#580 Musings Beyond the Bunker (Friday February 10)
Good morning,
THE “DEFINITIVE” LIST OF “ROM COMS”
It’s been a while since one of my movie lists. This weekend seems like the perfect time and this time I’m picking Andrea’s favorite genres. The first is “rom-coms.” Here is the definitive list of great romantic comedies that I love and I think have broad appeal (thanks, Dave Swartz, for the help):
When Harry Met Sally—The classic with Billy Crystal. “You are a human affront to all women,” “how do you know I know?” and “I’ll have what she’s having”:
My Best Friend’s Wedding—“I’ve got four days to break up a wedding.”
Wedding Crashers—“Hey Ma, can we get some meatloaf? Hey Ma, the meatloaf! We want it now!”
Jerry Maguire—At least he left with the fish… And “you had me at hello…” One of the best speeches in a rom-com. It’s two minutes and you’ll smile:
The Big Sick—Falls in love with the whole family. Couldn’t be sweeter.
As Good As It Gets—Nicholson playing a curmudgeon, as only he can. Helen Hunt the single mother. I think Greg Kinnear is the heart of the movie. Nicholson’s Academy Award winning character study is classic (“People who talk in metaphors oughta shampoo my crotch.”)
Forgetting Sarah Marshall—I think this one’s a sleeper. It’s romantic, funny, Dracula puppets, great on various levels. Oh, and Mila Kunis…
Yesterday—What if the Beatles never existed? And what if you’re among the very few who remember them? Issues of intellectual property, honesty, sharing art, and love. Crazy sci-fi conceit, lighthearted and enjoyable…
Sliding Doors—Another great “what if” movie. There are two story lines. In one, Gwyneth Paltrow takes catches a train, meets a man, later returning home to find her boyfriend with another woman. In the other thread, she misses the train and life unwinds in a different way. Brilliant in its execution.
Love Actually—Christmas, unrequited love, cringeworthy middle-aged quasi-dalliance, first love, and love in the strangest circumstances. Hugh Grant as the Prime Minister, Emma Thompson in a heart-breaking role, and Colin Firth in a great role. I could watch this 100 times (and have!)
Notting Hill—Hugh Grant again. The king of rom coms. He nails the unassuming bookseller part and Julia Roberts is her usual great performer. That said, “I’m just a girl, standing in front of a boy asking him to love her” is just a little weird and forced. Rhys Ifans, the goofy roommate, steals the show (check 0:45 in):
Groundhog Day—Because it belongs on every list. Arguably one of the best movies ever—comedy, romance, profundity, redemption, sci-fi time loop conceit—everything. Palm Springs, now on Netflix, is a cute differently constructed rip-off, worth a couple of shelter-in-place hours…
Moonstruck—Cher, always great, and Nicholas Cage, playing himself, which he has made a career of doing. Plus, “I’m confused…”:
Annie Hall—Perhaps politically incorrect because of Woody Allen. In some sense this movie created its own genre—a fourth wall flattening autobiographical comedy.
Knocked Up—Wrong, but funny and cute…
People love these also, but they are not at the top of my list:
While You Were Sleeping
You’ve Got Mail—Hard not to like Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan (and the writing of Nora Ephron), yet goofy and predictable
Sleepless in Seattle—cute but a little weird in these more woke days.
Pretty Woman—yes, I know, politically incorrect
Something’s Gotta Give—Keaton and Nicholson are great.
And for old time’s sake: His Girl Friday and It Happened One Night. Just because they’re in black and white and of a different era doesn’t detract from their appeal.
And if you’ve missed the gang from Love Actually, here’s a 15 minute “sequel” that supports the British charity, “Red Nose Day”: https://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5ge6ui. Sure it’s silly, but cute.
GREATEST LEGAL MOVIES
Here’s part two of Andrea’s favorite genres. This is “legal movies.” Many of the following movies encouraged people to enter into this noble profession. The law, after all, provides a basis for civilization and civil society:
To Kill a Mockingbird—“Jean Louise, stand up. Your father’s passing.” Love this movie. Gregory Peck nails it. This is one of the few instances where I think the movie might be as good as—and in some ways perhaps even better—than the book.
Kramer v. Kramer—Dustin Hoffman and Meryl Streep star in this heartbreaking story of divorce and its effect on a child.
Philadelphia—Tom Hanks’s second academy award, as a homosexual lawyer wrongly fired by his firm. Quite a movie, with Jason Robards and Denzel Washington in a Jonathan Demme masterpiece.
In Cold Blood—Truman Capote’s great telling of the true story of four murders in Kansas.
Michael Clayton—George Clooney—Great mid-2000s uplifting story of a cynical fixer.
Erin Brockovich—The famous case involving contaminated water, Julia Roberts in this Steven Soderbergh film.
The Verdict—Paul Newman delivers a great turn as an alcoholic lawyer down on his luck taking on the case of his career
A Few Good Men—“You want the truth? You can’t handle the truth…” Tom Cruise, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Bacon. And directed by Rob Reiner (who has The Princess Bride to his credit as well)
My Cousin Vinny—Fred Gwynne as the judge, Marisa Tomei (“Oh yeah, you blend”), and Joe Pesci (“The two utes”). Hysterical.
12 Angry Men. Originally a stage play. I never grow tired of this, in theatre and the film. A great study of a jury in action, their collective story and their individual inner stories.
Paper Chase—John Houseman’s contracts professor is a classic that has scared generations of first year law students getting ready for law school.
Presumed Innocent
A Civil Action—True story of environmental pollution. Stephen Zaillian, one of the writers in Hollywood, adapts the great book by Jonathan Harr. Robert Duvall and John Travolta. With a great supporting cast including James Gandolfini, John Lithgow, Tony Shalhoub and William H. Macy…
Amistad—Anthony Hopkins does a great turn as John Quincy Adams, one of the greatest men to hold the office of President. This is Steven Spielberg’s telling of Adams’s taking on the mutineers of the slave ship, the Amistad, post-presidency. In many ways as good as Schindler’s List and Lincoln in Spielberg’s historical canon. If you don’t get choked up with “Old Man Eloquence,” whose best days were when he returned to the House and defied the gag rule on slavery at each and every turn, I’d be surprised. JQA is the bomb!
Judgment at Nuremberg—A Stanley Kramer classic with Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, and Maximillian Schell. To think this came out only 14 years after the trial makes it that much more powerful and poignant. And how about Judy Garland, Marlene Dietrich, Montgomery Clift to boot? Even Captain Kirk and Colonel Klink have roles (well, the actors playing those roles, William Shatner and Otto Klemperer, I kid you not).
Yes, I know there are a lot of John Grisham movies out there. It’s practically its own genre. Some are actually pretty great thrillers, like The Client (has there ever been a bad movie with either Tommy Lee Jones or Susan Sarandon?), The Firm (a Sydney Pollack thriller starring Tom Cruise), Runaway Jury (John Cusack, you bad boy…), and A Time to Kill (hats off to the truly odd Matthew McConaughey). Others are not so great e.g., The Pelican Brief.
Enjoy the movies,
Glenn
From the archives: