When in Rome
Editor’s Note: This is the second installment of a biweekly column on the art and culture of Rome by Hilary Becker, who is spending Spring term on the art history Foreign Study Program. More »
Monday, April 21, 2008
Underdog tops again with ‘Marshall’
Since Judd Apatow and company have become the tastemakers of contemporary comedy, audiences across the nation are going to have to endure the sight of a lot of flaccid penises. Both the underappreciated “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story” (2007) and “Forgetting Sarah Marshall” (2008) — the latest film to fall under Apatow’s umbrella of production — show the male organ in all its glory, doing its part to serve the narrative. I’m not kidding: These members are instruments of narrative pathos and satire. The first time the lead in “Marshall” bares all, he’s being dumped unceremoniously by his girlfriend. His towel drops in shock, and the exposed, doughy physique and equally doughy package reflect his pathetic vulnerability. More »
