Next week is Thanksgiving and I just realized that, even after more than a year of writing this column, you folks may not really know me too well. (Or, maybe you know me TOO well.)
One of the best ways that I know to get to know someone is talk about their favorite movies.
To that end, here’s a list of the top five movies that I’m thankful for.
STAND BY ME (1986)
Directed by Rob Reiner
Written by Raynold Gideon/Bruce A Evans
Based on a novella by Stephen King
Being a fully sentimental being (especially for times that I wasn’t even a part of), Stand By Me is, bar none, my favorite movie of all time. The story of four boys looking for a dead body in the early 60s strikes me in ways that manage to keep a smile on my face and a tear in my eye. River Phoenix, Wil Wheaton, Corey Feldman and Jerry O’Connell showed off acting skills that (some of them) would never show again. And Rob Reiner’s eye for Stephen King’s under-lying sentimentality made this a story that transcended age and became a timeless story of the special kind of love that only two young friends can truly show for each other.
Basically, I love everything about this movie.
From the opening narration by Richard Dreyfuss to the emotional outbursts of Wil and River, from the late 50s pop songs of the soundtrack to the eventual outcome of Kiefer Sutherland’s punk (which made me hate him for years), this is a great film. Hilarious and heartbreaking, sometimes at the same time.
GHOSTBUSTERS (1984)
Directed by Ivan Reitman
Written by Dan Aykroyd/Harold Ramis
My vote for the funniest movie ever made. It’s also the movie that, in my opinion, ruined my generation.
An entire country full of 7-14 year olds saw this movie in the theatre in 1984 and immediately took a shine to a man called Peter Venkman played by a young SNL alum named Bill Murray. He was already a star, but Ghostbusters pushed him over the edge into superstardom. It also made all of us decide that we wanted to be Peter Venkman, an acerbic, lazy, shiftless, charismatic, funny, awesome dude…who got the girl.
Little did we know that being that guy in real life wouldn’t get us too far.
Also in the movie are Dan Aykroyd as the dreaming, naive Ray Stantz, Harold Ramis as the anti-social, nerdy genius Egon Spengler and Ernie Hudson as the every man Winston Zeddemore.
The girl, of course, is Dana Barrett (Sigourney Weaver in her second best role), a young woman who really doesn’t want to believe in ghosts…or in the fact that Venkman might be good for her.
A mediocre sequel and the threat of a second doesn’t diminish the power of the first. It’s a movie that every line of is funny and every character is perfect. Amazingly enough, the special effects hold up pretty well for a movie that’s nearly 30 years old. (Ouch. That hurts me in my age.)
DUCK SOUP (1933)
Directed by Leo McCarey
Written by Bert Kalmar/Harry Ruby/Arthur Sheekman/Nat Perrin
The Marx Brothers. That’s really about all I have to say. The absolute funniest team ever. Funnier than the Three Stooges, Laurel & Hardy and Abbott & Costello all rolled into one great big movie.
Groucho, the wise-ass that always has a great zinger and a big-a, black-a mustache. Chico, the faux-Italian con-man who can talk his way out of just about anything. And Harpo, the silent one who is loved by all the kids and in love with all the girls. Zeppo would always be under-appreciated and stuffed into the role of “romantic lead,” although Groucho always said that he was the funniest one. On stage he could replace any of them when they were sick.
In just over an hour, Duck Soup takes the boys from classic gag to classic gag (including the mirror gag), ostensibly defending tiny Fredonia from a war waged with neighboring Sylvania. Rufus T Firefly (Groucho) is the president of Fredonia, but he’s pretty ineffectual. Mrs. Teasdale (the Marxes best foil, Margaret Dumont) picked him as leader because she’s in love with him. He just wants her money…for the country, of course. Whatever. The plot doesn’t matter.
Duck Soup was their biggest flop. They had just ridden the waves of four anarchic hits in a row, all showcasing the talents of three of the four brothers. Unfortunately, no one wanted to see an anti-war comedy in 1933.
After this, nothing was ever the same. Zeppo left, leaving the three more famous brothers to make two more classics and a bunch of mediocre flicks with some good gags strewn about. A Night At The Opera (their next film) is often considered their best, but it has too much non-Marx stuff that you just want to fast forward through. Duck Soup is really where it’s at.
EMPIRE OF THE SUN (1987)
Directed by Steven Spielberg
Written by Tom Stoppard/Menno Meyjes (uncredited)
Based on a book by JG Ballard
We don’t really think about it now, but when the director of Jaws and Raiders Of The Lost Ark started making dramas like The Color Purple in 1985, no one thought he could do it. That movie was pretty huge, so Spielberg went on to make the film of the autobiographical JG Ballard novel.
Young Jaime (Christian Bale in his first major role) is living the high life in Shanghai when WWII breaks out. The Japanese take over and put everyone into prison camps, separating Jaime from his parents. In one camp he meets Basie (John Malkovich), a small-time hustler who made it big in the camp (along with his lackey, Ben Stiller in one of his first roles).
This isn’t the first of Spielberg’s films to take place during WWII, but it’s the first one to overtly be ABOUT the war. It may not be as lofty as Schindler’s List or Saving Private Ryan, but it’s my favorite of all of his films. The scene where Jaime makes friends with a young kamikaze pilot only to have him snatched from him is a real heartbreaker, but the entire movie is a testament to the strength of children and the resilience of life under pressure.
DUCK AMUCK (1953)
Directed by Chuck Jones
Written by Michael Maltese
Yes, it’s a short. I don’t care. It’s quite possibly the funniest short film ever made. It’s also the most surreal of all of the Looney Tunes cartoons…and that’s saying something because, as you know, they’re pretty much all surreal. This one, though, really plays with the form in ways that, in 1953, many people probably didn’t think too hard about.
In this one, Daffy Duck is put through the wringer by an un-named (until the end) animator who can’t decide if he should be making a Western or a war movie or a hula flick. Any way the animator decides, Daffy is game…until things start to get ridiculous. Just how screwball can this animator get?
I’ve seen this cartoon hundreds of times and it still makes me laugh out loud. It’s seven minutes of pure Chuck Jones bliss.
So, there they are.
Five of the films that I’m thankful for. It’s by no means a complete list. (Wait! Where’s Holy Grail?! Superman: The Movie?! Any horror movies?!) These are just kind of the first five that came to mind and some of the ones that I go back to over and over again.
I love these movies and that’s about all I can really say.
