Tag Archives: comedy

#306- Forrest Gump

Quick recap: A simple man somehow manages to do some of the most extraordinary things.

Another perspective

Fun (?) fact: The ping pong ball in each scene was CGI. It was added to meet the players’ paddles.

This, however, is entirely real

My thoughts: Do I really need to do this, serve up my thoughts on one of the most iconic movies of all time? I mean, come on, it’s Forrest Gump! Everyone knows this movie, even my 7 year old who has repeatedly asked for my husband and I to knock it off with the Gump impressions. Watching this movie as an adult,I’m glad to say that the sentimentality of the movie didn’t get in the way of me enjoying it as much as I did as a kid. All the same, there were a few things I picked up on this time around that flew over my head as a 9 year old:

  1. I wasn’t a big fan of Jenny this time. You can make the case that her abusive childhood caused her to cling to Forrest Gump and that’s probably true, but I still didn’t like the way she strung him on, only being there when she needed a protector. She took advantage of him so many times throughout their relationship.
  2. I’m more amazed than anything that the director managed to fit so many events into this movie. Tying in the Watergate Scandal was a little much (if you remember, Gump called security about seeing a bunch of flashlights), but things really were that crazy back then. It was more comedic this time around, to see how Forrest could be roped into another world event.
  3. I don’t know anyone who dislikes Tom Hanks but I don’t think he is as amazing as people paint him as. That being said, he was phenomenal in this film and deserves all the praise. He made Gump into a sympathetic character that could’ve just been a punchline with a lesser actor. His role will go down as one of the best in cinematic history, guaranteed.
  4. I still love the music, as much as I did when I was young. I wouldn’t want to live in any other decade but if time travel was possible, I’d visit the 60s for the music and the 70s for the films.
  5.  I watched this movie in the theater and my mom made me close my eyes for the dirty parts. It’s funny because there were several sexual references she didn’t bother shielding me from, but rightfully knew they would go over my head. It always amazes me how much more sexual things are when I revisit them as an adult.

Final review: 5/5.

Up next: Pickup on South Street

 

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#299- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Quick recap: A naive man becomes a senator and learns very quickly how much of a cesspool DC is.

Fun (?) fact: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington was considered controversial to Americans who felt that it showed the government in a less than positive light. Meanwhile, Nazi Germany and other Socialist countries refused to screen the film because they felt it showed Democracy working as it’s supposed to.

Me: just stick to that Simpsons episode
Also me: bring in Trump

My thoughts: People always say, ‘greatest thing since sliced bread!’ and it makes me wonder what people compared awesome stuff to before sliced bread. Same concept goes for this movie. What did people compare DC drama to before this movie? I’m sure there were books and political cartoons, but this movie is just so perfect for so many situations. Back in the day, reporters had to go out and look for a comparison. ‘Gulliver’s Travels?’ they would say, hesitantly. ‘That sort of fits, I guess.’ But then, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington came out. ‘ This article practically writes itself!’ the same reporters said and left their typewriter to go swim in their giant piles of money.

I’m not sure if this is an unpopular opinion or not, but Jefferson Smith (played by James Stewart), did not do a very good job as Senator. He came in with an idea for a law that wouldnot only benefit a very small percentage of the population but would certainly benefit his home state. The senators against him wanted a dam in the same area, which is actually not that bad of a plan, considering this was the Depression and jobs were desperately needed. Surely there were more important pieces of legislation to debate besides a camp for boys? Despite all this, it’s hard to not get caught up in Smith’s excitement about being a part of the government. Despite my current bitterness for anything concerning politics, I couldn’t help but cheer him on. He was fighting the Political Machine, something that even in 2017 we haven’t figured out how to do.

Yes, this movie was ridiculous but it really does sell a person on Democracy. I’ve been so angry these days with the political climate so it was a nice reminder that some things never change. The only part of the movie I didn’t love was the love subplot. Jean Arthur as Saunders was such a badass. She really ran the show and would’ve made for a better senator than Smith, but of course she gets relegated to Love Interest. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington is in fact a romance- between the people and Democracy, and that should’ve stayed the focal point. As it is though, still a very powerful movie.

Final review: 5/5, and yes there were spinning newspapers galore!

Up next: #300

 

 

 

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#297- A Night at the Opera

Quick recap: It’s nothing but hijinks with the Marx Brothers! This time they get in on a money making scheme involving the opera.

Someone should’ve clued them in

Fun (?) fact: Producer Irving Thalberg made the mistake of leaving the Marx brothers in his office for several hours while he went to various meetings. When he returned, he found Harpo, Chico and Groucho completely naked and roasting potatoes in his office. Defeated, he sat down, ate one of the potatoes and never did that again.

Groucho, Chico, Harpo

My thoughts: The other day, my 7 year old told me in no uncertain terms that he hated black and white movies. My husband had shown him The Day the Earth Stood Still several months ago and according to him, it was super boring. Like any good parent in this situation, I went about trying to prove my child wrong- if it was the last thing I did.

My initial plan was to start playing A Night at the Opera and as soon as my kid became restless or started terrorizing the cats, I would turn it off. Then I would note how long he had made it and that would be the deciding factor in how I reviewed this movie. I didn’t account for the fact that he would absolutely fall in love with the film. He seemed bored at first ( Groucho was his least favorite) but anytime Harpo appeared, everything was good. Some of my kid’s favorite scenes:

Groucho ordering all that food for the stowaways

Everyone piling into the cabin

Harpo actually playing the harp

Harpo playing the trombone with a violin bow

And on and on and on. My son ate it up! It didn’t matter that there was barely a plot or that there were a few slow numbers we could’ve done without, the comedy more than made up for it. Had I watched the movie alone, the curmudgeon in me probably would’ve given it just a couple of points. Seeing this through fresh eyes made me appreciate it so much more. I think what astounds me most is how there are so many tv shows and movies marketed to kids nowadays but sometimes it’s the simple stuff they love the most. And Harpo.

Final review: 5/5

Up next: Once Upon a Time in the West

 

 

 

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#296- Blazing Saddles

Quick recap: A politician is out to destroy a western town so that he can take over their land. He sends them the scariest thing he can think of- a  black guy.

Biden always knew how to cheer Obama up

Fun (?) fact: At the end of the movie, when the crowd pours out of the studio lot, a random guy in a sweater can be seen just standing there. He wasn’t supposed to be in the movie but director Mel Brooks couldn’t get him to leave. He finally gave up, gave the man a waiver to sign and let him stay.

and there’s Trump and Bannon. god, this movie is more topical than I realized

My thoughts: You know what kinds of movies I hate reviewing? Classics. And do you know what is even worse than a classic movie? A comedy classic, which Blazing Saddles definitely is. Add to that the untimely death of Gene Wilder and you’ve got the perfect combination of a film I wouldn’t touch with a 10 foot pole.

So, since I went ahead and lowered expectations for this review accordingly, I can freely say that I didn’t think Blazing Saddles was all that funny. I’m not really sure why. I sound so old saying this but I just don’t think vulgarity for the sake of vulgarity is all that funny. There’s that one scene when Hedley gets so excited he starts humping a statue and I’m sure people fell out of their seats when they saw that, but it just didn’t do anything for me. Trying not to sound too much like a school marm, I will say that the dialogue was snappy and there were some silly moments that made me smile. Not laugh,mind you, but smile. Also, Gene Wilder was wonderful.

I think some of my hesitation from this movie comes from all the racist stuff. I know it’s supposed to be satire but that’s kind of become a big deal again lately and seeing a bunch of white people hating a black guy just wasn’t the humor I wanted. It hit too close to home. It’s not like I can look at those scenes and laugh and think, ‘oh those silly people back then in the west. They were so backwards!’ because that’s literally what’s going on in this country right now. Not everyone, of course, but enough that watching Blazing Saddles just made me uncomfortable. That’s certainly not Mel Brook’s fault and if anything, I applaud him for thinking that we’d be able to watch this movie in 2017 and look at how silly everyone was.

Final review: 3/5. Sorry

Up next: A Night at the Opera

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