Considering the Trip Day 5

It finally happened today- the kids woke up at 7 am MST.  We had a busy day ahead of us.  We needed to get the kids alittle something to tide them over to the brunch at the church.  You know kids can’t really wait when they are hungry.  So we went down and had “first breakfast”- a bowl of cereal.  I went retro with Corn Pops while they had the Special K with berries.  Then I took the stir-crazy mob of 2 on a walk to the local golf course.  They love looking at the cacti.  I also pulled a super ball out of a palm tree and they spent 5 minutes tossing it into the netting by one of the holes.  Gotta love kids!

We then headed to the brunch to meet more members of the congregation.  It was a good time.  I enjoyed some yummy salad and hash browns, and the first time I’ve had Quiche in about 20 years.  The kids then went outside while CavWife and I interacted with people.  I enjoyed talking with a World Harvest missionary from London who is home on furlough.  Then (as CavWife says) I held court, talking with a bunch of guys about R.C. Sproul, Cornelius Van Til, apologetics, the Marrow Controversy and a variety of other subjects they brought up.  Before we knew it it was after noon and time to head back.

The kids were tired from running around, but we knew they would need something to tide them over until dinner since second breakfast was at 10.  We picked up some popcorn chicken at KFC, ate and put those nubbers down to sleep.  I took a nap too.

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Considering Doubt

Doubt is an interesting period piece set in the 1960’s shortly after JFK’s assassination.  It takes place in an inner city parish.  Philip Seymour Hoffman plays the parish priest who finds himself in a battle with a Pharisaical nun (Meryl Streep) how serves as principle of the Catholic school.  It plays, in part, on the fear of the pedophile scandal to set up the Javier-like persecution of the priest by the nun.

Without proof, she is certain he is a child molester.  As a result of her dislike of him, she misinterprets all his actions.  It is a depiction of how dangerous our “certainty” can be when it is not grounded in reality.  Our subjectivism easily runs rampant, destroying the lives of others in the process.  Even (especially?) the life of the moral crusader

Caught in the tussel is the young boy he’s accused of abusing.  And a young nun (Amy Adams) who teaches at the school.  She is the one who initially thinks something is wrong, triggering the principal’s crusade. But she wants a different kind of certainty.

The movie leaves one in doubt, of a kind.  At the end you aren’t sure exactly what the priest has done.  He’s guilty of something, afraid she will dig it up.  But it seems not to be what she accuses him of doing.  Yet you see some of the actions/behaviors that created the priest scandal.

Also at work is the conflict, in the mid-60’s between the pre-Vatican II and Vatican II movements.  The nun represents the old school, and the priest wants to see a new wind blow through the Catholic Church.  This is part of why she despises him and willingly entertains these suspicions.  I think about our current political context where some people are easily smeared (falsely) due to their affiliation.

So you have a compelling story, and a terrific cast of actors combining to create an exceptional film that opens the door to think about how we really view things.

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Considering Paul Blart

In Paul Blart: Mall Cop, comedian Kevin James reunites with long-time collaborator Nick Bakay.  What emerges is something akin to John Candy’s Only the Lonely meets Die Hard. James has the sensitivity of Candy, but the strong physical humor of Belushi and Farley.

Paul Blart is a loveable loser.  He’s a mall cop who can’t seem to make the NJ State Police force due to his hypoglycemia.  His ex-wife only married him to get her green card, so he lives at home with his mom and daughter.  He exudes shame, confronted with his failures, seemingly, at every moment.  He seeks comfort in food, which just adds to his shame (this is how addictions work).

But Paul’s heart is taken with young and beautiful Amy who works at one of the kiosks.  He tries to be himself, and woo her- but mistakenly gets drunk and acts the fool.

All this leads up to Black Friday, and a plot to rob the mall Paul guards.  He uses his wits and knowledge of the mall to slowly subdue them.  Like McClain, he’s the inside man talking to his friend on the outside while the specialists remain clueless.  He refuses to escape to safety so he can rescue Amy from the robbers.

This is a silly romp that does not take itself seriously.  What results is a fun little movie that requires little of the audience.  But, this shame-filled man becomes a hero.  The self-important people who belittled him folded under the pressure, but love drove Paul Bart on to risk his life to save others.  So, in the silliness there is a message.  It’s not who people think you are that matters, but who you really are.  Enjoy the silliness.

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