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Sheila Moeschen's avatar

Such a great piece my friend--as usual. Immediately: PLEASE write about your Ginsu-era. (as a paid subscriber I would "buy you a coffee" for that). Okay, got that out of the way. I think I was also more dialed into Napoleon and his weird little crew because I identified with that weird when I was that age and still, to be honest. But considering Uncle Rico, especially if you are in the 40+ bracket, I think his character and story hits harder and deeper. He's not delusional as much as he's willfully stuck. Letting go of that specific image of himself means making room for something else, right? And whatever that might be is terrifying even though, as we see near the end, it is liberating. I can definitely relate to holding onto some part of my identity way, way past the expiration date. That might be a bigger form of existential, middish-life dread than chasing after whatever a person considers an "impossible" dream. GREAT! SO HAPPY FRIDAY EVERYONE! JUST GOING TO BE OVER HERE LISTENING TO SOME CURE AND READING SOME SYLVIA PLATH.

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Matt Cyr's avatar

I like this take. And good call on that ribeye he slung at Napoleon. Free country or not, that was some crazy good accuracy to hit him on the move like that.

It was a good tone choice to dial up how delusional Uncle Rico was. If that had been say, a 7 or 8, instead of the 11 it was, it might have been too sad. The filmmakers caught some lightning in a bottle with this movie— plot? But they also knew what they were doing in many ways. The vague and comical treatment of time was great, the way they set the story in current time but in a place that was remote and innocent and still very much stuck in an earlier, simpler time. They go back to that well repeatedly over the entire movie. Uncle Rico’s antics adds to the comedy of reaching for or clinging to youth and keeps the sentimental at arm’s length.

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