A Midsummer Nights Band Competition
03 March 2003-1:56 p.m.
This weekend I saw the most delightfully entertaining version of A Midsummer Night's Dream ever. Note I did not say the most well done. No, no. It was delightful in it's not-well-doneness. I went to see it because my friend was Bottom. He did a wonderful job as he usually does. The other actors however....Heehee. I laugh just thinking about it. Some of them were decent. I will forever think of Puck as a pasty, pudgy white guy in a furry diaper. And his choice to play Puck as low energy and monotone, brave idea. It lent so much to the part. The costumes were my favorite part. In addition to the furry diaper, we had Hermia swimming in a large purple skirt and shirt and clunky shoes, Helena in fishnet hose with clunky shoes and a white cardigan over black, and a donkey head that looked like a fluffy bunny. I did like that whoever it was put all the mechanicals in overalls. That was a good unifying theme, something the rest of the show lacked.
The next day, continuing our theme of entertaining yet poor quality shows, we went to see Drumline. Heehee. Our first thought "yes! A movie about marching band! Kick ass!" So I loved it, huge gaping plot holes aside. But I had some problems with it. The biggest problem I had, the one I could not get past, was that this movie was set in Atlanta. The first half is about band camp. The scenes are outside in what should be August, in Atlanta. They are putting a show on. Anyone who has ever been to Atlanta in August knows that it is hot. The people in this movie were wearing sweat pants and windbreakers and big jackets. Yeah. Oddly no one was passing out from heat exhaustion. This bothered the hell out of me. I don't know why that particular thing got to me. I also loved how the goodness of the entire band depended on the one snare drummer. Yeah he's good, but if the rest of the band sucks he's not gonna save them. Also the big showdown with the opposing band at a competition...the other band sucked. It was horrible. And they brought on some rapper. Wouldn't they be disqualified? This rapper doesn't even go to the school. Yes he rapped to marching band. It was truly one of the most horrible band shows I've ever seen both in real life or made up. And I was supposed to believe that the judges thought it was good? Even my suspension of disbelief didn't stretch that far. We did laugh for quite a long time during it. We all found it extremely funny. And it had some cool shots of some good bands. I would have liked to see a few more tenor drums; snares do not a drumline make.