comedy over all other types so I've loved being able to develop my little repertoire of characters.

I am by no means an expert when it comes to this stuff...I don't know that I've even met novice level yet...but I do know what I like and what I don't like.

Which brings me to my next blog subject - Bridesmaids.  I've already seen it twice, once on opening night and then again because my sister is visiting me this weekend and I had to take her to see it!  This movie gets three thumbs up from me.

And here's why:
1.  Kristen Wiig is fan-freakin-tastic in this film!  This is really the first time Kristen Wiig has had a role where the story rests on her...and she carries it so well!  For the first time we see her move beyond the barely developed characters she plays on SNL to the very well-developed Annie Walker.  Not only does this character seem organic...like it could be you or someone you actually know...but she still manages to land every joke perfectly.  I enjoy Wiig's work on SNL; she has some very funny characters on the show (I'm a huge Garth and Kat fan) but she blew this role out of the water and knowing that she co-wrote the film makes me that much more impressed.  The entire story is really about her life spiraling out of control and then finding herself again and you stay interested and root for her the whole time because Wiig makes the character so likable and relatable (even though she is kind of crazy).

BTW, during the plane scene...the lady she sits by is Annie Mumolo, with whom she co-wrote Bridesmaids.

2.  Let me just tell you how uh-mazingg the rest of the cast is in this film.  First, ya got Maya Rudolph of SNL fame that does a great job as the Bride, Lillian.  Then there is Rose Byrne playing Helen, who I had never heard of before this film but a. She is gorgeous! and 2. The way her and Wiig play off one another is genius...more on that later.  Then you've got Ellie Kemper (of the Office), Wendy McClendon-Covey (of Reno 911 fame) AND Melissa McCarthy.  I can't even tell you how great McCarthy is in this movie. Oh Em Gee, her character is totally weird but McCarthy rocks every joke she puts out there.  Jon Hamm plays a great sleazeball and Chris O'Dowd plays the lovable cop for the obligatory love story.

3.  I could not get enough of the relationship dynamics in this film.  The Lillian-Annie lifelong friendship is so well done.  Usually in comedies, women seem like placeholders...it's like the writers said, "Well, we know there are women in the world so we better put some in the movie to make it seem like this movie took place on earth."  But in Bridesmaids, the women are the center focus and they managed to create a hilarious story (even though everyone knows women aren't funny) while maintaining what true female friendships are like.  Anyway, I just love the honesty of the friendship between Lillian and Annie; it felt very real, not contrived in any way.  I think almost every woman has that friend where you just take care of each other...no matter what, you just take care of each other...it's your friendship wife.  Thats what Annie and Lillian are and I thought they played it perfectly.

The OTHER female relationship that is so well portrayed in this film is the Annie-Helen relationship.  Women are jealous and territorial and it makes us all a little crazy.  Here, we have Annie who feels like Helen is encroaching on her lifelong friendship with Lillian...and Annie just can't keep up with the very perfect Helen.  The competition between the two makes the movie.  The scenes between Annie and Helen are always spot on and hilarious - never grating.  My personal favorite is the gross-out dress shop scene and the exchange between the two of them when everyone gets sick.  You just have to see it.

4.  I know a large portion of the people that read my blog are Christians and I had a couple of folks inquire as to whether this film is really "bad" or not.  I had a whole thing written about it and then I decided not to go there because movies are always a bit of a gray area with people.  If you are a Christian and you want to see this movie but are unsure just keep in mind that its a rated R comedy and its produced by the same guy that did Superbad, Step Brothers, Knocked Up, etc.  Know that the characters in the movie aren't Christians, so they aren't concerned with holiness.  Jesus didn't say anything about movies so you have to rely on what you are comfortable with.  I shall leave it at that.

Bridesmaids is the funniest movie I have seen in a long long time.  And it's one of those movies that gets funnier every time you see it.  Seriously, go watch it right now.

You heard it here first! Cheers!

Happy Birthday Tina Fey

If you've ever talked to me for more than 3 minutes, you've probably heard me talk about how much I adore Tina Fey.  Not only did she write one of my favorite movies of all time - Mean Girls, but she created and stars in/writes one of my favorite TV shows - 30 Rock. I understand not everyone in the world feels this way but seriously, she's brilliant.  The interwebz told me it's her birthday today so...Happy Birthday Tina Fey!

In celebration of her big day, I'm going to talk about a few of my favorite (Tina Fey) things.

I cannot recommend her new book Bossypants highly enough.  Not only is it hilarious but the lady speaks some truth up in that book.

This book is full of hilarious stories throughout her life as well as insight into what it means to be a woman that's funny.  The book is an easy read and she includes some priceless photos as well.  There were some hilarious women that came before Tina Fey but I think she is the most successful funny lady ever - and yet she still comes across as grounded and humble in her writing and storytelling.  I'm going to stop now because I could go on and on about how much I enjoyed reading this book...but I'll move on to something else. :)

But do yourself a favor, and read the book.

Two weeks ago, Tina Fey hosted SNL.  The episode easily got two thumbs up from me.  The jokes landed right as opposed to this past week's episode with Ed Helms where nothing landed right.  Maya Rudolph was back and the two of them performed a hilarious opening.  Check it out here -



Also, this sketch was great - Love the Bedelia character



It is unfortunate that I can't find my favorite clip from my favorite episode of 30 Rock - the episode with Oprah in it, but this is a classic Liz Lemon moment so enjoy -



Listen, I know most people don't understand why I like Tina Fey so much (except for you Cat, I know you get me) and I'm guessing you fit into one of these categories: 1. You are a male that cannot possibly comprehend that a woman can be funny - To you I say, "Good day Sir...I SAID GOOD DAY." 2. You are a male that feels threatened by funny women because you yourself are not funny. 3. You are a female that is/has always been beautiful and you never had to develop a personality; or 4. You are a female who wasn't always beautiful but the personality you had to develop turned out kinda lame - to you I say, "You should meet up with category 2, y'all would make a great couple."

In closing -

Dear Tina Fey,

You are my favorite.  I hope you have a great birthday.  Can we grab lunch sometime and invite Amy Poehler too?

See you then,
Jules


PS. Another funny lady, Catherine Reitman, does weekly movie reviews and last week, at my suggestion, she reviewed Mean Girls.  Here is the clip and check out how I get a mention at 2:14!!

Back in Action...With a Glee-cap

I'm not great at blogging...actually, I'm pretty bad at it. But I've decided to start using my blog to talk about stuff I like and stuff I don't like. Wow...I know. The topics could range from pop culture and television to legal issues and religion. So stay tuned because you never know what you're gonna get!

Tonight I want to talk about this week's episode of Glee. It got a resounding two thumbs down from me.

First things first - Glee, you are a comedy...please stick to it. Nothing is worse than when a comedy tries to have a serious message episode. As if this show did not have enough agendas already, an episode about death? really? At least the other "issues" the show addresses are comical in some way. This one fell flat. There is one single exception to a comedy having an enjoyable serious message episode - The episode of Saved By The Bell when Jessie is on caffeine pills. If you need a refresher, here it is...

As you can see, this is so wrong it's right.

Another bone I have to pick with this week's Glee is, Where the H was Brittany S. Pierce?? I only watch Glee for 2 reasons - 1. To watch Heather Morris (Brittany) flawlessly and repeatedly land hilarious lines and 2. To hear Santana sing duets with Mercedes or Fleetwood Mac songs. Neither of these were given to me this week. :(

If I could take back the hour I spent watching this week's episode, I would...and I wish I could have just watched an hour of Mercedes singing Try A Little Tenderness on repeat. Be nice to your ears and give them this treat...

And for the love of Phylicia Rashad, stop giving Kurt so many solos...if I wanted to listen to a little girl sing, I would call my 3 year old niece.

Also, I was genuinely creeped out with the whole Willy Wonka funeral.

In my heart of hearts I'm hoping this episode was purposefully so bad so that next week's finale episode will be just that much more amazing.

Let it be.

Reconciliation Agreement Post Link

Hey Folks,

Check out this link to a post I wrote for my Family Law Professor's Blog -

http://regentfamilyrestoration.blogspot.com/2011/05/lawyers-learning-how-to-facilitate.html

The post is about using a Marital Reconciliation Agreement to try to salvage clients' marriages from heading towards divorce. If you are not already asleep, give it a read!

TSA Security Solution

My name is Julie Maxey. I am a second-year law student; I have never been in trouble with the law; I pay my bills on time; and lastly (and most importantly), I have no intention of blowing up the plane I am flying home in on December 15.

I realize that it is highly unlikely that any of the TSA employees working at Norfolk International Airport will read this blog, so I am pretty sure that I will have to deal with the ridiculous new security requirements when I attempt to get on my flight. As everyone knows, I will have two choices when going through security - I can agree to have a full body scan taken (which will most likely viewed by a fifty year old, twice-divorced, mustache-sportin' man wearing glasses purchased back in 1993) OR agree to a "pat-down" by a TSA employee (most likely a forty-five year old overweight woman with a buzz cut and pants that are two sizes too small), during which I plan to ask if she thinks she should have bought me dinner first before getting to second base with me in public.

It seems like everyone in the country (besides all those lucky TSA employees) agrees that there must be better ways of protecting airline passengers (and everyone else for that matter) from terrorist attacks. Some are proposing that we embrace terrorist profiling in airport security. This would only work if we quit pretending that most terrorists don't share certain characteristics. Let me think back to the last time a twenty-four year old, blonde haired, blue eyed, Christian female student tried to blow up a jet...hmmm maybe I am forgetting something, but nothing is coming to mind. But if we start outwardly profiling people someone is sure to be offended, right? Lest we forget that stereotypes are usually stereotypes for a reason.

While profiling may be effective, I think there might be a better way even still.

And now that 94% of people reading this blog have been offended in some way, let me offer my solution to the airport security woes that face us all in this upcoming holiday season. When people are going through security, we should simply have TSA officials ask everyone the question, "Where do you see yourself in five years?" If a terrorist is planning on blowing himself up on that flight he would have no answer! I think our best bet is to catch them off-guard. Alright, maybe its not a good long-term plan but I think it could work for awhile. You have to admit, it would be better to share your 5-year plan with a TSA employee than to lose your dignity to a TSA employee.

Does anyone have any better solutions out there?

What is next?

Wow...what a historic night last night was.  It is a different feeling when your candidate of choice does not win.  Do I believe America made the right choice in electing Barack Obama? Not really, but it is the reality of our nation.  It is now time to join together as Americans and take care of the issues at hand, the economic crisis, Iraq, energy dependence, etc.

I have no doubt that Obama will be one of the best presidents in history or one of the worst, there will be no in between for him and his administration.  Honestly, I am very excited to watch it unfold.

I was not surprised in the least to see Obama win.  Republicans have been in control of the white house for the past 8 years, its the natural cycle of things in government.  Republicans should take this time to refocus the goals of the party and putting in place fresh leadership.  I am positive that the next election will be the introduction of a new invigorated republican party, one ready to attack the needs of the greatest nation on the planet.

As a Christian, I will obviously view politics differently than any non-christian.  It is imperative that we, as christians, band together and hold our leaders to a new level of holiness.  We will not accomplish that through bashing our leaders, or being apathetic in the political world.  We do it through love.  Biblically, that is the only way the world will know for sure we are christians, the love we show for one another.  Since God is love, He is the source, true love is not found outside of Him.  I am saying all that to say I believe these next four years can be great years for the church, if we will push to it.  If we will seek justice and freedom, living holy lifestyles I believe the Lord will give the church favor.  He did it for Daniel and Babylon was changed.  This may make me sound like a fool to you but if possessing hope makes me sound foolish you can have fun watching America go down the toilet...I'm going to fight for it.

In conclusion,  I did not vote for Obama, but I am eager to see what is next for the nation.  If you think a move of God will be stopped by a nation's leader, it will only happen if you do not pray.  I am hopeful for our nation and I am stirred like never before to see justice prevail and freedom protected.  Thanks for reading...comment all you want : )

Palin-O-Lantern!

So I can't believe it has been so long since I've blogged.  I guess I have been so caught up with law school applications and a trip to Texas that I have neglected this thing.  Well,  election day is approaching quickly so in order to show some support for the McCain/Palin campaign I carved Sarah Palin's face into a pumpkin.

Apparently I had a pumpkin carving talent all these years and I never knew about it!  This was my first time carving a pumpkin and I was so proud of my work!  I hope you enjoy the pics!