I Suck At Being In A Movie

It has been a long while since I've stumbled home at 4 in the morning. That, however, was precisely the case this past Saturday / early Sunday. Most likely, the reason for my venture out until the wee hours of night is not what you think. I attempted to be in a movie this past weekend. Too bad I suck at being in a movie.

Last week, I received an email about a particular movie filming in Boston that was in need of finding some extras to shoot a concert scene. I thought it was an interesting proposition, in part because I do enjoy all things movie-related. Heck, I watch bad movies just because I can. So if I could have a dream job, that dream job would be an actor, possibly followed by a screenwriter, or a combination of the two.

I thought the activity was pretty neat because to me, being part of a movie was something different. I like spontaneity. For anyone curious, that was why I originally started my scavenger hunt activity in the first place, because it was different.

Unfortunately, I couldn't just go out and be part of the movie. I have a fifteen month old daughter (Briana) to take care of, especially since she had a fever and rash following her MMR vaccination the previous week. But as luck would have it, Briana was feeling better on Saturday and Karen was absolutely not interested in being part of the movie.

Naturally, I didn't want to be the guy who showed up by himself to the event. So thanks to my friend (Andrea) and my BFF (Kerry), the three of us headed into town for the shooting of the movie. I was actually hesitant at first to ask any of my friends because the hours for the shooting were from 7pm to 3am. Those hours make for a long day (and the following day too). If it were just me it would have been okay, but I felt bad for asking them to do it. Luckily, I have great friends.

For anyone curious, the movie is called Ted. It stars Boston's own Mark (don't call me "Marky Mark") Wahlberg and is directed by Seth MacFarlane of Family Guy fame. It is actually Seth MacFarlane's directorial debut.

Anyway, it was definitely an interesting experience that I got to share with Andrea and Kerry. Most likely, none of us will be in the movie because we really weren't positioned in the most ideal spot. We were off to the far side. I don't think Kerry or Andrea particularly shared my desire to be in the movie. I think they just wanted to humor me by going.

Regardless, I did enjoy the night. Seth MacFarlane was pretty comical. Special guest Norah Jones was pretty good, although I must say that I am a little tired of hearing "Come away with me". Even Boston Bruin Shawn Thornton was funny. Yes, Shawn Thornton apparently has a cameo in the movie.

The only person who I thought wasn't funny was Mark Wahlberg, who seemed like he was half in the bag all of the time. He kept swearing; He tried to be funny with the crowds; but to me, he just wasn't. Now if he broke out and started singing "Good Vibrations", I would have a different opinion.

Of course, I may have been in the minority to think that of Boston's own. Everyone there seemed starstruck over Mark Wahlberg, particularly the women. I would say that was probably the worst part of the experience: the crowd. People were pushing and shoving to get to the front of the stage. People were trying to cram themselves into these itty bitty spots on the lawn just to be closer to the stage. Some people were making fun of some person, who to me seemed homeless, because he started singing a patriotic song while waiting for the camera crews to set up. There was even an obvious pimp with his "after party" sluts there. It was bizarre. (For anyone curious, pimps and hos are not like what you see in Hollywood. They are ugly in real life.)

All in all, I did have fun. I'd probably do it again depending on the movie. Plus, it was good to spend some time with Andrea and Kerry. They may not share my opinion of course, but I had a good time. And sadly, if having "Come away with me" stuck in my head weren't bad enough, I do feel compelled to actually watch "Ted" now just to see if any of us made it to the big screen.