good old fashioned fun

My friend Brian recently emailed me a list of must-see movies. He knows I’m relatively film illiterate. I blame my older brothers; when we were kids they only chose movies that were totally unappealing to me, i.e. The Terminator. I, the youngest of three and the only girl, had absolutely no say. It’s no wonder I preferred playing make-believe with Barbies and Trolls. But back to the movies. Brian said to start with some oldies but goodies: Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Clue, Mixed Nuts, Young Frankenstein and “anything with Madeline Kahn.” I’ve been feeling like a major homebody lately so I’m happily up for the challenge. And ‘tis the season to snuggle up and watch movies. 

First, I chose Breakfast at Tiffany’s. Justin and I watched it last weekend and it was nothing like I’d anticipated, but I really enjoyed it. (Think glamorous gold-digger meets cute gigolo neighbor.) And now I’m on an Audrey Hepburn kick. We watched Sabrina the other night. It was good but not as good as Breakfast at Tiffany's. Next we’ll watch Roman Holiday. (Justin is such a trooper!) 

We also recently watched Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner. It was awesome. I’ve always been a fan of old movies and TV shows. I used to watch reruns of I Love Lucy and Mary Tyler Moore on Nick at Nite when I couldn’t sleep as a kid. These days if we must have technology on late-night I always want to “end the night” with an old film on TCM, instead of some political commentary on MSNBC. Anything to quiet my thoughts, rather than provoke them. And now especially I think we can all use even brief escapes into wholesome “good old days” media. A welcome break from the dismal reality our current news media is compelled to cover.

A

P.S. Check out the on-demand section of TCM if you want to watch some oldies but goodies. The AFI Top 100 is also a great source of film inspiration.

P.P.S. Movies make great gifts! After reading my dedication to chick flicks here my friend Jacki gave me Nights in Rodanthe as part of my Secret Santa present. She thoughtfully inscribed on its wrapping: “Because your Catch and Release DVD needs a break…” So true. So sweet :)