January 26, 2020

"But Jeanne is less interested in men than she is in the park’s newest amusement: a twinkling Tilt-a-Whirl she calls Jumbo."

"Massive and glowing, the ride by night looks less like a ride than an otherworldly spacecraft, radiating mystic light and energy. Scrubbing down its bulb fixtures in the dark, Jeanne will straddle the structure’s arms and sometimes talk idly, more comfortable speaking to herself than to any of the park’s daytime visitors. She’s content to live her life this way, until she slips and nearly dies one night, and the ride begins to come alive.... 'We are good together, aren’t we?' Jeanne coos to Jumbo at one point, which responds by blinking its lights in colorful patterns. Later, when Jumbo seems to go quiet, Jeanne cries, 'Don’t leave me alone with them!' In her world, humans have always been a 'them'; being with Jumbo is the first time she’s felt part of an 'us.'"

From "The Wild Sundance Movie About a Woman in Love With a Theme-Park Ride" (Daily Beast).

Sounds like an episode of "Twilight Zone."

34 comments:

tim in vermont said...

What they don’t tell you is that “Jumbo” is really a sex toy.

Maillard Reactionary said...

Does she think it's the reincarnation of her mother?

That would make a good premise for a TV show.

Gilbert Pinfold said...

@Phidippus
“A 1928 Porter, that’s my Mother dear
She helps me through everything I do
And I’m so glad she’s here”

Fill in the rest...

BarrySanders20 said...

Sucks for the guy in the next seat when she brings her comfort Tilt-A-Whirl on the plane.

traditionalguy said...

Robot love. It’s here already.

Wince said...

Massive and glowing, the ride by night looks less like a ride than an otherworldly spacecraft, radiating mystic light and energy.

The Jealous Bannister: "I was not good enough for you?"

madAsHell said...

Was Lena Dunham involved??

Yancey Ward said...

Only in the Age of Trump.

Tom T. said...

This just seems like untreated mental illness. Why is she the subject of a movie? What comments are we supposed to make here other than that she's crazy and hopefully will get help?

Dave Begley said...

That movie looks like the crazy, non-commercial movies and scripts that win film festivals but never make any money at the box office.

I guarantee that my "Bride of Frankenstein" is way, way better.

The Cracker Emcee Refulgent said...

Extreme affection for the non-human isn’t rare and doesn’t imply anything romantic or sexual. I had a dachshund that was only leaving the lifeboat if my wife or sons needed the seat. I’ve certainly seen people obsess about objects. Sounds like a pretty standard alienation movie theme to me. Indies love this shit, hence the vomitous appellation “quirky”.

Temujin said...

Can't wait to not see this one.

gspencer said...

Harvey was a better playmate. You're not stuck in one place and you get to drink lots and lots.

Fernandinande said...

She treats things like women.

Seeing Red said...

But Jean is less interesting to men....

Eleanor said...

It will probably win the Oscar. Reminds me of "The Shape of Water".

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

I was taking some kids to the new American Dream thing at the meadowlands but I didn’t know I was taking them there. From how they were talking about it I thought they were talking about opioids. It wasn’t until I got them there I figured out they were talking about the rides.

J. Farmer said...

My favorite carnival ride growing up was the Gravitron. Now I just go for the roach coach food.

Scott said...

Here's the theme song to My Mother the Car.

You're welcome.

Scott said...

Here's a better one.

Scott said...

"The worst idea for a series in the history of the world."
--Allan Burns, creator of My Mother The Car (and also The Mary Tyler Moore Show).

The Vault Dweller said...

Sounds similar to that movie Joaquin Phoenix was in, "Her". It was the one where he played a character that fell in love with a Computer AI, and *SPOILERS* it turned out that the AI didn't love him back. Though I guess in this movie there is even less meaningful interaction. Since it is a tilt-a-whirl ride.

I've seen lots of headlines recently and over that last several years that proclaim Americans are lonelier than ever. And a movie like this would seem to go at that issue. But while I do get the idea that Americans are lonelier than ever I don't think it is because of isolation. I think the feeling comes from over-socialization on social media. People are used to a near constant stream of being able to see what their friends think or are doing, what people who enjoy similar hobbies to them think or believe, and also get feedback from other people on their own thoughts, interests, or even jokes. People are getting used to a near constant stream of interaction and recognition from other people on whatever specific topic they want to discuss at the moment, that it now seems unbearable to have to go for some time period without that stream.

Narr said...

If we could only miniaturize Jumbo . . . I know, I'm a dreamer, but think of the advantages in portability alone!

Saves energy, and many other advantages.

Narr
But would women go for it?

Lurker21 said...

Like Helen Hunt sitting on the washing machine in Mad About You.

Howard said...

Doesn't this type of post deserve a tag called Another sign of the Apocalypse

Ann Althouse said...

“ Sounds similar to that movie Joaquin Phoenix was in, "Her". It was the one where he played a character that fell in love with a Computer AI, and *SPOILERS* it turned out that the AI didn't love him back. Though I guess in this movie there is even less meaningful interaction.”

There’s a Twilight Zone where a computer falls in love with a man.

Rabel said...

This post raises an important question which, to my knowledge, has never been authoritatively answered:

Does turning the wheel in the center of the Tilt-A-Whirl cab make it spin more or not?

Maillard Reactionary said...

Dave Begley: "I guarantee that my "Bride of Frankenstein" is way, way better."

It's got to be better than the first one was. Looking forward to it.

Beasts of England said...

OT: Kobe Bryant dead in helicopter crash.

gilbar said...

Rabel said...
Does turning the wheel in the center of the Tilt-A-Whirl cab make it spin more or not?


ask, and you shall receive
Tilt-A-Whirl tips

gilbar said...

Fernandistein said...
She treats things like women.


but,
Her rug really Did tie that carnival together

narciso said...

the other sign of the demi apocalypse,


https://nypost.com/2020/01/23/dont-buy-the-media-hype-over-the-new-china-virus/

Doug said...

In a world where people mutilate themselves in order to deny science, this story is pretty small beer.

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