Formulas are used over and over again because they work, right? There’s nothing new under the sun? About three, possibly four minutes into Zhang Yang’s Shower I or anyone else who’s seen a few movies could’ve hit “pause” and laid out nearly scene for scene what was going to happen in the upcoming ninety minutes. It wouldn’t matter. You’d still be right there, pulling for these characters, laughing with them, crying with them. Oy, were we crying!
I have a theory. Actually, I’ve discussed this with people in the past and I think it might be true. It is called the sympathy period. When women live together they “time their cycles together” right? Well, I really do believe that men have their emotions tugged along with that ominous lunar pull. All I know is that every now and then I find myself acting really strange — and it turns out that Ann is about to get her period. What’s up with that?
The truth is that I was sobbing more than Ann was at Shower. And Shower isn’t even that good of a movie! It’s fairly a standard Miramax foreign film, aren’t-those-other-cultures-cute type of movie. There’s even a frickin’ retarded guy in it. A retarded guy! I’m the one who never saw I Am Sam because, post-Gump, I laid down a strict “No Retards” rule! (I still won’t see Radio, unless I am very drunk.)
Anyway, should you see Shower? Absolutely. Is it a good movie? No, it is formulaic crap.
