The Sheen's Speech

A truly lazy Sunday. I got to sleep in, which I kind of missed out on last Sunday with Preview Days, and I couch potatoed it up four about three hours thereafter, blaming my common cold. In fact, I have been feeling pretty under the weather the past few days, both literally and figuratively. I think lack of sleep, traveling, and too many consecutive days of Pacific Northwest dreariness finally got to my immune system. I have a really icky sore throat, congestion (of course the kind that only affects one nostril, so my symmetry is all off), an ever-present headache, and plugged up ears that have prompted me to say, "I'm sorry, WHAT?" one too many times. So, naturally, I watched Sex and the City reruns on TV that I've seen so many times I can recite even the lines that were censored out. (A skill I'm only 50% proud of...)

Anyway, I ultimately decided I was just bored and desperate enough for easy entertainment that I youtubed the infamous Charlie Sheen interview, which recently aired on 20/20. I think I only found a portion of it, but it was enough to send me spiraling into a mental rant about how much of a d-bag he is. The man has no sense of accountability for his actions, which he doesn't seem to understand affect more than just himself. He is clearly an addict, and I know Dr. Drew is probably scouting him for the next season of Celebrity Rehab, but his unabashed sense of entitlement is too repugnant for me to sympathize. I won't even launch into an argument about the moral issues surrounding his call-girl/prostitute/porn star posse, nor will I fault him for "throwing down 7-oz. rocks" [paraphrased, I couldn't bear to watch the interview a second time to get the quote word-for-word]. It's the fact that his ego is so inflated he thinks he's a hero for simply having and exercising fame and privilege. And what's worse, he seems to have convinced a significant portion of the public of his self-appointed heroism, as well. Youtube commentators, by and large, lauded him for his badassness and not caring what anyone thinks of him, while even those who chastised him still noted that he is "talented" and that his sitcom is "funny." (BARF!) As my brother would say, he is a "talentless hack," pretty much always has been, and has essentially risen to fame on his family's coattails and his own self-destruction. I hope for the sake of his children, his family, and his now-unemployed coworkers that he eventually has an epiphany, realizes he's not a god, and gets the help he really needs. But for the sake of disgruntled bystanders like myself who have been taken hostage by his tasteless contributions to mainstream entertainment, as well as the onslaught of undeserved media attention detailing his debauchery, I hope he just OD's already. (Ok, I know that's harsh, but you know at least a small part of you agrees...)

On a less cynical note, I finally saw The King's Speech, which was quite good. It's hard to say whether it was deserving of the Best Picture award or not, since I saw it after all the hype, but it was definitely worth seeing. Colin Firth captured the plight of a chronic stutterer and the insecurity of a man thrust unwillingly into kinghood quite well.  Plus, he's hot! :) I also really enjoyed Geoffrey Rush's portrayal of the speech therapist, which was refreshingly funny and endearing. On top of the film itself, it was kind of a delight to see a movie at the theater by myself, for a change. I think it allowed me to be more introspective, and it hearkened me back to my high school days, when walking to the theater and catching a movie by my lonesome was my typical fallback on a boring summer day. Anyway, if you haven't yet seen it, go see The King's Speech--but don't pay $10.50 at Regal 'cause that's just outrageous, even for the Best Picture!