Reversals R Us

Stuff that happens in movies happens in real life too.  Though, I suppose, things that happen in the movies have to be believable.  I’m not sure this one would be. 

Couple of nights ago, I was out on the prowl in my fair city, escorting a Hollywoodian female type around the town, showing her the finest of the finer things… like barbecue.  She was in town for a music event and had some free time and hunger pangs, so I jumped into the driver’s seat. 

Dinner was at Dee’s Que.  Superb.  Amazing.  Best ribs, ever.  And the funny thing was, I got turned onto Dee’s by Glenn Ficarra, a writer from Los Angeles.  Small world.  Complete the circle and all that.  

After dinner she needed a couple of bottles of wine to take to her hotel to fortify her during her four day stay in town.  In proper story order, we first tried the really good looking liquor store that I’d wanted to visit but hadn’t… Nice design!

Makes You Want To Spend Money

Literally as I parked the car, they turned the lights off.  Next… 

So we continued toward downtown.  There was a store on the left, and I swung the mighty Crown Vic into the turn lane, but found myself beckoned by a thrilling neon sign a little further down.  I hauled half a block on down Main Street.  Note the overturned whisky jug!

Good To The Last Drop

This is the place as you park.  Imagine it’s night. 

Will They Have First Growth Bordeaux?

Not too prepossessing, to say the least.  Killer sign, but neither she nor I hoped to find much in the way of wine inside.  But, park we did, and go in we did.  Like characters in a movie, we went into the scene expecting one thing would happen… we’d end up with a couple of bottles of decent Mondavi.  Or Yellowtail.  Or the ilk.  

1.)  You set the audience up with an expectation of what’s about to take place… it wasn’t an upscale part of town… the place didn’t look like it’d sold a bottle of wine in the past year that cost more than ten dollars… plus it had wire mesh on the windows… perfect location to shoot “The Wire.”  

2.)  …then you knock ‘em cross-eyed with a reversal! 

My friend had just come back from a trip to New Zealand, had done a fancy pants NZ vineyard tour, and was jonesin’ for superb NZ wines.  In the back corner was a rack of the little babies that were fit to blow your socks off.  Red, white, the real top of the top end goods.  She went nuts.  Well, as nuts as a delicate blonde from L.A. will allow herself to go in a low end Nashville booze joint.  “You can’t get any of these in Los Angeles!  I can’t believe they’ve got these wines here!  This is so genius.”  And on and on.  She, quite pleased, selected a few wines of staggering quality and we wandered off. 

If that reversal were in a movie, would you believe it?