Totally stupid, but funny!
Dec. 30th, 2007 02:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
blodeueddDamn it! So close to the end of the month, why did I slip now??? Oh well, better luck next time.
Just thought I'd let you know that my gaydar is apparently doing quite well, or at least it's in tune with the gaydar of this site's creator. Can YOU separate the gay from the Eurotrash? :D
All right, some reviews...
Don't let the title fool you, it's not the musical:
Guys and Dolls:
Heard of Real Dolls? This is a British documentary about those most lifelike of sex toys and the men who love them, and you can watch it here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3710987618964917848
We get to see how they're made (and is it just me, or is seeing those headless bodies hanging from the ceiling, like so many carcasses on butcher's hooks, incredibly creepy?) and outfitted, then we meet some owners. I watched this a while ago, so while I can only remember four men being interviewed, there might have been five, and I've forgotten names, so I'll make some up. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get it right!
In England, we have John, who owns 2 or 3 RealDolls. He likes dressing them up and taking them out for photoshoots, posing with them in lifelike situations, such as waiting for a bus. He has been single pretty much his whole life (maybe one girlfriend in the past?) and lived with his mother until her death, some years ago. Since then, he's kept her things just as they were, not disturbing anything in her room.
Over in the U.S., we have Larry (in North Carolina or thereabouts, I think), who likes to keep to himself. He doesn't like to socialise much (and maybe works from home, I forget), and prefers to stay home with his dolls and his weapon collection. If I'm not mistaken, he's the one who likes fantasy swords.
In Michigan, we have Davecat -- I'm pretty sure that was his name, or something similar -- who seems to be living out an anime fantasy. He dresses in an approximation of a Japanese school uniform, obviously spends a lot of time on his hair, and his RealDoll is named (something)-chan, and also wears a school uniform. Anyway, Davecat, who is in his late 20s, I think, lives with his parents; he says they don't understand his relationship with xxxx-chan. He likes to cuddle with her, talk to her, just be with her; when he has to send her back for repairs (her joints need tightening and she needs new vagina*), he's clearly upset by the separation.
Finally, somewhere in Texas, there's Bill, a middle-aged guy who is succesful enough to afford a nice house and EIGHT RealDolls, a couple of which he keeps in boxes in the garage, which struck me as hilarious, for some reason. You can tell he likes the blonde, pneumatic types, and seems to want them around just for the visual stimulation and the sex, rather than for his emotional needs. Anyway, he's recently started a relationship with an actual woman his own age, and has just "come out" to her as being a RealDoll owner (lover? user?). The documentary shows the little party he has for his girlfriend to meet the dolls, and it's seriously bizarre. You can tell the woman is trying to keep an open mind, and initially says that she understands that Bill just uses them for release, but at the end of the programme, we're informed that she broke up with him one week later.
The documentary itself is very well made, allowing the different men to explain themselves. I was expecting to feel sorry for these men who are in some cases unable/unwilling to have a relationship with a real woman, but I had to wonder if I should. If they choose to transfer their affections to a doll, are they really hurting anyone? No third party, of course, unless it's concerned friends and family, but can we really say they're hurting themselves? In John's case, he seems to hold some bitterness, saying that he's never had any luck with women because they only want men who are handsome and rich**. The way he says it, you'd think he were deformed, but he's an average-looking guy, so unless he's hiding something hideous under his clothes, or have really bad body odour or somesuch, it's probably more that he has a problem relating to people in general. I got the same vibe from Larry, except that in his case, he seemed much more comfortable in his solitude, and is probably a genuine loner. With Davecat, I can't recall that he gave any similar information, so I'm forced to conclude that he just prefers his own fantasy world. As for Bill, I imagine he'll keep on searching for a woman who doesn't mind the company of 8 life-size Barbies.
Final verdict: 8/10 for being fascinating and slightly disturbing at the same time.
* Oh god, I can't believe I just typed that sentence. That's all kinds of wrong! Not the thought that he'd wear it out so much as the idea of replacing such a thing!
** There was certainly a touch of Nice Guy Syndrome in there, which I found a really good summary of, in the midst of an analysis of For Better or For Worse, here: skip to point #7
And a not-so-insightful review:
Yukan Club:
Unfortunaly, this show is apparently over. What will I do for my Tuesday night fix now??? I'll have to find another way to improve my Japanese.
This is based on a manga, which I may have to read, about 6 high school kids who solve mysteries! Since my Japanese is limited, I was sometimes confused, but generally could figure out from the action, if not the dialogue, what was going on. Besides, this wasn't exactly a subtle, profound show, it was more broad comedy, like a live-action, fluffy anime series. The actual mysteries themselves were unimportant, it was watching the characters interact that was fun.
The cast:
Miroku is the one with gangster connection, who rides a motorcycle. The Hot One. Seriously. A-L took one look at him and suddenly developed an interest in Japanese boy-bands (he's a member of KAT-TUN).
Noriko is the perfect ojousama, speaks in a very proper, feminine way (a lot of "wa"s at the end of sentences, etc.), and often shows up in kimono. She also seems to be good at negotiating and intimidating people, as well as being good at such traditional things as the tea ceremony and flower arranging.
Bido (the actor is also a member of KAT-TUN) is supposed to be Swedish, so he has died blond hair. He's the playboy, and can't throw a punch to save his life. In one episode, we was pursued by an old lady who said he looked just like her lover of years ago, so he went along with it to make her happy, until she died, came back as a ghost trapped in a doll, and began haunting him. This episode involved the (unintentionally) hilarious scene in which the ghost causes a sign to fall down, heading straight for Bido's head -- only Miroku, who is standing 20m away at the time, has time to run, jump at Bido and push him out of the way, instead of yelling at him to look out. And it's all in slow-motion. XD
Karen is the stylish one who's always fashionably coiffed, wears high heels and has dozens of admirers. In the episodes I watched, the story didn't focus so much on her, but her role in team seems to be to run interference (i.e. flirt) during their crime-busting outings.
Seishiro is the serious one, who studies martial arts and is probably the resident tech whiz. He's also a boy-band member, though a different band than the other two guys.
Yuri is the girl who's always thinking of food, and is also good at some type of kung-fu. One episode revolved around her becoming possessed by the ghost of a student who'd committed suicide, and the ghost wouldn't allow her to eat, so she spent half the episode trying to get food into her mouth. She's also responsible for what I thought was the funniest line in the show (that I could understand, anyway), when she was having an English lesson and instead of repeating "Come together" after her tutor, she blurted out, "Come to gyoza!". Also, the actress is really good at physical comedy, so her slapstick was always spot-on.
Another highlight was seeing the guys in drag in one episode. Bido made the prettiest girl, and Miroku would have looked better if he hadn't been so pissed off about the whole thing. Seishirou... not so much, though the green eyeshadow didn't help.
This show was perfect for my Japanese level, even though there were bits I didn't understand, and I had a lot of fun listening to the dialogue cues that gave insight into the characters, most notably the way each of the principal six say "I". Since Japanese has so many different levels of speech, it was neat to hear them all, often within the same conversation. Noriko used "watakushi", Karen used "watashi", Yuri used "atashi", Bido and Sei both (I believe) used "boku" and Miroku, as the resident tough (but hot!) guy, used "ore".
I wonder if I should try watching this with subtitles, to see what I missed.
Final verdict: 7.5/10
Just thought I'd let you know that my gaydar is apparently doing quite well, or at least it's in tune with the gaydar of this site's creator. Can YOU separate the gay from the Eurotrash? :D
All right, some reviews...
Don't let the title fool you, it's not the musical:
Guys and Dolls:
Heard of Real Dolls? This is a British documentary about those most lifelike of sex toys and the men who love them, and you can watch it here:
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3710987618964917848
We get to see how they're made (and is it just me, or is seeing those headless bodies hanging from the ceiling, like so many carcasses on butcher's hooks, incredibly creepy?) and outfitted, then we meet some owners. I watched this a while ago, so while I can only remember four men being interviewed, there might have been five, and I've forgotten names, so I'll make some up. Who knows, maybe I'll actually get it right!
In England, we have John, who owns 2 or 3 RealDolls. He likes dressing them up and taking them out for photoshoots, posing with them in lifelike situations, such as waiting for a bus. He has been single pretty much his whole life (maybe one girlfriend in the past?) and lived with his mother until her death, some years ago. Since then, he's kept her things just as they were, not disturbing anything in her room.
Over in the U.S., we have Larry (in North Carolina or thereabouts, I think), who likes to keep to himself. He doesn't like to socialise much (and maybe works from home, I forget), and prefers to stay home with his dolls and his weapon collection. If I'm not mistaken, he's the one who likes fantasy swords.
In Michigan, we have Davecat -- I'm pretty sure that was his name, or something similar -- who seems to be living out an anime fantasy. He dresses in an approximation of a Japanese school uniform, obviously spends a lot of time on his hair, and his RealDoll is named (something)-chan, and also wears a school uniform. Anyway, Davecat, who is in his late 20s, I think, lives with his parents; he says they don't understand his relationship with xxxx-chan. He likes to cuddle with her, talk to her, just be with her; when he has to send her back for repairs (her joints need tightening and she needs new vagina*), he's clearly upset by the separation.
Finally, somewhere in Texas, there's Bill, a middle-aged guy who is succesful enough to afford a nice house and EIGHT RealDolls, a couple of which he keeps in boxes in the garage, which struck me as hilarious, for some reason. You can tell he likes the blonde, pneumatic types, and seems to want them around just for the visual stimulation and the sex, rather than for his emotional needs. Anyway, he's recently started a relationship with an actual woman his own age, and has just "come out" to her as being a RealDoll owner (lover? user?). The documentary shows the little party he has for his girlfriend to meet the dolls, and it's seriously bizarre. You can tell the woman is trying to keep an open mind, and initially says that she understands that Bill just uses them for release, but at the end of the programme, we're informed that she broke up with him one week later.
The documentary itself is very well made, allowing the different men to explain themselves. I was expecting to feel sorry for these men who are in some cases unable/unwilling to have a relationship with a real woman, but I had to wonder if I should. If they choose to transfer their affections to a doll, are they really hurting anyone? No third party, of course, unless it's concerned friends and family, but can we really say they're hurting themselves? In John's case, he seems to hold some bitterness, saying that he's never had any luck with women because they only want men who are handsome and rich**. The way he says it, you'd think he were deformed, but he's an average-looking guy, so unless he's hiding something hideous under his clothes, or have really bad body odour or somesuch, it's probably more that he has a problem relating to people in general. I got the same vibe from Larry, except that in his case, he seemed much more comfortable in his solitude, and is probably a genuine loner. With Davecat, I can't recall that he gave any similar information, so I'm forced to conclude that he just prefers his own fantasy world. As for Bill, I imagine he'll keep on searching for a woman who doesn't mind the company of 8 life-size Barbies.
Final verdict: 8/10 for being fascinating and slightly disturbing at the same time.
* Oh god, I can't believe I just typed that sentence. That's all kinds of wrong! Not the thought that he'd wear it out so much as the idea of replacing such a thing!
** There was certainly a touch of Nice Guy Syndrome in there, which I found a really good summary of, in the midst of an analysis of For Better or For Worse, here: skip to point #7
And a not-so-insightful review:
Yukan Club:
Unfortunaly, this show is apparently over. What will I do for my Tuesday night fix now??? I'll have to find another way to improve my Japanese.
This is based on a manga, which I may have to read, about 6 high school kids who solve mysteries! Since my Japanese is limited, I was sometimes confused, but generally could figure out from the action, if not the dialogue, what was going on. Besides, this wasn't exactly a subtle, profound show, it was more broad comedy, like a live-action, fluffy anime series. The actual mysteries themselves were unimportant, it was watching the characters interact that was fun.
The cast:
Miroku is the one with gangster connection, who rides a motorcycle. The Hot One. Seriously. A-L took one look at him and suddenly developed an interest in Japanese boy-bands (he's a member of KAT-TUN).
Noriko is the perfect ojousama, speaks in a very proper, feminine way (a lot of "wa"s at the end of sentences, etc.), and often shows up in kimono. She also seems to be good at negotiating and intimidating people, as well as being good at such traditional things as the tea ceremony and flower arranging.
Bido (the actor is also a member of KAT-TUN) is supposed to be Swedish, so he has died blond hair. He's the playboy, and can't throw a punch to save his life. In one episode, we was pursued by an old lady who said he looked just like her lover of years ago, so he went along with it to make her happy, until she died, came back as a ghost trapped in a doll, and began haunting him. This episode involved the (unintentionally) hilarious scene in which the ghost causes a sign to fall down, heading straight for Bido's head -- only Miroku, who is standing 20m away at the time, has time to run, jump at Bido and push him out of the way, instead of yelling at him to look out. And it's all in slow-motion. XD
Karen is the stylish one who's always fashionably coiffed, wears high heels and has dozens of admirers. In the episodes I watched, the story didn't focus so much on her, but her role in team seems to be to run interference (i.e. flirt) during their crime-busting outings.
Seishiro is the serious one, who studies martial arts and is probably the resident tech whiz. He's also a boy-band member, though a different band than the other two guys.
Yuri is the girl who's always thinking of food, and is also good at some type of kung-fu. One episode revolved around her becoming possessed by the ghost of a student who'd committed suicide, and the ghost wouldn't allow her to eat, so she spent half the episode trying to get food into her mouth. She's also responsible for what I thought was the funniest line in the show (that I could understand, anyway), when she was having an English lesson and instead of repeating "Come together" after her tutor, she blurted out, "Come to gyoza!". Also, the actress is really good at physical comedy, so her slapstick was always spot-on.
Another highlight was seeing the guys in drag in one episode. Bido made the prettiest girl, and Miroku would have looked better if he hadn't been so pissed off about the whole thing. Seishirou... not so much, though the green eyeshadow didn't help.
This show was perfect for my Japanese level, even though there were bits I didn't understand, and I had a lot of fun listening to the dialogue cues that gave insight into the characters, most notably the way each of the principal six say "I". Since Japanese has so many different levels of speech, it was neat to hear them all, often within the same conversation. Noriko used "watakushi", Karen used "watashi", Yuri used "atashi", Bido and Sei both (I believe) used "boku" and Miroku, as the resident tough (but hot!) guy, used "ore".
I wonder if I should try watching this with subtitles, to see what I missed.
Final verdict: 7.5/10
