Friends, the weeks are flying by at warp speed. I’ve been caught up in NaNoWriMo, turkeys,
pies, Doctor Who 50th Anniversaries, work, disappointing football,
and family. We have seen 4 great movies,
though, and I need to share them with you.
We’re doing a “double-feature” posting today.
Movie #1: Singin’ in the Rain
(1952, with Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Conner)
This musical has some of the most famous songs ever in
it. It is full of exceptional and
intricate dancing, lively tunes, and lots of funny wit. Most of the characters are based on real
people, and the plot centers around a pair of silent-film actors who must make
the transition to “talkies”, and the disasters that follow. Lots of physical comedy as well as wit make
up the bulk of this movie. There’s also the
inevitable boy-meets-girl, makes an idiot of himself, then spends an hour trying
to make restitution. All of this plays
against a backdrop of absolutely magical musical performances. It’s a feel-good movie that is considered one
of the top 10 best movies of all time.
If you have never seen it… you must.
Trivia: 1) Debbie Reynolds had to be carried to
her dressing room after the “Good Morning” number as she had burst several
blood vessels in her feet from the demanding choreography. She later stated in an interview that making
this movie and giving birth were the two hardest things she’d ever done in her
whole life. 2) Donald O’Connor smoked 4 packs of cigarettes daily while
making this movie. (Watch his
performance, and then ask yourself…how the heck did he do it?!) 3)
Cyd Charisse performs a fantastically sexy number in this film with a slinky
costume. Production had to be stopped
for a few hours to correct a “wardrobe malfunction”. When it was finally fixed, the costume
designer, Walter Plunkett, alerted the crew, “It’s OK, guys. We’ve finally got Cyd’s crotch licked.” 4)
The television premiere on NBC was originally scheduled for the evening of
November 23, 1963. It was postponed for several weeks due to the assassination
of President Kennedy.
Ratings: Jason—4; Kathy—5; Me—4 (This is one of Kathy’s all-time favorites)
Movie #2: Death Becomes Her
(1992, with Meryl Streep, Goldie Hawn, and Bruce Willis)
This is certainly a wide departure from the genre of peppy
musicals! We wanted something a bit
campy…as we usually do. Although
released in 1992, it still had a very ‘80s feel. This is a black comedy about revenge, greed,
and everlasting youth. It’s a bit
bizarre. It’s a bit hokey. And it’s entirely entertaining. Bruce Willis is fabulous in the role of
Ernest—shy, unassuming, nerdy, and a bit of a wuss. It’s a far cry from
hard-edged action favorite that we’re all familiar with, and that is so
refreshing to see and a bit endearing.
Overly dramatic and full of slapstick and satire, this is a fun watch
when you’re bored, nothing’s on tv, and you long for the shoulder pads and
jacked-up –to –Jesus hair of the 80s and early 90s. But watch out for those shovels! Meryl Streep actually scarred Goldie Hawn
with one in their fight scene, by accident….or was it?
Ratings: Jason—3.5; Kathy—3; Me—3
Movie #3: Meet Me in Saint Louis
(1944, Vincente Minnelli, with Judy Garland, Tom Drake)
This is an ensemble cast musical with a lot of talented folks that you’re very familiar with: Mary Astor, Lucille Bremer, Leon Ames,
Margaret O’Brien, Marjorie Main (Ma Kettle), June Lockhart (later to be the mom
in Lassie), Harry Davenport (Dr.
Meade from Gone with the Wind). It is a sweet and sappy postcard from the turn
of the 20th century, leading up to the World’s Fair of 1904—the “Louisiana
Purchase Exposition”. Full of lively
music, perhaps the most famous song from this movie is “Have Yourself a Merry
Little Christmas”, followed by “The Trolley Song” (you know…. “Clang, clang, clang went the
trolley….”). The story revolves around
a well-off family in St. Louis and their life over the course of a year. This is one of my favorite musicals, and if
you’re looking for a family-friendly movie to watch together all huddled up on the
couch with bowls full of hot popcorn, this is a good one. It’s funny, it’s sweet, it’s nostalgic, and
it has a happy ending.
This movie is where Judy Garland and Vincente Minnelli
met. They married shortly after
wrapping, and Judy Garland always maintained later in her career that although when
presented with the role of Esther, she’d balked at playing another teenager as
a 21-year-old woman, the role of Esther became one of her favorites and that it
was in this movie that she’d felt the most beautiful.
**Note—no one, and I mean NO ONE, sings “Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas” like Judy Garland, although too many have tried.
Ratings: Jason—3; Kathy—3.5; Me—4.25
Movie #4—White Christmas (1954, with Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, Rosemary
Clooney, Vera Ellen)
We watched Meet Me in
Saint Louis and White Christmas
last week, the first week of December.
We wanted a little Christmas cheer, as we always do this time of
year. This particular movie is one of my
sister’s all-time favorite holiday movies.
Again, one of the most popular songs of the Christmas season comes from this
movie—Bing Crosby’s version of Irving Berlin’s hit White Christmas. (And just
like “Have Yourself a Merry Little
Christmas forever belongs to Judy Garland, White Christmas is only White
Christmas when Bing sings it.
Forever and ever, amen.) This musical follows two entertainment acts—a pair
of sisters and a pair of WWII vets that do the show-biz bit. One side note
quickly here to get it out of the way—Vera Ellen is extremely skinny, and Jason and I find it a bit of a
distraction in the dance sequences. It makes
my bones ache sometimes watching her.
Her legs are like pretzel-sticks.
BUT BESIDE THAT—You have
Christmas in Vermont, acts of kindness for a war hero, mistaken intentions, and
folks falling in love. You have gorgeous costumes, lots of wonderful
holiday music, and an ending that will make even the Grinchiest-Grinch tear up
a bit. The chemistry of this cast is
fantastic, and Crosby and Kaye make a great comedic team. There’s even one scene where Bing gets so
tickled by Danny Kaye that he breaks character and just bursts out laughing. He tries to turn his face away a bit, but you
can still see him cracking up, and it is just too funny.
Trivia: 1) Many of Bob Wallace’s (Crosby) unusual
turns of phrase and speech patterns were taken directly from Bing’s actual
style of talking. 2) The “sisters” parody act done by Crosby and Kaye was not in the original script. The two guys were clowning around on set, and
the director loved it so much it was written in. 3) Rosemary
Clooney took the role just so she could perform with Bing Crosby and said that
Danny Kaye kept everyone laughing on set so much that retakes were constant
during production. 4) Odd tidbit for my nerd
friends out there—Bing Crosby’s granddaughter, Denise, and Rosemary Clooney’s
son, Miguel, appeared in the Star Trek series—1987 and 1984, respectively. 5)
Bing Crosby, Danny Kaye, and Rosemary Clooney all died at the same age of 74.
So Count Your Blessings,
instead of sheep when you can’t sleep, and always keep an eye out for that Snow!
Snow! Snow! so that we can all have a White Christmas instead of just dreaming about it. J
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