“You can’t just threaten us with some singsongy thing”
By Jan O'Hara | October 19, 2020 |
If you’re someone who enjoys reading or watching fiction around the artistic life, allow me to recommend the quirky Canadian movie, Songs She Wrote About People She Knows.
I came across it by accident and when not laughing, spent the rest of the movie watching it with my mouth open. Since then, my affection for it has only deepened. Apparently I’m not alone as in some circles the movie has gained cult status.
SSWAPSK is the story of the corporate lackey, Carol, who attends a music class at the urging of her therapist. The premise of the course is that emotionally repressed people can find it easier to express themselves while singing rather than through more traditional communication methods.
Carol is so annoyed by the timid and off-tune warblings of her classmates that she can’t make it through a single lesson. But its central message sticks with her. In no time at all she begins—spoiler alert!—composing songs about people she knows and leaving them on their answering machines. Since her compositions include unvarnished, often NSFW lyrics, the decision has far-reaching consequences.
Warning: Numerous real spoiler alerts lie below.
For example, one of the movie’s most memorable songs is the aptly titled A**hole Dave, the subject of which is revealed a few scenes later to be a powerful person in Carol’s world. i.e. her actual boss.
Besides the humor and hook, the movie has a surprising amount to say about the artistic life.
For instance, WUers will recall having had many conversations in these blogging halls about the moment we deserve to call ourselves writers or authors. Everyone has a different level of comfort with these titles. Some claim them upon writing their first sentence. Others wait until they’ve achieved a writing prize or commercial success.
In Carol’s case, Dave grants her the artist label after hearing a single ditty on his machine. One might say he even thrusts it upon her. (More on that in a bit.) As far as he’s concerned, she’s putting herself out there and that’s enough to qualify, no matter the size of the audience, no matter the reception.
The World’s Reaction to Carol’s Singing
Remember how the world treated the initial, tentative unveiling of your artistic tendencies? Well, a good part of the movie concerns itself with just that—namely, how so very few people remain neutral and unaffected when one of us chooses to explore the artist’s path. In the movie, Carol must deal with:
The skeptics, the critics, and the threatened
In the writing world, there are plenty of people who will attempt to knock you down to size if they sense you are leaving them behind or getting too big for your britches. (Oftentimes their motivation will remain fully subconscious.) This can look like:
- an overly competitive critique partner
- a spouse who wants to collate the family’s grocery list or use the computer whenever you attempt to write
- the occasional reader who takes an outsized interest in publicly savaging your story
In Carol’s case, apart from Dave, all her songs’ subjects/recipients fall into this category. And when she leaves one song too many on the answering machine of her ex and his new girlfriend, the antagonism extends to the police. (The title of this post comes from an early line of movie dialogue.) Turns out the legal system doesn’t see Carol’s utterances as benign artistic self-expression but as threats. Should she persist, her artistic journey might well include a stint in jail…
The people who see themselves as fellow artists
If you’ve spoken about your writing ambitions or successes, how many of your friends and neighbors suddenly want to talk about the novel they’ve always had in them? Dozens? Hundreds? I’ve personally lost track.
In SSWAPSK, the world is similarly awash in aspiring musicians.
It turns out Dave has a secret, misspent youth as a failed rocker and harbors deep regret over his decision to pack it in and settle for a safe, mediocre life. Fueled by Carol’s bravery—and possibly the recent decision to stop taking psychiatric meds—he quits his middle-management job in melodic, memorable fashion. He then buys a bunch of recording equipment, drives to California, and vows to reconnect to his artistic purpose by making a hit album.
The mentors/facilitators
Dave functions as a sort of antagonistic mentor and commits one final act before singing himself off the job: He fires Carol, giving her a severance package that she will forfeit if she accepts outside employment in the imminent future. (Thus providing both the call she cannot refuse and the time and space to indulge it.)
The police also fall into this category. When a pair of cops arrive to give Carol a stern warning about how her messages are being received, they notice her piano. Turns out those two uniforms cover the beating hearts of a revivalist duo. Before the appointment ends, they treat her to a song and pass her a business card with a valuable music connection.
Road Trip
While beginner’s luck can be a thing on the artistic path, most of us go through a significant period of apprenticeship. During this time, we actively acquire resources—equipment, knowledge, working partnerships. Also a heightened sense of clarity around what it is we want to say and the facility to do so.
Though initially reluctant and resentful about the path Dave forces upon her, Carol eventually settles into a full-throated pursuit of her goal. She will make an entire album of grudge songs, she decides. It will be a Quality Effort, backed by hard work, professional musicians, and a significant financial investment on her part. She will unveil it at a launch party to which all the songs’ subjects will be invited.
The Grand Finale
When the big evening arrives, Carol’s newfound professionalism and confidence falter. This viewer could easily imagine her thoughts, some of which I undergo with each blog post release, never mind each book launch!
- How will her music be received?
- Is it as qualitatively good as she imagined it?
- How will she feel upon sharing her baby with the world?
- In her case also, because the songs are public eviscerations of her very audience members, will the evening end in fisticuffs or her arrest?
Though the consequences of failure might differ, this last question will feel familiar to people who borrow liberally from real life to craft their fiction, or who write memoir. Will others recognize themselves in your characters? If so, how will they react?
I thought the film brilliantly handled the answers to these questions. Every person who formed the subject of a grudge song not only shows up but sits attentively through the concert. After, they also line up to get an autographed copy of her album, thus proving the point that sometimes when you involve people in your artistic pursuits, the attention they gain leads to dropped opposition.
As for Carol’s next venture, when one of them asks if she has any interest in going deeper with the same resentful material, her answer is no. She did her best by her first project and is ready to let it go. It’s time for her to embrace a different kind of music.
Apparently you can exorcise ghosts in song every bit as effectively as on the page.
Over to you, Unboxeders: Have you seen SSWAPSK? If so, what did you think of it? What is your favorite novel/movie/poem that deals with the artistic path?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o1CcMhLDPoI
A USA Today bestselling author, former family physician and academic, Jan O’Hara (she/her) left the world of medicine behind to follow her dreams of becoming a writer. She writes love stories that zoom from wackadoodle to heartfelt in six seconds flat: (Opposite of Frozen; Cold and Hottie; Desperate Times, Desperate Pleasures). Her latest Christmas novella, The Cowboy’s Comeback Christmas, is part of a 9-author-strong anthology (A Cowboy This Christmas: A Sweet Romance Anthology). She also contributed to Author in Progress, a Writer’s Digest Book edited by Therese Walsh.
That sounds like an adorable movie. I will definitely need to see if I can find it, because it looks like something I would definitely enjoy.
I must be woefully unread (is that even a thing? It’s early.) about novels, poetry or movies regarding the artistic path. I can’t think of anything… Maybe Sisyphus? Just kidding! Kinda.
Have a great rest of your day!
Midnight in Paris
Julie and Julia
The World According to Garp
Becoming Jane
Finding Forrester
Wonder Boys
and, heck, no such list is complete without Misery, right? ;)
I don’t know all of those, V. Thank you for the references. As to Misery’s inclusion, absolutely. ;)
I don’t think I’ve seen any one of those! I really have been hiding under a rock, I guess…
The movie is included in Amazon Prime :-) I can’t wait to watch it!
Ooh, thanks for that information, Natalie. Might be relevant to a good number of people.
Lara, ha! I’d go with Sisyphus!
Maybe your preference runs to non-fiction. Nothing wrong with that.
To Vaughn’s list, I’d add the movie Whiplash. It says very different things than SSWAPSK, but it definitely makes you think about the path to mastery, and what constitutes effective mentorship.
Yes, loved Whiplash. It’s genius filmmaking, imo.
I haven’t seen Songs She Wrote About People She Knows, but I found it on Amazon Prime and added it to my list. Thank you so much, Jan! I think we’ll love it.
Has anyone mentioned Adaptation yet? That might be my favorite writing-related movie. This teaser-descriptor is from Wikipedia:
It’s so good, you guys. It’s so good.
Ooh, that’s going on my TBW list, T. I’ve attended two McKee seminars–fantastic story-geek opportunity, BTW. Would be especially curious to see how/if they address it in the movie.
It is darkly comedic. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I can’t wait for you to see it!
This looks like a good watch, Jan. I’ll have to check it out. Great trailer.
Hugs (because there aren’t enough hugs in this world)
Dee
I’ll take a hug any old day, Denise. Care to have one back?
To you or anyone who gives the movie a try, I’d love to know what you think of it.
Great stuff, Jan. Good takeaways, and the trailer makes me all the more anxious to watch the film. I’m a sucker for the artistic journeys of others, and I particularly appreciate those of musicians. They’re really putting themselves out there. It’s so immediate, and so often it’s instantly apparent when it’s not authentic, even to laymen. It makes writing novels seem safe by comparison. (And yes, I still indulge in the singer audition shows–it’s pretty much the only type of reality TV I still watch.)
I hope this isn’t too off-topic. Or absurdly obvious, or sound like faux mysticism. But I think I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be right now; that everything that’s happened along the way was needed in order for me to be right here. Because of all I’ve done and been through, I can let so much of the baggage fall away. I’m have the best footing, the best outlook, possible in order to move forward.
How’s that for some vague self-affirmation for a Monday? (*Paging Steward Smalley*) Thanks for the “motivational” start, for a fun essay, and for the fun movie rec.
If it gets you in the right headspace to continue pursuing your dream, I’m all for it, V. It can take me a long time to stop sulking, but eventually I also arrive at the shores of Lakes Optimism and Gratitude.
Hey! Another thing we have in common is our limited and specific taste for reality TV. I watch The Voice to hear what the mentors say to the artists–not so much to hear who wins. My favorite show in that vein, though, is Songland. (Maybe a subject for another post.) Are you familiar?
Thank you, Jan. I’m going to come back to this post after watching the movie–I don’t want to spoil anything, so I’m not reading it now ;-)
Awesome, Natalie. Let me know what you think of it.
I skimmed the spoiler stuff in your post, because the movie sounded too good not to watch, but wanted to comment on the ‘spoiler’ people in the artist’s life. Personally, I haven’t encountered any in my own writing life (possibly because I’m not famous or sufficiently successful to be intimidating!) but in Australia, the act of trying to cut others down to size is called The Tall Poppy Syndrome. Whack off those tall blooms and make them the same size as the rest of the field, instead of celebrating the difference.
I thought of the movie “Little Miss Sunshine” (which I love) as an example of someone who persevered in the face of opposition.
So good to see you in cyberspace, Deborah! I hope you and yours are well.
I loved Little Miss Sunshine. Her grit at such a young age. Her family’s backing. Would be fascinating to have a movie epilogue of sorts and see where she’d wind up in 20 years.
Thanks for the introduction to a film that I’m sure I’ll enjoy. Glad to see that it’s on Amazon Prime.
I like the way you parallel Carol’s journey in the movie with our journey as writers. I think most people in any creative endeavor experience the same things. We are so vulnerable to others and to ourselves.
“I think most people in any creative endeavor experience the same things. We are so vulnerable to others and to ourselves.”
Absolutely, Maryann. That’s one valuable lesson we can take from these fictional representations, IMHO–how to persist despite the naysayers, whether internal or external.
Hope you enjoy it, and my thanks to Natalie for discovering its easy availability to many.
Hi, Jan:
So sorry, I stopped right after the first spoiler alert (and wish I’d stopped sooner), because I fully intend to watch this film. Someday, we’ll have a nice long chat about it.
Till then, it kinda reminded me of two other Canadian films I love: I’ve Heard the Mermaids Singing and The Decline of the American Empire. Both have wickedly ingenious premises and are poignant without getting mawkish, with a certain underhanded wit I’m beginning to think comes with the territory up there.
Thanks for the recommendation. And I know you have a lot of interesting stuff to say about this film but I’m putting my hands over my ears now and la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la…
Do you know, I haven’t watched either of those films, David. Thanks. My to-watch list is lengthening.
Yes, the Canadian sense of humor (humour) is more British than American to my way of thinking. Sly and understated, though this movie has a few over-the-top elements, too. Hope you enjoy it.
I’m a sucker for movies about artists and Songs She Wrote sounds so funny. I’ll be sure to watch it–spoilers never decrease my enjoyment of a good story. Thank you.
My favorites are Miss Potter, Finding Neverland, and Little Women–all three are such beautiful love stories too.
I’m not at all familiar with Miss Potter, Vijaya. Thanks. Will check it out.
Regarding the spoilers, the movie REALLY starts in media res. I consider myself a reasonably astute consumer of story but found myself initially lost. I hope/think you might find the post orienting and helpful rather than a true spoiler!
Jan, this is a great connection with music post. Glad I read it and saw the movie trailer. I’ll watch the movie soon. My book is about music in my life. A famous musician grandfather, a musician father, and my journey in music as a young adult. My editor plays the organ, understood the music specific scenes and helped me develop them to their fullest. It’s fascinating how music opens up the mind in writing and business. 🎼 Christine
Gosh, Christine, sounds like your frame of reference for viewing this movie would be particularly insightful!
Jan, thanks for recommending this movie. It was insanely good and funny and wry.
My choices for movies about the artistic path are Becoming Jane and Finding Neverland. (And my all-time favorite about a writer although not entirely about writing, is Heartburn.)
I’m so pleased you enjoyed it, Liz. And you all have expanded my watch list, which I might actually get through because of Covid.
This looks like a fun movie! Thanks for the tip!
My pleasure, Marta. Hope all is well with you!
Watched it free on Tubi last night. Might watch it again to catch all the nuances. Thanks.
Cool beans, TR! If you are willing to rewatch it, can I assume you enjoyed it somewhat?
Looking forward to watching this, Jan! I don’t give my money to the company mentioned above, so I’m pleased to see that it’s also available from YouTube movies and the Apple store.
Thanks for the updated comments on availability, Barbara! I was able to watch it through my normal TV subscription. Thoughtlessly didn’t think to check where it would be viewable from the US.