Posted by Tom

First of all, props to Kevin’s team, the San Diego Padres, for owning the Braves in extra innings, with a grand slam in the top of the 13th. Final score 7-2 Padres. Also, good job Red Sox, winning against the Angels in 10 last night.

Second, I went out last night to see The 40-Year-Old Virgin. It was hilarious. The problem is that they stole several of my ideas. First of all, the first few shots in the opening sequence closely resemble those from Bay State. Specifically, the alarm clock shot. Let the record show that our script used this introduction long before this movie was released.

There were also two more important (and slightly embarassing) things that had a striking resemblance to my life. First, in the scene where the main character/virgin, Andy Stitzer (Steve Carell), goes to a sushi bar on a date, he is wearing the EXACT shirt that I wore to the film. It is a light blue plaid button-down shirt from Old Navy. My date found this quite amusing.

Second, Andy mentions that he plays online poker for a few hours a night, “when he isn’t playing Halo.” I know what they’re trying to imply, and all I can say is this – Halo is not a loser’s passtime. While many losers do play Halo, the seemingly logical conclusion that they ask viewers to draw (Halo players are losers) is ridiculous. Even worse, we later see a paused screen of Halo 2 on Andy’s television while a scene is going on. Yet Andy had clearly said that he played Halo. Halo and Halo 2 are completely different. Yes, Halo 2 is the sequel to Halo. However, the gameplay and storyline of the second game pale in comparison to those of the first. Any real gamer would never refer to the two games interchangeably. So Andy Stitzer, supposedly characterized as a real gamer, is clearly shown here to be a fraud. I find it more likely that he is, in fact, a serial killer, as is suggested earlier in the film by Cal (Seth Rogen). This darker side of Andy’s character will most likely be revealed in the inevitable sequel.

Just for the record, I actually have played less than 15 hours of Halo and Halo 2 combined all summer. Despite these glaring errors and stolen ideas, the movie is excellent – hilarious, and surprisingly morally wholesome.

Now, I’m off to sort through the 40 one-hour MiniDV tapes of potential B Roll footage for the short video piece I’m working on for Olin College. I would strongly recommend checking out The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Over and out.