We've all heard of the Monkey's uncle—surprised people have been claiming to be him since before I was born—but today it's the Monkey's nephew I'm interested in.Which one, you might ask—at last count, Katie-Bar-The-Door and I have eight of them between us. But while each of them is "special" in his own way, it's the son of my older brother I have in mind. I've mentioned my older brother before in various contexts—traveling salesman, Auburn resident, Burns and Allen fan—and while these are all valid ways to define him, in the circles I run in the fact that my brother saw the Beatles play live on his 19th birthday makes him The Man, and even if I were to win the Pulitzer Prize for movie blogging, he's still going to be The Man.
That's him there on the left:
Distinguished, ain't he.Anyway, he has two children. His daughter, Plain Chicken, has a blog of her own, devoted to cats and recipes (though as far as I know, no cats in recipes) (check it out). His son makes his living in the movie business, primarily as a grip or rigging electrician. He's worked on a variety of movies—Zombieland, We Are Marshall, several Tyler Perry comedies—as well as television (e.g. The Walking Dead and Good Eats).
How about that.
I happen to be thinking about him because one his latest efforts opens today, the Farrelly Brothers' Hall Pass. Is it any good? I don't know. Roger Ebert gives it 2 1/2 stars, Entertainment Weekly predicts a number one spot at the box office. We'll see.Anyway, it seemed to me that if I can write about the likes of Zeppo Marx, I can give my nephew a plug on opening weekend.
Postscript:Oh, I should also mention that the Monkey's nephew is quite a talented photographer. Check out his work here.
