1) Edmund Hillary, the first guy to climb Everest, has died. I mean no disrespect, but I didn't even know he was still alive. Also, for whatever reason, the first thing I think of when anyone mentions Edmund Hillary is his Sherpa guide, Tenzing Norgay. I guess because it's so much fun to say.
Go on, say it: Tenzing Norgay! There! Don't you feel better?
2) There's a very funny Tenzing Norgay gag in Joel & Ethan Coen's Intolerable Cruelty. This is officially the Coens' most underrated film, a distinction previously held by The Hudsucker Proxy, but that one has been championed by its partisans for so long it's in danger of becoming overrated. Or would be in danger of being overrated, if it weren't so awesome.
Yes, I'm a Hudsucker partisan.
3) If you do a YouTube search for the phrase "intolerable cruelty", you'll find clips from the movie (including the payoff to the Norgay gag, but not the set-up), but you'll also get documentaries about the Holocaust. Man, is my buzz harshed!
4) Every critic has blind spots and inexplicable enthusiasms. One of my favorite film critics is Dave Kehr, who currently writes for The New York Times. He takes the medium seriously, clearly loves it, and his writing is witty and well-informed. He absolutely hates the Coens, however, with a passion so extreme it borders on pathology. Also, he's also a big admirer of Robert Zemeckis. He liked Beowulf, for God's sake!
On the other hand, he was one of the first critics to take Clint Eastwood seriously as a director, and he uses the word "Minnellian" as a form of praise, so it's all good.
5) Speaking of Minnellian--you knew this was coming, didn't you?--here's a brief clip from An American In Paris. Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron dance, Kelly choreographed, the music, of course, is Gershwin. But the fiery orange and deep, deep blue, the perfectly timed cuts and swooping camera, the dreamy, melancholy romanticism--that's pure Vincente Minnelli.
Naturally, you're better off seeing this on the big screen, but it's still pretty great. Is that crane shot at the end one of the greatest things ever? Yes. Yes, it is.
6) Say it at work, say it at home, say it anywhere you happen to be: Tenzing Norgay!
