Thursday, May 22, 2008

Back home again in Indiana

Growing up in Indiana, I was predisposed to love Indiana Jones. Of course, even without the home state shout-out, the series still would be among my all-time favorite action films. You can’t beat its combination of a classic serialized adventure story coupled with big action, bigger laughs and possibly the biggest action hero of all time. Fine – I admit it – I might have had just a little grade-school crush on Harrison Ford. And – to be fair – he totally had the hat, bullwhip and leather working for him. But I’ve also always enjoyed Indy’s leading ladies, particularly Marion Ravenwood. She was not just feisty, she was ballsy. She could out drink, out deck and out smart any guy – even Professor Jones. And that voice, heavens. It turned grown men like Newsweek writer David A. Kaplan into gushing fanboys. Seriously, in this week’s issue he wrote what boils down to an extraordinarily well-written piece of fan mail. So now, 27 years later, Karen Allen is back as Marion and looking as fantastic as ever. And when I say fantastic, I mean fantastic.As much as I’m happy to see Indy dust off his fedora, this time around I’m more excited to see Karen and new villainess Cate Blanchett donning a Ruskie uniform and “moose and squirrel” accent. (I kid, I kid – I’m sure her accent won’t be all Rocky & Bullwinkle. She has an Oscar, dammit.) Baddie Cate is so delicious I want to eat it with a very small spoon to make it last longer.So, it’s with a childlike enthusiasm that I’ll go to the theater this weekend. Heck, it’ll be all I can do to not hum the whole time. Duh-duh-duh-duh, dun-dun-dun! Duh-duh-duh-duh, dun-dun-dundundun!

10 comments:

Trinity2 said...

I can't wait to see it! Plus, I'm from Indiana, too!

Anonymous said...

Nah, never had a crush on Indy...but that didn't really matter...the movies were just so damned entertaining...it was always a roller-coaster ride without ever leaving the theater!

And Marion was always my fave when it came to the leading ladies, too.

jennifer from pittsburgh said...

I had no idea what I was getting myself into when I walked into the theater that day in 1981. I went back the next day, and the day after that, and then I joined the Pennsylvania Society for Archaeology. See how easily influenced I am? It's a miracle I escaped the clutches of the Hare Krishnas.
Anyway, we're going to see the new Indy movie on Saturday afternoon! :)

Amanda said...

Wow you know, maybe you should consider a career in music instead of writing. I mean, those duh duh duns were impeccable... ;)

And can Cate get any more attractive? Come on. Must be the oscar

Amanda

.-.-.- said...

K, I can't be the only one here noticing Ms Blanchett's... generous bosom.

Right ? Right ?

Hello ?

Becky said...

I'm looking forward to discovering if Cate can unseat Famke Janssen (Xenia Onatopp) as best villainess ever. It will be tough to beat:
"He's going to derail us *excited smirk*"

Anonymous said...

I thought it was great to see Karen Allen back...and she was great in what they let her do. I just wish they'd let her do a bit more.

In a different way, the same goes for Cate.

Anonymous said...

I've just returned home from the cinema. The film sort of lost it towards the end (for me, anyway), but Cate Blanchett was awesome. I love it when you find yourself rooting for the baddie because she's more interesting.

Angelface said...

HOLY CRAP...Karen Allen hasn't aged one bit!

I had no intentions of seeing this movie but I'd forgotten how much I liked her character and had no idea that ms. blanchett was going to be in it!

count me in!

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