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the breakfast table: An e-mail conversation about the news of the day.

Daniel, Eric, and Jennifer Mendelsohn

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from: Daniel Mendelsohn

French Films, Schmench Films--TORA! TORA! TORA!

Posted Monday, June 18, 2001, at 5:56 PM ET

Greetings, sharers of my Galician genes,

Yes Jen, I did go to the movies. (!) As you know I have two weeks off because my magazine has a "double issue," which is what magazines do when they need to give people vacations, so basically I am foot-loose and fancy free until the (I think) 25th. And so I have done my patriotic duty, which was to see Pearl Harbor. Coincidentally, I had just been reading, with considerable fascination, the current cover story of Vanity Fair which is gushingly about Josh Hartnett, he of the Brook Shields eyebrows and liquid orbs. I say "considerable fascination" because although I am the first to admit that this boy is dead cute and I would date him in a heartbeat, the amount of hype has been suffocating, and this VF thing takes the (rice?) cake, I must say. Perhaps I'm old-fashioned, but I continue to think that if you want to ask someone out on a date, just call him up, instead of writing 10,000 words about him in a public forum. Yeesh.

Anyway, BACK TO PEARL HARBOR! YAAAH! What to say? Well, "loud" comes to mind. I want to file a class-action suit on behalf of hearing people. My head has been ringing for hours. As you know I hate violence in all forms--which is why I missed the first half of Saving Private Ryan, to say nothing of the Joan Rivers pre-Oscar shows--and was, therefore, looking forward to the much-touted love triangle, primarily. Imagine my delight when I realized that it was a gay triangle! That whole homoerotic thing between Ben Affleck and Hartnett was WAY overdone, even for me--poor Kate Fotheringale, or whatever her name is, must have felt awfully neglected what with those two boys constantly making eyes at each other and holding each others' gazes for One Last Look before zipping off in their little planes and Being Heroic, etc., etc. I honestly thought that during the Big Death Scene, Affleck was going to kiss the other guy--the shot was set up for it perfectly. Well, anyway ... apart from that, I was quite impressed by the fact that the producers managed to take the worst disaster in American military history and transform it--by adding a WHOLE OTHER MOVIE AT THE END!!--into a tale of (inevitable) American triumph. Who says those people don't earn their millions?

As for Eric being funny, I hardly think so. I have never found him funny, even in his earlier "funny" period.

I love Six Feet Under!! Me and Laura and Charles have been watching it faithfully since the first episode. The business with the lost foot reminded me of the first heady days of Twin Peaks. I think this is going to be brilliant ... and no, I have never seen Sex and the City and don't plan to. You know what a prude I am.

Yours neoliberally,
Daniel

the breakfast table
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from: Daniel Mendelsohn

French Films, Schmench Films--TORA! TORA! TORA!

Posted Monday, June 18, 2001, at 5:56 PM ET

DISCUSS

E-MAIL

Daniel Mendelsohn, book critic for New York magazine, is the author of The Elusive Embrace. Eric Mendelsohn is the writer/director of the film Judy Berlin. Jennifer Mendelsohn is the author of Slate's "Keeping Tabs" column. To read their previous "Breakfast Table," click here.

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Reader Comments From The Fray:

[Thursday notes from the Fray Editor: A true "Breakfast Table" thread got going here: starting with made-up words, moving on to dead languages, salaries, and cheerful insults, plus a chance to find out which BT regular is a public defender, and what he likes about the the job (the pens are nice, and he doesn't meant penitentiaries). Another cross thread started here (OK, Amber, you are a high-maintenance troublemaker too. It was nothing personal, but you don't confine yourself to the "Breakfast Table". ) Good discussion on death penalty starts with new star Ender here. In fact, there are good threads everywhere this week, none of them staying on topic for long, and all of them involving being rude to other posters: "the only reason you are elevated [to gold stars] is so the rest of us know who to make Ad hominem attacks against."]

Daniel,

Please restrain yourself. According to my calculations, at this rate you will have used up the world's supply of parentheses (left and right) by 2:21PM on Thursday

--Keith M. Ellis

(To reply, click here.)

[Tuesday notes from the Fray Editor: By sheer chance, the Fray index at one point reads:

The Mendelsohns are back!
Appropriate Police Action

We would like to stress that the second post was on a completely different subject: we don't want the Mendelsohns getting cross with us. And we're not going near the whole 'provincial hicks' area.

One highlight of the Mendelsohn's previous "Breakfast Table" was the occasional appearance of the Missing Mendelsohn Brothers, and we have an early sighting of one here. He was replying to Arthur Stock's evocatively named "Vote for your favorite Mendelsohn here" post. Neill Hamilton is the official troublemaker to the Breakfast Table Fray, and outdid himself, below.]

It's starting well: someone has called Texas elected officials retarded. Next, as a parent of teenagers I think that sibling arguments can be awful heated. I am open to suggestions as how to provoke one among the three siblings talking this week. Perhaps one of the topics they could address is which one of them was treated best by their parents. Or perhaps they could rehash embarrassing moments that one other sibling caused. Whatever, there is lots of potential here.

--Neill Hamilton

(To reply, click here.)

[Now read how Neill Hamilton, with the grumpiness we love him for, changed his mind...]

We [Joseph Britt, Arthur Stock and Will V] shamelessly shilled for the Mendelsohns when we occupied the [Fray posters'] Breakfast Table. It didn't take long for Slate to invite them back.

Wonder if they'll return the favor...

--WillV

(To reply, click here.)