The Usual Suspects

When you hear that a movie has a surprise ending, you’re no doubt inclined to pay even more attention than usual to its plot. The movie The Usual Suspects is a meticulously scripted and faultlessly acted masterpiece that stands up to repeated viewings; even when you already know the true identity of Keyser Soze, you will still get a shiver when the surprise ending unfolds.

I still get a shiver when I think about the surprise I received last weekend.

To celebrate my birthday, M told me that we would be doing something special. It would be intense, I would have to wear formal attire, judges would be involved and to not ruin the surprise, I had to leave the house between 1-2PM because something would be delivered that needed assembly and if I would see what it was, it would give away the surprise. I was puzzled – how could an intense activity require formal clothing? And what needed to be assembled - a kite? A cooking device? Or a fishing rod? Surprising other people always gives me great pleasure but being on the receiving end felt different.

This plot had more twists than the Usual suspects and I still didn’t get it when I got back to the house and I saw one of my friends driving his car down the street. When I opened the door, eight of my best friends were there for a surprise wine tasting / dinner party. I couldn’t have asked for a better b-day and the fact that M organized all this for me, made me fell the luckiest guy in San Francisco.

Single White Female

"Single White Female" has Bridget Fonda placing an ad for a roommate in the classifieds, and winds up with mousy Jennifer Jason Leigh who not only turns out to be a stalker, she tries to take over Bridget's indentity.

A far fetched and unlikely story? Sometimes real life is stranger than fiction..

M has a friend who as of late is showing a more than normal interest in our relationship. Little things that put together, might fit a pattern only thought to be seen in movies: asking just the two of us over for dinner, buying a wedding book after having seen a similar one in M's house, suggesting to join us on our trip to Holland after finding out that we'd be going there in May to visit my family..

It might be a little far fetched. And I'm not at all interested in M's friend. But I'm sure that for some men, women fighting over a guy would be like a dream come true.

Bean

One of the most memorable scenes in "Bean", exemplifies how one little mis-step, innocent by itself, can lead to another and snowball into a really bad situation.

In the scene I'm referring to, Mr Bean steps back to admire Whistler's Mother, America's most valuable painting. He tuts disapprovingly as he spots dust on the frame and blows it away. Some of the dust ends up on his nose, causing him to sneeze all over the painting. He takes out his handkerchief to wipe the spittle off in panic and then looks back at the painting. There now is a big blue mark right across Mrs Whistler's face. He checks his handkerchief and finds wet ink all over it caused by a leaking pen in his pocket. He takes out his shirt, spits on it and tries to wipe the painting, causing the ink to spread right over Whistler's Mother's pure white collar, completely destroying the painting.

Soooo, last weekend my girl-friend found herself in a similar situation when she tried to get an additional Costco membership card for me they allow for 2 cards per household. While taking the required information, the sales associate asked how long she'd known me. M answered "6 months" (almost true) and to justify the case, she added "He moved in 1 week ago" (not true). The associate replied "Nice that you're getting him a card; he'd better do something special for you on Valentine's day" M aswered "Yes, he's going to cook me a suprise dinner", fogetting that since I supposedly moved in, I'd do the cooking at her place. So the associate continued "How are you getting changed for dinner as he is preparing the suprise dinner at your house?"

Sometimes a simple "Yes" is the best answer...