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.