Diablo Cody: 5 reasons '08 rocked
January: The month when all of your favorite rags are glutted with best-of-'08 lists. And who am I to ignore a trend? Well, excluding those skinny scarves, which I refuse to wear. I didn't move to Southern California so I could swaddle my throat in acrylic. Dov Charney be damned!
Anyway, here's a handful of my favorite things from 2008. (In the spirit of neutrality, I left off Obama's election. Though it has to be said that I did order an Obama ''Historic Victory Plate'' off the TV. I am officially a black grandma.)
1. The Wrestler
I first saw this incredible movie at a film festival in Greece. The house was packed with eager Greek cinephiles, but when the lights went up, they seemed flummoxed; the world of pro wrestling was maybe too foreign. Not for me! I grew up watching WWF and GLOW — Gorgeous Ladies of Wrestling! — when my parents were asleep. (My favorite wrestler was Dementia, a proto-riot grrrl who was wheeled out in a circus cage like something off a Barnum's Animal Crackers box.) On a nostalgic level, The Wrestler totally delivers, but that's not the source of its power. The wrestlers in this film aren't golden gods; they're aging, punch-drunk, rheumatoid wrecks. Darren Aronofsky has created a masterful vanitas-style portrait of a world in decline. Mickey Rourke is amazing as Randy ''The Ram'' Robinson, a fading cartoon of a man. I went into this expecting a sleeper hold, and instead I got a sharp elbow to the face.
2. Wii Fit
The commercials for this game/virtual fitness system depict attractive people practicing sun salutations and abdominal crunches. Their breathing is measured; their environments are serene.
This is not the reality of Wii Fit. The reality is me sweating in my pj's, struggling to master the ''tree pose'' while a Chihuahua nips at my ankles. And unlike a conventional touchy-feely fitness DVD, the Japanese Wii Fit doesn't pull any punches — in fact, it's like having an in-house Mean Girl. Wii Fit boldly announced that a friend of mine was ''OBESE'' and told me that my true ''physical'' age was 52. Blunt cruelty aside, Wii Fit makes it possible to hula hoop, ski, even walk a tightrope in your underwear. (Plus, you can use the Mii Creator to design your own workout partners! I frequently jog with ''Al Pacino'' and ''Hayden Panettiere.'')
NEXT PAGE: Nick & Norah, Celebrity Rehab, and ShamWow!
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