Day 66 - So This is What Happened to "Not Mark Ruffalo"

Day 66.

Whilst I was trolling the internets today after my screening of J&J, I happened to stumble upon the trailer for an upcoming 2011 film entitled "Monogamy." (via SlashFilm)

Now usually, I wouldn't pay too much heed to these out-of-the-way "indie" films, but this one caught my attention because its leading man happens to be Chris "Not Mark Ruffalo" Messina. If you watch the trailer, you'll see that Eric Powell has since left Julie (she had an affair and wrote a book about it) and is now engaged to Rashida Jones (fuck, that guy gets lucky). Unfortunately, NMR is a fucking creepyass stalker or something and presumably spends his time following around and taking pictures of prostitutes.

Photo Credit: Not Mark Ruffalo

Adam Quigley at SlashFilm (my favorite film blog/you should all be reading it) had this to say about the trailer/NMR:

"I’ve been wondering when we’d see Chris Messina get a challenging lead role, and this looks like it may be it. The guy has great screen presence, and as affable as he is playing the ‘nice guy’ — as we’ve learned from Six Feet Under, Julie & Julia, Away We Go, and even Devil, of all things — it’s about time he be given a chance to tackle a character with a little more complexity."

Quigley is an intelligent writer that I usually enjoy, but in this case, I have to respectfully disagree with him and say:

"I've been wondering when we'd see Chris Messina finally quit acting and return to his roots as the bag boy at my local Piggly Wiggly. The guy has no screen presence, and his entire affable "nice guy" persona should be rightfully attributed to acting legend Mark Ruffalo, who Messina attempts to impersonate, but ultimately fails at doing so. As we've learned from Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Zodiac, Reservation Road, Shutter Island, The Kids Are Alright and even the upcoming Avengers film, of all things, Mark Ruffalo will always out-act this fuckhead Chris Messina  -- and this town ain't big enough for two guys that look like Mark Ruffalo. It's about time Chris Messina be given a chance to retire from acting for good."

And you can put that on the movie poster!

Shop the Pig! (it's a regional thing)

But seriously, this looks like a fucking weird movie and possibly worth checking out, if for no other reason to see the "sainted" Eric Powell do some fucking kinkyass weird shit. Also, Rashida Jones is mad hot. Heterosexuality reaffirmed!

Oh, and don't forget to send your Julie/Julia Awards ballots to lawrenceandjulieandjulia@gmail.com. I've already received a couple, but had to discount them because of hanging chads (these jokes sure are timely, am I right??)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Julie & Julia Quote of the Day: "It's for professionnel, which you will never be, I'm sure."