Throwback Thursday: The Bachelor (1999)

Love, in theory, should be simple. You find the right person, you settle down with them, and hopefully live happily ever after. But we all know that love is never simple.

In the 1999 film, The Bachelor (not to be confused with the reality show of the same name), James Shannon III (Chris O’Donnell) will soon be celebrating his 30th birthday. Though he has been with his girlfriend Anne Arden (Renée Zellweger) for a while, Jimmy is not quite ready to propose. When he finally gets down on on knee, it does not go as planned.

Needing space and time to think, Anne goes out of town for work. Just as she leaves, Jimmy receives an ultimatum from his recently deceased grandfather (the late Sir Peter Ustinov). Unless there is a ring on his finger by 6:05 pm on his birthday, he will receive nothing from his grandfather’s will. Scheduled to blow out the candles in 24 hours, he desperately tries to contact Anne. But she is incommunicado. Feeling desperate, Jimmy starts to contact his old girlfriends.

On a scale of 1-10, I would say that The Bachelor is 4. The plot is fairly predictable as a romantic comedy. Though O’Donnell and Zellweger have reasonably chemistry, there is nothing new or fresh about this film. The hapless male who needs a kick to the proverbial butt to prove to his significant other that he is serious about their relationship is nothing new. Its all rather generic and to be honest, boring.

Do I recommend it? Not really.

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I Wish VP Harris Had Pushed Back on the anti-Israel Comment Last Week

We are all entitled to our opinion on anything and everything. But, that does not mean that we can spout lies and half truths. Doing a little bit of homework and having all of the information goes a long way in presenting an educated vision of how we see the world.

Last week, Vice President Harris visited a political science class and responded to questions from several students. One of the topics was the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the funds that the Israeli government receives from the United States. The student made the usual claim of ethnic genocide and displacement. Harris responded with the following:

“And again, this is about the fact that your voice, your perspective, your experience, your truth cannot be suppressed, and it must be heard. Our goal should be unity, but not uniformity,” Harris said. “And the point that you’re making about policies that relates to Middle East policy, foreign policy. We still have healthy debates in our country, about what is the right path. And nobody’s voice should be suppressed on that.”

This young lady has every right to speak her mind. The problem is that Vice President’s response could be interpreted as approval and/or agreement. I have a huge amount of respect for Harris, she represents so much of what this nation can achieve when we put the bullshit and partisanship aside. But I cannot help feel disappointed in her answer. She knows better.