Lately, both the big screen and small have been popular in my world. Here’s the latest on what I have been watching:

Side Effects

It is worth seeing this psychological thriller (check your local Redbox). Long after the film ends, you will find yourself pondering questions about who knew what when and how that knowledge or ignorance was used for gain by the individual and those around them. It’s practically a side effect. If you watch at night, be prepared to have strange dreams (another potential side effect).

Lone Ranger

Johnny Depp, horses, and the wild west? A trifecta in my book. The production was sprawling with ample chase scenes and special effects. I enjoyed Depp’s antics as Tonto, but his Jack Sparrow performance remains unsurpassed – “Why is the rum gone?” For me, two hours would have sufficed.

Weeds

SPOILER ALERT: I have not been cautious in my description of Weeds, so if you want to keep the surprise alive, stop reading here.

For six weeks, my anthem was “Little boxes on the hillside, little boxes made of ticky tacky…”

The Netflix description reads: “Nancy Botwin takes a big hit when her husband dies suddenly and she’s left struggling to maintain her comfortable lifestyle – so the suburban soccer mom summons up her inner entrepreneur and starts selling pot to her affluent neighbors.” That may be where it starts, but it is certainly not where it ends.

The eight season adventure includes: three subsequent husbands, at least a dozen other men, one woman, a third son, a tunnel to Mexico, a murder, a cross country evasion of law enforcement, three years in prison, an extended stay in Copenhagen, and so much more. I know these shows depend on interpersonal drama and extreme situations to self perpetuate, but still, I think there are some worthwhile reflections among the circus:

Nancy entered her life of crime for the money, but I think she stayed for the power and the exhileration. She was never content just selling, she was always climbing higher (and falling harder). Wearing a seductive smile and revealing dress, she courted dangerous, powerful men. Maybe deep down she felt cheated by her husband’s early death and compulsively sought men who appeared immortal (who she then outlived). No doubt she liked chasing what she shouldn’t have.

Or maybe she feared being alone. The show finale would certainly suggest this. Maybe the whole “business” was meant to keep those she loved from leaving. Look at Andy, who she strings along or Silas who tries to strike out on his own more than once and the whole RV road trip, really Nance? Judah (first husband) left without permission. Nancy was not going to let that happen again.

Or maybe Nancy made decision after decision in a caffeine stupor. After all she was seldom without a latte or diet coke in hand.

Until I meet the creator, Jenji Kohan, I will never really know, so in the meantime: “they all look just the same!”