I saw (500) Days of Summer last weekend, too. Great movie but Summer really irritated me (loved her clothes, though).

There's a bit of trying to bury another thread in this post, plus a bit of can't have my late-night birthday Voodoo Doughnuts without coffee (major sugar rush + serious caffeine bump = Whoosh, Speedy Synapses Syndrome), but mostly I want to recommend Adam.

It didn't play here in theatrical release, but I watched the DVD the other night and it's well worth your time. It stars Hugh Dancy (Blood and Chocolate, Confessions of a Shopaholic) in the title role and Rose Byrne, who my fellow fangirls will know from her role in Casanova, and most others will know from Get Him to the Greek. Adam is a fairy tale at its core. It's boy-meets-girl, boy-has-Asperger's, girl-has-Daddy issues. It's so beautifully and authentically portrayed, and it's just a wonderful little piece of storytelling. Plus, the bonus of Amy Irving and Peter Gallagher as her parents.

Adam, the film, touches all the cues and triggers all the emotions that Adam the character can't, and does so with deft humor and without ever traipsing into feel-sorry-for-him territory. If you haven't seen it, I recommend it highly.

DJRose said:Christel, for a minute I thought you'd copied and pasted a review from a professional site, and then I had an "Oh, DUH" moment when I remembered that you *are* a professional.

Actually, I consciously try to keep my non-professional communication much more informal. This must mean I'm not doing a very good job of separating work and life. That could be bad, like when my friends catch me using Phone Voice in casual conversation.

I just had a quote box nightmare, so I am trying again. In response to Samanferr!

As often happens with Hugh Dancy, I didn't even know it was him from previews. It's not that he looks significantly different in various roles, it's just he's… always immersed in the character.

Phone Voice: I have a few, mostly because I, too, hate the way they sound so fake. My friends and people I talk to all the time–my sister!–don't know it's me if they call me away from home. I can't seem to get Phone Voice Phoniness out of my Phone Voice, at least in my ears. That said, when I worked in a ticket office subscibers (for the opera and symphony and such) would call back to tell my boss how pleasant and real I sounded compared to other agents. It must sound good to other people. One well-known music artist called, himself, the day before his show and kept me on the line even though he should've been talking to the Head of Operations. Then, when he'd arrived the next day, I was sneaking in the side door and he was saying from the end of the hall by his dressing room, where the tunnel to the hotel was, "Gotta find me my telephone dream girl." As I rounded the corner and hid in the elevator from embarrassment–and to keep from making a fool of myself–He said something to the effect of "Hey, D'J'Y'all see that?" When I got upstairs and began trying to convince girls in the lobby that there was no meet & greet scheduled, and throughout the shift, my boss kept telling me to "make sure to act like an employee while I was on the clock". I had no idea what would make her I'd do think otherwise, but apparently she was on the headset with security all day and he had been asking whether or not they knew if "the phone girl" was working, and if they could find out where "the red-head on wheels" went. Apparently "fast-and-flame-haired" amused him. I was flattered, but also mortified. What if my latest Phone Voice was actually Porn Voice???

It wouldn't have stayed that voice whatever it was, because I also suffer that thing where I pick up speech patterns, especially if they are familar. My drawl used to come back every time I talked to my Daddy. I'm afraid people think I'm making fun of them.

Incidentally, I no longer work there, in fact I don't currently work where Phone Voice is a problem. I also don't currently have red hair.