The July 4th Cultural Weekend Extender
So the official holiday has come and gone, and you're probably still hungover and/or sunburnt. If you worked on Friday, you can't wait to get back to the long Independence Day weekend. Even if you didn't, you probably avoided the massive crowds for Despicable Me 2 and won't bother suffering through The Lone Ranger. Indeed, beyond more barbecues and more beer and maybe the beach, your options for the next three days of extended free-time bliss may seem limited. But there's plenty to do with yourself, much of it co-starring your air conditioner.
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If you still want to go to a movie theater...
Try The Way, Way Back. This movie got a big vote of confidence at Sundance when Fox Searchlight picked it up for $10.5 million, and should be a lighthearted, indie alternative to the summer's tentpole blockbusters. It's written and directed by The Descendants co-writers Jim Rash and Nat Faxon (otherwise known as the dean on Community and Ben of the short-lived Ben & Kate) and tells the coming-of-age story of young Duncan (Liam James), who befriends an oddball water-park manager played by Sam Rockwell and has to deal with his mom's jerk of a boyfriend, Steve Carell playing against type. Reviews have been swell, so don't expect these theaters to be totally empty, but even so it's probably better than watching Johnny Depp feed a dead bird on his head. Just watch this clip and smile:
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If you really want to avoid any crowds (and live in New York or L.A.) you might want to check out the documentary about the band Big Star. Nicolas Rapold at the New York Times called Big Star: Nothing Can Hurt Me a "deserved tribute that puts us inside the music, and the head space, of a great, lost band." (That is also available on iTunes.)
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If you just want to stay home and you have HBO...
HBO has made it very easy to re-watch The Sopranos all over again (or for the first time) by offering it on On Demand. (You can also watch on HBO Go.) Spending hours overanalyzing the American Dream through Tony's eyes is a pretty solid way to spend an American holiday, and you can honor the late James Gandolfini's great performance while you're at it. If your premium cable package has Showtime, you may want to explore the world of its new popular antihero by watching Ray Donovan before the second episode airs Sunday.
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If you really want to stay home and don't have a TV but you do have Netflix...
Dive into the various Netflix series—what, you haven't finished Arrested Development or House of Cards yet?!—so you can make educated comments at that BBQ about the state of the streaming service's original programming, what with the critically-acclaimed Orange is the New Black premiering next week. Also: here's your very necessary reminder that Breaking Bad is back for its final run August 11, so you probably want to start binging now.
If you totally want to stay home and do have a TV but need to veg out...
Entertainment Weekly has a good list of all of the marathons running this weekend. Say Yes to the Dress, Roseanne, Sex and the City, Law & Order: SVU? They are all playing for ungodly amounts of time this weekend. Also of note: You can still find Independence Day, and you might want to relive a better Gore Verbinski-Johnny Depp combination by watching the Pirates movies (or, really, just the first one) on ABC Family. And don't forget to have your breakfast at Wimbledon this weekend.
If you want to avoid screens altogether...
Read a book. The Atlantic Wire has some suggestions for you. There are the must-reads, some Y.A. you can gobble up, and the books you'll need to read for Oscar season. Other recommendations? Alissa Nutting is being billed as "the summer's most controversial author" for her book Tampa, and we personally have fallen in love with The Yonahlossee Riding Camp for Girls by Anton DiSclafani.
