why colin firth makes me think i could beat up angelina jolie

-
We finished up the Favorite Movie phase of movie club, so Maria decided we should just go see a movie, theme be damned. But The King’s Speech might be one of my new favorite movies, or at least a movie that should have made my 2010 top five. The premise sounded a little British-y and biopic-y—one of those movies where you’re supposed to care very much about something very small just because it’s a famous person doing it.

But first and foremost it’s a movie about having strength without confidence. My ex used to idealize Strong Women in this way that was always baffling and eventually maddening to me. I got this feeling she wanted to date Angelina Jolie, which she probably did and who wouldn’t*, but not the anorexic, blood-drinking Angie, rather the hero of all her Tough Girl films. Strong Women might get very quiet and gaze off into the distance at times, but only to contemplate how they would immediately overcome adversity via plentiful ass-kicking. They certainly wouldn’t snivel and cry and overeat.

But Colin Firth’s Bertie (a.k.a. King George the VI, because apparently being the king of England is not unlike being the pope) does a fair amount of sniveling. A thing that’s easy for most people is hard for him, and he’s crippled by it, although his self-doubt is arguably the origin of his stammer, so it’s a vicious circle. I’ve felt quite familiar with that circle lately. But deep down, I think he knows he’s got the smarts and commitment to lead the country (unlike his playboy brother; The King’s Speech is the most unromantic portrayal of the Wallis Simpson Affair I’ve ever encountered). It’s like he’s confident in his strength, but not confident in his ability to convince other people of it.

I’m projecting here, but that’s what movies are for. I’m tired of trying to convince other people of my strength, even though I know that the only person who’s really unconvinced is me. Except for the part where I totally know, deep down, that I could kick Angelina Jolie’s ambassador ass. Make sense?


*Me, actually. I’m a contrarian like that. She’s beautiful, but, I don’t know, maybe I’m just on Team Aniston or something.

Comments

Sizzle said…
Yes, it makes sense. :-)

I loved that movie too.
January 25, 2011 at 8:02 AM
Kat said…
I had to be dragged into the movie but ended up loving it. What worked for me is that there is no quick transformative fix or simple answer; the speech was still very hard and it was clear that Bertie needed to work with the therapist throughout his reign. I enjoyed reading your take.

And you could totally kick Jolie's ass.
January 25, 2011 at 8:51 AM
Cheryl said…
K: Yeah, it would have been really unrealistic if he'd turned into...I don't know, who's a great speech giver? MLK? Barack Obama? Although Obama has a few verbal ticks himself. Goes to show you that you don't have to be perfect to inspire.
January 25, 2011 at 5:10 PM
Peter Varvel said…
"confident in his strength, but not confident in his ability to convince other people of it" - I like that.
I'm still working on convincing myself that I don't have justify who I am to anyone.
Anymore.
January 27, 2011 at 12:08 PM
Cheryl said…
There must be a support group somewhere, right?
January 27, 2011 at 1:23 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

soleil for a day

-
Image
1. cirque love Since starting gymnastics at age five—or at least since reading Geek Love in college—I’ve wanted to run away and join the circus. Actually, the problem was that I wanted to join the circus but I didn’t want to run away. How fortunate, then, that AK found out about Cirque School , where you can lea rn the trapeze arts without ever leaving L.A. She gave me a class for my birthday, which I finally redeemed last night (after reading up on it, I decided it sounded kind of hardcore, and that I needed to build up some flexibility and upper body strength before going—I’m not sure that happened, but a month passed, I was a little closer to reuniting with my left splits and I was itching to take the class). The classes are held at Absolution L.A. , a small West Hollywood studio walled with honey-colored wood and stocked with pilates machines, trapezes, a climbing wall, red vinyl chairs and other items of expensive-looking fu rn iture. It reminded me, I told AK later,...
Read more

seasons of love

-
Image
Everything Cheryl does, she’s totally joking and completely serious.             --AK 2,628,000 minutes 2.6 million moments so dear 2,628,000 minutes How do you measure, measure five years? In new jobs , in boob jobs , in blog posts, in cups of coffee In coffee, more coffee, in coffee, and tea In 2,628,000 minutes How do you measure five extra years? How about love? How about love? How about love? Measure in love Seasons of love 2,628,000 minutes 2.6 million plans gone awry 2,628,000 minutes How do you measure public places I’ve cried ? In grants that I wrote, and novels on the side   Facebook rabbit holes are no source of pride It’s time to kiss Dashaboo Though he’s sticky with jam Let’s celebrate, remember five years Of making people deal with who I am Remember the love Remember the love Remember the love Measure in love Rent rent rent rent reeeee...
Read more

is weight loss tv kind of unintentionally radical?

-
Image
Hear me out: I've been watching weight loss shows lately. Things with titles like 1,000 Lb Sisters. One of the shows is... 1,000 Lb Sisters. The other is 1,000 Lb Best Friends.  If you're not familiar with either of these shows, first, congratulations on having good taste and not consuming fat-shaming media. Also, here's my best attempt at a summary: The sisters in question are Amy and Tammy Slaton, who landed a TLC show that first aired in 2020 after their YouTube channel became a hit because they were genuinely funny and raunchy (lots of fart talk) and very fat. The premise of the TV show is that they will try to lose enough weight to qualify for bariatric surgery.  I assume there are medical reasons that people have to lose weight before they can have a medical procedure that helps them lose weight—to demonstrate that they can make the lifestyle changes that will be necessary after surgery? Because operating on someone with extreme amounts of extra fat is riskier? Nevert...
Read more