just(in) rash(ida) mi(la), se(gel)

"Pardon? What's going on here?"

I've been watching too many movies On Demand, I guess.

"Well, no doubt about it. It seems that only last week you were watching "Bruce Almighty" and "Groundhog Day", followed by "Forgetting Sarah Marshall" yet again."

Hey, now, c'mon! That first viewing of it was research for which island of Hawaii to visit!

"Sure. We tell ourselves what we want to believe..."

Plus, it was two weeks ago, not last week!

"Yes, dear. Could we possibly address my earlier question?"

Oh, you mean about the post title?

"Yes, please."

Well, it's a bit of joke, right? If you omit the parts in parentheses, and say it quickly, it sounds like something Al Capone might have said.

"Just rash me, see."

Yeah, that's almost it, but really slur over that middle part, like 'rush' instead of the 'a' sound.

"So you want I should talk like a gangsta?"

No, but I would like to hear the gangster version...

"Funny girl."

Hey, that's "Funny Lady" to you, buster!

"Okay, okay, fine. Would you mind, ma'am, explaining the names you used above?"

No, I wouldn't mind that at all, especially as you've asked so nicely. No doubt you've recognized Mila Kunis and Jason Segel, both of whom would be top of mind because of the 2008 movie set in O'ahu.

"Correct-o-mundo."

Well, this morning I watched "Friends With Benefits", a 2011 rom-com with Mila and Justin Timberlake. I had started it one day last week, but wasn't in the mood for it.

"I bet it was when you saw the break-ups in the very first scene."

Well, yeah, that, and Andy Samberg. I don't know why, he just creeps me out. Fortunately, when I clicked on the movie, I was asked if I wanted to resume or to start over. 'Resume' it was! That meant I had essentially skipped over that earlier stuff, as if I had walked in a little late to the movie in the cinema. Oddly, I don't recall seeing this one in the multiplexes. Not at all. Isn't that odd?

"Yeah, maybe a little. Then again, you see a lot of movies, but you don't see all of them. Sometimes, you're at baseball games or out of town, n'est-ce pas?"

True enough, I don't catch them all on the big screen. This one was fine for the little screen, though. It was mostly just soft porn, people making love like sea otters, that sort of thing.
(smile)

"Hahahaha hahaha! I love that line! That was spoken by Bill Murray! I also like the 'Do you ever have déjà vu?' bits!"

Did you know that question was spoken three times in the movie? It was! My favorite response was from Mrs. Lancaster, that she could "check with the kitchen."

"Hahahaha hahaha! Just wonderful!"

Yes, yes. I'm so glad I was able to catch that one twice, too, in the last week or so.

"But weren't you talking about the Mila-Justin flick of today?"

Sure, you betcha. So, where was I? Hmmm... oh, yeah! As I was watching it, I kept getting all these déjà vu vibes about Mila's character. Seriously, it was as if someone saw her in "FSM" and said, hey, let's keep that and just pair her with someone new.

"You got a 'for instance' to go with that claim?"

Not only do I have one, but I have several! In both movies, she's the initial point of contact at a prestigious place for the guy who has just come to a new place. In "FWB", she's the headhunter greeter for GQ; she's the concierge for Turtle Bay Resort in "FSM". In both, she has no boyfriend and she had a bad break-up, so she's available for love, but quite skittish. In both, she knows everyone and she knows the best places to go and everyone thinks she's fun. Both movies also have great music, scenic locales, and famous funny side characters, like Woody Harrelson in this one, as an openly gay coworker. Get this: he even uses the phrase "strictly dickly" for his sexual preferences!

"Wow! That's one of your favorites! You've been saying that for decades! Like, ever since you were stationed at Imperial Beach!"

I have! But I couldn't find it's true origin when I google'd it. They had it showing up in print around 2010. Odd, right?

"Yes, it is, especially for a phrase that's been in rotation for at least three decades. So, what else did the two movies have in common? Anything?"

Jason Segel!

"You're kidding! What role did he have in FWB?"

Get this: Mila and Justin are watching a movie on tv and the movie has Jason and Rashida Jones in a romantic comedy where he ends up proposing to her. So, after the movie, I look up what movie that was... and it didn't exist! It was just made up as the movie within "Friends With Benefits"! Jason and Rashida had both been in "I Love You, Man", but her love interest in that was his buddy.

"Whoa... freaky! Are they together in real life, maybe?"

Not that I know. They were in three movies together, over about a three-year span, and that seems to have been all. You know how it is, sometimes you'll have a carryover of crew from one film to another. Like the imaginary band, Infant Sorrow, being in FSM and then "Get Him To The Greek", both written by Jason Segel.

"Oh, yeah, I'm familiar with that phenomenon. The Marvel Universe is all about interconnection and carryover of characters."

How funny that you mentioned those movies! You know how they always have little snippets during and after the credits, so you have to stay after the movie itself is done?

"Well, sure. That's when they give you breadcrumbs to chew on and whet your appetite for the next movie in the series."

Exactly.

"So you're saying this rom-com did that?"

It did! It was quite amusing, too, and really surprised me! So, the credits have finished and I've read all the music in the soundtrack, which, as you know, is pretty much the last thing listed.

"Yeah, yeah, I follow."

And as I was waiting for the screen to fade to black, it doesn't! Instead, there's Mila and Justin, sitting on the couch and watching the same scenes again in the imaginary Jason and Rashida film, and talking about it... that was hilarious!

"And..."

That's all, it just struck me as so funny that a rom-com would have a dénouement after the credits.

"Odd, yes, but not unheard of. Remember the one for "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", with Matthew Broderick admonishing the audience to go home? That was adorable!"

Oh, yes! Most delectable!

"Indeed. Now, let's wrap this up, shall we? You have a Tuesday-with-Kevin, don't you?"

That I do! Okay, later, chica!

"Hasta la bye-bye, as they said in Panama!"

(smile)