Weird, Comments are not showing for me, either logged in or not. I see a preview in the admin board when logged in, but I don't see any comments on the post itself...

What impressed me about this script is that it made me care about a relationship between two men that I'd probably go out of my way to avoid in a social setting. They are really smart, competitive, and arrogant--a mix that can quickly get ugly in a party (as we see in the kitchen scene). The writer, however, pairs and largely isolates these two and gives them each an initial goal of trying to impress the other. The characters' resulting openness and vulnerability with one another makes this feel like a compelling romance--like a summer fling that works for a short time but cannot endure. I was rooting for them to stay close at the end, but, ultimately, they can't because in each other's presence they are both comfortable and yet too uncomfortable. Lipsky envies Wallace's success and talent. First, Lipsky is uncomfortable in Wallace's presence because after reading Infinite Jest he knows that he is NOT as talented as Wallace and might never enjoy his level of success. Being the smart, competitive, and arrogant guy that he is, it makes it hard for him not to exploit those moments where he can prove himself at least as good as, or even better, than Wallace--whether that means making the two women laugh with a "Wallace-like" joke or taking Wallace to task for pretending to be anything less than a genius. Second, Wallace's revelations about his fears of fame, his previous suicide attempt, and his loneliness force Lipsky to confront the possibility that his aspirations for success are naive. Lipsky is a talented writer in the pre-fame stage and, as such, seems to be a reminder to Wallace of an earlier version of himself--the one that wanted the success and approval he now has and thought those would complete him emotionally. Lipsky's presence and the weight of his envy is a reminder to Wallace that fame and the resulting loneliness and need for continued fame, threaten his emotional stability and the authenticity of his writing.

Not sure what that's about, Conor. I'll talk to our IT people. Hopefully these type of computer gremlin issues won't follow us to our new platform at Medium.

Astute observations, Rashonda, an accurate take on the arc of their relationship. I love your idea of it being like a "summer fling" but, of course, in the winter. They go through the 'dating' phase, pretty much fun and games, but once girls are introduced into the mix, it becomes a kind of dick-measuring contest. Eventually they come to a sort of 'guy' acceptance of each other. It's funny the veering back and forth between intellectual / conceptual discussions, then these sophomoric snits about truly mundane matters. At the end of the day, the movie is about demystifying the myth of DFW.