Ugly Betty
Mar. 24th, 2010 11:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
annundrielI like Betty, I do, but in the last couple of seasons she's become less of a draw to the show for me as some of the other characters. Her family, for example, and Daniel, Amanda, and Marc.
And, oh, I love Marc. Fuck up though he does when it comes to decency and people, I love him. He'll be awful and then he'll show these wonderful little glimmers of depth or growth. He's still obviously the character we met in season one, but he's also matured. He's not the only one.
For instance, take Amanda at the end of tonight's episode telling Tyler that obviously he and Daniel had issues they needed to work out and, honestly, so does she. I was so proud of her, putting it out there and then walking away.
Also, how cute was Marc with his curly hair and glasses. D'aaaww.
Anyway, the point I was making before I got sidetracked was that episodes that are really Betty-heavy kind of lose me after awhile. (And tonight there seemed to be a lot of commercials, which was annoying.) Plus, c'mon, we all know I wanted more of Justin's storyline. So they give us his call to Austin, and the fact that clearly this is not the first time he's leaving a message, and then they spend the rest of the episode in an alternate reality where Justin doesn't even exist.
It was sad.
And, actually, I thought the episode felt weirdly like a clip show.
It had it's moments though. The best one?
Austin showing up at Justin's door. As soon as the doorbell rang, I began fighting a ridiculous grin. They are darling. They are darling and awkward and a little sheepish and smiley and oh my freaking god I just want to wrap them up and see them go out on a first date and hold hands and hang out and share popcorn and talk theatre and flirt and yeah. Have minor angst.
So, yeah, the last 20 seconds of the episode made it for me. Also Betty with her family and all of the good things you can't (or, ahem, aren't supposed to) eat when you wear braces.
Because certain things on Ugly Betty vaguely remind me of this, I'm going to take the opportunity to recommend Steve Kluger's Almost Like Being in Love.
It's about Travis and Craig, who fall in love their senior year of high school. The spend the following summer together before attending their respective colleges. They keep in touch for a while, but then begin to drift apart. Twenty years later they're both living pretty great lives. And then Travis realizes he's still in love with Craig and has to do something about it.
The story switches POV and is told in narrative as well as letters and e-mails and collected bits of writing. I kind of adore Travis and Craig and the book over all. It's a quick read, not too heavy. It makes me happy.
I'll leave you with a bit from Travis' narrative:
And, oh, I love Marc. Fuck up though he does when it comes to decency and people, I love him. He'll be awful and then he'll show these wonderful little glimmers of depth or growth. He's still obviously the character we met in season one, but he's also matured. He's not the only one.
For instance, take Amanda at the end of tonight's episode telling Tyler that obviously he and Daniel had issues they needed to work out and, honestly, so does she. I was so proud of her, putting it out there and then walking away.
Also, how cute was Marc with his curly hair and glasses. D'aaaww.
Anyway, the point I was making before I got sidetracked was that episodes that are really Betty-heavy kind of lose me after awhile. (And tonight there seemed to be a lot of commercials, which was annoying.) Plus, c'mon, we all know I wanted more of Justin's storyline. So they give us his call to Austin, and the fact that clearly this is not the first time he's leaving a message, and then they spend the rest of the episode in an alternate reality where Justin doesn't even exist.
It was sad.
And, actually, I thought the episode felt weirdly like a clip show.
It had it's moments though. The best one?
Austin showing up at Justin's door. As soon as the doorbell rang, I began fighting a ridiculous grin. They are darling. They are darling and awkward and a little sheepish and smiley and oh my freaking god I just want to wrap them up and see them go out on a first date and hold hands and hang out and share popcorn and talk theatre and flirt and yeah. Have minor angst.
So, yeah, the last 20 seconds of the episode made it for me. Also Betty with her family and all of the good things you can't (or, ahem, aren't supposed to) eat when you wear braces.
Because certain things on Ugly Betty vaguely remind me of this, I'm going to take the opportunity to recommend Steve Kluger's Almost Like Being in Love.
It's about Travis and Craig, who fall in love their senior year of high school. The spend the following summer together before attending their respective colleges. They keep in touch for a while, but then begin to drift apart. Twenty years later they're both living pretty great lives. And then Travis realizes he's still in love with Craig and has to do something about it.
The story switches POV and is told in narrative as well as letters and e-mails and collected bits of writing. I kind of adore Travis and Craig and the book over all. It's a quick read, not too heavy. It makes me happy.
I'll leave you with a bit from Travis' narrative:
I don't know why I did it. It wasn't even premeditated. Kerry Fusaro was singing "Almost Like Being in Love" and all I had to do was wait for a cue from Craig and push a flat onto the stage. Period. We've done it a hundred thousand times before. But one of the baby-blue spots picked that moment to spill over into the wings and light him up--all 5-foot-8 of him, holding his clipboard and wearing his white T-shirt and winking at me with the one-dimple smile that nobody but yours truly ever gets, with the little crinkles around the corners of his eyes. DEFCON 3! DEFCON 3! The next thing I knew, I was wrapping my foot around the brace so that the damned flat wouldn't move, just before I heard myself whispering (in a terrific impersonation of panic), "Craig, it's stuck!" What's the matter with me?! Naturally I got the one-dimple thing again while he moved behind my marks and slid his arms around my chest to help me push. With his chin in my neck. And his nose in my ear. As he began humming "Almost Like Being in Love" right along with Kerry. It would have served me right if I'd had a cerebral aneurysm on the spot. Instead, I forgot all about my foot--until we shoved the flat onto the stage. I think we broke my ankle.
This is bullshit. I have finals to worry about.
- p. 19
