Who's Zooming Who?

Ah, the challenges of a religious holiday for a heathen.

I don't want to eat Easter brunch, I'm sure as hell not going to church and I don't need to see overdressed dogs in hats.

So, taking a cue from my game-designing friend Dave, I organized a board game afternoon.

I know, so 20th century, right?

There was a suggestion of beer pong (as if) before we decided on something slightly more cerebral.

One of the guests graciously brought plenty of Prosecco and I supplied the Scrabble (50th anniversary edition) as we spent the gray afternoon trying to beat the pants off each other.

Maybe it was the bubbles, but my crowning glory was "zoom," which only garnered me 35 points.

So I've had better Scrabble matches.

Eventually thoughts turned from vowels and consonants to food and I persuaded them to consider my traditional Easter dinner: Chinese food.

We arrived at Peking in the Slip just about the time they opened and the four of us slid into a booth to do some refueling.

I was teased about my boring order of wonton soup and Hunan pork, but I wasn't looking to reinvent the Easter wheel today, just for comfort food.

The conversation got kind of raucous but fortunately there were only two other people in the joint then so we told ourselves it didn't matter.

We'd already decided to finish out our day at UR for tonight's international film series selection, a Colombian film called "Fat, Bald, Short Man."

Irresistible title, right?

Walking into Ukrop Auditorium I found a couple of attendees thanking the cinematography professor for showing a movie on this, the resurrection.

I threw in my gratitude while they were at it.

He admitted that having to cancel last Sunday due to snow had been a factor, a boon for the religious-averse this week.

The movie was a dark humor, animated (rotoscoped, actually) tale of a 46-year old man who lives the lonely lifestyle.

Colleagues make fun of him, gambling brother uses him, no real friends and not even cats to keep him company.

And what lonely middle-aged man doesn't surround himself with cats? I can't think of a one.

Everything changes when he gets a new boss who happens to be fat, bald and short.

Despite their physical resemblance, though, the boss is successful, respected and has a pretty wife.

Kindly, he takes Antonio under his wing and they become friends.

Before long Antonio is encouraged to join a self-help group to get over his shyness and befriends a sickly and slightly crazy neighbor with whom he can talk.

Because the film was animated rather than live-action, part of the charm of it was the starkly simple figures (like a child's drawing of a face: dots for eyes and a line for nose and mouth) set against real backgrounds, which made for few distractions from the sweet story of a man who finally learns to step outside himself.

When challenged at a shy group meeting to share one of his experiences with woman, he's so embarrassed he makes up a story about his quiet co-worker.

Something about passionate lovemaking behind the coffee plants at the botanical garden.

No one buys it, but rather than ridicule his fantasy, the group leader tells him to imagine what he wants to happen and make it so.

One particularly poignant exchange between Antonio and his group leader summed up the challenge of changing yourself.

Why aren't you married?
It's not that simple to be married.
It's not that simple to be alone, either.

Don't I know it.

By the time Antonio stands up to an obnoxious co-worker (who's trying to pressure him to lie for his benefit) and tells off his brother (while assuring him he still loves him), you couldn't help but cheer for the fat, bald, short man.

Thankfully, it was a foreign film, so there was no tidy conclusion, just an obvious change of attitude in Antonio's demeanor by the time the credits rolled.

As he all but dances around his kitchen making a meal for himself, there's a clear optimism and enthusiasm for life that he hadn't shown before.

It was like he'd been raised from the dead...or the 46-year old lonely lifestyle (with or without cats), which is practically the same thing.

Ooh, did I say that out loud?