Saturday evening Beth and I went to check out Control at the Dryden Theater at the George Eastman House. The film society holds a continual film series there. We knew nothing about the film, but the museum's description included the words "Ray Liotta", "Willem Dafoe" and "vicissitudes", so we figured it was worth a shot.

So we walk over to the theater and settle in to enjoy the film. The film society's chairman comes out to briefly introduce both the film and its director who is in attendance as a guest and to answer questions after the film. After briefly discussing director Tim Hunter's body of work, Mr. Chairman begins to talk about Control and its "indictment of the pharmaceutical industry". He then talks about the movie's themes and the "startling revelation that doctor may be more in need of treatment than the patient" or something like that. And with that he welcomes Tim Hunter to the podium. Mr. Hunter thanks the audience, then proceeds to tell that audience that "any 'themes' contained in the movie are purely accidental." (Ha!) He continues, saying the film is "one of those movies actors do for the paycheck", instructing the audience to just sit back and enjoy the film for what it is.

Beth and I had a good chuckle over this. And I was glad the director made these statements to sufficiently lower my expectations so I could enjoy the movie. And it was rather enjoyable. Quite honestly, the plot was fairly predictable and many of the characters cliche, but it was a lot of fun to watch Ray Liotta. The performance was quite good and he's just a fun guy to watch. ...and he has, quite possibly, the most malevolent laugh known to man. It cracks me up every time.