EVERYTHING’S GONE GREEN (dir: Paul Fox)
Small manageable dreams.
Our hero is Ryan. He is bored in his office job. The movie begins with his girlfriend moving him out of his apartment. The role reversal does not end there. Fortunately his family wins the lottery and suddenly all worries and concerns seem dealt with. Unluckily then they do not win, his dad got the numbers wrong.
Written by Douglas Coupland this is one of his typical circa: now tales of the modern nuclear family and its angst cum woe in dealing with the modern world. Ultimately these stories should be dull due to familiarity but as ever he brings a humour and quirkiness that is transferable to my/our own circumstances that serves to be enlightening and comforting all at the same time. I’m all right, you’re all right.
“What do you want to be when you grow up Wendy?”
“A Trophy wife.”
As ever the central figure is supposed to represent and be the viewer and as ever he, in this case Ryan, is expertly crafted and excellently executed as a tangible representation of our likely collective that is. In many ways it often feels as if Coupland is showing himself in his main characters.
“Its like one day you finally find a decent set of friends and then suddenly they all get exec jobs, get married, have kids and vanish and your life is like that old Science Fiction movie with Charlton Heston.”
Invariably it leads to various quirky adventures cum anecdotes as Ryan searches for a sense of freedom in the modern world only to experience various hiccups along the way such as falling for the wrong girl, wrestling with dishonour and having to deal with organised criminals.
Eventually it all comes to a stark conclusion and revelation through his work as he experiences achieving their supposed dreams, targets and goals but remaining unhappy. Our hero Ryan however remains on top of it all, which is handy because he is supposed to be the person we most associate and side with. As he goes forward seemingly becoming most informed we exit having learned a lesson (and a whole lot more besides).
A breezy movie for disillusioned people.
Small manageable dreams.
Our hero is Ryan. He is bored in his office job. The movie begins with his girlfriend moving him out of his apartment. The role reversal does not end there. Fortunately his family wins the lottery and suddenly all worries and concerns seem dealt with. Unluckily then they do not win, his dad got the numbers wrong.
Written by Douglas Coupland this is one of his typical circa: now tales of the modern nuclear family and its angst cum woe in dealing with the modern world. Ultimately these stories should be dull due to familiarity but as ever he brings a humour and quirkiness that is transferable to my/our own circumstances that serves to be enlightening and comforting all at the same time. I’m all right, you’re all right.
“What do you want to be when you grow up Wendy?”
“A Trophy wife.”
As ever the central figure is supposed to represent and be the viewer and as ever he, in this case Ryan, is expertly crafted and excellently executed as a tangible representation of our likely collective that is. In many ways it often feels as if Coupland is showing himself in his main characters.
“Its like one day you finally find a decent set of friends and then suddenly they all get exec jobs, get married, have kids and vanish and your life is like that old Science Fiction movie with Charlton Heston.”
Invariably it leads to various quirky adventures cum anecdotes as Ryan searches for a sense of freedom in the modern world only to experience various hiccups along the way such as falling for the wrong girl, wrestling with dishonour and having to deal with organised criminals.
Eventually it all comes to a stark conclusion and revelation through his work as he experiences achieving their supposed dreams, targets and goals but remaining unhappy. Our hero Ryan however remains on top of it all, which is handy because he is supposed to be the person we most associate and side with. As he goes forward seemingly becoming most informed we exit having learned a lesson (and a whole lot more besides).
A breezy movie for disillusioned people.
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