Famous Last Words- End of Round 1

Can it be? In the final week of the first round of Famous Last Words, have I finally found a quote that stumped even the most stout-hearted of contestants? It would seem so, as for the first time in the admittedly short history of the game, none of you were able to identify last week's quote.


So... what's your most uncomfortable movie? Is it Salo? Irreversible? Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles? For me, it would have to be Arnaud Desplechin's mammoth 1996 film My Sex Life (or, How I Got Into An Argument), the source of last week's quote. It's not that anything jaw-droppingly awful happens in the course of the film, but simply the fact that it hits home with me like no other film does. For the benefit of those who haven't seen it, My Sex Life tells the story of Paul, played by the great Matthieu Amalric, a nebbishy intellectual who is at a personal and professional impasse in his life at the age of- wait for it- 29. Yikes. Desplechin is one of my favorite contemporary filmmakers, and Amalric one of the most fascinating actors working today, and both do spectacular work here. Time and again Desplechin and Amalric capture the character and his mindset in almost painful detail. Making it a little easier to take is the presence of a wide variety of lovely women- the immensely lovable Emmanuelle Devos (never before or since have I wanted to cuddle so much with a movie character), the sphinx-like Marianne Denicourt, the teasing charms of Jeanne Balibar, the warm yet regal Chiara Mastroianni, even a nude scene from the luscious young Marion Cotillard. My Sex Life... is a towering film, and I might be inclined to declare it a masterpiece if I could ever bring myself to watch it all the way through again.

And with that, I'm proud to announce the winner of the inaugural round of Famous Last Words... Mr. Victor Morton, who fended off some formidable competition by identifying an impressive 11 out of 12 quotations. Victor will be receiving a $20 dollar gift card from the Criterion Store, as well as my respect for taking part in this contest from the beginning. And thank you to all of the players, who've made this a great first round.

Alas, all good things must come to an end, and I'm a little sad to announce that this is the last appearance of Famous Last Words on this blog. But never fear- starting early in 2008, I'll be taking the game over to Screengrab, where hopefully I'll be able to draw a larger group of players. Nothing like a little competition, eh Victor? More details will be announced over there when the time comes, so keep your eyes peeled.

Thanks again, everyone. Hope you will visit every so often, even though you can't win anything.