Texas Gov. Rick Perry didn't exactly receive a warm reception when he appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live in Austin. The SXSW crowd offered up loud boos for the state's longest serving governor, which confused Kimmel.
"They're your people. I don't know what's going on," Kimmel said. "What have you done to make these people dislike you so intensely?"
Perry laughed off the disapproval. "Austin is kind of the blueberry in the tomato soup of the state. It's a little different than the rest of the place," he said.
This comment was one of many to draw cheers from the audience, who also reacted favorably to Perry's comments on decriminalizing marijuana. "You don't want to ruin a kid's life for having a joint," Perry said.
Kimmel asked Perry if he'd ever smoked pot, and the conservative politician said no, but he was familiar with the scent. "Snoop Dogg was here last night, and he was in the same room as you," Kimmel said.
"I know, I can smell it," Perry responded.
When Kimmel pressed Perry about his presidential ambitions, the outgoing governor was curiously coy about his plans. Kimmel pointed out that Perry's first presidential run "didn't go that great."
"America is a great place for second chances," Perry said with a smirk.
Rick Perry appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 11 during SXSW in Austin.
Photo via YouTube
Rick Perry appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live on March 11 during SXSW in Austin.
The opening scenes of the new drama Dreams are bracing, fictional sequences that call to mind real-life scenarios. In them, a young Mexican man named Fernando (Isaac Hernández) goes through a somewhat harrowing journey from the back of a semi truck in South Texas all the way to San Francisco. It’s a familiar immigrant story that seems to set the stage for a film with something interesting to say.
It turns out, however, that Fernando has not made the long and arduous trek for a job. Instead, it’s to be with Jennifer McCarthy (Jessica Chastain), a rich woman who helps lead a foundation dedicated to multiple things, including funding dance academies. Fernando, a talented dancer, and Jennifer have been in an off-and-on affair for years, with Jennifer wanting to keep their relationship a secret.
Although both are drawn to each other in an inexplicable, lustful way, their bond is tenuous, with each of them dissatisfied for different reasons. Fernando clearly sacrifices much more of himself than Jennifer, who wants for nothing except maybe more affection from her father, Michael (Marshall Bell), and brother, Jake (Rupert Friend).
Writer/director Michel Franco seems to try to inject tension into Fernando and Jennifer’s relationship from the start, an attempt that is only halfway successful. It’s clear from the way they greet each other - not to mention a steamy sex scene shortly thereafter - that they have known each other for a good length of time. Franco is able to get across this familiarity with an economy of scenes, and the intensity of their bond holds for a while.
But as the film progresses and both of them grow disenchanted with their arrangement, Franco starts taking the story in some odd directions. The biggest issue is that it’s never clear at what point in time the story is taking place. Fernando ends up making multiple trips back and forth across the border, with Jennifer doing the same at one point, and Franco’s use of flashbacks muddies the waters, wrong-footing the audience when he should be trying to draw them further into Fernando and Jennifer’s complications.
Revelations in the final act make the story even more confusing, as both main characters start saying and doing harsh things that seem to come out of nowhere. That would be all well and good if Franco actually committed to their changes of heart, but he keeps things wishy-washy for most of the final 15 minutes, resulting in an ending that makes little sense for either character.
Despite the story issues, both Chastain and Hernández give compelling performances. Chastain has been a little under the radar since winning an Oscar for The Eyes of Tammy Faye, but she keeps this character interesting longer than it should have been. Hernández has limited credits and appears to have been cast for his dancing ability, but he goes toe-to-toe with Chastain on more than one occasion and acquits himself well.
Dreams had all of the ideas to explore a more in-depth story about the complicated immigration policies between Mexico and the U.S., or how wealthy people take advantage of those less fortunate. But Franco never finds the right footing, settling instead for a titillating and somewhat mystifying relationship story that feels half-baked.
