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Favorite Movies
Movies really aren’t my thing. Ever since I became a parent, I’ve avoided going to the theater and even watching them on DVD at home. There are three main reasons why:
- My attention span is so small now that the thought of sitting and focusing on anything for at least 90 minutes causes some anxiety. Plus, I’m afraid I’ll fall asleep if left sitting for that long.
- If I’m going out with my husband or friends, the last thing I want to do spend a fortune to sit in a dark room, eat (or step in) sticky/crappy snacks and not be able to have a conversation. If I’m going out, I want to talk! If I want to sit in a dark room with my husband, then I’ll stay home. It’s free, I can eat what I want and I’m probably going to want to do other things besides watch a movie.
- There just isn’t a lot of movies out there that excite me or interest me enough to get over #1 or #2.
In other words, this challenge post may be the most difficult of the entire 30-week challenge!
Still, I have a ton of DVDs in the house and a streaming subscription to Netflix, so I was able to come up with something. Bear with me…
1. The original Star Wars Trilogy i.e. Episodes IV, V and VI (aka the most messed up way to present a series of movies in the history of…ever.) I remember seeing these movies in the theater when they were first released. God, I AM old. They blew my mind then, even though the effects are nothing special in today’s digital age. Are the films campy and some of the dialogue a little…forced (excuse the pun)? Damn straight! As a writer, though, I recognize great characters and storytelling when I see it. Plus, you’ve got a young Harrison Ford in there for major bonus points. I may have been a mere child when the films were released, but even then I could appreciate a little eye candy 
2. Somewhere in Time: A total chick flick and a guilty pleasure for sure. I didn’t see it until I was in college and I was on my own in the summer for an internship. When I picked up the VHS tape (you remember those?) I noticed it starrd Christopher Reeve (the ONLY real Superman in my mind) and Jane Seymour, so I figured what the hell. I was totally sucked into its sappy love story and found myself wishing a guy like Mr. Reeve would stare for hours at a picture of me like that. I cried at the end and no, that is not my proudest moment. Note: this is one of those rare occasions where the movie is better than the book. I tried to read the novel the movie was based on “Bid Time Return.” The only tears I got there were from boredom.
3. Gone with the Wind: I read the book in junior high and saw the movie some years afterward. Any time I catch it on tv while flipping through the channels I always stop to watch. I adore the Civil War era, the costumes are stunning, the screenplay is faithful to the book and the performances of Vivian Leigh, Clark Gable, Leslie Howard and Olivia de Havilland were spot on. My only issue is more of a plot contention than movie complaint: how the hell could a woman like Scarlett love a wuss like Ashley? Ugh! In the book, he was meh at best. Leslie Howard does a bang up job making him a weak-ass excuse of a man–which made watching the Scarlett/Ashley scenes a challenge because I just wanted to throttle her for being so blind and him for being a martyr. Although, I will confess, the scene after intermission where he finally plants one on Scarlett got the blood pumping and almost graduated him to big-boy pants status…almost.
4. The Wizard of Oz: This movie is absolute perfection to me. Who doesn’t remember watching it every year when it came on tv? Did anyone else sit on the edge of his/her seat for the scene where Dorothy steps out into the Oz and the film goes from sepia to glorious Technicolor? .And, nothing can compare to Judy Garland in this film. NOTHING. Her “Over the Rainbow” still chokes me up every time I hear it. Even the freaky flying monkeys were a delight! My youngest was freaked out when watching this as a little one because of the witch and the monkeys. I forgot about how scary those parts were. I guess I blocked it out of my memory. Oops.
5. Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory: I’m talking about the original film, not the Johnny Depp remake–sorry Johnny, stick with Pirates.This is a grown-up movie disguised as a kids’ flick. That is probably what has made this film stand the test of time. Kids love it because what child wouldn’t want to win a lifetime supply of chocolate and tour a candy making factory? Adults love it for the subversive humor, innuendo and the fact that we all knew a kid like each of the golden ticket winners and couldn’t stand them (including Charlie! Gasp!) For me, though, what makes this film art is Gene Wilder. The way he goes from sweet as sugar to snarky in one breath is freakin’ amazing. I cannot count how many times I’ve seen this film and would sit down right now and watch it if it were on. I’d just fast forward through Charlie’s mom’s song. Yeah, she washes other people’s clothes and loves her son. Let’s get to the good stuff, ok?
Honorable Mentions
Dead Poets Society, Stand and Deliver, Dave, Major League, League of Their Own, Forrest Gump, Toy Story, Beauty and the Beast, The American President.
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