This is my "Joker"
AKA I will be so annoying when this “Barbie” movie comes out.
In this week’s handle with care, thoughts on the season premiere of “The Bachelorette,” and my journal entry on graduating from college during the pandemic.
Ryan Gosling is set to star as “Ken” in Greta Gerwig’s upcoming “Barbie” movie alongside Margot Robbie. And now we postulate on what exactly this movie will be about… maybe it’ll be a “Life-Size” situation? Maybe a faux biopic of the people the dolls are based on? Or will it be like “Toy Story,” where the dolls are living in Lady Bird’s room while she’s at school in New York? Gerwig co-wrote the movie with Noah Baumbach, and I think it would be funny if it were like “Marriage Story” (2019). If the “Chelsea” dolls are involved… I mean it would only be right if I participated…
I’m dreading this movie a little because I am not obsessed with Margot Robbie’s red carpet looks. She seems to be a Chanel girl, but I think her stylist could and should do a better job. And if this movie is like Greta Gerwig’s other films, it might make the rounds in an upcoming awards season. That means I will be sitting on my couch watching E!’s Oscar red carpet coverage, shaking in my boots over whatever she’ll wear. But that’s something for future me to worry about!
Rest in peace
Cinematographer Halyna Hutchins died on Thursday while working on the set of “Rust,” after a prop gun with a live bullet was discharged by Alec Baldwin. The film’s director, Joel Souza, was also injured.
Wedding bells for Kravis!
Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker got engaged last weekend in Montecito, California, according to E! News. The proposal happened in a heart-shaped, red rose hedge. Oh, and the ring? Giant.
“The Bachelorette” Week 1 Recap
Michelle Young officially started her journey as “The Bachelorette,” and as expected there were too many teacher jokes and gimmicky limo entrances. I am a loyal Las Culturistas listener, and I can’t believe I didn’t nominate Michelle for the Best Teacher We Ever Had (Teacher Respect Award) for their Culture Awards! The episode started with an intro to Michelle, who most viewers met during Matt James’ season at the beginning of the year. Michelle arrives in Palm Springs, where she meets the season’s co-hosts (who are back for round two), former Bachelorettes Kaitlyn Bristowe and Tayshia Adams. A few of the men (the ones that will probably stick around for a while) get intro packages, including Clayton Echard, who Variety reported would be the next “Bachelor” back in September. It will be interesting to see how the show frames his story during Michelle’s season.
Kaitlyn and Tayshia make surprise visits to the men’s hotel rooms to make sure they’re all up to snuff. They meet Ryan, a 30-year-old “environmental consultant” (he’s a farmer, let’s be real). In his bag is a red folder with a white label that reads “Bachlorette” (sic) with a poorly drawn rose, and it contains notes from production, and curiously, tips on how to get a good edit on the show and past contestants to emulate so he is well-liked. Hm… let’s come back to this later!
Michelle is standing at her post in a sparkly greenish gold gown as the men arrive. First out is Nayte, who kind of looks like The Weeknd, so I love this for her. Rick arrives in a serving cart with just his head underneath a dome plate cover. I wanted Michelle to send that back! Rodney shows up in a red apple costume and calls himself a Granny Smith, which are famously green apples. Then we get two firefighters in a row: Daniel is dressed in his little outfit and shows up riding a toy firetruck, immediately followed by PJ, who pulls up in a real firetruck. What a sick set up. Then there’s Joe, a man that ghosted Michelle in the DMs sometime before she went to film “The Bachelor.”
Michelle pulls Joe at the cocktail party to address their situation. He says he was going through a lot at the time because he’s the “head of property at George Floyd Square.” Michelle is also from Minnesota, and she tells Joe that she wishes he would’ve communicated that with her because she understood how he felt. Back to this Ryan mess, he and Michelle go outside to talk, and they bond right away. Afterwards, Kaitlyn and Tayshia burst her bubble and tell her all about his cheat sheets. Michelle pulls Ryan to confront him, he says his friend’s girlfriend wrote them for him, and they go to his hotel room so she can see this for herself. And just like that, Ryan is the first man to go home — mid-cocktail party!
More conversations are had, including an honest one with Nayte. So honest in fact, Michelle kisses him and gives him the First Impression Rose. That rose usually means the recipients are around for a while, especially on the female-led series, so we should keep an eye on his and Michelle’s connection. At the first rose ceremony, Michelle lets go of six suitors: Bryan, Edward, Garrett, Jack, JoMarri, and Brandon K.
Something I tweeted that I wanted to expand on…
I’ve always loved the idea of school. I was that annoying child that begged my mom to take me school supply shopping right when the displays went up. I’m a September Virgo, so back to school time also meant birthday time, and I would experience two fresh starts at once! I used those opportunities to try new things: cutting my waist-length hair to my shoulders, only wearing black and white clothing, even switching up my handwriting. Actually being in school was a different experience for me mentally, and took me a long time to get used to with every new school I went to. When I got to high school, I started off feeling isolated and insecure, and by my senior year I made more friends and was involved in extracurricular activities. And then it was time to leave once I got comfortable.
My college experience mirrored my high school one, except obviously it was better because 1) I was actually learning things I was interested in, and 2) I was more confident. I mean, I was still shy and preferred to listen instead of participating in class discussions; that just didn’t change no matter how many times I promised myself it would before every semester. I had many identity crises: my Elle Woods era (where I thought I wanted to go to law school), my Spider-Man era (working for a newspaper in a big city somewhere post-grad), and my April Ludgate era (working in local government after interning). Things fell into place during my senior year, again! I worked at a student publication, made great friends, got closer to longtime friends, and knew the best places to study… I was right where I was when I was 17. I even loved the media design class I was taking at 8 a.m. that fall — even in December when the mornings were California Cold™.
When college is promoted in movies and TV shows, they show you how exciting and fun life on campus is. I was a commuter, but that didn’t even affect how connected I felt with my environment. In January 2020, I knew that I had to say goodbye to my student identity by May, and part of that included the routines I kept for a semester at a time. That spring it was meeting with one of my best friends for the only college class we took together, eating lunch under a shady tree, stomping to class while I listened to HAIM, and working on stories in our publication’s office. But then we went into lockdown, and we would be gone for two weeks, and then it became six, and all of a sudden I found out I would be wrapping up my undergrad experience at home.
As someone who undeniably isn’t good with change, I was sad. I had to let it all go again when I was finally comfortable. No institution is perfect — and there were certainly things my classmates and I experienced that were not okay — but the hold my thinky organ has on looking back on my college years with rose colored lenses is a little strong. I will probably think about everything I would’ve done if a pandemic (of all things) didn’t prematurely end that experience for me, but that’s something I can make peace with as time goes on.
Happy Sunday!! Thanks so much for reading today! I think I’m going to watch “Dune” later, and maybe do my own nails in preparation for Halloween. I hope everyone has a good week! 💛