The Encampment and a Review

Satan and I made our usual pilgrimage to The Encampment just across the river this weekend. I was supremely annoyed that the temperature was NEARLY EIGHTY DEGREES at what is usually a cool fall event. Nevertheless, I wore my corduroys and hiking boots.

Whether because of the weather or maybe because there were just SO MANY people, we didn't seem to enjoy ourselves quite as much as usual. We were distressed to learn the "apple crisp" people weren't there. And we ALWAYS look foward to a sickeningly sweet cinamonny apple crisp.

Othwerwise, the usual vendors were there with their wares. Satan's love affair with the split oak basket continues. And they are beautiful:

After that, we returned home for an early dinner and set out walking to the cinema. You'll be happy to know the temperature was by then a seasonally appropriate 70 degrees. The movie du jour was the much-anticipated next Bill Murray offering: Broken Flowers.

First off, let me just say, it's a great premise. Fifty-something womanizer receives mysterious letter informing him he has an eighteen year old son who may be trying to look him up. No signature, no return address. Bill shares the letter with his quirky neighbor, Basquiat (or the actor that played him) who just happens to be an amateur sleuth. Basquiat persuades Bill to make a list of the women who could possibly have had his child. Basquiat then produces a list of said candidate's whereabouts complete with trip itenerary, map quest maps, car rentals, and plane reserverations.

Tell me, who wouldn't want to go along on this quest? Obviously, the candidate roles are some juicy oppportunities for fifty-something actresses, something as rare as hen's teeth in Hollywood these days, and some heavy hitters step up to the plate. Sharon Stone and Jessica Lange, to name a few. These vignettes are definitely worth the price of admission.

Satan and I were conflicted about our rating. We finally settled on 3.5 stars out of 5. It had ELEMENTS of a four star, but in the end didn't quite satisfy to that extent. I think Bill Murray is in danger of becomming a caricature of himself, relying a little too heavily these days on the trademark Bill Murray "deadpan reaction" to everything as well as zingy one-liners followed by the patented "ironic lip curl". While we've loved these devices in the past, they begin to wear a little thin here. Satan summed up the theory by saying Murray may "run the gamut from A to D", with all due respect to Dorothy Parker. In other words: possible limited range problems. POSSIBLE. Because, make no mistake, we WANT to like Bill Murray. We want to LOVE Bill Murray and we want him to continue making successful movies.