Reel Hub: Comma Craze Hits Hollywood, Makes Movie-Lovers Miserable

Does anyone else think it's just a matter of time before we see a movie titled Like, Totally? (Or maybe there already kind of is one?) We are, like, totes convinced that commas are the wave of the future in movie titles, and this weekend's big releases tend to agree with us.

Definitely, Maybe looks to turn itself from an annoying and meaningless phrase into an annoying and meaningless movie, distinguished from other annoying, meaningless movies mostly by the presence of Abigail Breslin, who was reasonably un-annoying and even somewhat meaningful in Little Miss Sunshine, but is now almost 12 and nearly ready to follow in her elders' footsteps and get pregnant (we're kidding, here; that'd be awful). But the Yahoo description for Definitely, Maybe can't even get the kid's age right (10? 11? 12? 16 and baby-ready?), and the divorced dad's supposedly heartwarming description of the girl's mother as potentially three different people (college sweetheart? best friend? ambitious journalist? MAYBE ALL THREE IN ONE?) is more off-putting than intriguing. Commas aside, does anybody really want to see a movie about Van Wilder tricking a youngster into thinking she doesn't know who her mom truly is? We hope not.

Another sappy, comma-heavy relationship drama is Me & You, Us, Forever. Was there no better title for this? No title that better obscured the actual content of the movie while hinting that it's probably about a relationship of some sort? No title allowing for even greater abuse of commas and ampersands? Perhaps the magic of the colon could have saved the day with Me and You: Us, Forever, or it could have gotten mathematical and text-messagey all at once: Me + U = Us 4-Ever. Regardless of the filmmaker's taste in titles, we're sure this film about a man (but not just any man--a Christian man!) reminiscing about his long-lost love is a quality tale of true romance, devoid of any references to Jesus's enduring love as the only thing that can get us through life. Our Father, who art in Heaven, can't you bring us some better movies?

If waiting for the man upstairs isn't your thing, Boston's got a couple of cinematic treats for you this weekend. Mongolian film Khadak, which follows a wannabe shaman on his journeys, plays through February 21 at the MFA. The Coolidge shows animated and live action Oscar shorts all weekend, to help you get ready to win that obscure section of your office Oscar pool. For something a little spicier, the Coolidge offers the Sex Workers' Art Show, a mix of visual and performance art featuring Miss Dirty Martini, Lorelei Lee, Krylon Superstar, and more. No need to bury yourself in commas; you have plenty of better punctuated options this weekend.

Comma image from http://www.carlschaad.com/blog/2006/08/