it'll change your life I swear

If I had to pick one word to describe my feelings about the upcoming film Ruby Sparks, that word would be mixed. Look, this movie kind of seems to be the manifesto for Manic Pixie Dream Girls. In fact, if you go to the top comments underneath the trailer on YouTube, the number one liked comment is "Manic Pixie Dream Girl: The Motion Picture". Yeah. I'm sure everyone has seen this FANTASTIC video on Tropes vs. Women for Manic Pixie Dream Girl (BUT IF YOU HAVEN'T WATCH IT. And be prepared for Garden State to be ruined.) IF you're too lazy or need a refresher, it basically discusses the complete shallowness of these women, how they essentially appear out of thin air, fix these melancholy men's lives, then disappear just as easily, with no mention of their hopes, aspirations, or personal accomplishments. Which, for the record, totally sucks.

Here's the thing, though. I read an interview with Zoe Kazan, who wrote and stars in the film, in BUST magazine and this is what she had to  say about her film: "In romantic comedies, I find that there's a lot of male wish fufillmentthat is subliminal, subtextual, and not blatantly on the surface, so they kind of get away with it. I just wanted to put a spotlight on that. [Ruby Sparks] is about what happens when you reduce someone to the idea of something, instead of looking at the person themselves. " 

[NOTE: The following revelation may have been obvious to everyone else, but nonetheless felt groundbreaking to me. Forgive me if I sound foolish.]

HERE IS WHAT I HAVE CONCLUDED. Using my brain. Like smart grrrls do. These men who write these MPDGs (doncha love that snappy anagram I just made up on the spot)? The shallow, wish-fulfilling, unrealistic, slips of characters? Those men are Paul Dano. Or rather, Paul Dano is playing the personification of those men. MIND BLOWN RIGHT. WHOA.
And after I realized that, I started to think of the potential for busting those tropes discussed in that video for Bitch Magazine (The one I linked to above. This one. Right here.). Which means there may be hope -- this film may not only be cute it might help change the landscape of the female love interest. So I'm allowing myself to gush. 

...Ready? 

ZOE KAZAN. IS BEAUTIFUL. PAUL DANO. IS ALSO BEAUTIFUL. ANNETTE BENING. IS A GODDESS. VALERIE FARIS AND JONATHAN DAYTON ARE GENIUSES. 

Phew. Alright. Here's hoping it's good.

----------------------------------------------------
EDIT:
So I saw it. It was cute, slightly more twee than I hoped it'd be, definitely with a happier ending than I wished for. Can I just say what a horrible person Calvin is with seriously NO consequences? And while I totally understand why Zoe wrote the ending she did, it didn't seem to fit the tone before it. BUT Paul Dano and Zoe Kazan may be the cutest couple ever.

I GIVE RUBY SPARKS 3 OUT OF 5 HAIR BOWS. Hair bows being the most QUIRKY AND ADORKABLE rating system ever devised DUH.

i don't want to over-wriggle

So, let's forget every icky thing you've heard about Woody Allen.  Which is probably a lot. I know, I know. BUT PLEASE can we talk about how GOOD some of his films are? I was asked once what my favorite Woody Allen was once in a drama class and I almost passed out from the indecision. While it may not be my absolute favorite,  Broadway Danny Rose is definitely in my top 5. But please don't ask me what that is either, I heard somewhere that passing out is bad for your brain. Or something. 

It stars Woody Allen (seriously this man always KILLS IT in his own films) as a struggling talent agent and Mia Farrow (almost unrecognizable) as the mistress of an up-and-coming lounge singer and seriously it's SO GREAT. I mean, the helium scene. The helium scene, I tell you.

Also notable is the style in this film. Woody looks unsettlingly sleazy in his cheesy talent agent atire, but Mia Farrow is all overdone glamour. THOSE SUNGLASSES. So, a set commemorating her pegged camel pants, floral blouse and SUNGLASSES (because those deserve to be mentioned twice) seemed appropriate.

Pants by Wood Wood, Top by Equipment, Shoes by Mango, and Bag by Mulberry.

Set and screenshots by yours truly.

well fuck you for sure like totally

I have a slight obsession with Etsy. And, since I'm feeling particularly lazy today (seriously you guys making flower crowns and drinking hot chocolate is EXHAUSTING), I thought I'd share some random things I'm in love with on the site. 

THESE rad creepers. How great are these? They fact that they're not converse makes them even better because instead of those lame STARS that they usually have these have a motherfucking SKULL. Yeah. Hardcore. GRR.

This adorable Moonrise Kingdom cross stitch. I've yet to THROW UP WITH JOY over Moonrise Kingdom or Wes Anderson on this blog yet (just wait it'll happen), but suffice it to say that this is perfect.

This "Wild Heart" banner I first saw on the Rookie Roadtrip and have since had a long and sordid love affair with. I still don't own it, but that should change soon.

This amazing triangle orgy of a necklace. Because who doesn't need their chest adorned with golden geometric shapes. I mean really.

This crazy American flag button down. There's nothing like pretending you're patriotic. (Pantslessness optional)

This adorable pink lady-patterned crop tank. I don't mean Pink Ladies patterned tank. It is pink. And it has ladies on it. Whatever, it's adorable. (Though can we talk about how awesome a shirt with Rizzo and Frenchie and the gang on it would be?)

no really it was the stone age

I made you a mixtape. (Alright, a mix CD. But there's scientific proof somewhere that that name isn't nearly as catchy or cute.) There wasn't much thought behind it, it was just a bunch of songs thrown together while making various things requiring flowers and hot glue on the floor of my bedroom. It's a little bit summer-y, a little dreamy, and a pretty perfect "being lazy" soundtrack.

Download it here. 

Our Deal/Best coast

California/Joni Mitchell

Daydream/Youth Lagoon

All of Me/Tanlines

The Boy with the Arab Strap/Belle & Sebastian

Walk in the Park/Beach House

Cat's Eyes/Cat's Eyes

Magic Man/Heart

Rude as Jude/Dom

Bedroom Eyes/Dum Dum Girls

Ghost Mouth/Girls

Itchin' on a Photograph/Grouplove

Mrs. Robinson/Simon & Garfunkel

Never Saw the Point/Cults

Easy/Real Estate

Love in Store/Fleetwood Mac

Also -- Yes, I realize the CD says "Summen Daze". Cursive is hard! 

everybody spoils me nobody loves me

Agnes Varda is one of my personal heroes. Not only does she have THE BEST HAIR, but she managed to make beautiful films that featured strong and complex female heroines. She was a feminist filmmaker in a sea of otherwise uninterested or misogynistic peers (Godard, anyone?). Seriously, go watch Cleo from 5 to 7 (here's the first 10 minutes) and get back to me on how it changed your life.

I didn't actually know this existed until yesterday (here it is with English subtitles), but I'm already counting it as one of my favorite short films of all time. It's called Response de Femmes, and deals with real women's answers to questions like, "what does it mean to be a woman?" and "do all women want to be mothers?". Part of me wants to apologize for it being out of date, since we're supposed to be living in a post-feminist world and BLAH BLAH BLAH. But here's the thing. IT'S NOT. This shit still goes on and these are still questions/answers/discussions we should be having today. Oh, and it's really pretty too. In case you weren't sold already.

i'm feeling too old to drive

Can we talk about Miranda July? Or, more specifically this movie? It's been one of my favorites for a while, and even though detractors would be quick to label it as pretentious or twee, I think it's a lot more than that. YEAH IT'S PRETTY TO LOOK AT. (In fact, Miranda July is really fantastic at making the usually banal and often ugly world that we all live in look absolutely beautiful. No small feat.) But that doesn't mean that's all the film is good for. I think it's a beautiful love story, not to mention being pretty goddamn funny. 

35 by aubreypage featuring ballerina flats

MTWTFSS Weekday knit sweater
weekday.com

Acne straight leg jeans
lagarconne.com

H M ballerina flat
$12 - hm.com

Pieces satchel bag
asos.com

Alright so I realize my insistence that this film isn't all about style becomes sort of ridiculous at this point, since I'm basically about to cry about HOW PRETTY IS THE WORLD IN THIS MOVIE AND WHY DOES LIFE NOT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE THAT. Because seriously HOW PRETTY IS THE WORLD IN THIS MOVIE AND WHY DOES LIFE NOT ACTUALLY LOOK LIKE THAT. 

This also goes for the clothes that Miranda (and Sylvie!) wear in the film. They're fairly close to candy-floss technicolor perfection and I couldn't help but do a riff on Christine's ever-present pink stripes, faded jeans, and light pink ballet flats. 

Screenshots and outfit by yours truly.