it’s the same as stealing, but oh well.

i said i wouldn't do it again, but i had no choice.  i was a helpless hostage, what could i do?  apart from waiting around by the concession stand until they finished the second and unpaid-for movie, there was really nothing left for me to do but follow suit.

so after enjoying the pursuit of happyness, we sneaked off to another theater to watch dreamgirls.  B was fearless, sashaying around the hallway deciding whether we should wait a full 35 minutes for deja vu, which her hubby, A, wanted to watch, or watch another movie that was already on its opening credits.  since i wasn't really in the mood for something action-packed and glaringly masculine, i told her that dreamgirls was the way to go.  

now, i should say at the outset that i never liked beyonce, her seeming perfection notwithstanding.  i was there to watch the movie itself, since it has been nominated at the golden globes for best picture, and to see if jennifer hudson, one of my favorite voices in american idol during her time, is worthy of her own golden globe nomination for best supporting actress.  

i love the movie, i love jennifer hudson's voice and acting…  but i never expected i'd love beyonce as well.  she delivers quite a performance here, toned down and soft as deena jones.  jennifer hudson's effie white is the strong character here, but it is exactly beyonce's quiet portrayal (until the end anyway when she frees herself from the clutches of manager/husband curtis taylor jr. played by jamie foxx) that brings her to the fore.  and i won't even go on and on about how perfect her face is, and that body that just won't quit (she lost 20 pounds for this role).  

as for the pursuit of happyness, the crying jag that i expected didn't happen.  somehow, it lacked something…  or maybe that's the way it should be — emotional but not overly dramatic.  there is something to be said about that scanner though:  it figured too many times in the movie i finally got tired of what it represented.  

one thing that piqued my interest was the source itself of the title, the declaration of independence as written by thomas jefferson, recognizing one's right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.  the narration in the movie underscores an interesting fact — that while we have the right to life and liberty, we do not have the right to happiness, merely the pursuit of it.  understandably so.  if all of us were granted the unequivocal right to happiness itself, what a chaotic world it would be.  as wikipedia puts it, "thus, nobody can claim their rights are being violated simply because they are unhappy."  imagine how court dockets must look like if those too important words "the pursuit of" were not inserted into the declaration.  

so tell me, what have you done, been doing, to pursue your own happiness?