An aging thirtysomething goes about his daily life, lovesick and worried his chance at love has passed him by.
Why It’s Good
So that description undersells the brilliance of Paddy Chayefsky’s brilliant screenplay. The titular Marty has a deep love of his friends family, which adds a host of complications to his love search in that their approval matters a great deal to him. So when he meets a school teacher Clara that he likes, but his family doesn’t quite approve, he goes through a crisis of character. But by that time, Ernest Borgnine has so won over the audience with his sweet longing performance you find yourself shocked at how immersed you’ve become at the love life of a New York butcher in the 1950s.
The Wedding Song
Marty and Clara don’t care who they are, where they’re from, what they did, As Long As They Love (Me) each other from then on. Backstreet’s back, alright!
I mean, does the title not give some of this away?
Why It’s Good
This movie visually stands above its peers. Playing almost like a dream at times, the movie comes alive when Helen Mirren and Alan Howard get their brief moments to be together away from the evil Michael Gambon. The restaurant set is awash in vibrant sets, colors, and food, while the soundtrack turns the movie into living, breathing art at its high points. Helen Mirren shows off her acting talent as well here, elevating something mediocre into a movie that approaches greatness.
The Wedding Song
Mirren doesn’t need money, fame, or credit cards. Her love is strong – I see you, Michael Gambon and your gluttony – and sudden, and for poor Alan Howard, it can be cruel sometimes. But it might just save Helen’s life. That’s the Power of Love.
Two people who don’t get along living together? Of course this spawned a sitcom!
Why It’s Good
The love in this case is platonic: between Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. The pair are potent comedic duo, with the OCD overly clean Lemmon, recently divorced, forced to move in with disheveled free wheeling Matthau. What results is a 3 episode comedy pilot: you’ll recognize lots of sitcom ideas in here like awkward dinners, double dating, guy’s night, etc. As far as the comedy goes, Lemmon gets saddled with the old timier jokes, while Matthau is a delight end to end with his deadpan stares as the fidgety Lemmon goes on about some nonsense.
The Wedding Song
Paula Abdul said it best, Opposites Attract!. I’d pay money to watch a Matthau/Lemmon choregraphed wedding song.
The Thin Man sequel, revolving around Nick (William Powell) and Nora Charles (Myrna Loy) and their murder mystery comedy mayhem.
Why It’s Good
As good as Lemmon and Matthau were above, William Powell and Myrna Loy are probably in the top 10, maybe top 5, of my personal favorite comedy pairings. Their report has aged like a fine wine: fast talking zaniness that’s as funny in 1936 as it is today: I laughed out loud at lot at this film, not something that happens a lot with old comedies. Surrounding the fun comedy is a murder mystery, which again the movie hilariously forgets is going on for a quick joke…or a quick drink. Plus, it’s got a cute funny dog, come on!
The Wedding Song
Like the Powell/Loy pairing, High Dive Heart’s Vintage feels right. It’s catchy, silly, and hopefully becomes as vintage as William Powell and Myrna Loy are.
A wonderful series of relationship storytelling from Woody Allen.
Why It’s Good
When Allen isn’t trying to justify hooking up with a minor, his scripts usually pop with perceptive and interesting relationship dynamics of the wealthy. In this one, Michael Caine is married to Hannah (Mia Farrow)…but also having an affair with her younger sister Lee (Barbara Hershey)…who is trapped in a relationship with a cold older man (Max Von Sydow). Yikes! Plus, off to the side Dianne Wiest’s even younger sister and Woody Allen are having crazy fun subplots mocking the innerworkings of TV shows and flighty family borrowers. Allen’s script and the amazing actors make the movie work, and work super well, as each character is fleshed out and given room to breathe and grow via the other well drawn characters by our 3rd Thanksgiving dinner.
The Wedding Song
This movie has Michael Caine all up in Hannah and her sister’s business, making him Stuck Like Glue to whatever is going on with the family because there they go, making his heart beat again…and again….and again.
Lawrence Kasdan’s take on a film noir, but set in then present day 1980s
Why It’s Good
How do you follow up the greatest science fiction film and greatest adventure movie of all time? Well, Lawrence Kasdan smartly pivoted to the film noir. Why? Because all the implied sexual tension of the past he could now put onscreen. William Hurt and Kathleen Turner’s courtship is a hot, steamy sexy affair, with the Florida heat wrapping their bodies in sweaty sexual dalliances. Kasdan however, never forgets that this is a film noir, so his tale twists and turns as the lust turns into danger. The reveals aren’t Earth shattering, but they’re smart enough to keep you guessing, as is part of the fun.
The Wedding Song
Despite all the red flags and warning signs from Beyonce, William Hurt and Kathleen Turner are Crazy In Love.
