March 28th, 2008
John Cusack, Anthony Michael Hall and Darren Harris in SIXTEEN CANDLES.
If you went to high school in the 1980s (like me), there’s a good chance you were a fan of the films of John Hughes. SIXTEEN CANDLES, THE BREAKFAST CLUB and FERRIS BUELLER’S DAY OFF — what I like to think of as his High School Trilogy* — are comedies than manage to be serious, teen movies that manage to be grown up and artifacts of the 1980s that manage to look pretty good today.
If you’re wondering what ever happened to Hughes, The Los Angeles Times has your answer: He’s living just down the road in the suburbs north of Chicago, where most of his movies were set. He doesn’t talk to the press, he doesn’t hang out in Hollywood, and aside from coming up with the original premise for DRILLBIT TAYLOR years ago, he doesn’t make movies.
Of course, his movies are still a big influence today, mostly because the people making movies grew up on SIXTEEN CANDLES and other Hughes epics. As producer Judd Apatow says in the LA Times article, “You see Hughes’ influence on all TV comedy, especially the stylized single-camera comedy. His great film characters, starting with Anthony Michael Hall in ‘Sixteen Candles,’ were big inspirations. When we were growing up, we were all like Hall — the goofy skinny kid who thinks he’s cool, even if nobody else does. ‘Superbad’ has that same attitude, that mix of total cockiness and insecurity.”
Since those mid-80s high school glory days, Hughes wrote and/or directed at least one grown-up classic (PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES), two underrated gems (SHE’S HAVING A BABY and UNCLE BUCK) and a lot of crap (BEETHOVEN’S 4TH, CURLY SUE, MAID IN MANHATTAN and others). He also wrote HOME ALONE, which guaranteed he’d never have to worry about writing or directing anything again. Financially, the guy is set.
But it’s too bad he never returned to that high school setting. I’m as sick of sequels as the next guy, but I’d kill to see a follow-up to THE BREAKFAST CLUB with the same cast, set in the present and stuck in a single room — maybe even that same library. Or a FERRIS BUELLER sequel, with Ferris, Sloan and Cameron as world-weary adults spending the day in Chicago. (In a way, Alexander Payne’s ELECTION is a twisted sequel of FERRIS, with Broderick playing a version of the principal he tormented way back when.)
C’mon, John. It’s time for a reunion.
* No, I’m not counting Hughes’Â 1985 movie WEIRD SCIENCE or 1986 movie PRETTY IN PINK. Sorry.
March 12th, 2008
Simone Simon pines for the love she can’t have in CAT PEOPLE.
After much needless (and frankly nerdish) deliberation, I’ve finally narrowed my list of favorite movies down to 10. And, like many of you said, it’s not easy. This list might not have been the same yesterday, and it might not be the same tomorrow, but for his moment, these are my 10 favorite movies. Not, of course, in any order. (That would be damn near impossible!)
1. Goodfellas — Scorsese’s gangster epic is simply one of the most brilliant combinations of script, performance, design, editing and, of course, direction I’ve ever seen.
2. The Apartment — It won a slew of Oscars, and it deserved them. Billy Wilder’s black comedy about love and power in the (then) modern workplace manages to be dark-hearted and heartwarming. And it features a note-perfect, chilling performance by Fred MacMurray.
3. Cat People — A smart, sophisticated horror movie from producer Val Lewton and director Jacques Tourneur that might not be a horror movie at all. It might just be the story of a frightened lonely woman (Simone Simon) with a dark secret.
4. The Manchurian Candidate — Forget that remake of a few years ago. This surreal conspiracy thriller is still startling more than 40 years after its initial release. Angela Lansbury — yes, the nice old lady from “Murder, She Wrote” is perfect as the villain.
5. A Face in the Crowd — Think you know Andy Griffith? Watch this satire of media and politics, where good ol’ Andy plays a power hungry madman, then think again.
6. Sweet Smell of Success — Every line of dialogue in this New York drama is more bitter (and tastier) than the last. The beautiful black-and-white cinematography and stark performances by Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis are just the icing on the cookie (full of arsenic).
7. Dr. Strangelove, Or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb — Stanley Kubrick made a lot of great movies, but this comedy about the end of the world is still the best. Who knew George C. Scott — or the death of most of the planet — could be so funny?
8. The Black Cat — Boris and Bela in a strange little dark house movie, where the dark house is a gleaming piece of Bauhaus-inspired architecture and Bela, of all people, is the hero. Full of great twisted touches and inspired character moments. As Bela says, “Superstitious? Perhaps. Baloney? Perhaps not.”
9. The Hudsucker Proxy — It doesn’t get a lot of love, but this is — bar none — my favorite movie from the Coen Brothers. Stunning production design that recreates the 1950s (or at least Hollywood’s version) and wonderfully stylized performances from Tim Robbins, Paul Newman and Jennifer Jason Leigh. I could watch the montage sequence charting the development of the Hula Hoop a thousand times and never get tired of it.
10. Slap Shot — A crude, violent, foul-mouthed sports movie, yes, but a great one, too. Speaking of Paul Newman, he does yeoman duty here, wearing tacky clothes and spouting even tackier dialogue. Like many 1970s movies, the laughs barely conceal the drama and desperation lurking just under the surface.
Runners up: Fight Club, Rushmore, Brazil, The Fountainhead, King Kong (the original), Used Cars, American Movie, Videodrome, Zelig and Night of the Hunter — any of which might have made the leap to the top 10 on another day.
Any comments? Any more lists? This topic got a great response, so I’d like to keep it going indefinitely. Feel free to add yours to this post or the previous one, and we can continue to discuss what makes a great movie.
March 6th, 2008
Over at the Web site for Facets Video (which is based just down the road in Chicago), they’ve asked dozens of prominent filmmakers, experts and critics to list their top ten favorite movies. It’s a pretty highbrow assortment, ranging from L.A. TIMES critic Kenneth Turan to social critic Camille Paglia to (a personal favorite) offbeat Canadian director Guy Maddin. (Another favorite, showbiz legend Jerry Lewis, is also included).
CITIZEN KANE turns up on a lot of lists, along with some films noir, French New Wave and obscure stuff even I’ve never heard of. (Directors Michael Moore and Werner Herzog both include THE EMPEROR’S NAKED ARMY MARCHES ON, a 1987 documentary about Japan’s World War II campaign in New Guinea. Ever seen it? Me neither.)
It’s such a good idea, I figured I’d steal it. So here’s the plan: Post your own top 10 lists in the comments field below. If you want to offer a short reason or commentary on the list, that’s fine. If you want to just list ‘em, that’s fine, too. And they don’t have to be in any order — narrowing your favorites down to 10 will be tough enough.Â
Don’t worry about being as highbrow as the folks over at Facets. If you love a movie, there’s no need to apologize for it or try to justify it. I’ll post my own list in a couple of days (as soon as I narrow it down), and believe me, there will be plenty of goofy personal picks tucked in among the classics. For instance, do you know what movie is pictured at the top of this post? I’m not positive it’s going to make my top 10, but it has a darned good chance.
