I DON'T WANT SECONDS, THANK YOU VERY MUCH

Blog number 204                                                             15 August 2008

I saw a movie last night.  It was called, "Seconds" and starred Rock Hudson.  Doris Day was nowhere to be seen.  Rock seemed different somehow.  Did he miss Doris?  We don't know.

The first inkling that something was amiss with the script was when a meat packing company had the logo, "Honest Arnie's Meats" above a circle on one of its trucks, and below that circle read, "Used Cow Company."

Two things.  First, this was not a comedy.  It was a drama.  Kinda of a Sci-fi drama, kinda of a horror drama, yet neither.  That was the only bit of comedy in the whole movie, which makes it seem so out of place - like somebody's idea of a bad inside joke.

They dealt in meat, not cows.  "Used cows" would be proper wording if you were selling cows.

Second, I had seen this movie twice before and was very confused both times, but I didn't know why.  I also did not notice the "Used Cow Company" either of those times, which seems very weird, since it was very obvious - right in the middle of a scene.  I attribute both the confusion and the not noticing the sign to my early life of sleepwalking through life. I just did not pay attention in those days.  I make up for it now. 

It was a revelation to me to get visual evidence of something I only conjectured before, using the fact that I couldn't remember much of events.  I could see clearly just how asleep I was in those days.

I debated all day long as to writing about this movie, at one time deciding not to, since it is way too involved, but just now I decided to give it a shot.  To get the full effect, you would have to see the picture and pay attention!

First off, this guy, a banker who is expecting to become bank president in a short time, who has a seemingly nice wife who obviously cares for him, a daughter, and a boat. 

An organization offers to change his appearance and fake his death so that he can start life anew.  They drug him and fake a rape scene with him as the perp, and film it.  They use this film to blackmail him into signing a contract.

He accepts the organization's offer, signs the contract which evidently leaves his wife and daughter well cared for, as well as himself, and enough is left for the organization's business expenses which turn out to be pretty, pretty extensive.  All of this money evidently comes from his insurance policy, his real estate (although the wife is later found to be doing very well living in the same house, so it must not have been sold) and stocks and bonds.  The guy must have been a billionaire.

He gets ALL of his teeth pulled, and new "permanent" ones put in.  The guy doing the job actually tells him he now has all new permanent teeth.  He has his fingerprints removed and replaced with others, he has his voice box modified so his voice is different, the ligaments on his hands adjusted so that his handwriting is different, and as Teresa noticed, "What I don't get is how did they make him taller?" 

Only his appearance is changed, he is as old as he was, he is as strong as an old man, all that is different is that he looks different.  And oh, yeah - they burn a body disguised as him in a hotel room fire.  Figuring, I guess, that his wife and daughter wouldn't be as upset that he died in a fire a they would if he just up and left.  I can't come up with any other reason to do that.

His wife doesn't wonder what he was doing in a hotel room, and how much of the hotel had to get burned along with the room is never mentioned.

This guy is not running from the police.  If he wanted to make a new life for himself, why didn't he just take off?  Why go through all this torture?  The process must have taken bucketloads of money, and he also gets two full time helpers employed by the organization that does these things for people, and he is set up as a painter, with legit diplomas from a couple of prestige colleges, one in Europe,  He is given a house on the beach, food, clothing, a butler to take care of him, paintings, Buddha knows how much they cost, and as time  goes on, he will be given more paintings - as if he is painting them.  And nobody is going to say, "Hey, wait - my uncle painted that!" ?

As if all that is not bad enough, he decides he wants to get another identity because he says, like a two year old, that the organization told him what he had to do and he wants his freedom to do as he wants, so if they change his appearance again, this time he will do what he wants.  Why he can't do that now, I haven't a clue.  Makes no sense at all.

At least I found out why I was so confused the first two times I saw this movie.  It's a confusing movie.