So, it was my birthday this week. Yeah, yeah, thanks. I generally like to celebrate it alone, and while that my sound depressing, in the past it has caused some arguments with people, it’s the way I prefer to celebrate. Mainly because nothing anyone can do will ever live up to any expectation I have for what should be a special day for me. A day about me. So, I prefer to spend the day sitting at home having as good a time as I can. That usually means watching movies. Lots and lots of movies. And playing video games too. But, mostly movies. This year I got to celebrate my birthday over the course of two days, and you get to read about how I spent it. Lucky you. Don’t worry, I didn’t watch the movie in the above poster, but I did watch one that’s probably worse by most people’s standards
First I watched Who Framed Roger Rabbit, which, I think, is a fantastic way to start off. I freaking love this movie, and I could probably trace my enjoyment of anything noir back to it. It’s pretty amazing how well the effects hold up 22 years later. The interactions between the animated characters and the live-action is unbelievable, and I think very much a lightning-in-a-bottle scenario, considering how well it’s been pulled off in other films since. Of course, I guess alot of credit for that goes to the writing as well as the talent involved. I’m crossing my fingers that the recent announcement of Zemeckis’ animation studio closing it’s doors will lead him back down this road. Maybe not to create a sequel, but something at least of this caliber. I think his body of directing work before his obsession with mo-cap speaks for itself. The scene with the weasels, where they can’t stop laughing? My brother and I will still quote that scene whenever people start getting hysterical. Oh, and my favorite scene? Tough, but it might be when Roger visits Eddie’s office (which also has a variation of the weasel laughing bit in it). There’s a point where Roger touches the dusty chair of Eddie’s dead brother. When Eddie yells at him and he jerks his hand away you can see glove prints in the dust that weren’t there before. In that moment Roger is very much a real person, not a character drawn into a frame. It’s small and subtle, but that’s movie magic for me.
Second was Ghostbusters, a movie as close to perfect as you can probably get. The humour still works, and while the special effects look very dated, for a film like this it’s exactly what you need. I may quote (or, mis-quote in some cases, heh) more lines from this film than any other. The scene with the eggs bursting on the counter in Dana’s apartment still creeps me out. And the moment where they capture Slimer is just as awesome today as it was twenty years ago. It’s impossible to pick a favorite scene here, but if I had to it would probably be the showdown at the end between the Ghostbusters and Gozer & Mr. Stay-Puft. Classic stuff.
Third, The Big Lebowski. What can you possibly say about the Dude that hasn’t already been said. I got into a discussion with my twin brother about the most quotable movie. Of course, I just stated Ghostbusters might be mine, but Lebowski is easily in the top 5, if not number 2. My favorite scene has to be the scene between the Dude & the Stranger, the first one. But, every piece of this movie is classic. I go back and forth on my favorite Coen Bros. flick, and today, it’s this one.
Fourth, Oscar. I know, I know; how can a guy who appreciates so much fine cinema love a film like Oscar? Well, that it’s based on a play helps, I love theatre, and watching it I can see how well it would work on stage, and it’s a comedy of errors, something I’m a huge sucker for, add in an all-star cast and I just eat this movie up. Yeah, Stallone stars, but I’m one of the few who thinks his acting ability is underrated. Sure, he can only play a few notes, but he REALLY knows how to play those notes. It helps that he seems to be the only straight man in a movie full of idiots. I’ve also got a thing for Italian women, and Ornella Muti is just gorgeous in her brief appearance as Snaps’ wife. It’s one of the few Marissa Tomei performances I love (don’t get me wrong, I think she’s a great actress, she just doesn’t get the best material) and the supporting cast is filled in with some of the best actors working at the time; Don Ameche, Peter Riegert, Tim Curry, Vincent Spano (another one who never got the right material), Chazz Palminteri, Kurtwood Smith (always underrated, especially in comedy), William Atherton (always brilliant), Martin Ferrero & Harry Shearer, Art LaFluer (why doesn’t this guy get bigger roles?) and the always amazing Kirk Douglas in possibly his briefest role. This movie never fails to make me smile, and I’d love to see an actual stage performance, but I don;t think anyone could bring life to the roles the way these actors did. No, certainly not the greatest comedy of all time, but it’s a film I’ve always enjoyed immensely. Oh, and my favorite scene has to be Stallone as Snaps Provolone jetting back and forth across his mansion as every mad cap situation comes to a head, on the verge of losing his mind. Ir maybe it’s anything with the Fenucci’s. Or Poole. I love when he says “Hello” over the balcony. Cracks me up.
So…Almost Famous. On any given day this is my favorite film of all time. I’ve talked to people who don’t like it, and to them I say, you don’t get it. It starts with an outcast of a kid discovering a passion for rock music and writing and ends thirty years later with Cameron Crowe creating probably the greatest love letter music has ever recieved. I said Ghostbusters is as close to perfect as you can get, and that’s true, but this film IS perfect. Everything about it is perfect. It won its only Oscar for Original Screenplay, and while it was deserved, the fact that it didn’t get anything else is, in my opinion, one of the biggest oversights in the history of the Academy Awards. I have no favorite scene, I can’t possibly pick one. It’s all happening.
Now, I might get some argument out of a few people on this one, but next up was Back to the Future. Part II. Why? Because I think it’s more fun than the first film. Yes, I know, I’m insane. But, I didn’t say it was a better film, just more fun. And it’s my birthday, so, bite me. I really dig the way it weaves in and out of the first film, the moments of deja vu when Marty gets to the future, and what a freaking ending! I hate that the third film never lived up to the potential it had, but I really do love all three films, but gun to my head I’ll choose to watch this one almost every time. The hoverboard sequence is probably still my favorite bit of the entire film, but I also really love the Jaws hologram. Shark still looks fake.
Keeping with the theme of “sequels I like more than everyone else,” I watched Return of the Jedi. I understand the complaints against the Ewoks, I do, but there’s so much bad-assery in this film that I can’t see why most people don’t just overlook the fuzzy little troublemakers. The opening scenes in Jabba’s palace alone are enough to make me forget anything negative that happens in this film (not that I think there are negatives). And, Slave Leia, need I say more? But, more than anything, this is the first movie I remember seeing in a theatre. I know it wasn’t (actually, I think Empire might have been), but it’s the first one I remember, so, for that alone it has value to me. And, my favorite scene in the entire film is the escape. The dry wit of Luke & Han’s conversation, R2 jettisoning the lightsaber, Luke’s acrobatics, Leia on that turret, even Bobba Fett dying like a punk. I love it.
I watched a handful of other films (Shutter Island, The Hudsucker Proxy & Short Cuts), but I think I might talk about those at length at some point in the future. They were all enjoyable in their own way, I’ll just say that.
I did watch one other movie, and while I’ll immediately admit to it being juvenile and borderline idiotic, I always enjoy it. That’s Scooby-Doo 2: Monsters Unleashed. Yeah, I know, what a way to end two days of absolutely joyous movie watching (actually, Shutter Island was the last film I watched), but I got to watch it with my two year old niece, who has a growing infatuation with Scooby-Doo that I’ll gladly encourage. I’m a sucker for the great dane myself, as evidenced by the massive amounts of Scooby paraphernalia I own and the stack of DVDs devoted to the Mystery Inc gang on my shelves. My one rule? No Scrappy. The only acceptable Scrappy content is in the first live action movie, which I consider one of the greatest reveals in cinema history. Yeah, I know, I just lost any credibility I had. But, like I said, I’m a sucker for Scoobert, and before you ask, yes I do know their full, real names, even Mr. Norville “Shaggy” Rogers himself.
