Monday, January 23

"Brokeback" vs. the National Football League

After the august Hollywood Foreign Press honored "Brokeback Mountain!" with several Golden Globes, I decided to check it out on Sunday, a rare child-free evening.

But I faced a quandary: see the movie about gay cowboys or watch the NFL playoff games that would decide who will play in this year's Super Bowl? I went with "Brokeback!" after reasoning that they were more or less the same thing: showcases for physically fit men in silly clothes tackling, blocking and sacking each other.

The movie exceeds expectations. I was prepared for a letdown from the hype, but "Brokeback!" delivers. Heath Ledger stands out as the cowboy who says little but conveys a lot. Jake Gyllenhall is not quite as strong as the more outspoken of the pair.

Michelle Williams of "Dawson's Creek" fame breaks out as Ledger's suffering wife, however. (She is much more convincing at playing the spouse of a closeted man than, say, Katie Holmes.) As Walter Monheit might say, don't worry, Michelle, you will have a new man in your life soon: His name is Oscar!

Dullard rating
: Rocked.

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