The Occasional Blog of Jonah Weiland

I can’t exactly identify why, but this chills me to my core. My core, I say.

I feel I must admit to something – I have a man crush on Brian Williams.

Yeah, the NBC Nightly News guy who took over when Tom Brokaw got too old. The guy who looks ike a middle-aged Ken doll. Yeah, that Brian Williams. Man-crushing hard.

About six months ago, when I first started working out of the new CBR offices, I started to TiVo the NBC Nightly News because I wanted someone to tell me the news of the day when I got home from the office. It was something my Father always did, so it seemed like the right thing to do. I picked NBC for a couple of reasons – it’s the channel I’ve watched most of the time in my life, Charlie Gibson annoys me in that way an annoying grand father annoys their grand children with his smells and ways, and also because while I like the Katie Couric just fine (If she wanted to go on a date to say KFC, I’d not turn her down) that CBS Eye logo freaks me out too much to stay on that network for extended periods of time.

So, Brian Williams it was and there was no way for me to know at the time that in short order I’d start crushing like a 16-year-old girl in High School.

OK, maybe not that strongly. I am confidently straight so it’s not a sexual thing. He’s just that good at his job. He’s got a whole seduction thing going on. When he tells you the news, he uses that strong voice of his with a comforting tone that fills you with a certain confidence. You end up thinking to yourself, “Yeah, it’s tough right now, but Brian Williams will make it all fine. How? Well, duh, he’s Brian Williams.”

In his numerous appearances on “The Daily Show with John Stewart,” Williams gets a chance to display his humorous side as well as his deep intelligence. There are few people who can go on Stewart’s show and catch him off guard, but Brian Williams can.

I mean, Brian Williams is so good that when you see a black and white picture of him, you actually see it in color.

See that? The above picture is actually black and white, but because a sea witch imbued him with magical powers during his first oceanic voyage, you actually see color where there is none.

Brian Williams is magical.

I liked “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.” Truthfully, though, there was little chance I wouldn’t like it. I tend to like the films David Fincher makes (“The Game” is my favorite and I even liked “Panic Room”), and judging by just the trailers I knew I’d enjoy it. I recognize it’s not a perfect film — there are way too many holes in the story that never get concluded or explained well (and no I’m not talking about the reasons why he de-ages) — but it’s a beautifully well made and crafted film, with some excellent performances. The visuals of the film alone are Oscar worthy. And the film is rather emotionally manipulative, but it’s the one kind of manipulation that gets me every time — stories of life and death.

Ever since my father passed away three years ago, I spend a lot of time (I hope not too much) thinking about life and death. Experiencing that first significant loss in life does that to you. It’s something I both fear and enjoy thinking about. It’s some very scary and sad stuff, but it challenges you in profound ways. While I wouldn’t say “Button” challenges you in profound ways, I would say that if you are predisposed to that sort of philosophical examination — or are just a big sap like I am — then I think this movie will connect with you. But I just don’t know if it’s going to connect deeply with everyone. I think anyone who sees it will come away enjoying some aspect of it, but I recognize it’s a bit heavy handed and the romanticism of life it depicts will turn some people off.

I fear, though, that as I think about the film more I’ll enjoy it less. It’s not the most original film I’ve ever seen — it really is “Forest Gump” meets “Titanic” in a lot of ways. The story seems incomplete in places (I hope there’s going to be some 3.5 hour long version of the movie that fills in the reason why some characters even exist in the film). But the visual look, the performances and the aging technology they use in the film are all fascinating. As is the depiction of the the different eras the movie takes place in. It’s all rather engaging despite its flaws.

I just reread the above and realize I don’t really have a point. I think that’s because I’m rather conflicted about the movie. I think I wanted it to go deeper emotionally — like it just fell short of where it should have been, which keeps me from raving about it.

Or maybe I just need some sleep and really shouldn’t be posting this. Too late.