A blog by Asher Glaser, sometimes.

Switch Your Ride

2011-08-23T16:28:00.000-07:00

My take on the famous Ford Campaign. Enjoy!

Ronald Reagan finally gets his statue... In London.

2011-07-04T14:18:00.000-07:00

To coincide with his 100th birthday and Independence Day... Have a feeling it might have better received in the US. But that's just me. ;)

From the L.A. Times.

Ronald Reagan statue - latimes.com

"This is what you shall do..." by Walt Whitman

2011-07-04T14:08:00.000-07:00

"This is what you shall do; Love the earth and sun and the animals, despise riches, give alms to every one that asks, stand up for the stupid and crazy, devote your income and labor to others, hate tyrants, argue not concerning God, have patience and indulgence toward the people, take off your hat to nothing known or unknown or to any man or number of men, go freely with powerful uneducated persons and with the young and with the mothers of families, read these leaves in the open air every season of every year of your life, re-examine all you have been told at school or church or in any book, dismiss whatever insults your own soul, and your very flesh shall be a great poem and have the richest fluency not only in its words but in the silent lines of its lips and face and between the lashes of your eyes and in every motion and joint of your body."

"This is what you shall do..." by Walt Whitman, from the preface of Leaves of Grass, published on this day, the 4th of July in 1855. Public domain

There Will Be Tweets

2011-05-14T17:06:00.001-07:00

A short one for now. Just barely over 140 characters:

I have debated putting tweets on this and I have decided that even though I barely blog anymore to keep the tweets just on Twitter. My idea is that if you want tweets, go to Twitter. Where there's a lot. In the meantime, feel free to follow me for fun stuff! @AsherTV

INCEPTION just got dreamier

2010-12-15T18:19:00.000-08:00

What's New? The 2010 Year Review!

2010-11-26T00:09:00.000-08:00

What a Year. So many moments, here's a few we'll never forget...

Asher & Comedian Bruce Fine team up again to bring Exclusive Interviews with OBAMA, MEL GIBSON, GAGA, LeBRON, TIGER, FAVRE and MORE! All the biggest stories AND all the biggest music hits of 2010. Volume 2 coming in December includes: The Pope, Lindsey Lohan, The Chilean Miners, Jesse James and more. Directed by Asher Glaser.

Enjoy, laugh, comment, share, lol.

Post-Thanksgiving Pre-Holiday Neurosis

2010-11-25T22:30:00.000-08:00

Hello. This is a slightly different blog posting for me. Lately I've used this blog as an extension of my video promotion, releasing my videos on another format for additional random e-onlookers. Today I think I'll write about my experience (both internal and external) of a big fat American holiday, the Thanksgiving. The funny thing about blogs and I guess videos on youtube, is that you never know who will view them. True they are public, but the universe is public now. Blogging doesn't seem to be the rage it was a few years ago. Twitter seems to have replaced the blog. People want the micro-blog at 140 characters or less. And to be honest, writing more than 140 characters just seems like a lot of work these days. I guess the thing now is to tweet that you wrote something in your blog... to all of my 139 followers on twitter (both real and cyber-real, that is a promotional add on to companies who auto-follow you whenever you mention a word related to their product.) So understanding the somewhat futility of blogging, I'm going to make an old fashioned entry anyway, for the on-again off-again facebook "freinds" and the random cyber-world at large.

Lately during holidays (as in the last couple years) I want to hibernate. I want to crawl into a ball, pull the covers up and not talk to anyone. I don't want to talk to family and answer the same questions I answer every year, with the same answer. I have family all across the country and in order to talk to them I have to call several states and have the same conversations back to back to back. In order to share my love for them in the form of a phone call I have to answer; yes I am still a waiter at the same restaurant. No, kids aren't in my immediate future. Yes I'm seeing someone but that does not mean there will be a wedding anytime soon. No I don't have any work airing on TV right now. Yes this is another year gone by where I am pursuing what seems to be an impossible dream. Yes I do have videos on YouTube, and I'm sure your viewing of them will make you confused and even more concerned about my future. No, I don't know what I'm going to do next. I'm sure whatever I say you will nod your head and not really comprehend the meaning of. You will wish me the best, hang up the phone and wish I was doing something more secure, with more of a future.

Then there's mom, who wants me to always be there, no matter what all the time. Anything less is an insult. This year is a bit different as she is moving to another state and me not being there is another layer of guilt on top of a lifetime of a guilt quilt. It's heavy to say the least.

My father is the same as he usually is, but at least he seems happy. He moved in with my brother for the time being and he seems to be doing well, on the phone at least. I won't write anything further about him because chances are he will read this ;-)

Side note; I have to admit part of this feels like I'm aping Doogie Hauser MD, sharing something personal with the world at the punch of the keyboard.

Back to Blogging

Then there's the family who lives close by who I have no excuse not to see. And the problem is not them. They are lovely people and I genuinely care about them and love them, but the problem is me. By going there I have to answer these questions face to face. It's one thing to put on the "yeah I'm doing fine, everything is good" face on the phone, but it's another to look another in the eye and answer those questions. Despite my chosen profession of being an actor I find it hard to put on aires of success when I'm a struggling artist at large. I did go to my extended family's in the valley and I'm glad I did. I did enjoy it, despite the drive and The People's Court playing in the background, followed by Family Feud and Wheel Of Fortune. To be fair and honest, I actually enjoyed having the TV on. After dinner we watched Two and a Half Men together and I got to take my brain off and just laugh and say "That Charlie Sheen, isn't he crazy?"

But on the drive back home this swell came over me again of "What am I doing?" "How do I progress?" "How is my life going to improve and change?" And those questions hit hard. Maybe it's because these holidays create some force that requires you to face it with an appearance of success, but I end up feeling crushed. It makes me feel that despite my successes I am really just a beginner at this, a loner, an outsider, with only a fragment of a chance of success and for that I sacrifice my life, my living, my legacy. And I feel broken.

Then this song comes on the radio as I drive home on a jam packed 101 at 9:55pm:

"Black Dub" in the studio - "I believe in you" from Daniel Lanois on Vimeo.

And I cognitively realize that those feelings however much they hurt, are feelings, not facts. As much as I feel like a beginner I know I have had successes, and they should not be discounted, so I will force my myself to accept the good in me and my life. As much as it can be challenging to talk to family members who sometimes seem like strangers, at least I have them, despite their distance and differences. They ask these questions because they miss and care about me, not to embarrass or to criticize. As far as my mistakes made, I won't let it control my future. I like the metaphor that the past is like a trail you leave behind, much like a wave from a boat. That is, it's a vanishing trail that shows where you were. You can observe and learn from it, but it doesn't affect the course, it can't.

Most importantly I accept that I have a talent, a voice and it will find a way to be heard in this world. I just have to keep listening to that voice...

I'll end with an excerpt of a Poem by Carl Sandburg called Praire from the book Cornhuskers, published in 1918.

I tell you the past is a bucket of ashes.
I tell you yesterday is a wind gone down,
a sun dropped in the west.
I tell you there is nothing in the world
only an ocean of tomorrows,
a sky of tomorrows.

God Bless,

A

Off to Dreamland again in INCEPTION 2

2010-08-09T12:41:00.000-07:00

The comedic take on the Leonardo Dicaprio starring, Christopher Nolan directing, INCEPTION. Watch the trailer for INCEPTION 2!

INCEPTION 2 Stills

2010-08-08T03:50:00.000-07:00

Some stills from the upcoming trailer and short INCEPTION 2. A parody of the summer blockbuster INCEPTION directed by Christopher Nolan. Look for it on youtube.com/asherglaser on 8/9/10.

Written, Produced, Edited & Directed by
Asher Glaser.

Starring
Asher Glaser
Colby Dant
Jared Grant
Jamie Delgatti

Asher Vlogs on Vlogging

2010-07-13T00:39:00.000-07:00

With all the current YouTube Vloggers out there it's hard to keep up or know what to watch. In this video Asher breaks down the current trends in Vlogging (video log publishing, kind of like a live journal) and gives his take on the YouTube scene.

The vlog covers several types of vloggers including a bump in with Jamie Foxx, Colin Farrell, Michael Cain & a cover of a Lady Gaga track. Enjoy!

WE STILL DIDN'T START THE FIRE

2010-06-01T17:42:00.000-07:00

Asher Glaser & Comedian Bruce Fine collaborated to update the Billy Joel classic song “We Didn’t Start The Fire” and produced a hilarious parody and retrospective account of all the important events and changes in Life in America for the past year. Nobody is safe, from Tiger Woods to Charlie Sheen to Jersey Shore, Toyota, and The Vatican. Directed by Asher Glaser, this highly anticipated video debuts on YouTube today, Tuesday June 1st, 2010

“CNN meets ESPN meets TMZ in 3 fast paced minutes. If you live in America, this video is YOUR life!!

And now 3 days later, it's on MSNBC with Contessa Brewer!!! What a world....

KICK-ASH

2010-03-16T16:26:00.000-07:00

Nobody does caped-crusaders like Ash-man. Check it out and Enjoy. Here are Parts 1 & 2.

Yes there might be a little influence from the tiny Indi Film Kick-Ass

Manchester Orchestra Live at The Troubadour 3.9.10

2010-03-10T03:48:00.000-08:00

The Ghost Writer film review

2010-03-06T01:40:00.000-08:00

The Ghost is very much alive

EXCELLENT. 21st Century Chinatown. Haven't seen a thriller this good in years. Go see, very Hitchcockian, very enjoyable. Woody Allen is kicking himself that his crappy Cassandra's Dream wasn't half as good with the same cast. The whole cast here is excellent with no weak links. I finally get to like Pierce Brosnan. Finally a coup for Polanski who is masterful here. This should be at the Oscars, not some of the drivel being spoon fed to us. Let's just hope it makes it. I love John Anderson's summary in the Wall Street Journal (filling in for my favorite, Joe Morgenstern) "The Ghost Writer" is so rich you may feel you paid too little for your ticket when the whole thing meets its very Polanski-ish climax. Please don't tell anyone.

The trailer doesn't really do the film justice. When I saw it I thought there wasn't much to it, looked like another John Grisham movie but I'm glad I read some reviews. It's a shame because when I see a trailer that doesn't hook me, I assume the movie wont either. For the most part trailers are much better than the actual films these days. But here's an exception.

http://www.theghostwriter-movie.com/

Hopeless Actor

2010-02-26T18:02:00.000-08:00

The start of a new series of mine about the frivolities of acting.

Enjoy,

-Asher

BLAME IT

2010-02-21T04:22:00.000-08:00

on Hype Williams & Auto-Tune.

Hats off to Jamie Foxx though.

So it took me 7 or 10 months to see the video, now that I did I love it. Although I don't know if they're serious or not, but as viewer watching Ron Howard roll gangsta to a club with Forest is hilarious. Another point that makes me wonder is that aside from the A+ cameos, it looks like it was made for $50. If anything it is a great use of editing. Jaime beholds the gift of T-Pain and Auto-Tune and gets the party started. I just don't know what to think, but I'll keep watching. Watch for Morris Chestnut, a woman who looks a hell of a lot like Rihanna, Quincy Jones, Bill Bellamy(!), Jermaine Dupri and my longtime favorite, Garrett Morris and yes, even Cedric the Entertainer drops in.

Oh yeah, T-Pain, Sam Jackson & Jake Gyllanhaal are in it too. ;-p

comments welcome.

The Year of the Tiger

2010-02-17T03:38:00.000-08:00

"I'm so sorry I banged so many hot girls...and got caught. I'm sorry I'm such a good golfer, otherwise none of you would care. Now I need a hug"
-Tiger Woods

"I'm sorry anyone cares."
-Asher Glaser

The Chinese New Year was just rung in and to everyone's delight, it is the Year of the Tiger. Celebrate with me by watching the new video about Tiger below.

MUG SHOT "So my life blows right now."

MUG SHOT 2 BUSTED! -Taken by the LAPD

Week o' Love: Day 7

2010-02-14T00:50:00.000-08:00

And now a blog for the women:

Today is Valentine's Day, the day on which we celebrate love, especially romantic love. The holiday was named after an early Christian priest, St. Valentine, who was martyred on February 14 in 269 A.D.

The tradition of exchanging love notes on Valentine's Day originates from the martyr Valentine himself. The legend maintains that due to a shortage of enlistments, Emperor Claudius II forbade single men to get married in an effort to bolster his struggling army. Seeing this act as a grave injustice, Valentine performed clandestine wedding rituals in defiance of the emperor. Valentine was discovered, imprisoned, and sentenced to death by beheading. While awaiting his fate in his cell, it is believed that Valentine fell in love with the daughter of a prison guard, who would come and visit him. On the day of his death, Valentine left a note for the young woman professing his undying devotion signed "Love from your Valentine."

Poets Robert Browning (books by this author) and Elizabeth Barrett Browning (books by this author) carried out one of the most famous romantic correspondences in literary history. They first introduced themselves by epistolary means, and fell in love even before they had met in person. The letter that began their relationship was written by Robert in January 1845; it was essentially a piece of fan mail to esteemed poet Elizabeth Barrett. He wrote:

"I love your verses with all my heart, dear Miss Barrett — and this is no offhand complimentary letter that I shall write — whatever else, no prompt matter-of-course recognition of your genius and there a graceful and natural end of the thing: since the day last week when I first read your poems, I quite laugh to remember how I have been turning and turning again in my mind what I should be able to tell you of their effect upon me ..."

Elizabeth Barrett responded right away: "I thank you, dear Mr Browning, from the bottom of my heart. ... Such a letter from such a hand!"

She continued, "I will say that I am your debtor, not only for this cordial letter & for all the pleasure which came with it, but in other ways, & those the highest: & I will say that while I live to follow this divine art of poetry, ... in proportion to my love for it & my devotion for it, I must be a devout admirer & student of your works. This is in my heart to say to you & I say it."

They continued writing to each other, clandestinely, for a year and a half, and then they secretly got married in 1846. Right before the wedding, Robert mailed off to Elizabeth a letter that said: "Words can never tell you, however, — form them, transform them anyway, — how perfectly dear you are to me – perfectly dear to my heart and soul. I look back, and in every one point, every word and gesture, every letter, every silence — you have been entirely perfect to me — I would not change one word, one look. I am all gratitude — and all pride (under the proper feeling which ascribes pride to the right source) all pride that my life has been so crowned by you."

And then, the day after the wedding, she wrote to him:
"What could be better than [your] lifting me from the ground and carrying me into life and the sunshine? ... All that I am, I owe you — if I enjoy anything now and henceforth, it is through you."

During their courtship, she was composing sonnets for him, which she presented to him as a wedding gift. The sonnets were published in 1850 and include one of Elizabeth Barrett Browning's most famous poems ever:

How do I love thee? Let me count the ways.
I love thee to the depth and breadth and height
My soul can reach, when feeling out of sight
For the ends of being and ideal Grace.
I love thee to the level of everyday's
Most quiet need, by sun and candlelight.
I love thee freely, as men strive for Right.
I love thee purely, as they turn from Praise.
I love thee with the passion put to use
In my old griefs, and with my childhood's faith.
I love thee with a love I seemed to lose
With my lost saints — I love thee with the breath,
Smiles, tears, of all my life! — and, if God choose,
I shall but love thee better after death.

According to the Greeting Card Association, an estimated one billion valentine cards are sent each year, making Valentine's Day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year. (An estimated 2.6 billion cards are sent for Christmas.)

Approximately 85 percent of all valentines are purchased by women. In addition to the United States, Valentine's Day is celebrated in Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, France, and Australia.

Valentine greetings were popular as far back as the Middle Ages (written Valentine's didn't begin to appear until after 1400), and the oldest known Valentine card is on display at the British Museum. The first commercial Valentine's Day greeting cards produced in the U.S. were created in the 1840s by Esther A. Howland. Howland, known as the Mother of the Valentine, made elaborate creations with real lace, ribbons and colorful pictures known as "scrap".

Now I'll close with one of the most noted writers in the world, from his most romantic play, Mr. William Shakespeare's Romeo & Juliet. This is one of my favorite passages and one I will most likely never say on stage.

A Pair of Star Crossed Lovers....

Act 3, Scene 2

Juliet:

Gallop apace, you fiery-footed steeds
Towards Phoebus' lodging: such a wagoner
As Phaethon would whip you to the west,
And bring in cloudy night immediately.
Spread thy close curtain, love-performing night,
That runaway's eyes may wink and Romeo
Leap to these arms, untalk'd of and unseen.

Lovers can see to do their amorous rites
By their own beauties; or, if love be blind,
It best agrees with night. Come, civil night,
Thou sober-suited matron, all in black,
And learn me how to lose a winning match,
Play'd for a pair of stainless maidenhoods:
Hood my unmann'd blood, bating in my cheeks,
With thy black mantle; till strange love, grown bold,

Think true love acted simple modesty.
Come, night; come, Romeo; come, thou day in night;
For thou wilt lie upon the wings of night
Whiter than new snow on a raven's back.
Come, gentle night, come, loving, black-brow'd night'
Give me my Romeo; and, when he shall die,
Take him and cut him out in little stars,
And he will make the face of heaven so fine

That all the world will be in love with night
And pay no worship to the garish sun.
O, I have bought the mansion of a love,
But not possess'd it, and, though I am sold,
Not yet enjoy'd: so tedious is this day
As is the night before some festival
To an impatient child that hath new robes
And may not wear them

Week o' Love: Day 7

2010-02-14T00:21:00.000-08:00

Happy Valentines Day!

My boy Skyy laying it down! Enjoy Gentlemen!

...and here's the lyrics so you can sing along!

LOVE STINKS
J. Geils Band

You love her
But she loves him
And he loves somebody else
You just can't win
And so it goes
Till the day you die
This thing they call love
It's gonna make you cry
I've had the blues
The reds and the pinks
One thing for sure

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

Two by two and side by side
Love's gonna find you yes it is
You just can't hide
You'll hear it call
Your heart will fall
Then love will fly
It's gonna soar
I don't care for any casanova thing
All I can say is
Love stinks

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

I've been through diamonds
I've been through minks
I've been through it all
Love stinks

(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah
(Love stinks)
Love stinks yeah yeah

Farmer Makes Huge Manure Valentine's Heart For Wife

2010-02-12T18:15:00.000-08:00

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2010/02/farmer_makes_manure_valentines.html?ft=1&f=103943429/r:t

Week o' Love: Day 5

2010-02-12T03:36:00.000-08:00

Love Sick

Words and music by Bob Dylan

I'm walking,
through streets that are dead
Walking,
walking with you in my head

My feet are so tired
My brain is so wired
And the clouds are weeping

Did I,
hear someone tell a lie
Did I,
hear someone's distant cry

I spoke like a child;
You destroyed me with a smile
while I was sleeping

I'm sick of love
But I'm in the thick of it
This kind of love
I'm so sick of it

I see,
I see lovers in the meadow
I see,
I see silhouettes in the window

I watch them 'til they're gone
and they leave me hangin' on
to a shadow

I'm sick of love
I hear the clock tick
this kind of love
I'm lovesick

Sometimes
the silence can be like thunder
Sometimes
I wanna take to the road and plunder

Could you ever be true?
I think of you and I wonder

I'm sick of love
I wish I'd never met you
I'm sick of love
I'm tryin' to forget you

Just don't know what to do
I'd give anything to be with you

Followed by another one of my favorites of his:

"Boots Of Spanish Leather"

Oh I'm sailin' away my own true love
I'm sailin' away in the morning
Is there something I can send you from across the sea
From the place that I'll be landing ?

No, there's nothin' you can send me, my own true love
There's nothin' I wish to be ownin'
Just carry yourself back to me unspoiled
From across that lonesome ocean.

Oh, but I just thought you might want something fine
Made of silver or of golden
Either from the mountains of Madrid
Or from the coast of Barcelona ?

Oh, but if I had the stars from the darkest night
And the diamonds from the deepest ocean
I'd forsake them all for your sweet kiss
For that's all I'm wishin' to be ownin'.

That I might be gone a long time
And it's only that I'm askin'
Is there something I can send you to remember me by
To make your time more easy passin' ?

Oh, how can, how can you ask me again
It only brings me sorrow
The same thing I want from you today
I would want again tomorrow.

I got a letter on a lonesome day
It was from her ship a-sailin'
Saying I don't know when I'll be comin' back again
It depends on how I'm a-feelin'.

Well, if you, my love, must think that-a-way
I'm sure your mind is roarmin'
I'm sure your thoughts are not with me
But with the country to where you're goin'.

So take heed, take heed of the western wind
Take heed of the stormy weather
And yes, there's something you can send back to me
Spanish boots of Spanish leather.

Listen on iLike

Week o' Love: Day 4

2010-02-11T14:16:00.000-08:00

A Man Alone

by Stephen Orlen

I hated breaking up and I hated
Being left, finding myself in an apartment
With an extra set of silverware and a ghost,
Impatient to be gone. Then to summon up
Who I was before the bed was full with woman.
To shift the street-mind from getting to
To slowing down and window shop. In the bar down the street,
To let my eyes simplify again, and make no judgments,
And breathe in the smoke that drifts
Through one body then another,
And find myself close enough
To whisper into a woman's just-washed hair
And inhale that ten thousand year old scent.
To memorize a phone number.
To learn to say goodnight at her door.
To keep my hands in my pockets, like a boy.
To open the heart, only a little at a time.

"A Man Alone" by Steve Orlen

Week o' Love: Day 3

2010-02-10T01:07:00.000-08:00

"This Year's Valentine"
by Philip Appleman

They could
pump frenzy into air ducts
and rage into reservoirs,
dynamite dams
and drown cities,
cry fire in theaters
as the victims are burning,
but
I will find my way through blackened streets
and kneel down at your side.

They could
jump the median, head-on,
and obliterate the future,
fit .45's to the hands of kids
and skate them off to school,
flip live butts into tinderbox forests
and hellfire half the heavens,
but
in the rubble of smoking cottages
I will hold you in my arms.

They could
send kidnappers to kindergartens
and pedophiles to playgrounds,
wrap themselves in Old Glory
and gut the Bill of Rights,
pound the door with holy screed
and put an end to reason,
but
I will cut through their curtains of cunning
and find you somewhere in the moonlight.

Whatever they do with their anthrax or chainsaws,
however they strip-search or brainwash or blackmail,
they cannot prevent me from sending you robins,
all of them singing: I'll be there.

"This Year's Valentine" by Philip Appleman.

They Do it & Do it again

2009-12-30T19:09:00.000-08:00

Once again I am completely impressed with what this band has been able to create in a community with this song. Think what you will of their music or attitude, (believe me I definitely think they have gone cheese-bomb) but this is one thing music can do that no other art can. This is a great example of the power of music, (even if you're not a fan). Okay they had some help by technology and video too ;-) First the incredible Canadian LipDub now this. Check it out, original air date 10/13/09.

Happy New Year.

Here's the LipDub Version. Just as impressive & completely different

Up in the Air - Ashman movie Review

2009-12-24T00:06:00.000-08:00

Sugar Coating.

After watching Up in the Air on the eve of a Christmas where there are more people out of work than in any point in my lifetime it becomes abundantly clear that Jason Reitman has lived a life of privilege and nepotism that hasn't lead him to deal with real suffering. In what's being labeled as the movie of "our time", he puts the protagonist (George Clooney) as a job terminator who's real job is not to care. Sounds good on paper but when the people who suffer so much just equate to window dressing to make us feel something for the rich guy my appreciation for the film evaporates up in the air.

Not that there aren't things to like in this film. The performances by the two female leads Vera Farmiga & Anna Kendrick are stellar. It's such a nice change to see more than one female do damage in a film that centers on the male ego. There's some fun dialogue, cameos and jokes but this is largely a film to go see to feel safe from the cold external world we live in. I know there is a lot of praise for Clooney in this film, and he is undeniably good. But for me it's a little too much like Mickey Rourke in The Wrestler last yer; a good performance of someone essentially playing themselves. As much as I like Clooney as a Hollywood activist, director, with awesome comic work, I'm still waiting for the role that really moves me. My favorite performance of his to this date is Out of Sight. Until then he remains a great, handsome guy who has his heart in the right place.

In the end I don't feel this movie will age well because it's not really about much. Well-to-do white company man goes through some life examination and changes, a little. I feel it's a little insulting to America's newly unemployed, especially the nearly 50% in Detroit. Sorry Reitman, but you need to deliver something more than a gingerbread man to make a meaningful film. What the critics promised was a rich original recipe, what we got was just a plain old Hollywood sugar coating.