Our Very Own Little Landlady

First of all, why didn't anyone tell me Music and Lyrics was the worst movie ever made, before I spent $3.99 and an hour and half of my time watching it On Demand tonight?  Huh?  Why?  Christ.  Also, why didn't anyone tell me Dreamgirls was a musical?  Eric and I watched an hour and a half of it last week, with me asking the whole time, "Why do they keep breaking into song?  And when is Diana Ross coming on?"  Clue me in, people.  I only teach film studies for a living.

I'm sure you've all seen this, but if you haven't:

 

Will Ferrell vs. Pearl the Landlord

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This video is a little scary, given that Addie is running around again saying "goddammit, goddammit, goddammit," like some little Dustin Hoffman Rainman.  It's not the first time, as you all know, but it still shocks me to hear our words repeated back to us like this.  Which reminds me of a precious moment from our trip:  we were trying to check out of the hotel in Glenwood Springs, and we had all sixteen bags finally packed and loaded on to the luggage cart, when Addie starts to freak out.  "I want Pilly!  I want Pilly!" she says.  Pilly is her stuffed elephant, and had been safely zipped into the suitcase that was on the very bottom of the luggage cart.

"You'll have to wait until we get down to the car, Addie.  Pilly is in the suitcase," I said.

"Mommy, no!  I want Pilly NOW!"

I could tell she was winding up for a doozy and there was nothing to do but let it happen, so Eric started to wheel the cart to the elevator. 

Remember this moment from history?

You know, where the young Chinese student stands in front of the tanks entering Tiananmen Square, using his own body to block them from moving forward?  Well, that's kind of what Addie did with the luggage cart.  She ran around in front of it, arms waving, bangs flapping, tears pouring.  Once she had successfully impeded our progress, she pointed her finger at her father and I, sobbing hysterically, and screamed, "I'm giving you ONE last chance!  You give me my Pilly!  Now!"

Eric and I stopped in our tracks and both looked at each other, jaws dropped.  Neither one of us says, "I'm giving you ONE last chance!" to Addie, so God knows where she got that from.  But also?  It was just a perfect use of the phrase, and in the right setting, with just the right dramatic emphasis.  It was impressive, really.

But we still made her wait to get down to the car before getting out that damned elephant.  Which, I suppose, makes us tyrants.