elainew32

This dog tells you almost from the beginning that he wants to become a human in his next life, but remember everything of his "dogness". . .He also expresses things that are more complicated philosophically than I believe most humans would. I never felt the usual connection I feel with dogs in these movies, because I felt this not really a dog. But that isn't why I walked out of the movie. . .I thought Milo Ventimglia was wonderful in his role, and the other actors were good as well, but the movie was so disgustingly depressing by the middle, that I didn't even care how it ended. . .I just couldn't take anymore unfairness and grief, so I left and felt better very soon!

I was told I had to see this film by a fellow record collector. As it turns out, Steve Buscemi's record collector in it only collects 78's, but otherwise has many of the classic earmarks of the record collector, well-displayed in an authentic performance. Turns out his record room was based on the author's own . . .I love the scene in which he is trying to sell some of his seconds to an older finicky collector who will have nothing to do with even a hairline crack, even though the record is very rare and otherwise in fine shape. . .We all know collectors like that! Although I was steered to this movie because of the vignettes of the record collector & dealer, this movie is really an under-appreciated gem. One might call it a dark comedy, one the writer-director describes as equal amounts of funny and pain, but the characterizations, dialogue, etc. are spot on, and I felt that each character, even the minor ones, were authentic. Look for a small role by Brian George as the middle-eastern owner of the Sidewinder Convenience Store. . .he is probably best known for having played Babu Batt on Seinfeld, the middle-eastern character who opened up a restaurant in Jerry's neighborhood, changed the cuisine at Jerry's suggestion, only to have the restaurant then fail, and who got deported, because his renewal Visa was trapped in Jerry's mailbox when Elaine didn't check the mail while Jerry was gone.

The story is basically about 2 girls just graduating from high school. They are 2 of the many high school misfits, who seem to be down on most everyone else and everything in the world, but one of them, Becca, is starting to grow up a little and accept her responsibilities in the world (played by Scarlett Johnansen), getting a job, moving into an apartment, whereas the other one, really the main character, Enid, played by Thora Birch, can't figure out what she wants to do with her life and seems to only be able to see the negative side, losing her job by spieling out her negative views of everything on the customers. Both of them have a thing about following people and playing jokes on people, just to see what they will do, while they stand in the shadows and make fun of them. . .And that is how they happen on to the older record collector, played by Steve Buscemi. . .But as Enid silently mocks him, she develops a grudging admiration for him, because he accepts who he is, as a misfit and on one level is happy with himself about it, even though on other levels he doesn't have the happiness of "fitting in", but he also doesn't really want to fit in.