The Social Network

I've been following the career of Aaron Sorkin since "A Few Good Men" came out. I enjoyed "The American President" and  I watched "The West Wing" religiously, and I was one of the few fans of "Studio 60 On the Sunset Strip". When this movie came out, it went to the top of my list of "must sees". Sorkin utilizes a verbal smackdown approach in his storytelling that I find irresistible.

The movie is a fictionalized account of the creation of 'Facebook', the on-line network that connects friends, family, co-workers, and consumers.  I enjoy the product, but I've missed Sorkin's writing style, so that was the true selling point for me. I recommend this movie to anyone who ever plans to work for themselves, and to anyone who likes a fast paced story.

The movie begins with a confrontation between the fictionalized Mark Zuckerberg, and a girl he is dating.  The girl is so turned off by his condescending approach that she leaves Zuckerberg sitting there after obliterating him in a local pizza place.  This experience propels Zuckerberg to create a temporary website where women are judged one on one. As you can well imagine, it didn't endear him one bit to the campus or the audience in the theater either. 

 So, Zuckerberg's antics reach the ears of a few Big Men On Campus who hire him out to make a website that fits their specifications - he agrees to do this for the group.  In actuality, he doesn't agree with the concept, has some other ideas of his own, and instead of saying just that - or doing what most sane people would have done - asked to be made a partner instead of a worker bee, he blows them off and gets the money from his "best friend" to make the website according to his own specifications.  That's where it gets interesting.....

Now, Zuckerberg is supposedly not interested in money at all - and it appears that he doesn't have a single dollar to his name, but his friend is rolling in the stuff because he actually ("horrors") works!   Anyway, FACEBOOK gets started and the people who hired him are more than a little miffed at his defection - which is a situation that many can understand.  The "Big Men On Campus" decide not to handle it gansta style - guns, beat downs and baseball bats - they go to the University President (who happens to be a fictionalized version of Larry Summers) and complain that Zuckerberg has violated Harvard student policy - and Summers shows them the tender understanding and concern of  a man about to squash a bug.  There's been a great deal of talk about this movie making a jerk out of the main character, the "best friend" and the "Big Men On Campus", but if you ask me, NO ONE should he racing to an attorney faster than Larry Summers. At least the others got paid!  Summers is depicted as a self absorbed moron in this movie, and let me tell you, if the actual exchange had any approximation to the one in the movie and that had been my child, he'd be asking Libya for asylum because I'd still be trying to find him and give him a piece of my mind!!!  I'm not sure that it's in Summers best interest to be depicted as a moron in his role as the President of Harvard University and I'm certain it's not in his best interest as a Director of the National Economic Council, a position that he recently threw in the towel on.

The funny part of the movie is when he meets the fictionalized version of Sean Parker, the founder of "Napster".  Napster (was, is - does it still exist?) a website that people used to share and (borrow, steal, avoid paying for - enter your own verb here) music that someone else had produced and was selling so that they could get paid for their effort.  Sean Parker felt that the record company's business model was old school and record companies should stop functioning the way they had because their model could be circumvented.  Now, I'm just going to divert a second on this - it's relevant to the movie, but more important to think of as it may apply to you - if you have a job or ever aspire to have one.  Let's say you get paid to make music.  You get paid a portion of the money that is collected based on the sales made of your product.  With Napster, that portion is lessened because now instead of getting a portion from everyone who has the record, you are only getting a portion from those who actually paid for the record.  Everyone who is (borrowing, sharing, stealing, avoiding paying for) the record is giving you nothing but they are still getting down on your groove - if that were you, would you be cool with it?  Of course not!  That's why I'm not down with Napster. I don't want to steal from anyone because I don't want to be robbed. But enough of my personal mission statement, let's get back to the movie.

David Finch didn't add this to his movie, but it was in my mind as I watched it -  the fictionalized Sean Parker walks into a restaurant to meet Zuckerberg while the music to "Skin Tight" is playing. From the very beginning, the fictionalized Sean Parker is throwing money around like water, and women are running up to him like he's Magic Don Juan, only thing missing are some colorful clothes and a chalice in his hand. It's intriguing, and it makes it understandable that Zuckerberg falls into his web also. The "best friend" hates Parker from the beginning, and here the true seduction of the movie takes place. The fictionalized Zuckerberg and Parker are kindred spirits - together they plan to take over the world by tossing everyone else in on their "dream" overboard. When all the dust settles - it's about getting paid, and that's when the roof starts caving in on the dream.  Depositions start flying and billion dollar settlements begin to stack up like the Great Wall of China.  I'm pretty sure that there was a better way to handle this. 

The movie is a cautionary tale - don't go into business with people you obviously don't respect, get everything in writing and get a real lawyer to read it on your behalf, speak your truth with your foot above the gas pedal, and maybe it's time to be reminded that even Darth Vader had a soul.  This movie doesn't leave you with ANY good feelings about the real FACEBOOK founder. Mary Kay said it better than I ever could " You may be the only Bible a person will ever read."  That means that you should always try to present your best self, because you are the product in your customer's mind. She epitomized graciousness and giving, and we cared about how we did business as much as who we did business with. Mary Kay has gone on to her reward - but the company is still making that paper! What's your bet FACEBOOK will be as viable long term?  Millions of people have seen this movie, and not that many are going to read about his philanthropy. If it were my name, I'd do whatever it took to blunt the impact, a herculean challenge.

True Grit 2010

It wouldn't have made sense to see the new version of "True Grit" without first seeing the original. John Wayne won the Oscar for his role as a no-nonsense Marshall taking The West by force.  The movie also featured Glen Campbell and at the time people marveled that Campbell was as good an actor as he turned out to be. Campbell was humble and attributed any ability he displayed to being on the screen with "The Duke".  That's a gentleman - you can't find that as much nowadays.

The new movie is a closer interpretation to the actual book than the John Wayne version, which ends in Hollywood sunshine when compared to this latest version.

The main character, a take charge teen-ager with a pocket full of greenbacks and a realization that money doesn't grow on trees.  Her father has been killed by his servant while away from home.  The teen-ager comes to prod the local law to arrest the man she knows is responsible. This is the story of a little girl who's a little too grown for her own good, and the audience knows that, but its clear the little girl telling the story does not.

The girl single handedly puts together a posse of three that rattle the Indian territory and shake loose a murderous vermin, bring together a group of lifelong friends, but ends in difficulty for a child who learns too late that revenge sometimes exacts a horrible, however necessary, price.

Jeff Bridges does a great job as the new Rooster Cogburn, and the Duke would have been proud.  Matt Damon is lost in the Glen Campbell role - Glen maintained his cool good looks on the screen. Matt is covered in a scrawny beard and ugly scowl that make it impossible to see him as possible crush character for impressionable Mattie.

The story is compelling because the child's sense of purpose suspends your disbelief regarding what kids were capable of in, and yet it reminds you that childhood is still difficult for many children who are made to grow up too fast and too soon to understand the livelong consequences of their actions. The movie may still romanticize the old west, but its just harsh enough to make you grateful you were born in a different day.

The King's Speech

I'm into the Royal Family, so I have been waiting for this movie for a long time.  Today I finally made it and I have to agree with the critics - this is one of the best films I've seen in a long time.  I'm not sure the Academy will make it Best Picture, although it gets my vote. I know that anyone who's ever made a speech in front of an audience can relate to this story of triumph in the face of certain defeat. If you know anything about the history of the Royal family, you can appreciate it even more.

King George's father, King George V, wasn't born to be king.  His older brother, Prince Albert Victor, died at a young age.  Officially, he died of pneumonia, but Prince Albert Victor was suspected of being Jack the Ripper, the famous serial killer. The word on the street was that he was driven mad by a sexually transmitted disease from which there was no cure at the time.

The man who became King George VI, also wasn't meant to be the King.  He came to the throne under very unusual circumstances. His brother, King Edward VIII, decided that if the Church and his government would not accept his paramour as his wife and queen, he wouldn't remain on the throne. This is quite a decision from someone who had been pampered and fused over since the day he was born.  Edward VIII was the exact opposite of his brother - he was outgoing, well liked, extremely charming, and some considered him one of the handsomest men in the world. He was the quintessential Flapper Prince Charming of the 1920's.  Instead of embracing his role, however, he sought the company of unavailable women who could never make suitable matches. The King abdicated rather than give up his lifestyle.

George VI was a married man with two children.  He was painfully shy, had been born with knock knees that were corrected with painful splints, and he had a stutter that made him almost unintelligible. He was teased about it relentlessly in his family and all he sought in life was to hide under a rock and emerge to perform the occasional royal duty.  He was a nervous wreck at the mere thought of taking the throne.  He had never been trained for the position. The stutter that had been a nuisance was suddenly a cause for real concern. The stutter might have been politely tolerated for the second son of the King.  But once it became clear that George might have to take his brother's place, it was certain that he would need to conquer the biggest obstacle in his life.

Who doesn't have at least one friend who stutters or struggles with words, or general communication.  Whether it's a learning disability, illiteracy, or a fear of public speaking, it can be debilitating.  I spent many an hour in school listening to classmates struggle through public readings. I never had the problem myself, but it didn't mean I was unsympathetic.  It was heartbreaking, but you can't take their turn for them, and you weren't allowed to help them out.

This movie made me forget that the King was one of the wealthiest men on the planet, that his life was a flowery bed of ease, and that he could trace more than half his ancestry to the very country that was about to engulf us in a bitter and long lasting tangle that would change the world forever. Watching this movie I could only think that if history had been a little different, the world would be speaking German, our ancestors would have been killed in concentration camps, and a Republican White House would have been the least of our problems. I was glad that the King found a teacher who would help him - and the free world.