THE TEN
RYAN: There is cause for a mini-celebration in my world, for Winona Ryder is in a new movie. Welcome back, baby!
CAROLINE: It’s a movie called “The Ten,” directed by David Wain who was on “The State,” one of my favorite MTV shows from the ‘90s. I had every intention of seeing it, but then Ryan went behind my back and saw it without me. But I thought Winona was only in one chunk of the movie?
RYAN: The movie is basically ten short films, based on the Ten Commandments and narrated and introduced by Paul Rudd, who himself appears in some of them. So there’s no real leading actor or actress in the movie, but Winona’s in it a few times; enough to please me anyway.
CAROLINE: Doesn’t she have a love scene with a dummy? And by that I mean, a ventriloquist’s puppet.
RYAN: Yes, and it’s an absolutely brizilliant scene. Winona is the best thing in this movie. The script is completely random and kind of awkward, but you wouldn’t believe the talent they assembled for this movie: Jessica Alba, Famke Janssen, Liev Schreiber, Adam Brody…the list goes on.
CAROLINE: And it’s rather R-rated if I’m not mistaken.
RYAN: Yes, it’s quite racy and highly sexualized. I just don’t know how the director attracted all these actors, unless they all just wanted to do something completely random for fun. At the end of the day, it’s not that good a movie.
CAROLINE: Well, LBH, it’s not like the guys from “The State” are known for making fabulous films – David Wain made “Wet Hot American Summer” and Michael Showalter did “The Baxter.” But I do like the actors they put in their films, so maybe I’ll be inspired to see “The Ten” someday.
RYAN: Yeah, the actors are what make the movie. They’re the only reason to see it; if it were unknown actors in the movie, I wouldn’t be watching. And unlike most films which turn into musicals for a moment and I’m totally in it, this movie’s musical scene is in the vein of “The Who’s Tommy” or “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” and that’s not my kind of musical. So I wasn’t into it.
CAROLINE: Wow, that must have been a very uncomfortable feeling for you.
RYAN: Yes, I don’t often identify with not liking musicals, so it was weird.
CAROLINE: Bottom line?
RYAN: It’s a rental. And keep making movies, Winona!