Going to see Katy Perry's release "Part of Me" may not be top on one's list during the Fourth of July weekend, but as there were no fireworks in my neck of the woods due to fire danger, why not? My husband and I sat in a darkened theater last week with a slab of Chocolove (55% of cocoa content with raspberries) and thoroughly enjoyed the respite from the Mile High heat! Only a handful of teenagers (who have probably seen Ms. Perry in concert more than once) sang along with us during the Newton-John/Travolta follow-the- bouncing-ball rendition of "You're the One That I Want" prior to the start of Perry's docudrama of her 2011 concert tour and breakup with husband Russell Brand, but I found myself enjoying the Millennial Age company--particularly when we laughed, and cried, at the same times!
If you haven't seen this film , I hope you do--and take anyone with you (young or old) who may need a little pick-me-up; Katy Perry puts on a great show, and I don't mean that tongue-in-cheek. Normally I only go to concert flicks if I actually attended said concert (like when I went to U2's M
ile High performance in the 1980s--where, yes, I'll admit I screamed my head off for Bono just as I did when he was back in town in 2011 after his back surgery). Maybe it's that I'm going to see Madonna this fall just prior to my 45th birthday that I felt the need to check out her 21st century competition. Or maybe it's just that I needed to see Ms. Perry belt out her signature "I Kissed A Girl" and not think about Madonna and Brittney Spears for a moment. Either way, in an election year where some of the fierce propaganda is just starting to fuel up the airwaves, I felt the need for little inspiration and Katy (as I will refer to the star of "Part of Me" from now on) brought it in spades.
Katy has built quite a world for herself with great speed and success; when I was 28, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't even know where to begin to conjure up the number of outfits she dons during her concert tour, much less think about whether or not she should wear a pink wig or a mauve one. I used to think Katy was just a girly-girl (especially given her visual portrayal in "California Girls") who dressed up in a whipped cream version of Madonna, but with a little back story and no offense to Lady Gaga (watch for her cameo!), I see more progressive feminist thinking coming out of Katy's lyrics if one takes the time to take them in. (Also, though I know it's endearing to some, I just don't want to be referred to as someone's "little Monster".) The three blonde teens who sat a few rows behind me seemed to have a clue--and I feel I have a bit of work to do to catch up in my "old age."
Here are some of the words I gleaned though (from the movie's title song, "Part of Me"):
Now look at me, I'm sparkling
A firework, a dancing flame
You won't ever put me out again I'm glowing, oh woah oh
So you can keep the diamond ring,
I never liked them anyway.
In fact you can keep everything Yeah, yeah Except for me
(Read more:
KATY PERRY - PART OF ME LYRICS http://www.metrolyrics.com/part-of-me-lyrics-katy-perry.html#ixzz2080jCUfD Copied from MetroLyrics.com)
Granted, this verse could have a lot to do with Katy's divorce from Russell Brand (who is also featured at the start of the film), but I thought about Marilyn Monroe, Alanis Morissette (be sure to check out her recent interview on "Ellen" on YouTube--when Katy Perry also appeared), and even Taylor Swift when I heard this verse. For those who remember Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin ("All of Me,"1984) dancing in their own mirrored reflection as the final credits roll, you might shed a tear and a laugh through various stages of Katy's tour; if the scene where she goes to her sister's wedding dress fitting doesn't get to you, maybe her rehearsal session (for a charitable gig) when she sings "Hey Jude" will.
So what did I do after my matinee screening? Well, as my husband of three years and I had inhaled the all of the dark chocolate within the first twenty minutes of the film, we sat through the residue of our cocoa high till the music credits rolled and chatted a bit about Russell Brand's kissing scene in "Rock of Ages" (with Alec Baldwin)--the matinee flick we saw the week before. I won't get into more details about that performance except to say that I thought they sang well together. (As for Tom Cruise's performance, since his divorce proceedings have yet to begin, I'll just add that it bears reviewing when it comes out on Blue-Ray--and so I will!)
Don't know when Katy (Perry, not the soon to be ex-Mrs.TomKat) will be coming to Mile High, but I think my husband and I are game to dressing up for a chance at getting backstage passes if she does! Don't know
what I'll wear to Madonna this fall, but I may go with something spidery, unless Lady Gaga has already beaten me to the punch!
One last thought...an excerpt from Robert Browning's "Two in the Campagna" that was printed in our Chocolove bar wrapper:
For me, I touched a thought, I know,/Has tantalized me many times,/(Like turns of thread the spiders throw/Mocking across our path) for rhymes/To catch at and let go.
