GFSPOTTING
What would I do without my trusty informants? Today, Myra the Broadway Insidah told me that a couple of gluten-free goodies were available at the Jersey Boys table at the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS Flea Market.
And also today, I learned from two vigilant young moviegoing ladies (through their not-quite-as-vigilant Mom) that there's a new movie of some interest to the gluten-free community. The flick in question: Sydney White, a grafting of the Snow White story into a collegiate setting. Now, having just returned from dropping everything to see it immediately, I don't want to give away too much, and I don't want to set expectations too high, so here are some of the basics: This Amanda Bynes movie is pretty much aimed at the tween-teen set (especially the young ladies), I liked it myself (even though I'm decades and a set of genitals away from the target demographic), and, to my knowledge, it represents a modest, perhaps flawed, yet still significant step forward for the gluten-free.
I went into the movie, which was written by Chad Gomez Creasey, without knowing much about it, but if you'd like to see a trailer, here goes....
ADDENDUM Due to popular request (and fear of reader revolt), I'm revealing more in the comments, so look out for spoilers after the jump.
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Tuesday, September 25, 2007
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5 comments:
What was the GF reference or connection in the movie? or would that really spoil the movie?
I'm in suspense!
Yeah...come on Marc...we are dying of curiosity now and I don't think I can stomach (pun intended) that movie and I'm a girl! ;) At least send me a private email with the juicy details.
MINOR SPOILER ALERT. Okay, okay. Here's what I'm gonna do. I'm going to reveal the spoilers in two stages. The first, minor, spoiler will be in this comment; the second, which will be detailed and opinionated, will be in the next. So...drumroll please...in the movie, there are two characters who describe themselves as being gluten-free.
MAJOR SPOILER ALERT. Okay...if you're sure you want to find out more...here we go. In the movie, tomboyish Sydney and her new Southern preppy friend Dinky both pledge a snooty sorority. Dinky enthusiastically takes to the Stepford Sisters, but Sydney gravitates toward the Seven Dorks who live in an eyesore on Greek Row. It turns out that one of the Seven Dorks says he's gluten-free, but that's not all! It turns out that Dinky is gluten-free too!! What I really like about the movie is the scene where Dinky and Lenny discover that they're both on the same diet. Their excitement is true-to-life as well as amusing. It's also interesting to note how different they are from each other--that's very realistic, too, and also played to comic effect. (It contrasts the tired "humor" at Gawker lately, which basically relies on very simple negative stereotyping. And it's consistent with the positive, diversity-embracing themes of the movie.) I tried to keep an eye on what the gf characters ate, and it's possible that in one scene Lenny cheats on the diet (or, in other words, the director doesn't clarify that a bun that Lenny eats is gluten-free), but at least he isn't shown eating a delivered pizza in another scene. I'll probably have to wait for the video to give the movie the penetrating frame-by-frame analysis it obviously deserves, and I kind of hope against hope that something fun about being gluten-free will turn up in the DVD extras. In the meantime, I think the movie's good enough as light, silly, good-natured entertainment to deserve the benefit of the doubt if you think you'd consider going. And I do think that gluten-free teens/tweens (especially the teen/tween chicks) will get a kick out of the movie's big moment, especially if it catches them by surprise.
Wow! That is really BIG! I mean, that will help teens everywhere to deal with feeling like a weirdo. If themes like this are consistent throughout the film then I like it already!
You really should give Columbia Celiac Center a shout out about this...especially Ann Roland Lee...she's so into helping the teens.
Thanks for "spoiling" it for me!
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