Review: Proof

     In 2002, Snap Dragon and I went to see the play, "Proof." By then, it had already won a Tony, Drama Desk Awards, and even a Pulitzer. Jennifer Jason Leigh played the lead as a budding mathematician, Catherine, who is derailed by her father's mental breakdown and subsequent death. The father had been a reknowned, mathematical genius and she inherits that gift along with his instability. There is no better person to capture such a complex role than Ms. Leigh. She was born to play them. The roles that walk that fine line, where you have to fight for sanity (I love this theme. See Pi). She also possesses a kind of beauty you must make time for. As for the storyline, it was compelling. Snappy and I were excited to see math romanticized. After all, we both work with numbers and that is in fact how we became good friends - in our 11th grade math class. Ah, dear Mrs White, our teacher, could make perfect circles on the blackboard without using those chalk compass thingys. She was so proud of this particular talent. Number crunching is not what Snappy and I envisioned doing in our 30s, but it pays the bills. We also know all too well that it isn't very "elegant," as Catherine describes... at least not in business.
     In 2005, the film version of "Proof" was released with some heavyweight Hollywood actors and Anthony Hopkins. After 2 years, Snappy and I were excited to see it together again just because we like circles or coming to a full one anyway. What we discovered was that it just didn't add up. Mr. Hopkins was very good and dignified. But, the rest was bland melodrama. When the credits rolled I did my usual, "Ok, lets talk, what did you think, what parts worked, and more importantly, what didn't you like?" Snappy's immediate response, "um, I didn't like the parts with the crazy blonde in it." So after goofing on some scenes that made madness seem more like a bad case of drunkeness, I realized something about us. Math is attractive because it's dependable. There is the problem and a solution. A right answer. Usually. After everything that has happened in our lives, between Mrs. White, "Proof" on Broadway, and our little movie session, Snappy and I always crave this dependability. It's why we get along. And while we both loathe your basic math problems (like splitting the bill & leaving a decent tip because we both share a brain cell when we hang out) and we maintain our small senses of adventure (believe it or not), we like what it promises. We know and we can prove it!

-Snappy was a contributor to this entry. We gave the play 3 1/2 out 4 playbills and the movie 2, by the way :)