We asked Kat Patrick and Hannah Cooke to sit down via email the morning after The Future screened and discuss it, while simultaneously going about their professional business. This is what they had to say.
From: Patrick, Katherine
Sent: Friday, 29 July 2011 9:40 a.m.
To: Hannah Cooke
Subject: The Future, yesterday.
Since last night I have been accidentally internally narrating my life in the voice of Paw Paw. It used to be Bill Murray. I don’t know how I feel about the change. I think it means I liked the movie though.
Has all the whimsy addled you at all? Be honest.
From: Hannah Cooke
Sent: 29 July 2011 09:39
To: Patrick, Katherine
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
I was slightly addled, but mostly because, despite myself, the whimsy of Sophie and Jason’s relationship is EXACTLY what I want. This made me think: what kind of person am I? Am I that transparent? Why is whimsy so attractive? Do I just need a floppy haired, second hand paperback reading, maroon-slack wearing man in my life?
Furthermore, sometimes I felt like it was just a big celebration White Girl Problems. But perhaps that was unkind.
From: Patrick, Katherine
Sent: Friday, 29 July 2011 10:05 a.m.
To: Hannah Cooke
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
That is unkind! It wasn’t Sex and the City or anything. Although to make a tedious comparison, Miranda July appears to divide opinion as much as Carrie Bradshaw and marmite. I think I have a crush on her (Miranda not Carrie). I believe this crush stems from watching her perform a dance inside a giant t-shirt. I don’t think I fancied their relationship much though. Their hair matched too much maybe? I liked him best when his curls were illuminated by moonlight on the beach.
I would like cats better if they only constituted just two paws (one adorably injured) and performed monologues on pop-philosophy. I think this is all I learned from the film. That and, hey, having the perfect relationship is tough.
From: Hannah Cooke
Sent: 29 July 2011 10:27
To: Patrick, Katherine
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
Their hair did match! I LOVED IT when he was on the beach. It was a cool shot!!
In all honesty, I felt as though it would make a great play, which might have something to do with Miranda July’s background in performance art. I spent much of the film thinking about how great it would be to see those performances live on stage, and how people might whinge less about the whimsy if it wasn’t a movie. I think that if the whimsy was on stage, we might not consider it so whimsical?
I think the most affecting moments in the film – when Jason is urged by the moon to remove his hand from Sophie’s head, and Paw Paw’s soliloquy at the end – felt a bit like they were written for a play.
From: Patrick, Katherine
Sent: Friday, 29 July 2011 10:55 a.m.
To: Hannah Cooke
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
Agreed! It would be a super play. Giant puppet cat paws! Recruit Jim Henson’s team!
I think on stage it would hit the perfect whimsical note. You could do lots of fun things with projections of bizarrely, self consciously sexy Youtube dance clips (I was thinking about this yesterday and I reckon if I was to do one, it would be a dramatic interpretation of a Celine Dion song. We could even do one together from a musical at one of our Youtubing parties?)
In this play adaption we’re writing, do you think Ted Danson would agree to play the old electrician who wrote dirty limericks on the back of cute collages? Do you think Buzz Aldrin would agree to play the moon? Actually, they were the same voice in the film. So maybe Buzz Aldrin could be the adorable but dirty old man too? Do you think Bill Murray might play the Dad character? Do you think Miranda July would be in it? But maybe in a twist play both Sophie and her boyfriend? (I’ve forgotten his name already.)
Having said that all the film did was adjust my taste in cats, I secretly really like the notion of being in the ‘middle of the beginning’ when you’re four years into a relationship. Ew. I just grossed myself out a bit. Truth-spew.
Have you ever fancied a man wearing a gold chain before?
From: Hannah Cooke
Sent: 29 July 2011 11:46
To: Patrick, Katherine
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
Oh my god, Buzz Aldrin, enough will the Moon already! I think that Ted Danson is too awesome to play the old electrician, and that if we’re getting Jim Henson involved then we may as well go the whole hog and cast the whole thing out of The Muppet Show. But then there’s the image of Muppets having sex, and the only Muppet I can think of for the lonely dad character is the American Eagle. And that Eagle can’t f*** Miss Piggy. Not in my lifetime. My youtube dance clip would be to “Bring It All Back To You” by S Club 7.
The Paw Paw puppet reminded me so much of my poor cat Fudge, who is in recovery from her own paw injury. She didn’t have an adorable bandage though, just lots of stitches. There were times when I found the slowness of Paw Paw and Miranda July’s delivery a tad tedious. Perhaps I’m just used to the rap battle style dialogue of the Social Network and Gilmore Girls, and need to adjust my settings so I don’t get tired by slow talk in films. There were times while watching where I felt myself lean forward and nod, in a “nod encouragingly and perhaps they’ll become confident enough to get to the point” type way.
The “beginning of the middle” is a lovely, comforting idea and I think that’s what I liked most about The Future: it felt a bit like the cinematic equivalent of a pep-talk over a cup of tea.
Men in gold chains? No. But I remember there was a time when boys started wearing beaded necklaces. I wasn’t into them, but accepted them as a fact of life. Kind of like the wife-beater singlet clad teen-man in the OC used to wear? Why can’t I remember his name? I remember Seth Cohen. That’s all I remember of the OC. Which brings me back to a key theme of The Future: hot, American, jewish looking guys with unruly mops of hair that I just want to ruffle!
From: Patrick, Katherine
Sent: Friday, 29 July 2011 12:12 p.m.
To: Hannah Cooke
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
S Club 7? I don’t believe you. Stop showing off.
Ryan was the OC character that managed to brood in a wife beater. I think he had a beaded necklace? Or maybe it was a bracelet. Or a shark tooth? Either way he didn’t surf so it was totally for show. Do you remember mood rings? They were of the same fashion era, but the feminine equivalent.
I guess if The Future had a conversational equivalent it would be a pep-talk over tea. Or maybe a charming whinge over a chai latte?
I’m electing to skim over your muppet sex speculation. It’s 12pm on a Friday and I’m in Newmarket. That’s like, drunk at 4am in a taxi banter ‘arghfb do muppets have genitalia LOL LO LLOL LOLOL can you stop at MacDonald’s drive-thru on the way fhdfskjdfg merp LOL.’ Even then I might wince. The word ‘genitalia’ is the worst. I think I like it even less than ‘moist.’
To sum up. The Future is worth seeing, but not buying on DVD? I don’t think I’d watch it again. But maybe I would? If I was in a DVD shop with somebody who announced ‘oh The Future, Miranda July right? I really want to see that’ I might reply ‘sure, I’ve seen it but could watch it again’ ‘oh, you’ve seen it? Is it any good?’ ‘Yeah. It’s cute.’ Then I’d probably laugh at it again.
From: Hannah Cooke
Sent: 29 July 2011 12:27
To: Patrick, Katherine
Subject: RE: The Future, yesterday.
Yes. Let’s sum up, I want lunch (Burger Fuel?) and I feel a cold coming on. The Future is worth seeing but I never plan on watching it again. I enjoyed it, would recommend to friends, but would NOT agree to a “sure, I’ve seen it but could watch it again” clause. That’s just because when I’m choosing something from a video store for a group watching, I’d prefer something starring Steve Martin, and there are a lot of those to get through.
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