brokeback blog

i will begin by apologizing for being several steps behind the cultural zeitgeist on this one, but I have been shunning hollywood pictures for some time and as a result, had to wait to view brokeback mountain until it was released on dvd. as i sat down on the couch with a bowl of popcorn in hand and watched the opening credits come across the screen, i was suddenly struck with two conflicting thoughts.

the first thought I had was, 'will brokeback mountain suffer from three amigos syndrome?'. yes, that's right, i am mentioning the martin short vehicle from your childhood. what could this possibly have to do with the cowpokes of brokeback mountain, you ask? well, it goes like this...years ago i was schooled in the phenomenon of three amigos syndrome. this affliction occurs when a movie is released and subsequently generates a wealth of commentary (in most cases overwhelming praise and adoration) before you have had a chance to view said film. three amigos syndrome, therefore taints the viewer's experience by retarding their ability to form an independent opinion of the film.

example:
"should we get three amigos?"
"i haven't seen it."
"you haven't seen the three amigos? that is the funniest movie ever! you will love it."

as you can see, the expectations are built up, the bar raised, and the subsequent viewing ruined.

back to jack and ennis...

with three amigos syndrome in mind, i could not imagine that brokeback mountain could live up to the hype that had surrounded it in the early part of the year.

the second thought that ran through my head was, 'how the eff did that junior high lunchroom conversation of a meditation on race relations, crash, win best picture? what began as a tuesday night dinner and a movie, had become so much more.

as for the picture itself...i thoroughly enjoyed it, in particular the performance of heath ledger. the story was engaging without cloaking itself in sentiment or cliche. in retrospect, i can only imagine that misinformed rants and wild speculation concerning the love story that is central to the movie, caused america to get it's collective panties in a bunch over brokeback mountain.

as for my two major concerns that plagued me before watching the film, they were quelled. brokeback mountain did not suffer from three amigos syndrome and it was without a doubt a better film (in every regard) than crash.