Delighted

My big afternoon movie was "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World," which I was delighted by. I hadn't ever seen it before and didn't know anything about it. So, I was laughing during the credits, just at the bizarre incongruity of seeing all the names of the different people in the movie--from Spencer Tracy to the Three Stooges. Then, I laughed consistently from start to finish. Here are some things I really liked about it. 1. The pacing. On the one hand, it seems like chaos, like a lot of things are happening all at once and for no reason. But on the other hand, each joke is allowed its own life. Hmm. I don't know if I'm really getting at it, but there's a way in which things go on for just the right amount of time. Things that aren't quite that funny don't go on too long, but things that are really funny aren't rushed. There, that's it. There's a sense that nothing's rushed. Everything goes at its own pace. We don't have to hurry to the punchline, because there's plenty of funny along the way. 2. The physical comedy is really beautiful, almost like you're watching dancers. 3. Which leads me to how beautiful the whole film was. Just the way it looks on the screen is really stunning. I don't just mean the scenery, which was lovely, but everything, from the way things were placed in the background, to the way the camera moved, to the graceful ways the cars turned and swerved. 4. It was nicely self-contained. 5. There are funny airplanes. I don't know why I love funny airplanes, but I do, and there are some. So, I liked it and was glad to have something worthwhile to waste the afternoon on. And all those cars! It made me excited to be driving mine tomorrow.