Barbie, Wonka, and Holdovers

What do they all have in common? Barbie, Wonka, and Holdovers are all one name movies. They were also really bad movies. My husband and I are always in the minority. Whenever everyone likes a movie - or it is hyped to be absolutely wonderful and in the top ten of the year - we hate it. And when we really like a movie, it gets little attention. Perhaps it’s because we just prefer British actors and British films and series. When we went to visit our family over Christmas we thought it would be nice to see Barbie because of all of the hype. I loved Barbie and had several of them - including a car that I trained my parakeet to ride on the steering wheel. But the movie was just awful. Then we went to an actual theater to see Wonka. We haven’t been to a theater since before the pandemic. The atmosphere was most annoying, the quality of the film was terrible and almost grainy compared to TV watching these days. Neither my husband nor I are in to Willy Wonka - so it meant little to us. I think our kids and twenty year old grandson connected to it for sentimental reasons. They actually met Gene Wilder and there is a photo of our grandson sitting on his lap. At least there were a couple of heartfelt moments. When we returned home we thought we should see the Holdovers last night with Paul Giamatti. We like him, and this was another movie that got so much hype. We even got a subscription to Peacock rather than pay to rent it. And for the third time we just didn’t get the noise around this film. It was just terrible and predictable - and long. So I don’t think we will be going to another theater in the near future. It’s really disappointing because we love movies and they are a big part of our lives. We have come to the conclusion that it must be us. 

Nostalgic Items at American History Museum

The Smithsonian American History Museum was always a favorite of mine. I was first introduced to it many years ago when I visited my sister who was in college in DC. I loved the First Ladies gowns and the general vibe. At that time my plan was to major in history, but that never materialized. When we lived on Capitol Hill we would visit here and there during the slower times of the year. Now that we live in northern Virginia we drive in to the city at least once a week. In the last month or two we have been visiting the museum in order for me to get images for the weekly photo challenge. The subject matter was “nostalgia” for one of them, and that took me to the ruby slippers from the Wizard of Oz. But while we were there we stopped in a few other areas and checked out the other nostalgia items. There was Stan Musial’a bat and Carl Yaz’s head gear. Barbie was front and center - I had a whole collection of Barbie stuff including her car. Then there was Mr Peanut. We used to see him walking in the street when we went to visit my grandparents in New England. Of course Colonel Sanders had a presence in both his likeness hanging from the ceiling and the bucket used to pick up chicken. A VW bug poster and model car shows the transition over time. And there was an office with a royal typewriter sitting on the desk. I had a royal in college to type all of my papers. Obviously the place was filled with all sorts of things. Unfortunately I didn’t pay as much attention to these objects because I was focusing on getting a photo for the challenge. Luckily we have the luxury of coming to town when we are interested. Or, you can always do a virtual visit. 

52Frames_Nostalgia

Where else could we go for this week’s challenge? There we were so many years ago, in front of the new color television set, with popcorn and eagerness - my brother, sister and I watched the Wizard of Oz. Who can forget the Wicked Witch, Toto and Dorothy? So last week we headed to the Smithsonian American History Museum to find Dorothy’s ruby slippers for the “nostalgia” 52Frames photo challenge. I took about twenty or more shots because the shoes are behind glass and the lighting is quite dark. The size five shoes were recently restored - with about 2400 sequins on each. “There’s no place like home” still gets me choked up when I think about the clicking heels. After that, we walked through another section of the museum that showcased Barbie, Mr. Peanut, and so many other treasures including Carl Yastrzemski’s Red Sox Red helmet. I wanted to get a shot of Neil Armstrong’s space suit, but unfortunately it was not on display at the newly reopened Air and Space Museum, although Scott’s Apollo 15 suit with moon dust was. On the way back to the car we stopped at the 1940’s carousel that has stood quiet since the pandemic to capture the dragon and the horses that have entertained so many on the National Mall. So it was a no brainer when it came to selecting the photo for the challenge this week. Both my husband and I agreed the red slippers were our hands down favorite.