It's Good to be King

Saw "The Phantom of the Opera" last night at a very crowded movie complex in Boca Raton. Hated it, hated it, hated it. How could they make it so boring? I hadn't had much sleep the two nights before and caught myself just starting to snore a couple of times (at least I think I was "just starting.")

But I've now seen the five movies nominated for a Golden Globe Best Motion Picture -- Musical or Comedy (the GGs have two best picture categories) and it's time to vote:

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
The Incredibes
The Phantom of the Opera
Ray
Sideways

This one is pretty easy for me. "Sideways" is the easy pick. It's a hilarious, well-written romp.

I had my first dinner of 2005 at Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House in Boca Raton. Wolfie Cohen is the Deli King of South Florida. I used to eat at Wolfie's in Miami Beach which finally closed several years ago after years of decline. Then I switched too Wolfie Cohen's Rascal House in North Miami Beach. I had planned on eating there this trip.

But last night I made a wrong turn on the way to the movie theater and came upon his Boca Raton establishment. (How do you say "serendipity" in Yiddish?) The menu is the same as the North Miami Beach Rascal House but the atmosphere is very different. In L.A. deli terms it's like the difference between Canter's and Art's.

The North Miami Beach crowd is elderly, loud, pushy, argumentative and determined to take everything from the table home with them (leftovers, bread, butter, sugar, ketchup bottle, etc.). The Boca Raton Rascal House crowd is more relaxed, younger (mid-60s), happy and enjoying life. The food last night was great, but I missed seeing what I'm going to be like later in life.