.jeri.

I don't think I'll be able to listen to "California Dreamin'" for a really long time after watching this movie. It consists of two unrelated (yet similar) stories, and in one of them a girl listens to the song incessantly because she dreams of going to California. The story itself is good, but I did get tired of the song. The girl works at a food counter, which a cop frequents for dinner. The cop is getting over a breakup with his flight attendant girlfriend. When the ex-girlfriend leaves his apartment key at the food counter, the girl starts visiting the cop's house, cleaning it up, listening to music - whatever floats her quirky boat.

The other story, which is actually the first in the movie, is also about a cop who has recently experienced a breakup. He wants his girlfriend back. He fixates on her and his impending birthday, and for a month eats only canned pineapple that expires on his birthday, determined to let her go if she doesn't contact him by that date.

I like the idea of these similar stories and the quirkiness within them. I know this movie made a big splash back in the day, but I have to say that it's a bit dated when one views it for the first time sixteen years after it was released. The camera action in the first segment is irritating, and the music is terrible. I like the writing, visual, and musical style of the second story quite a bit more. The movie does speak to the promise that writer/director Wong Kar Wai would show in the future. Overall, I liked it well enough, but was slightly disappointed from all the hype I had heard about it.