Paris, Texas

Team Club turned to the slow and beautiful last night with the 1984 Palm d'Or winner. The film is considered a Wim Wenders masterpiece and stars Harry Dean Stanton who, interestingly, is linked to one of our favourite Young Guns via Repo Man. Here he is below, missing Emilio something fierce:
This was Senior Senior's pick, and a real shocker too, since all week long we thought he was sure to pick The Film That Changed His Life. An hour before the meeting though, in a bizarre twist, he called ASD from the video store and asked, "have you seen this?" Just imagine the team's shock, then, as he unveiled yet another twist in his selection saga!

The meeting began as usual. DG supplied the venue and the insanely enormous TV. Ron Ron (I think) supplied the weed and then, predictably, got tired and after smoking it. Senior Senior theatrically excavated some Lakeport Pilsner from a comically tattered backpack. ASD, as the only female team member, brought her unrivalled beauty, charm, some homemade cupcakes, and a theme jar which will be used in later weeks to guide the selection process. Four (4) new rules were established as well:

1. The Selector now has to don a brightly coloured costume, which was recently discovered in the bowels of Senior Senior's former roommate's closet. It appears to be a small but important part of a marching band uniform, which is weird because we all know this guy is a (very irritating, it should go without saying) bongo player.

2. Should team members choose to play Rock Paper Scissors in the future, as a means of deciding ANYTHING AT ALL, they must lower their fists THREE TIMES in unison before unveiling their weapon on the fourth beat.

3. Finally, The Selector, in addition to preparing talking points in advance of the meeting, must also take a few minutes to present the film before starting it, defending their choice.

4. No Star Wars.

The Team was unsure of what to expect from Paris, Texas. Our nervousness hung in the air like a fart. Three minutes into the film though, Ron Ron could be heard gasping in pleasure from his corner of the couch. Ron Ron is a thin, bearded, vegetarian who loves good cinematography almost as much as he loves fine vegan cheese, and this pleased him hugely. Paris, Texas is much more slowly-paced than Young Guns, sure, but it's also much more ambitious and knocked The Team straight onto their asses. At one point, some strange dude came into the room and said, "you guys look completely riveted." It was during the car chase (not the type of car chase you're thinking of) scene, and we were too absorbed in it to even bother waving him away. Once the film ended, we wandered out to the front porch and Senior Senior hit us with some talking points. We discussed:

a) What else has Sam Shepard written, and why do we keep confusing him with Tom Stoppard?

b) Did you know that Harry Dean Stanton is in a mariachi band?

c) Would this film have captivated us as much if it hadn't been shot so beautifully? (tough call)

d) Harry Dean Stanton is so awesome, right? What the hell is he doing in that crappy Christmas movie with Ted Danson's wife that was filmed in Meaford, Ontario?

Ron Ron chooses next week. We love our Team Club.