So I was just talking about how excited I was that "The State" would be coming out soon on DVD a couple of blogs ago. If you forgot, you can look at it here. I finally got to tag my own blog! So I mentioned that the entire cast of The State was in David Wain's new movie "The Ten." My friend just happened to let me know about the special screening last night at the Lumiere.  I, of course, ran over there after work to meet some of my great special friends to go see it. The movie comes out August 3rd, so I was especially excited to see it early. I had already watched the trailer a bunch of times. And I am obviously a huge fan of the creator of the movie and not only the cast of "The State", but almost everyone else in the film.

 
I will just start by saying that the movie is unbelievably awesome. I really don't want to give too much away. So just watch the preview at the bottom of this entry and check out the website. It is better than any comedy you have probably seen in a while. Please go see this movie instead of the horrible movie that is "I Now Pronounce You Chuck & Larry." Just like the world of sitcoms, they really don't make comedies like this anymore. The movie is basically broken into ten parts, with each part about a particular commandment from the bible. The cast pops up in multiple connected stories all put together by Paul Rudd, who narrarates in between each section. It is sort of like 10 skits from "The State" or "Kids in the Hall." But even better. In addition to Paul Rudd and the entire cast of "The State", the cast includes Jessica Alba, Gretchen Mol, Adam Brody, Liev Schreiber, Justin Theroux, Oliver Platt, and Winona Ryder.

I have been really waiting for Winona Ryder's comeback for a while now. I was such a huge fan of her for so many years. I can't really imagine what my life would be like without her and the characters she helped to create. She has not really done a good movie in a good couple of years. But I knew that she had it in her. She just needed somebody to give her a chance. Winona Ryder's first role was the classic 80's movie "Lucas." She was only 15. Only 2 years later in 1988, Tim Burton gave her the role of a lifetime when he cast her in "Beetlejuice." She will be remembered forever for this pivotal role. Sort of like Christina RIcci in "The Addams Family" and Kirsten Dunst in "Interview with the Vampire." They were all sort of teen goth idols because of these rolls. We all wanted to be them, to date them, or just sort of hang out with them. Me being one of the latter group.

Both Christina Ricci and Winona Ryder would go on to star in "Mermaids" with Cher in 1990. I really can't imagine anyone else playing the role of Lydia in Beetlejuice. She was perfect. Next up was the movie that would cement her into our consciousness. She played Veronica Sawyer in the 1989 movie "Heathers." I could seriously talk about this movie for days and days. The movie was brilliant and she was again cast brilliantly. She was quickly becoming the Molly Ringwold of the the late 80's and early 90's. But there was something more dark and cynical about her that really got us all ready for the 90's. After roles in "Great Balls of Fire" and "Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael," she starred in her second Tim Burton movie. This would be "Edward Scissorhands." She then seemed to make the rounds of all the great directors of the period. She had a role in "Night on Earth" by Jim Jarmusch, "Dracula" by Francis Ford Coppola, and then "The Age of Innocence" by Martin Scorsese.

She again created a brilliant character we all sort of fell in love with in "Reality Bites" in 1994.  She still managed to find some good roles in the 90's, if not as memorable as her 80's roles. She starred in "Little Women," "How to Make an American Quilt," "Boys," "The Crucible,"  "Alien: Ressurection," and "Celebrity." Her 90's were finished with  "Girl, Interrupted." She was nominated for and oscar in the 90's for both "Little Women" & "The Age of Innocence." She was also nominated for best kiss by the MTV awards a total of 3 times. She seemed to sort of disappear the last couple years. She finally scored a good role in "Scanner Darkly" last year. I was very excited to see that she would be in "The Ten." She does a fabulous job and creates another role that I will remember forever. I never got that "Forever Winona" tattoo that I wanted. But I am seriously glad that she is back. I only hope everyone will realize that she still has the power to create some amazing characters. Go see "The Ten."

Here is one of the amazing scenes from "Heathers"...


And here is the trailer for "The Ten"...