And Now for Something You'll Really Like...

In idle moments this afternoon, I thought about my recent posts. Those Student Whisperer posts remind me of Mary Bennett. Or the Duchess from Alice in Wonderland (the book, not the movie). Somber musings, pointing the moral. Maybe even pedantic. I dislike that word.

So, for a change of pace, tonight I will be live-blogging our family screening of "Finding Nemo". I guarantee it will be different. :)

(Okay, it turned out to be only Aravis, Mariel and me watching the movie.)

Aravis says "Finding Nemo" is a good stress-management movie. She is taking the SAT tomorrow. We stocked up on ice cream in case the movie doesn't work.

7:02-- Right now I am waiting for the dinner to finish. We are having baked pork chops, peas and corn on the cob. Yum. I'll get started live-blogging as soon as we put on the movie.

7:08-- Previews. I love the part when Mr. Incredible's belt pops off and breaks the lamp. Aravis commented that when "The Incredibles" came out, Mariel was nine. Aww...

7:16-- Marlin and his wife rejoice in their new home. It's coral suburbia.

7:23-- Big ugly fish attacks. Poor Marlin and Coral.

7:26-- Marlin is really a good dad. A little paranoid, but good. Nemo is so cute.

(Obviously, we aren't going to hit on any profound observations tonight. ;o)

7:29-- Marlin tells jokes the way I tell jokes.

"I'm H2O intolerant." Love it. Life under the sea is just like life in post-modern suburbia.

7:31-- Aravis thinks Charlotte Mason would approve of Mr. Ray.

7:32-- Who is this Sandy Plankton that knows everything?

7:34-- Nemo foolishly swims out to the boat...

7:38-- Dory isn't afraid of anything. "What's a couple of bites like you doing out so late?" Aravis: Underwater, it's a landscape with sharks.

The whole meeting with Dory and the sharks reminds me of living in the city.

7:44-- "Es-ca-pay..." Dory is relaxed because she doesn't remember things long enough to be stressed about them.

7:46-- Nemo in the aquarium. It's like an insane asylum.

7:50-- Gil the tough guy. He's the opposite of Marlin.

7:52-- My favorite song. "Just keep swimming..."

7:57-- Marlin finally gets happy about something and it turns out to be this horrid fang-toothed fish. "Take a guess now with pressure!" Aravis: Sounds like a grid-in.

Dory is happy as Roo because she remembered something. A lot of people on this show have issues. Aravis: Maybe the moral premise is "not allowing your issues to define you".

8:02-- "We want you in our club, kid." I love this part. It's like summer camp. "Sharkbait, oo-ha-ha!"

Gil: "He can do this." Nemo has the opportunity to save all his new friends.

and

Marlin (earlier): "Nemo, you think you can do these things, but you can't!"

8:04-- Delay fish. "It's a complicated emotion."

8:06-- Impression fish. "Just, uh, loosen up a little, okay?"

8:10-- "We're cheating death now. That's what we're doing. But we're having fun at the same time."

Marlin's first moment of grace-- rescuing Dory from the jellyfish. He always had it in him. :)

8:14-- Nemo's first attempt to jam the aerator.

8:16-- The turtle part. "Righteous! Righteous! Yeah!"

These folks live life at a slower pace, with occasional bursts of speed. "Jellyman, offspring. Offspring, Jellyman."

Two dads talking. "How do you know when they're ready?" "Well, you never really know, but when they know, you'll know."

Marlin tells his story. The ocean grapevine.

8:21-- If the ocean is a microcosm of humanity, who are the seagulls? "Mine! Mine! Mine!"

8:22-- Gil's moment of truth. "I was so ready to taste that ocean, I was willing to put you in harm's way to do it."

The ocean grapevine gets back to Nemo. His heart swells. Inspired by his dad, he jams the aerator. "Sharkbait, you did it!"

8:27-- "You mean the swirling vortex of terror?" Marlin and Dory exit the EAC. It's like a waterslide. Marlin has fun. "No worries!"

Then they get lost. "It's the ocean, silly. We're not the only two in here."

Aravis: She's going to start speaking whale!!

(Aravis is also speaking whale.)

Aravis: Baleen whale! I remember stuff from when I was learning fish!

8:33-- Meanwhile, back at the aquarium, the dentist gets ready to clean the tank.

8:36-- Dory and Marlin in the whale. Dory is Comedy and Marlin is Tragedy.

"He says it's time to LET GO!! Everything is going to be all right!"

"How do you know?"

"I don't!"

8:40-- "Curse you, Aquascum!" "Darla!"

"My nerves can't take much more of this." Aravis: It's the Mrs. Bennett fish!

8:43-- Once again, Marlin has to trust someone in order to be saved.

"Find a happy place! Find a happy place!" These coping mechanisms are like bandaids. The only people in the movie that are truly at rest are the turtles and Dory. They are at rest because they trust everything will be okay.

8:47-- And Nemo goes down the drain. I always feel like the movie should be over at this point-- that there should be a joyful reunion. But no. His dad thinks he is dead.

Marlin tries to leave Dory, and she reveals how much she needs him. He leaves anyway.

8:51-- Nemo and Dory find each other. Dory gets caught in the net. Marlin finally acknowledges that his son can do something. They save the fish.

The end.
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In the end they all go back to fishy suburbia. Things are as they were, but with a difference. Who is this confident and witty clownfish? It's Marlin, displaying his newfound faith in... the cosmos. Or something. (Honestly, if I didn't believe in God, I wouldn't appreciate this movie. I would be as paranoid as the earlier Marlin and wonder why everyone else was crazy.) He encourages his son to go on adventures, and his son lovingly returns to him. And Dory gets to live in a community with friends.