We continue our Silver Screen Series with Baby Mama! This 2008 comedy stars Tina Fey and Amy Poelher.
A quick review of the film:
Kat (Tina Fey) cannot physically have a baby, but really wants one. She meets Angie (Amy Poelher), who agrees to be a surrogate for Kate. Shenanigans ensue. It's "The Odd Couple" with pregnancy!
That's only the main plot. The secondary plot of the movie [briefly] involves the ship.
Kate is a higher-up in a juice company. Her hippie/feng shui boss gives her a task: "I want to open a flagship store right here in Philadelphia. I want it to be the biggest store we ever built, I want it to be made of 100% recyclable materials, and I want it to be so beautiful that people want to get married in it." Cue montage of Tina Fey searching around Philadelphia. What does she run into on one of these outings? The SS United States! Kate walks around the dock where the ship is kept, briefly glimpsing the ship for less than 4 seconds. Don't blink, or you will miss it -- this was the ship's first cameo in 42 years! [May 2016 Update: The SSUSC has recently discovered the ship cameo'd in the 2006 film Invincible, so that claim is actually incorrect] The Big U has become a quick and easy visual landmark for Philadelphia's industrial side of town.
Would the SS United States have been a good location for the company's flagship store? It's in Philadelphia, it's pretty big, people have already been married inside of her, and she is beautiful, only needs a facelift. To redevelop her would be a reuse, not recycling. I could argue the terms reuse and recycle are very similar, almost cousins. At the same time, I think the ship would be TOO big for a juice store, even if it was the flagship store of the company. There is all of the legal debate, is classified a building or a ship, what codes does it have to abide by... it might be easier to stick to other options, Kate.
FINAL THOUGHTS:
Movie: Funny. 4/4
SS United States: Appeared briefly, exterior only used as a visual landmark. 2/4
This series is to bring awareness to the SS United States, a historic American ocean liner. She is currently berthed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awaiting restoration. Learn more on her story at ssusc.org.
[Originally posted on my now-defunct Wave Breaker Blog, February 25, 2016]
Movie: Funny. 4/4
SS United States: Appeared briefly, exterior only used as a visual landmark. 2/4
This series is to bring awareness to the SS United States, a historic American ocean liner. She is currently berthed in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, awaiting restoration. Learn more on her story at ssusc.org.
No comments:
Post a Comment