After the trip from hell (30 minute delay at the gate, turned back from Salt Lake due to weather, diverted to Vegas for refueling, then back to Salt Lake for a dicey landing in what the pilot referred to as an "icy fog"), we made it to Park City for Sundance 2005.

Went to the opening night premiere of Don Roos' new film, Happy Endings. Beforehand, Robert Redford gave a short speech extolling independent film, then took a few jabs at President Bush. Roos drew appreciative laughter as he introduced the film, especially with a not-so-sly insinuation about a certain A-list star's alleged sexual preferences. He then brought out the cast members who were present, including (but not limited to): Maggie Gyllenhaal, Lisa Kudrow, and Tom Arnold.

After the dog and pony show, we actually watched a real, live movie, finally putting the "film" in film festival. The pic was respectfully, though not enthusiastically, received by the audience. The buzz in the lobby was that the cut could have been tightened up a bit, and that the plot suffered from an over-reliance on happenstance and coincidence.

It will be interesting to see how it does theatrically. One thing's for sure: it's a far superior film than Bounce.
  ¶ 11:12 PM