Monday, April 14, 2014
Live-Blogging Myself Reacting To The Providence Outdoor Movie Schedule
Kim just gave me the news: the schedule is out. As I say every year, the NYC movies at Bryant Park are my favorite, but they think a little too hard when choosing titles, whereas the severely scaled-down Providence one just says, "Okay, you're all children of the 80s, here's the shit you like. Again." And we eat it up. So here we go:
June 5th: The Breakfast Club. Those "rat pack" movies were a little ahead of my time. I mean I remember them coming out, and I remember some kids in my class (probably the ones who had kissed girls already) breaking the "rules" and seeing these R-rated flicks. I was sticking with Short Circuit and the one about the kids who somehow fly a Space Shuttle mission by accident. But eventually I came to watch and appreciate some of these movies, TBC being one of them. I ain't no neo maxi zoom dweebie. Good start.
June 12th: Thelma & Louise. Never did see it, because at the time, I was a 15-year old boy, not a 30-year old woman. But it might be good. People seem to like it.
June 19th: Amelie. Kim loves this movie, and after overhyping it for years, she finally showed it to me, and I just didn't see what the big deal was. Maybe I missed something. My neighbor's boyfriend says the director is really cool and has done some other even weirder stuff. Maybe I need a second try at Amelie, or maybe I should try one of his other flicks first.
June 26th: Cocktail. Wow, we continue the theme of "movies Jere was just a little too young/immature for when they came out." In the summer of '88 I was 12, and had no reason to see movies about bars (or whatever). Still don't. And unless Tom Cruise pulls a full McConaughey and sells his soul for some talent, I'll probably never see this movie.
July 3rd: Woodstock. Wow, interesting choice. I have to say, despite being anti-hippie (I'm anti- the free love, weed, trippy music, tie dye, and general barefootedness, not the politics or Hendrix), I'm completely fascinated by Woodstock. I've watched the doc a bunch of times. But I don't know if I'd wanna sit through the whole thing in one sitting. That's 3-4 hours depending on which version they show. We'll see.
July 10th: Adaptation. Nice! I love this movie, in which Nic Cage plays twin brothers. I love a lot of stuff Spike Jonze has done. The "push, push" line gets me every time. And nice job by Brian Cox in this one. And Chris Cooper, of course. (But that Meryl Streep is such a phony!)
July 17th: The Great Escape. I guess this is another one of those classics I missed.
July 24th: Reality Bites. Liked, kinda, didn't love.
July 31st: Smokey and the Bandit. Ha, this would be a good one to see outdoors....
August 7th: Moonrise Kingdom. Nice. You know I've loved Wes Anderson since the beginning. And this movie was shot in my state, including scenes at a beach I spend a lot of time at because one of my old people likes to eat lunch there. Oh, and I've been waiting to use this joke: Isn't it odd that MooKi is the first Wes movie without a Wilson? Ba-dum-bum. PS I just saw a car the other day with the license plate "MINOSO." The type of car? A Mini! I'm all for making a baseball joke with your plate that nobody would get even if Minnie Minoso were still playing, let alone now.
August 14th: Annie Hall. Can't go wrong with Woody. Or NYC movies. Double bonus.
August 21st: The Professional. I can't remember if I saw this. Is this the one where Natalie Portman is like 4 years old?
August 28th: The Wizard of Oz. That would be fun, I'll just have to remember to not watch it if it comes on TV in the months leading up. Because I feel like I've seen it so many times now that I have to wait a while between viewings.
September 4th: Dazed and Confused. Did I ever tell you my thoughts on this? I saw this movie in the theater in college when it came out in 1994. As you know, I love the late 70s/early 80s. And I had gotten into 1979's Over the Edge right around 1989 at age 14. It's great because it's authentic. (Bonus: Much later I found out that Kurt Cobain was inspired by it, as revealed in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video.) So I went in worried about a NEW 70s movie. Sure enough I came out saying, that wasn't about 70s kids, it was about 90s kids, dressed like 70s kids. Which is kind of how 90s kids dressed anyway, with minor comfort alterations. I remember at one point, during the school dance scene, the audience started chuckling. I couldn't figure it out. I finally realized they were laughing at the "funny" clothes. But I was so used to those from A. remembering clothes like that and B. seeing Over the Edge so many times, that it wasn't "funny" to me, just an attempt at authenticity which I respected. Anyway, I guess I still appreciated the movie. Have seen it maybe twice since '94. Would see it again. PS Of course I saw American Hustle (before I knew it would be "Oscar-worthy") based on the 70s-ness and my illogical crush on Bradley Cooper. And my logical crushes on Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. And it ended up losing out to McConaughey. Go figure.
September 11th: The Goonies. What movie says 9/11 like The Goonies? This is exactly the kind of movie I should have been seeing when it came out, but for some reason, I didn't. But I saw it later. Another fun one to see outside.
September 18th: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Here's another one I'm a fan of, saw it in the theater. I think at the time I hadn't given a crap about George Clooney since The Facts of Life, and OBWAT made me learn to respect him. Sometimes. Great soundtrack, too. (Cue comments about how it's bluegrass watered down for the mainstream, and that my favorite punk band must be Green Day too.)
September 25th: The Never Ending Story. Haha! Classic! To an 80s kid who was too young for the brat pack, anyway. Freakin' Bastian, man, he's so serious. Actually, so are the kids who played Atreyu and the Empress. Say my name! I bet the casting call for this film was weird, with adults in whatever the hell country they filmed it in being all stern and telling these child actors that if they're there to fuck around, they've come to the wrong place. (Remember when characters like Atreyu and Belle and Sebastian weren't band names? Those were the days.)
Wait, didn't it go into October last year? Oh well. Looking back up at the top of the article, I see that our nation's McConaugh-hay fever has led Dazed and Confused to be the top selling point. And I see the restaurant that has always hosted these movies closed! Oh well, they lost Kim's credit card one time, so to hell with them. Maybe we'll get a better host now. Also, Ghostbusters turns 30 and Ramis dies, and it's not on this schedule?
June 5th: The Breakfast Club. Those "rat pack" movies were a little ahead of my time. I mean I remember them coming out, and I remember some kids in my class (probably the ones who had kissed girls already) breaking the "rules" and seeing these R-rated flicks. I was sticking with Short Circuit and the one about the kids who somehow fly a Space Shuttle mission by accident. But eventually I came to watch and appreciate some of these movies, TBC being one of them. I ain't no neo maxi zoom dweebie. Good start.
June 12th: Thelma & Louise. Never did see it, because at the time, I was a 15-year old boy, not a 30-year old woman. But it might be good. People seem to like it.
June 19th: Amelie. Kim loves this movie, and after overhyping it for years, she finally showed it to me, and I just didn't see what the big deal was. Maybe I missed something. My neighbor's boyfriend says the director is really cool and has done some other even weirder stuff. Maybe I need a second try at Amelie, or maybe I should try one of his other flicks first.
June 26th: Cocktail. Wow, we continue the theme of "movies Jere was just a little too young/immature for when they came out." In the summer of '88 I was 12, and had no reason to see movies about bars (or whatever). Still don't. And unless Tom Cruise pulls a full McConaughey and sells his soul for some talent, I'll probably never see this movie.
July 3rd: Woodstock. Wow, interesting choice. I have to say, despite being anti-hippie (I'm anti- the free love, weed, trippy music, tie dye, and general barefootedness, not the politics or Hendrix), I'm completely fascinated by Woodstock. I've watched the doc a bunch of times. But I don't know if I'd wanna sit through the whole thing in one sitting. That's 3-4 hours depending on which version they show. We'll see.
July 10th: Adaptation. Nice! I love this movie, in which Nic Cage plays twin brothers. I love a lot of stuff Spike Jonze has done. The "push, push" line gets me every time. And nice job by Brian Cox in this one. And Chris Cooper, of course. (But that Meryl Streep is such a phony!)
July 17th: The Great Escape. I guess this is another one of those classics I missed.
July 24th: Reality Bites. Liked, kinda, didn't love.
July 31st: Smokey and the Bandit. Ha, this would be a good one to see outdoors....
August 7th: Moonrise Kingdom. Nice. You know I've loved Wes Anderson since the beginning. And this movie was shot in my state, including scenes at a beach I spend a lot of time at because one of my old people likes to eat lunch there. Oh, and I've been waiting to use this joke: Isn't it odd that MooKi is the first Wes movie without a Wilson? Ba-dum-bum. PS I just saw a car the other day with the license plate "MINOSO." The type of car? A Mini! I'm all for making a baseball joke with your plate that nobody would get even if Minnie Minoso were still playing, let alone now.
August 14th: Annie Hall. Can't go wrong with Woody. Or NYC movies. Double bonus.
August 21st: The Professional. I can't remember if I saw this. Is this the one where Natalie Portman is like 4 years old?
August 28th: The Wizard of Oz. That would be fun, I'll just have to remember to not watch it if it comes on TV in the months leading up. Because I feel like I've seen it so many times now that I have to wait a while between viewings.
September 4th: Dazed and Confused. Did I ever tell you my thoughts on this? I saw this movie in the theater in college when it came out in 1994. As you know, I love the late 70s/early 80s. And I had gotten into 1979's Over the Edge right around 1989 at age 14. It's great because it's authentic. (Bonus: Much later I found out that Kurt Cobain was inspired by it, as revealed in the Smells Like Teen Spirit video.) So I went in worried about a NEW 70s movie. Sure enough I came out saying, that wasn't about 70s kids, it was about 90s kids, dressed like 70s kids. Which is kind of how 90s kids dressed anyway, with minor comfort alterations. I remember at one point, during the school dance scene, the audience started chuckling. I couldn't figure it out. I finally realized they were laughing at the "funny" clothes. But I was so used to those from A. remembering clothes like that and B. seeing Over the Edge so many times, that it wasn't "funny" to me, just an attempt at authenticity which I respected. Anyway, I guess I still appreciated the movie. Have seen it maybe twice since '94. Would see it again. PS Of course I saw American Hustle (before I knew it would be "Oscar-worthy") based on the 70s-ness and my illogical crush on Bradley Cooper. And my logical crushes on Amy Adams and Jennifer Lawrence. And it ended up losing out to McConaughey. Go figure.
September 11th: The Goonies. What movie says 9/11 like The Goonies? This is exactly the kind of movie I should have been seeing when it came out, but for some reason, I didn't. But I saw it later. Another fun one to see outside.
September 18th: O Brother, Where Art Thou? Here's another one I'm a fan of, saw it in the theater. I think at the time I hadn't given a crap about George Clooney since The Facts of Life, and OBWAT made me learn to respect him. Sometimes. Great soundtrack, too. (Cue comments about how it's bluegrass watered down for the mainstream, and that my favorite punk band must be Green Day too.)
September 25th: The Never Ending Story. Haha! Classic! To an 80s kid who was too young for the brat pack, anyway. Freakin' Bastian, man, he's so serious. Actually, so are the kids who played Atreyu and the Empress. Say my name! I bet the casting call for this film was weird, with adults in whatever the hell country they filmed it in being all stern and telling these child actors that if they're there to fuck around, they've come to the wrong place. (Remember when characters like Atreyu and Belle and Sebastian weren't band names? Those were the days.)
Wait, didn't it go into October last year? Oh well. Looking back up at the top of the article, I see that our nation's McConaugh-hay fever has led Dazed and Confused to be the top selling point. And I see the restaurant that has always hosted these movies closed! Oh well, they lost Kim's credit card one time, so to hell with them. Maybe we'll get a better host now. Also, Ghostbusters turns 30 and Ramis dies, and it's not on this schedule?
Comments:
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Mom here: The only movie you didn't see that's really good is T & L. As a feminist, how many movies are there that star two women as opposed to two men? Also, check out the cast. AND, I told you how I saw Susan Sarandon at the cafe at The Neue (rhymes with Pedroia) Gallery in NY last month. Obviously, that is your sign that you have to see it.
# posted by 
: Monday, April 14, 2014 12:29:00 PM
: Monday, April 14, 2014 12:29:00 PM
Cool. Thanks for not spoiling. (Cue my mom saying, "I have to add, I won't spoil it, but there is SUCH a TWIST....." I swear she and Kim are the co-chairwomen of the Inadvertent Movie Spoilers Association.)
And I forgot to mention that there is one great movie about bars: 'Barfly,' with Mickey Rourke and Faye Dunaway, written by Charles Bukowski. Also, it costars a Stallone, but not Sylvester.
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