Silly movies can be fun

My daughter, my older son, his girlfriend, and I went to the movies last night. We saw Princess Diaries 2. As silly movies go, this was right up there with the best of them. Improbable plot, silly situations, caricatures instead of characters. But it turned out to be just what the doctor ordered. I was able to forget all the things that have been "on my mind" and laugh for a couple of hours. I don't like many comedies. Slapstick leaves me cold, embarrassing situations leave me, well, embarrassed for the characters. But this was spoof, pure and simple, with nothing offensive involved.

Actually, the only time I felt sad was when Julie Andrews sang, or rather melodically talked through a song a la Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady or Richard Harris in Camelot. When I think of how beautiful her voice was, of The Sound of Music, and Mary Poppins, and all the rest, it is very sad. However, she clearly doesn't feel sorry for herself, or if she does, she doesn't show it, and in that, there is clearly a lesson to be learned, one from which we could all benefit.