I like to think that I'm a person of discerning taste. I'm picky about my music, food and friends. And I have a pretty high standard for movies; you'll rarely catch me watching crappy horror flicks or some American Pie/Band Camp teen farce. My Netflix rating history only shows a handful of actual 5 star movies. But when the summer comes and all our shows' seasons are finished and our DVR queue is cleared (except for all the Palladia concerts!) I find myself at the mercy of the [mostly] crap that the networks decide to air. So it's always around this time of year when I realize that while I may think that Goodfellas is my favorite movie with all its groundbreaking shots (round the table, through the kitchen) and No Country for Old Men & The English Patient have some of the best storylines, these are not actually the movies I CHOOSE to watch more than once.
So it begs the question, when someone asks you "What's your favorite movie?" what do you go with? The movies you think are the best made films? Or the movies that you actually watch, every single time you see them on? The movies that are the mac & cheese of the cinema---your comfort flicks??? Last weekend I realized that there are two movies that I will watch EVERY time I see them on, no matter what. I am drawn to them and once they pop up, I am compelled. They may not have Oscar worthy dialogue or ground breaking cinematography but to me, I'm beginning to think they're the best movies ever made. I mean, isn't the point of film to entertain us? My top two keep me engrossed beyond my control. They are like my movie crack:
- MEAN GIRLS: first of all, I don't think this movie is actually crap. The screenplay [adapted from a novel by Wiseman] was written by Tina Fey, who is undeniably one of the funniest women on the planet. It's smart and a lot of its humor goes well over the high-school minds of its central characters. But at the core of its draw (for me, at least) is that there's a kernel of truth to the overly cliched cliques. And every girl wanted to be a Regina or a Cady and conversely to see them ultimately get what's coming to them.
- THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA: I'm not going to lie. I'm going to own my girliness right up front. The clothes in this movie are the star. The montage with Anne Hathway in a different outfit in every shot is about 85% of the reason I watch this movie. It's like watching your Barbies come to life. And again, as Amanda Priestly says, everybody wants to be them. And everybody who isn't them wants to see them fall. And every girl likes a makeover scene.
- Baz Luhrmann's version of ROMEO & JULIET: Leo has never looked better. Claire Danes is the best Juliet. The hipness of the locales, clothes, dialogue (all of it original Shakespeare, not altered), music (Garbage! Radiohead! ) and Luhrmann's signature hopped-up cinematography are dazzling. It's like shiny eye candy. I think The Bard would enjoy this version the best and I hope they're showing it in high schools to get kids interested in Shakespeare. This is how cool it can be.
- MOULIN ROUGE: for all the same reasons. Luhrmann brought all of that to an actual musical and it's breathtaking. Nicole Kidman is other-worldly and who knew Ewan McGregor could sing? Plus the whole message is: "The greatest thing you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return"
- CHICAGO: sticking with the musical theme. Chicago took a Broadway show and turned into a legit movie. It's slick, it's pretty but gritty, it's got a great story and it intersperses some big production numbers (Richard Gere's Razzle Dazzle) with sublimely understated ones (John C. Reilly's Mister Cellophane). Maybe one of my favorite movies that ever won an Oscar.
- SHAKESPEARE IN LOVE: Joseph Fiennes...as Shakespeare. I think Shakespeare's words are unbelievably sexy. But when you have them actually coming out of a hot, hot guy who's also mushy and sensitive and dramatic? That's delightful. Plus the story is fun and while it doesn't have the technical happy ending, it feels like a Shakespearean tale. I could do without Gwyneth as a boy though.
- SWINGERS/WEDDING CRASHERS: Vince Vaughn is a funny dude. So funny that I would like to make him mad just so he'd start telling me off. Yeah, yeah...the stories are hysterical. The dialogue's slick. Swingers' referencing of Tarantino is hip and inspired. But Vince Vaughn is a funny dude and these two movies are his perfect platforms. Vegas, baby!
- PRIDE & PREJUDICE/CLUELESS: these movies might seem to have very little in common. One involves people speaking in proper British accents and wearing period clothes and the other involves Alicia Silverstone saying, "as if" a lot. But, technically they were both written by Jane Austen. Pride and Prejudice (either the Keira Knightly or Colin Firth versions) is directly adapted from her novel and Clueless is a modern version of Emma. They both have misunderstandings, tales of romance and true love, and strikingly modern female heroines.
- PLEASANTVILLE: I love the premise of this movie and I love the way it was filmed. It's funny, it's heartbreaking and it's completely compelling. This is why I love Reese Witherspoon. And because such a main point of the story is the color and cinematography, it's breathtaking to watch the transformation. Such a great cast and soundtrack too. This one, for me, just isn't on enough.
- EMPIRE RECORDS: AJ! Damn the Man! Warren! oh my gosh, I love this movie. I worked at a record store and this is so nostalgic for me. I like to think we were actually this cool. We used to have vetoes on which songs would go up on the store music and lots of love triangles. But our spot wasn't nearly as cool as the Empire Records building. I would've done anything to save that too. And has there been a better soundtrack? Gin Blossoms, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Evan Dando, Better than Ezra, Dishwalla, Sponge, Dire Straits and even some Jimi Hendrix.
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