A quick aside before I dive back in--
When the Packers first made the playoffs by the skin of their teeth, I made a pact with my folks that I would go home for the big game. All we had to do was win 3.
Easier said than done.
For the Philly game, I was at Old Chicago in St. Paul and everything looked good until Mike Vick decided to get cute and attempt to engineer a comeback. True, it wouldn't have even been a comeback if Akers had made those two FGs, but I was still terrified for all of quarter #4. Vick sailed one to the back of the end zone and I could barely look-but there was Tramon Williams, leaping up for the grab.
I was in Chicago for the weekend that we stomped Atlanta, and I got to watch it on and off in between family obligations. All I could say about that was no one in the world could have predicted a 4-score victory. Me and my buddies re-lived the highlights on their couch well into the next day.
I was mostly confident against the Bears (viewed at Buffalo Wild Wings, also in St. Paul), but Rodgers simply wasn't the same dude after Julius Peppers rang the sh*t out of his bell, so it looked grim at times. Rodgers' best play was almost certainly his 6-saving tackle of Brian Urlacher at the 40 yard line. And that Hainey kid--their 3rd stringer--was definitely more effective than Cutler and Collins combined. It got interesting but we pulled it out. BJ "The Freezer" Raji's pick 6 turned the tables for good.
But there was nothing like the family camaraderie that I got to experience going home to watch the big game. A lot of people said I was crazy to drive all that way for something I could have watched on TV, but those people don't get it. I started watching the Packers with my folks well before the #4 era (I'm thinking more like the #7 era-Don the Magic Man Majikowski) , so when you get to go to your first championship in 14 years, yeah, it's kind of a big deal. I drank a half-bottle of Eagle Rare bourbon over the course of the contest, and I couldn't stop my heart from pounding for 3/4ths of the game. There were terrifying lows and elating highs. It was the most exciting football game I've probably ever seen. When Big Ben threw his final pass and Tramon once again broke it up, I leapt up and hugged and kissed everyone in the room, family or acquaintance. We had done it; after week 15 we were all but out of it.
What can I say--the Packers just have that effect on us Wisconsinites.
Now...Back to the movies!
#41 Dinner for Schmucks
There's a fine line between funny and mean-spirited, and DFS not only spends its duration walking the tightrope, it actually spends more time on the douchebag side. The premise is this--Paul Rudd's on the verge of a promotion at work and his creepy-ass boss has this weird almost fetish-y thing where he has his homies each pick a loser to invite to his house for a dinner so that they can all make fun of them. Rudd doesn't seem to have anyone in the running--let alone many friends--so when he accidentally runs over Steve Carell's character, an IRS worker who happens to make elaborate scenes out of stuffed mice, it's a match made in heaven.
Until Carell's meddling causes what Tony Soprano might have once referred to as a "King Midas in reverse" effect. Suddenly, a mix-up causes Rudd's stalker to crash back into his life and his girlfriend to all but leave him for the visual artist she represents, played by the reliably gonzo Jemaine Clement. Whether Carell is ruining an important event for Rudd, being walked all over by idiotic co-worker Zach Galifinakis or chortling, you wind up just feeling bad for him rather than finding him lovable, which I imagine is the intention. Meanwhile, Paul Rudd wastes his befuddled charm on acting annoyed towards everything. There were a few pretty funny parts, and of course Rudd has the protypical character arc that finds him eventually realizing the err of his ways, but comedies shouldn't feel this awkward and bad.
#40 Babies
Cool concept by French director as he follows four babies from Mongolia, Namibia, San Francisco and Tokyo over the course of a year. The countrysides are colorful and the babies are of course entertaining, particularly the Mongolian baby who at one point drags a cat around the family hut by his tail. However, the movie has no dialogue and couldn't quite hold my attention for the whole hour and a half. If you are a documentary fan, it's worth (at least part of) a look.
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