Kings Of Wistful Thinking

Started this very cold morning with more swashbuckling cartoons and sitcoms. One of my favorite Perfect Strangers episodes is "Family Feud" from the sixth season. Larry finds himself embroiled in a feud between Balki's clan and one from the next Mediterranean island over. When Larry insults the man who has come to settle the feud with Balki, he ends up in a duel with him instead.

Duels also figure into the third-season Backyardigans episode "The Two Musketeers." Pablo and Tyrone are two Musketeers who are happy making balloon animals and getting into the occasional spars with the Empress' Guards Austin and Uniqua. When a third Musketeer wants to join their ranks, they're skeptical...until the yellow hippo girl proves to be a very loyal friend and fighter.

Work was dead for most of the day. Another bout with literally freezing weather (we never got above the 10s today) probably scared a lot of people off. It did start to pick up a bit later, around 2, but by that time, I was almost done. I was in and out with no problems; a manager came in for me, as my relief was a little late.

I hurried home on my bike. Thankfully, the wind chill factor was a non-factor. There was no wind today. It was just the biting cold, and I could handle that for 10 minutes. The sidewalks are still icy, but the roads are largely clear, even the ones that were still covered in snow yesterday.

I spent the rest of the evening crocheting and watching The King of Marven Gardens. A Philadelphia radio talk show host (Jack Nicholson) is called to Atlantic City to bail out his con-artist brother (Bruce Dern), who is looking for one last big one. He's hoping to get his boss (Scatman Crothers) to fund the purchase of an island to build a casino on. Meanwhile, he's living in a derilict ocean hotel with a former beauty queen (Ellen Burstyn) who is hoping to make her nubile stepdaughter into the next Miss America. Real-life and Atlantic City's then-down-and-out fortunes clash with their plans, making the radio host wonder if they can pull if off, or if it's just yet another of his brother's pipe dreams...

Interesting, though rather depressing, story from director Bob Raefelson (who also created The Monkees and directed Head and Five Easy Pieces, among others) gives Nicholson a rare chance to play the quiet guy for a change; Burstyn and Dern also come off well as the small-time dreamers with big-time hopes. Not the most uplifting story, though, and very, very slow moving. On the other hand, location shooting gives us a great view of Atlantic City between the end of its heyday and the coming of the casinos (as well as a brief look at Philly in the 70s) and adds a great deal to the gritty, tough feel.

Not for action junkies or those looking for Nicholson in a typical role, but if you're a fan of the cast or Rafelson's other projects or want a good look at a pre-casinos AC, this is worth a look.