Monthly Archives: February 2016

#234- Lola

Quick recap: Lola is a cabaret dancer with guy trouble. There’s Frankie, an American sailor who is in love with her, Roland, a childhood friend, also in love with her, and Michel ,the guy who knocked her up and abandoned her and her son. It is Michel who Lola is madly in love with and spends her days hoping he will return.

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Lola and Frankie

Fun (?) fact: Director Jacques Demy, who has a wonderfully French name, said that Lola is ‘a musical without music’.

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Lola and Roland

My thoughts: For a movie named Lola, there isn’t actually a whole lot of Lola. Which is fine by me because I became very invested in the other characters while Lola herself bored me a bit. I get that she’s the connection between everyone and keeps the plot moving, but I would’ve been perfectly happy had the movie been something like Other Characters Who Aren’t Lola. I would watch the hell out of that.

That’s not to say I didn’t like Lola. The actress who played her, Anouk Aimée is beautiful and charming and really made the character come alive.It’s no wonder everyone was in love with her. My heart (and allegiance), however, belong to the character of Roland Cassard and his unrequited love. He was a mess most of the time- a charming guy who is so unhappy with his life that he enters a diamond smuggling ring (haven’t we all?) in order to get away from it all and do some traveling. After making the decision to participate, Roland runs into Lola and it’s the first time he smiles in the movie. I loved how much emotion was brought to the character of Roland, as he went from hopeful to head over heels to obsessive and finally to bitter as he accepted the fact that Lola didn’t love him back. He wore his heart on his sleeve, and it made me identify with him all too well.

Director Jaques Demy also made the film The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, which I loved, although I think I enjoyed Lola more. There were so many instances of characters having a connection to each other that it became a little silly, but on the other hand, it gives the movie an almost fairy tale sort of feel. And even though it ends badly for Emo Roland, Lola’s first love, Michel, comes back just as she is about to leave the city and everyone (except Emo Roland) lives happily ever after. It’s sappy but it works.

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Final review: 4/5, although it’s almost a 5

Up next: Blonde Cobra

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#233- Ghostbusters

Quick recap: Three professors start a business trapping ghosts because, as we all know, bustin’ makes you feel good!

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Fun (?) fact: The bookcase that fell over in the beginning of the film was an accident but was kept in the movie ‘to add mystery’.

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Venkman’s animated self creeps me out a bit, tbh

My thoughts: Being a #80s/90skid, my three favorite movies growing up were: 1) E.T 2) The Little Mermaid and 3) Ghostbusters. Now that I have a 6 year old, nothing makes me happier than being able to share with him things I loved, even if he doesn’t quite get it at first:

In the beginning of the film as Venkman is testing students for telepathic abilites:

B: Wow, that girl can read minds!

Me: No, Venkman is pretending that she can because he wants to date her.

B: So…..she’s the ghost?

Suffice to say, this kid was dying to see some ghosts. Naturally, because that’s how life works, I never noticed how many ‘adult’ jokes were in the movie when I was little  so it was a little awkward sitting through a few scenes. Nonetheless, he seemed to enjoy the movie and I later heard him pretending to be a Ghostbuster in the bath, so I guess I don’t always suck at this parenting thing.

It surprised me how much of this movie is carried by Bill Murray. He’s hilarious, of course, and the other guys are good, but it’s Murray that does it for me. Knowing that most of his lines were ad libbed makes me appreciate the humor even more. Rick Moranis was much funnier than I remembered, especially the scene at his party. There are so many moments I loved and so many great quotes, but the plot itself was a little meh. Personally, I much prefer the plot of Ghostbusters 2, although it lacks a bit in the jokes department.

It makes me happy that a childhood favorite has held up so well after all these years and I’m glad I got to pass it on to the next generation.

Final review: 4/5

Up next: Lola

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#232- The Godfather

Thanks for the suggestion, Josh!

Quick recap: A charming, uplifting story about a close-knit Sicilian family.

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Extra fun fact: 90% of  Simpsons episodes are just a parody of The Godfather

Fun (?) fact: The cat held by Marlon Brando in the beginning of the film was just a stray he found on the lot. The cat, being a cat, purred so loudly that some of Brando’s lines weren’t able to be heard.

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My thoughts: I’m so relieved to finally be able to cross The Godfather off of my ‘Oh my god, Mary, you haven’t seen ______? What’s wrong with you?’ list.And I’m also glad that it will not be added to my ‘Oh my god, Mary you didn’t like _______? What’s WRONG with you?’ list.

So. The Godfather. There’s so much to love about this film, but I think the genius lies in having all these common family events- a wedding, an ill loved one, a wife getting blown up, a baptism- and portraying them through the eyes of the Mafia. It created this perfect juxtaposition where I, as the viewer could identify with all these scenes and yet also SO NOT identify with any of the scenes. I know people love this movie for all its badass violence (and believe me, there’s plenty of that), but there is also heart, which I found most surprising. The baptism scene is a perfect example of that and also maybe the greatest scene in film,period. On one hand, here is Michael, the new godfather, honoring his duties, and with each phrase the priest says, the other scene is of absolute slaughter. He’s the godfather and he’s also The Godfather. Perfection.

I’m not even going to go into the acting because of course it was superb and all that jazz, but I never really got used to Don Corleone, played by Marlon Brando. I blame two things for this: 1) I’ve seen so many parodies and tributes  of The Godfather that seeing the actual performance felt like a parody itself and 2) I haven’t forgiven Brando yet for One-Eyed Jacks. Nonetheless, it’s one of the greatest roles in film and I can’t imagine anyone else doing it.He too is a juxtaposition between this family man- playing with his grandson, giving his children advice- and also running one of the most dangerous crime syndicates in history. Don Corleone seemed so helpless after getting shot, yet he still managed to influence every decision just by his very presence. It’s one of the greatest roles in film, which I know I’m saying a lot, but come on, it’s The Godfather.

Final review: 5/5

Up next: possibly the Ghostbusters or Casablanca

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