Thoughts on The Great Gatsby

I was actually prepared to hate this remake. I’m not a big frog-man ehm Tobey Maguire fan and I find Carey Mulligan uber boring. A normal looking Leo was the only saving grace this movie seemed to offer. That, and the sweet modern tunes of today thrown into a roaring 20’s backdrop. The whole new music in an old setting thing has been done, but I’m always a fan so whatevs.

An off-putting factor of this film is that it’s 2 hours and 20 minutes. However, I figured that I’ve spent 3 hours watching a young Leo race around the Titanic, so why couldn’t I endure this?

Instead of reviewing this flick, I’m just going to touch on some points of interest. Because now we all know that I’m the worst at reviewing movies.

Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan is not what I expected. 

I was ready for a droopy Daisy snore fest but instead I received magical Daisy chain of wonder. Lol what is that sentence? In the 1974 version of The GG, Mia Farrow played a selfish Daisy. And a very sweaty one. Is it just me, or was everyone in that movie dripping? However, in the 2013 version, Carey Mulligan plays the Daisy that everyone wants to be. She’s a relatively happy character even though her life is in shambs (shambles). It was a different take on Daisy, but I dug it. I also totally dug that Ms. Mulligan beat out a bunch of other actresses for the role including the one that shall not be named (Blake Lively). I don’t acknowledge her existence after she married my other husband Ryan Reynolds.

The trailers were misleading.

Didn’t the previews make this movie seem like an post-modern celebration filled with Jay-Z music and obnoxious flappers? Yes, it did. It was actually much calmer than I was expecting. Which is good. I really really really loved how Baz “Why is your name Baz” Luhrmann depicted the preppiness of East Egg and the new money castles of West Egg. My favorite scenes were when the audience first met Daisy in an ethereal tangle of sheer curtains and when Nick, Gatsby, and Daisy spent the day together, gallivanting around Gatsby’s property to the musical accompaniment of Lana del Rey. Perfection.

The minor characters were just as good as the main characters.

Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker

I feel like some casting directors get ballsy when it comes to choosing smaller characters by selecting wild cards (Isla Fisher plays Mrytle Wilson, wife of the mechanic) or take chances on nobodies (Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker, a top female golfer/best friend of Daisy). That being said, everyone really proved their worth, especially Joel Edgerton (who played Tom Buchanan, Daisy’s super rich husband) and Jason Clarke (as George Wilson, the mechanic stationed between East Egg and NYC).

The costume choices were superb.

I couldn’t really think of a last point besides the fact that Leo was awesome, so I guess I’ll just touch on the wardrobe. There wasn’t a stand out outfit that really made me drool like Keira Knightley’s green dress in Atonement, but there were some great looks. I appreciated all of Gatsby’s outfits, especially his pink linen suit that he saved for hot summer days. I thought Daisy’s dresses were lovely, but for some reason I liked her best in the black silk robe that she wore around Gatsby’s mansion.

Have you seen The Great Gatsby yet? What did you think?

The Tweed Ride

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. About two weeks ago Paul and I were walking downtown. We were about to cross the street when a string of bicyclers soared in front of us. Typically I would have thrown my purse in the road hoping to trip all of them using a domino effect. But this time I was too transfixed to even attempt to cross, never mind cause them to crash.

All of the riders were casually biking, not racing. And they were dressed in what seemed to be 1920’s and 30’s British attire. All of the outfits looked so authentic. Not a bad one in sight, really. And everyone had a bit of tweed incorporated into their outfit as well.

I was really intrigued, watching them go by. I felt like I was on the set of a movie. Some people had their children on the back of their bikes and they were dressed up too! So much detail. One of the best bikers actually had a penny-farthing. I don’t know how he found it, but he looked awesome.

Yeeeah. I decided to find a picture because I know none of you knuckle-heads knew what I was talking about.

I guess the Tweed Ride started in London in 2009 and has been picked up throughout the world. It’s described as “a cosmopolitan ride with a bit of style.” Righto.

Usually I wouldn’t be interested in an activity that included exercise and public appearances. But for some reason I want to participate in it next year. I’ll have to start looking for an outfit. And a bike.

Congratulations Canada. This is the first cool thing I’ve seen in a while. Massive props.

Everyone in this video is super annoying and British, but you get the picture.