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I rewatched Bravetown recently and noticed that the first time I watched it, I projected really hard onto Josh because of my own Mama Trauma™ lmao. watching it again with a clearer perspective made me realize that
1: it was weird how pushy Josh was about Mary's and Alex's issues. like, boy, you just got to town? you just met these people? curiosity is a bitch, and I wouldn't be surprised if he was grasping for problems to focus on other than his own, but geez louise.
2: I would've reacted way worse than Mary did if someone kept pressing me about my traumatic experiences and mental health, so I take back what I said about her being bitchy at least most of the way. I do still think that the way she acted towards Josh before he started prodding her was uncalled for, and I get where she was coming from with how she felt about her mom, but I think her treatment of Annie went too far sometimes. Everything else made sense though.
I do still stand by what I said about Josh being pushed to the side in his own movie. Even with my improved perspective on Josh and Mary's characters, I would've preferred for Mary's story to not have been so central. But I do have a new appreciation for her that makes watching the movie even more enjoyable now.
soooo… since no one replied or messaged me with an all caps text saying “NO DON’T DO THAT!!!!!” and none of my ancestors have come down from the sky to make me stop, I’m gonna assume it’s okay for me to use whatever pics/gifs I need to as long as I make sure to credit the source in-post. cool? cool. moving on!
I’m gonna talk about Bravetown for a minute. I watched this for the first time when I was having a really bad day, and it quickly became my go-to comfort movie. Lucas does such a good job, and as a victim of abuse myself, I was able to connect with his character Josh in a way that I don’t often do. and the rest of the cast was absolutely amazing! looking at the limited tumblr content for Bravetown, I saw a lot of praise for Josh Duhamel? the actor that plays Alex? I’ll have to check out some more of his work sometime.
I do have to say, though, that I wish they’d done things a bit differently. this isn’t really the kind of movie to get a sequel or a tv show, so there’s a lot of stuff that was left unexplored. I agree wholeheartedly with @teamimprov’s post about it as well (I would link it but I have no earthly clue how, so sorry) – Josh did kind of end up seeming like a side character in his own movie. it started being more about Mary and her family’s problems than about Josh, and while I was glad to see Mary find some closure, it felt like it came at the expense of Josh’s development. and at the expense of further angst, which is a crime that cannot be forgiven. I thrive on angst.
list of things I loved + things I wanted below the cut
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soooo… since no one replied or messaged me with an all caps text saying “NO DON’T DO THAT!!!!!” and none of my ancestors have come down from the sky to make me stop, I’m gonna assume it’s okay for me to use whatever pics/gifs I need to as long as I make sure to credit the source in-post. cool? cool. moving on!
I’m gonna talk about Bravetown for a minute. I watched this for the first time when I was having a really bad day, and it quickly became my go-to comfort movie. Lucas does such a good job, and as a victim of abuse myself, I was able to connect with his character Josh in a way that I don’t often do. and the rest of the cast was absolutely amazing! looking at the limited tumblr content for Bravetown, I saw a lot of praise for Josh Duhamel? the actor that plays Alex? I’ll have to check out some more of his work sometime.
I do have to say, though, that I wish they’d done things a bit differently. this isn’t really the kind of movie to get a sequel or a tv show, so there’s a lot of stuff that was left unexplored. I agree wholeheartedly with @teamimprov’s post about it as well (I would link it but I have no earthly clue how, so sorry) – Josh did kind of end up seeming like a side character in his own movie. it started being more about Mary and her family’s problems than about Josh, and while I was glad to see Mary find some closure, it felt like it came at the expense of Josh’s development. and at the expense of further angst, which is a crime that cannot be forgiven. I thrive on angst.
list of things I loved + things I wanted below the cut
things I loved:
that last counselling session when Alex and Josh talk about Martha. the acting in this scene is incredible, and I nearly cried the first four times I watched it. made me feel really sad for poor smol child Josh.
all of the patriots’ dance performances were!!! so good!!! and the remixes, all the music, fuckin bless.
the fuCKING JEANS. FUCKING BRAVETOWN FOR MAKING ME FEEL SO FUCKING EMOTIONAL OVER A FUCKING PAIR OF JEANS DAMMIT-
Josh and Tony’s friendship? the purest. adorable. amazing.
that scene where Angie squeals and hugs Josh makes my heart and soul do loopty-loops. first because of Angie being so damn cute (and the height difference!!!), then because when Josh walked in on Mary and Angie arguing he closed off and left, but Angie opened up to him and he gave her a soft lil smile and said he’d help and he got a hug and aghhhhhh they’re both such adorable babies-
“I sure would like to come and see you guys.” “then come.” !!! just!!!
Alex and his genius ways of getting Josh to open up to him. the soccer and pizza to make the sessions feel less like a court-order and more like two people just hanging out, swearing and getting mad at the tv to get Josh to see him as just some weird dude, telling stories about himself to relate to Josh and make Josh feel less pressure. maybe I’m reading too much into it, but c’mon. we’ve seen this guy do serious and professional. he’s perfectly capable of doing serious and professional. but he doesn’t with Josh, and I think it’s not only intentional, but really considerate. and oh my holy hell, the “why would I be there for anybody else” conversation. agreeing and then talking Josh around himself to come to the conclusion that he’s not as selfish as he wants everybody to believe – an absolute Einstein move, good sir. hats off to you.
Tony. that is all.
Josh being so sweet and gentle with Annie – talking to her quietly, asking to see the photos, laughing and giving feedback. this boy thinks he’s tough shit. he’s a fluffy adorable puppy and he doesn’t fool me. I have so much to say about soft!Josh.
things I would’ve loved to see:
the dance team’s relationship with Josh outside of his music. something I noticed in the movie was that – other than Tony, Annie, and Michael – no one had a relationship with Josh that wasn’t founded on responsibility (Alex, Josh’s parents) or Josh’s music and what he could do for them (the dance team, his “friends” in NYC). that isn’t to say that they didn’t want a relationship with him, but it wasn’t really shown that they did except in the case of Jim and maybe Mary. I think that Josh and Angie would’ve been an especially good friendship.
more relationship development between Josh and Jim. Jim seemed to honestly want to have a good relationship with Josh, and the morning of the invitational, Josh seemed to be willing to try too. can I please just have the two of them doing father-son stuff? please?
Alex being a big brother/weird uncle figure to Josh. I beg thee.
that being said, it would be very, very nice to see someone other than Alex learning about Josh’s trauma and being supportive. Josh and Mary’s argument doesn’t count. at all. speaking of…
Mary was a little bit of a bitch to Josh for the majority of the movie, and Josh was the only one I saw say sorry for anything. granted, what he said sorry for wasn’t even his fault, and he definitely should’ve apologized for the parts he played in their arguments, but at least he seemed to actually be apologetic. it also only felt like he was the only one putting any effort into their relationship, so it’d be nice to see Mary seem interested in him outside of the dance competitions and the couple times she said she was glad he was there/didn’t want him to leave. and yes, I understand that she was going through a really rough time in a difficult situation, but that’s an explanation, not an excuse.
Mary and her family going to Robert’s grave. maybe with Alex and Josh, but at all would’ve been cool. I get that baby steps are a big thing with Annie, but Tony lost Robert too. that kid does not get enough appreciation or support, and he deserved closure alongside Mary and Alex at the tree.
obviously I understand that movies can only be so long and can only show so much. but that’s the downside to a great movie – people want more of it. the deleted scenes were great, too. extra canon, yes please. I’m fairly certain today was at least the fifteenth time I’ve watched Bravetown. first time I watched it was in December, and geez if that doesn’t seem like forever ago.