My biggest concern about attending film festivals (and tonight is closing night of the Boston IFF) is always that the indie flicks will either be too experimental in nature (I hate experimental films) or too whimsiquirkilicious (a particular fear, now dispelled, that I had about 500 Days of Summer). I’m generally almost always pleasantly surprised that most of the offerings don’t either bore me to death or gag me with quirk.
That said, Adam — which stars Hugh Dancy and Rose Byrne — looks almost exactly like the kind of movie that might make me upchuck glitter and moldy peaches. It looks cute, but maybe just a little too twee. It’s about a girl who falls in love with a guy that has Aspergers. I dunno: It’s just a little too much, you know.
Where the fuck did 'twee' come from and who can I hurt for putting it into common parlance?
Posted by: twig at April 28, 2009 10:53 AM
How come pretty girls in movies never fall in love with 50ish guys with Meniere's Syndrome?
Not that I know anyone like that ...
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at April 28, 2009 10:57 AM
Now wait just a goddam minute... is that the Commissioner from the Wire?
Posted by: missh at April 28, 2009 11:02 AM
Oh yea, wayyyy too twee. But I kind of love Hugh Dancy-pants. Seriously, he's adorable and his geekiness in Jane Austen Book Club was sooooo hot.
Posted by: Kayanne at April 28, 2009 11:06 AM
Peter Gallagher's eyebrows are hypnotizing. They just draw you in like... like a moth to a moth attractor.
Posted by: jM at April 28, 2009 11:12 AM
Twee was a genre of largely good music in the mid to late 1990s. The songs were sort of cute bubblegum, but without all the polish, and was best executed merged with shoegaze. Some awesome twee bands from the era include Cub, Go Sailor, Tiger Trap, Velocity Girl, the Delightful Little Nothings, etc.
Kimya Dawson, lead singer of one of the absolute worst twee bands ever, the Moldy Peaches, saw a surge in popularity with her contributions to the Juno soundtrack, consisting largely of experiments in just how fucking bad music can get before teenage hipsters won't like it anymore.
And now people want to tarnish the name of all that was a genuinely fun and good-natured musical movement in the 90s and ascribe it to a shit trend in cinema. Which, honestly, fucking sucks. Please come up with a different word for these faux-cutesy indie movies! Twee is already taken by some really talented bands.
Less than intriguing premise but it stars Rose Byrne so I am torn. Might as well throw it in the Netflix que now because I'll never remember this movie exists in 6 months.
Aw, what can I say? I'm a sucker for quirk. And feel-good movies.
On the other hand, I couldn't even make it to see Adventureland when it was at one of the local theatres recently, so it's not as if I'll end up seeing this one either.
Sigh, I do miss the time in my life (at least 10 years ago, now) when I saw movies/rented videos all the time.
Posted by: tamatha at April 28, 2009 11:26 AM
PLEASE will someone solve the mystery for me. What the eff is "twee"?
Posted by: Whorish Mouth at April 28, 2009 11:54 AM
If you have to ask, you already know the answer.
By the way twee is an adjective, not a noun. You can technically never have ANY quantity of it.
Posted by: AM at April 28, 2009 11:57 AM
I knew a kid in college who was majorly socially awkward, and my fellow psych majors & I decided he had Asperger's. (One of the side effects of majoring in Psych is you tend to make diagnoses about everyone you know.) His symptoms definitely did NOT make him seem twee or quirky. I'm interested in seeing this movie just to see how they portray the character's disorder.
Posted by: Melissa at April 28, 2009 12:02 PM
PETER GALLAGHER. His magnificent eyebrows are finally getting work again. I'm so glad.
My family has diagnosed my brother with Aspergers, mostly because he is a pain in the ass with no apparent social skills. He is almost 60, has never been married, has no kids because he hates them, and his long time girl friend puts up with him for who the fuck knows what reason. He is brilliant, but he has trouble carrying on a conversation that's not about him or something that he's interested in. He didn't acknowledge Christmas or other's birthdays with cards or presents for years, even when receiving those things from others. He just doesn't get being nice for the sake of being nice. He learned to do things, eventually, to ward off the negative response, but it took years of conditioning. So, thinking somebody like this is cute or fun to be around? Uh, no.
Posted by: slower lower at April 28, 2009 12:11 PM
At least this movie gives an answer why a sweet, pretty, middle class boy wouldn't be taken already. That always bugged me about romcoms--if hot rich people can't get a date what hope do the rest of us have?
Posted by: Inaras at April 28, 2009 12:16 PM
YUCK! I'd have to drink a whole lot of medicine to make that sugar go down.
(my apologies in advance for a slight topical derailment to address the question of why people put up with jerks when it seems to have no advantages whatsoever)
slower lower, it could be a decent sex life. Some people, ahem, might consider almost every potential partner to be a probable pain-in-the-ass anyways, and so therefore have a concise list of requirements that does not resemble anything sold by Hallmark.
Posted by: replica at April 28, 2009 12:37 PM
My brother has Asperger's and is considered by many to be a big jerk. That said, I would love for him to have a girlfriend.
Posted by: Betty at April 28, 2009 12:42 PM
Replica, you nailed it. I've actually had that conversation with my not-quite-SIL, and she admitted that was the case. They live a few hours apart in their own houses and see each other most weekends. I'm sure that not living with him helps. They hooked up at their tenth high school reunion after hating each other in high school. They've been together over 30 years. We credit her with socializing him. She is an amazing woman whose brief first marriage left her with some issues. It works for them, so, who's to say?
Posted by: slower lower at April 28, 2009 12:44 PM
It's probably because I'm ten/eleven years in with a total tool...there's so very many issues, but...honestly - every other man I ever dated had issues galore as well....not to mention that my guy has to put up with me too. On balance, a decent um, 'non spiritual', connection can do a world of good chilling fools out.
Posted by: replica at April 28, 2009 12:59 PM
By the way twee is an adjective, not a noun. You can technically never have ANY quantity of it.
I disagree. I find that Pajiba regularly brings the awesome.
Posted by: Sweetie Dahling at April 28, 2009 1:03 PM
I'll see this if only because my brother is an Aspie and it's nice to see them actually getting some love, however treacly.
I'm prepared to agree with the other people with Aspies in their families that on the whole it does make them more of a pain in the arse, but its not all bad. I've met some Aspies not unlike Hugh Dancy's character only with, you know, some flaws.
At least this film doesn't appear to be pulling the trick most films do with Aspie characters and just making them savant geniuses like everybody with Autism has a brian the size of a planet or a superhuman talent.
Posted by: Gumble at April 28, 2009 1:41 PM
Twee has been around long before the musical genre. Here is what dictionary dot com says:
adjective Chiefly British. affectedly dainty or quaint: twee writing about furry little creatures.
Origin:
1900–05; appar. reduced from tweet (perh. via pron. twiʔ), mimicking child's pron. of sweet
Posted by: canology at April 28, 2009 1:41 PM
Canology, you just became my new best friend. Thank you.
Posted by: Whorish Mouth at April 28, 2009 1:44 PM
Fair enough. It was still perfected as a music genre, and either way doesn't deserve to be forever associated with a generation of Juno knockoffs. Hell, can't we just use the word "Juno" instead?
How come pretty girls in movies never fall in love with 50ish guys with Meniere's Syndrome?
--(the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy)
For that matter, how come cute guys never fall for 30ish gals with bilateral vestibular disorder?
I think it may be all the falling down. And the drunken walking. Actually I think that might be a fun premise for a movie. It worked for Lucille 2 on AD.
Posted by: DeadBessie at April 28, 2009 2:04 PM
I have a friend with Aspergers. For years before we knew he was an Aspie, we all just assumed he was from another planet. I love that he can be somewhat jerky, yet without any malice (or insight) at all.
Posted by: MissNev at April 28, 2009 2:13 PM
It was good to hear Rose Byrne say, "Adam, I would like you to hug me."
I've wanted that for a long time.
Posted by: adam at April 28, 2009 3:03 PM
Gonna pass, but I did laugh out loud at the Forrest Gump line.
My boyfriend has Aspergers. Neither one of us is quite sure what to do with this trailer.
Posted by: Kevin at April 28, 2009 4:44 PM
I usually find myself quirk-adjacent...but I laughed legitimately at the "Einstein, Mozart" bit. Plus you've got Burrell from The Wire and the very gorgeous Rose Byrne.
Posted by: stryker1121 at April 28, 2009 6:43 PM
a) Fuck you all, twee kicks ass. (I happen to think Beat Happening is one of the greatest bands of all time.)
b) As mentioned above, it stars Rose Byrne. She could spend 90 minutes dropping kittens into a woodchipper, and I would still stare at her longingly.
Posted by: Opie Curious at April 28, 2009 7:06 PM
Fuck yeah... Commissioner Burrell!
Posted by: Lenny at April 28, 2009 7:24 PM
Can everyone stop referring to people with Aspergers as "Aspies?" It's so freaking annoying. It's not like they're a particularly yappy breed of litle dog or something. They are people who HAVE Aspergers, it's not the name of their species.
And to be clear, I'm not being PC here. I know only one person with Aspergers, definitely high on the spectrum, and I find him very trying at times. I just find the term sort of, well, twee, if you will. Just stupid. Annoying. We don't call people with Autism "Auties," as though it were a cute nickname like Mitzie or Buffy. How did this term come to be popular? Make it go away. It's dumb.
Posted by: tinmo at April 28, 2009 9:27 PM
From what I've been reading here, how about we call them Aspholes?
OK, that was mean, even for me. Giving myself a timeout.
Posted by: , (the commenter formerly known as bucdaddy) at April 29, 2009 12:55 AM
Canology, you just became my new best friend. Thank you.
Posted by: Whorish Mouth at April 28, 2009 1:44 PM
I can think of few things better than being the best friend to a whorish mouth. Yay!
Posted by: canology at April 29, 2009 4:08 AM
What is the first song in the trailer. Not the second one by the Fruit Bats, but the first song. I have been trying to look it up and had no luck. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks
i think that trailer answered your question.
next.