Provincial pride?

Is it a Michigan thing to get excited about seeing your state - or your city - be mentioned in a movie? Maybe it's a midwestern thing. But there were whispers in the crowd during a Saturday evening showing of The Upside of Anger at Ann Arbor's Showcase Cinemas when Ann Arbor was mentioned. And when Kevin Costner sported this t-shirt on-screen, the whispers grew to a was a noticeable murmur:



I have to admit, I took notice too, since Mr. Stadium Coin Laundry is approximately one mile away from my parents' house. I thought it was cool - what can I say?

In a recent article from the Detroit News, Neal Rubin gets excited about the Michigan stuff - such as Uncle Ray's chips and WRIF-FM - in the movie. So is this tendency among Michiganders - and I'm sure it's not indigenous to Michigan - cute or are we being "hayseeds," as Rubin self-deprecatingly calls himself?

▪ Speaking of The Upside of Anger, David Edelstein hated the ending so much, he put it on his Top 20 list of worst film twists. Before seeing the film, I wondered if Edelstein was being harsh. But after seeing it, I have to agree. The twist was bad enough to make me wonder why I spent the previous two hours watching the movie. But I still enjoyed those two hours. To me, movies are more enjoyable when good actors get a chance to display their talents, and Joan Allen was great. She's drunk, she's mad as hell, and she's not gonna take it anymore! Kevin Costner was good too, even if he's playing a baseball player for, like, the twentieth time. (Bull Durham, baby.)