This Is IMPORTANT!

At last, I have found a website devoted to a topic that really matters....
It's Second Rate Snacks.com . See, some guy and some gal got the idea of comparing name brand snack foods to their lesser-known discount versions. Finally, we can hear from the experts on whether Little Debbie makes a better oatmeal creme pie than the folks at Mrs Freshley...or if the Nabisco-made Chips Ahoy cookies are of a higher quality than Rippin' Good's Chips A Plenty.



I've long been drawn to cheap foods, and will often do my shopping at The Dollar Tree just to stay on top of which fly-by-night distributors are behind the latest knock-off brands. I've found some fascinating items on the dollar store shelves. Like, this one time, I bought a box of multi-flavored sandwich cream cookies that were made in the United Arab Emirates. Can you believe that? What was The Dollar Tree doing with cookies from the Middle East? It just struck me as odd. I also really like these boxes of "Assorted Fancy Cookies", made in Columbia, that I can only find at that particular store. Sometimes, I will consume an entire package in one sitting (although I must confess that the cookies hardly live up to their name -- they certainly are not "fancy", and "assorted" is a misleading word to use for them since they all taste the same). Store brands also intrigue me. For example, are Walmart's Great Value products REALLY as good as their more expensive, name-brand counterparts??? And who makes them, anyway?

(picture taken from http://secondratesnacks.com)

I once did some basic research into the matter, and it appears as though there are a handful of food product manufacturers that provide the various grocery chains with their respective "store brands." In many cases, it really is just a matter of packaging that separates them. Meijer and Spartan stores, I believe, have the exact same company providing them with their store lines. Open up a box of Meijer granola bars, for instance, and you'll notice that the individual wrappers on the bars are identical to Spartan granola bars. I suspect that only the outer cartons are different, and nothing more. There's also a company that apparently provides Target with its own Market Pantry products, and I do believe that Walmart's Great Value items are distinct from other store brands.

Anyway, I admire the fine folks over at Second Rate Snacks for compiling a respectable database of cheap foods (the cool part for me is that I have actually purchased and consumed many, if not most, of the items that they have reviewed). I had the same idea about two years ago but, as usual, never did anything with it, which frustrates me a bit. You see, failing to act on good ideas that are later picked up by someone else is a running theme in my life. The below film is a perfect example.

Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party (2005)
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0437489/


Netflix description:
"As evidenced by his hilarious man-on-the-street interviews with everyday folks, most people don't know him from Adam -- but Stephen Tobolowsky is one of the busiest character actors in Hollywood. This refreshing documentary filmed at his birthday bash captures Tobolowsky's musings about working alongside some of Tinseltown's most recognizable faces and, perhaps for the first time, allows him to be the star of the show."



OK, we're all familiar with the concept of a Hollywood "That Guy", right? A That Guy is an actor who has appeared in dozens, if not hundreds, of films, but has never achieved stardom. You see him in a movie; you recognize him; but you don't know his name. Such an actor never stars in anything, but he pops up in countless supporting roles with an appearance that never seems to change. Maybe if you spotted him in a restaurant or something, you'd tap your companion on the elbow and say, "Hey, I know that guy!" but that's as far as the situation could go. Below are some examples of That Guys:



And perhaps the ultimate example:


Anyway, several years ago, I had the idea of doing a documentary about a That Guy. I hadn't settled on which one, but I figured that I could find one that everybody would recognize, and do a series of interviews with him about his long career in Hollywood. Maybe he'd have lots of great stories about working with the A-listers. What would he have to say about never quite reaching that status himself??? Would you rather work constantly in smaller roles, or would you have preferred to hit the big-time, if even temporarily? Did your acting career pan out like you'd once hoped? Hey, it seemed like an interesting idea at the time. The film would have been called That Guy.

Needless to say, of course, I never even came close to pursuing such a project; but that's OK -- REAL filmmaker Robert Brinkman got the same idea a few years later, and actually did something with it.

Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party is basically what I described above. The prolific That Guy (perhaps best known for playing annoying salesman Ned Ryerson in Groundhog Day) shares stories from his long career at his 50th birthday bash. Now, I THOUGHT that the movie would be fascinating, but I must admit that its great concept started to wear thin pretty quick. Although Stephen seems like a really nice guy, his stories...well...they're kinda boring. He doesn't say much about the hundreds of TV shows and motion pictures he's worked on, and instead mostly focuses on things from his private life. While it might be somewhat charming to listen to someone like him recall the day his daughter was born, it doesn't make for a good 90 minute documentary.

I was hoping to learn more about what it's like to work in Hollywood than what it's like to be a family man who must spend a lot of time away from home. Stephen Tobolowsky's Birthday Party is a compelling enough study of an individual, but it doesn't quite live up to its real potential. I wanted to hear DIRT about the big stars with whom Stephen has worked! Then again, a veteran like him would probably be too smart to go around sharing such stories. To be a successful That Guy, you've got to be well-liked by those around you.

I must hand it Robert Brinkman for having a fantastic idea for a film. In the end, however, that's really all this one amounts to -- a great concept that doesn't hold up so well when executed.

2 out of 5.

b.