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I saw Me and You and Everyone We Know last week at BAM after a quick stop at a Coldstone tucked into a corner of the Atlantic Mall.

I went into the theater having read a glowing review in Filmmaker so I had really high hopes for the movie. Miranda July is a multimedia artist and this is her first feature film. It came out of a screenwriters lab and a directors lab at Sundance and won numerous prizes at Cannes and Sundance.

Well, okay, before I'd read that Filmmaker Review and Feature, my cousins and I found ourselves in front of the IFC Center one Sunday night. A friend had dropped us off there prematurely because we had all feared going too far towards the direction of the Holland Tunnel and ending up in New Jersey where said friend lived. Me and You was playing. A week after, July's picture is on the cover of at least two magazines and the movie is mentioned in Flavorpill, a weekly email mag I subscribe to. It was like a collective message to go see the movie.

So I finally did. Movies written, directed and starred in by the same person always make me leery (hello, Vincent Gallo). I thought of it as extreme narcissism. On my way out of the movie theater, a guy gave his friend his one-sentence review, "Bad writing, bad acting, bad directing."

I liked it though. It's not going to be a classic. There are parts that make me cringe. Some scenes don't quite blend into the next one. And yet, I still think about the movie a week after seeing it. It has a plethora of beautiful images. The storyline is relatable. The characters are well thought out and endearing. I thought the actors really fit their roles, especially the 6-year-old kid who plays a 7-year-old (Listen to this priceless snippet of Brandon giving Miranda advice).

I think one of the reasons I like it is that it started out as a pet project, that turned into a script in a workshop, and then into a real movie. Suddenly, July finds herself with a producer, auditioning for actors, with 50 set people working to make her movie, being whisked off to other countries to receive awards and give interviews, getting hair and make-up done for shoots and whatnot. Yes, it's all very rags-to-riches romantic. I just like how I feel like all the people who worked on the movie gave it their all. I like how it's so heartfelt.

And in defense of the written-directed-acted-in aspect, I think all of us need validation. We all engage in self-affirming activities (hello blog). And if our self-affirmations create products that bring forth emotions from other people, then so be it.

Upcoming movies that may or may not be heartfelt as well: The Talent Given Us. Mirrormask - You have to watch this clip. From neva. Rent. The Baxter. March of the Penguins looks interesting in a documentary-of-migratory-birds way. Running with Scissors by Augusten Burroughs is currently shooting. Whew. More to come.

By the way, the Me and You soundtrack is awesome. In a check-it-out-right-now way. Yeah, if I had money, I'd buy it. After Songs for Silverman.
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Two more of GMA's Cabinet members resigned. If Gloria quits, who's going to replace her, Noli de Castro? Anyway, I'm one to comment. I'm usually apathetic; it's sad.
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It's funny how the first two letters of BOYS and BOLLOCKS are exactly the same. I'm going to sleep.