saturday night is alright for channel surfing

i'm toggling between 28 days later [2002] and the birdcage [1996], comedy and horror.  oh, yes, these movies seem diametrically opposite but i think comedy and horror share a common trait.  the emotions for fear and pleasure -- sometimes they overlap [think of S&M as sexual play] -- i think are pretty close to each other.  the metaphysics of funny and scary are quite similar.  like how the old metaphysical poets worked their poems, as eliot said, by yoking two heterogeneous things by violence to arrive at that a ha moment.

so too with comedy and horror.  and yet right now i prefer the great comic performances by gene hackman and nathan lane.  anna and i saw the birdcage upon its initial release.  at the time i didn't care for it because it is not a gross-out comedy.  it's humor is a bit more mellow.  it is not subtle but the comedy is not so broadly drawn outrageous.  but on many viewings thru the years i think this movie is a near perfect comedy.  lane's performance as albert, the drag queen partner to robin williams mellower night club owner, is a great performance.  and unlike some of the more broadly drawn comedies where the humor is blunted by repeated viewings this film gets funnier on every viewing.

it's near the end of the film and i stopped toggling between movies and settled on the birdcage.  now is time for the big reveal.  it is a magnificent movie.  when lane takes off his wig and hackman doesn't understand that he was entertained by two gay men is great comic performance.  the scene right now is when hackman and family are about to leave the house and he says, i hope this evening doesn't influence your vote!  now it is time for the family to relax into the crisis of the senator and the media.  until they all, hackman et al., frock up to sneak past the reporters camped out in the gay club hoping to snag the senator.

well, hell, i should mention that this movie is broadcast on the ABC FAMILY channel.  times are a'changin', indeed.  no longer are the subjects of gay couples and their families and culture[s] those things for mature audiences only.  i don't know how to conclude this piece but say that hackman looks fine as a drag queen and the tone of the movie is of loving acceptance for all the characters, including the senator.

i've toggled back to 28 days later a movie i bought on dvd in 2003.  i've seen it many many times.  i've written about this film a few times too.  the pic hasn't aged a day for me.  but then again maybe that's is part of the aging process.  the things i love become ageless.  or not.  i posted a berlin video last night.  the fashions in the video are so '80s identifying markers.  so some things are pegged to their times.  for other things perhaps not so much.  whatever.  i have a movie to watch.