Tag Archives: comedy

#160- Sullivan’s Travels

Quick recap: John Sullivan is a popular director of comedy films who wants to make a socially conscious film. Upon realizing that he is a rich white guy, Sullivan sets out to ‘find trouble’ in order to better understand the plight of the poor.

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Fun fact: The Coen brothers chose the name to their film O Brother, Where Art Thou? as an homage to director Preston Sturges. The title comes from the book Sullivan writes about his experience.

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My thoughts: Paul Blart Mall Cop is one of the greatest movies ever made and you should feel like a jerk if you didn’t love it. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Schindler’s List is worthless and you are a pretentious jerk for appreciating it because that is not what society needs. Stop being a jerk! This is basically what I learned from watching Sullivan’s Travels, although the point was a little more subtle than what I said. I’m sorry I called you a jerk, by the way. I didn’t mean it.

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                                 Comedy. Gold.

Sullivan’s Travels is a comedy about how important comedies are. In 1941, America was still going through the Depression and things sucked, for the most part. It was no secret that people were suffering, especially the people living it. The last thing they wanted was a ‘socially conscious’ film about their plight because, really, what would that do? This is what Sullivan learns in his travels, as he becomes a homeless man and then later comes into some real trouble when he is sent to a labor camp for almost killing a railroad conductor. It’s quite a complex plot which I don’t have the energy to hash out right now but I will say that its complicated nature pleasantly surprised me when I watched it.

So, is Sullivan’s Travels a ‘good’ movie? I guess that’s not really my place to make a judgement. I didn’t love it or really even like it because physical comedy doesn’t do much for me, but that’s not to say that it wasn’t worthwhile to someone at some point. The plot, as I stated before, was much more complex than I expected and I never got bored. The most profound part of the movie was when Sullivan completed his first attempt to live like someone in poverty and decided to give money away to show his appreciation. Spoiler alert- it didn’t work out too well for him. It wasn’t until he actually became someone without anything that he understood that money doesn’t solve everything, and that what people really need is a temporary vacation from their troubles.

Final review: 4/5. I wanted to give this a lower rating because the physical comedy didn’t do much for me but considering the amount of time I have spent trying to sort my thoughts, I guess it deserves my respect.

Up next: Top Gun

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#157- Swing Time

Quick recap: A dancer, Lucky Garnett, moves to New York City in order to raise $25,000 to marry his fiancée. Instead he ends up falling for his dance partner and making a huge mess, although no one seems to care in the end.

and a little Blackface thrown in for good measure.

and a little Blackface thrown in for good measure.

Fun (?) fact: During the scene where Lucky sings ‘The Way You Look Tonight’, Penny (played by Ginger Roberts) can be seen washing her hair. After several attempts using egg whites, shampoo and various other ingredients, the director settled on whipped cream since it didn’t run down her face so quickly.

My thoughts: After being pleasantly surprised by Singin’ in the Rain, and maybe swooning a bit over Gene Kelly, I’ve wanted to see something by Fred Astaire. While both are talented beyond measure, it is Astaire who I have always thought of as the classier of the two, more likely to be found waltzing in a ballroom than tap dancing on top of some piano. I’m not sure if that belief still holds true after watching Swing Time, but Astaire is definitely classy.

Swooning may have happened a few times

Swooning may have happened a few times

When people sat down to watch this movie in the 30s, most people weren’t too concerned with the plot. Throughout the course of their career, Astaire and Roberts made a total of 10 films together so I’m not really sure how many scenarios there could possibly be for the two of them to dance and fall in love. At any rate, people came for the dancing and musical numbers. Think of it like porn, the 1936 version. I got a little confused at times as to what exactly was going on because I felt like I was watching an I Love Lucy episode rather than a movie. The chemistry between the two of them felt real, however, and charmed me despite the ridiculousness of it all.

Oh my god, the dancing. THAT is what it is all about. The first time the two of them dance is magical and I could watch it a million times without getting tired. These numbers, especially ‘Never Gonna Dance’ is what I think of when I think of Old Hollywood- ballroom dresses, tuxedos, diamonds. It’s just beautiful. I can’t imagine all the hours and pain the two of them went through to film this, yet they do the dances so effortlessly, like they were taking a stroll. The musical numbers themselves were catchy. Overall, a wonderful experience to see something like this.

Final review: 3/5. If it was just the dancing and singing I would have given it a 5, but the end of the movie is mainly everyone laughing for 10 minutes straight and the whole thing seemed ridiculous. Also, Fred Astaire’s character was kind of a jerk to Penny, in the 30s way of how men treated women.

Up next: Terminator 2

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#151- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off

Quick recap: A teen, one month shy of graduation comes down with a severe illness and must miss a day of school. The entire town rallies around him to show their support in this heartwarming tale.

Actually, it's about a kid who skips school and has the best day ever. What did you think this was going to be about?

Actually, it’s about a kid who skips school and has the best day ever. What did you think this was going to be about?

Fun (?) fact: John Hughes offered the role of the car attendant to Bill Paxton, but he turned it down because it was too small. As a result, Hughes never offered him a role again, making him my hero.

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My thoughts: This is one of my favorite movies, and getting to watch it at the Alamo Drafthouse made me love it even more. This particular showing was a Quote-Along, which made me realize I quote this movie more often than I thought. I know how popular Ferris Bueller’s Day Off is,but getting to watch it with other die hard fans made me glad to see so many people with good taste. I’ve always* said that you can judge a person based on their favorite John Hughs film and that of course rings especially true for me.

* always meaning the other night before falling asleep because that's when I have my most profound thoughts

* always meaning the other night before falling asleep because that’s when I have my most profound thoughts

Ferris Bueller is as hilarious as it was when I watched it back in high school. I think the moments between Grace and Rooney are my favorites but every scene makes me laugh. Matthew Broderick as Ferris is wonderful on his own, but it’s his interactions with Cameron (played by Alan Ruck) that I love the most. Even though Ruck was like, 30, he plays the part of ‘awkward teen’ perfectly. He and Ferris are every guy friend I had back in school, proof that Hughes is the king of all things ‘American teen’.

I love this movie not just as a comedy, but also as a guide to the kind of life I want to live. It’s easy to get bogged down in all the daily stress I have, but watching Ferris Bueller reminds me not to take it so seriously all of the time. Live a little. Get out there and have an adventure. Talk your best friend into taking his dad’s Ferrari and then spend a day doing everything you have ever wanted. Sounds like perfect advice to me.

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Final review: 5/5. I may or may not be calling in sick to work soon.

 Up next: The Life of Emile Zola

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#150- The Player

Quick recap: Griffin Mill is a Hollywood studio executive who is sent death threats from an unknown writer he passed over for a script. Being the jerk that he is, the suspects are endless.

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Fun (?) fact: None of the celebrity cameos were written into the script. Basically, they just showed up, improvised their lines and got put in the film. Julia Roberts, among others, did her cameo for free.

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My thoughts: Oh, Robert Altman, why must you toy so with my emotions? First, you bring me The Long Goodbye, arguably one of my favorite finds on this list but then you disappoint me so deeply with Nashville. My wounds are still healing from that heartbreak. When I saw that The Player was filled to the top with celebrities, my heart sank once again and I longed for the wit that was Elliott Gould.

The beginning of The Player was a hot mess, even more than Nashville with its 30 plus subplots. It was filmed in one long take with actors galore discussing ‘Hollywood’ stuff, most of which went too fast for me to get. It wasn’t until about 10 minutes into the movie that I realized Tim Robbins was the main character. In fact, for at least 2/3 of the film it’s easy to get lost in the sea of characters and to forget that there really is a plot. Most of the time it just felt like Altman was bragging about all of the cool friends he has.

Tim Robbins’ performance was perfect and I’m a little surprised why so many people look to Shawshank Redemption as his best, when it is clearly this movie. No one can play asshole quite like he can. I enjoyed seeing him slip further and further into the role of slimy Hollywood studio executive until he was completely gone.

The only saving grace for this film came from the most unlikeliest of places: Lyle Lovett. Yes, THAT Lyle Lovett.

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He wasn’t onscreen too often, but when he did appear, I loved every minute. I should note here that The Player is considered a comedy, a fact I find most surprising since I didn’t find much to laugh at. I think part of the issue is that the comedy relies  so heavily on the cameos, most of which I either didn’t recognize or care about. It kind of reminded me of watching Golden Girls as a kid. Most of the references were so specific to the time period in which the show took place that it took away from the hilarity a bit. Lyle Lovett, however, kept me interested until the very end. Someone should make a movie starring just him in this role. I’d pay good money to see that.

Final review: 2/5. I get the larger theme that this is a parody of what goes on in Hollywood, but since I’m not a studio executive, the humor was lost on me.

Up next: a Ferris Bueller Quote-A-Long at the Drafthouse!

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