This is another of those high school movies that I might not be able to recommend seeing more than once… but it’s just interesting enough to warrant writing about.
I won’t be giving everything away but I’ll go into most of the key points.
It has a pretty good soundtrack- some songs from the mid 2010s I remember hearing in other contexts. But it’s mildly disappointing that the Stevie Nicks song serving as this movie’s namesake doesn’t make a single appearance.
Also- I’ve always interpreted that song as a more dramatic version of “I am 16 going on 17” so the fact the main character is already 17 makes the title a double liar… unless the whole point is that she’s 17 and a little rough around the edges.
The whole genre of teen angst high school is a little over and done by this point… but this is probably one of the more honest looks at what that means.
The protagonist Nadine, played really well by Hailee Steinfeld, develop a huge dislike for her more outgoing classmates (and all things popular) at a young age. The types of people who attract success anywhere they try and her brother is major representation of that. Between the two of them, he always got the better grades and more popularity whereas she was outcast and bullied for being the opposite.
She finds solace from this in her new best friend and for their whole lives, they’d been two peas in a pod.
But things change when her friend starts dating her brother and through him, gets into better social circles and she feels left behind. Plus betrayed because they used to share a mutual dislike of him. As far as big brothers go, he’s not the most obnoxious (definitely not to the point of Bill Paxton in weird science) but it’s easy to be put off by some of his actions.
I can understand her frustration to a point. I know I’ve lost friends or felt left out because they got into social circles I didn’t feel welcome to join. Or I just wasn’t welcome at all. But there are points where I’ll admit she takes her anger about this betrayal a little too far— how long can you hold a grudge until you get over it and move on?
Then there’s the fact she was daddy’s little girl and he died of a heart attack a few years earlier and the family is still navigating the grief of that loss. (There was one funny punchline where she uses her dad’s death as an excuse for not doing her homework and her teacher says that excuse expired after the first year… it was 4 years ago).
But as much as she feels like the world is against her, she comes to realize she’s not alone and just maybe she’d been wrong about the people in her life because she didn’t consider their perspective.
It sort of blew my mind later on when her brother came out saying he works so hard to be perfect to keep their family together. Their mom works hard to provide for them and she and Nadine fight so much. He feels compelled to go to a local college when he could easily have made Ivy League to make sure he’s there in case he’s needed.
And just maybe, he likes hanging out with her friend because she helps keep him grounded like she had in their friendship.
Most high school movies have that one teacher character. This one was tailor made for woody harrelson and his wry sense of humor. In fact, he makes this whole movie. Not just because he matches her wit tit for tat but he’s extremely supportive when stuff in her life spirals out and she feels she has no other confidants.
She also makes a new friend who takes part in an indie film festival at the end of the movie… won’t spoil his animated short but it is super cute. Then when she comes over to his place, she learns his family is actually pretty wealthy yet he’s very unassuming about it. Not crazy rich Asian rich (although he is Korean) but definitely richer than most of her classmates. My jaw dropped when I saw the house— but I’m a sucker for a good Victorian style house.
Nadine is very outspoken and gets in trouble a few times because of this. One moment particularly when her lack of impulse control gets the better of her. She’s not the first teenager to make this mistake but that doesn’t make it any less cringe worthy to see how it plays out.
She talks a few times through the movie how she’d fantasized about this one classmate who works at a pet store. Then she texts all these errant thoughts to him (a lot of weird sexual stuff I always wonder how teenagers know about them cuz I sure as hell didn’t at that age) by accident and he’s interested.
Then she awkwardly realizes as it’s happening that she didn’t really mean what she said and he’s super bent out of shape for the mixed signals. It sort of reminded me of a situation I got into in college where a guy I met on Facebook asked if I’d ever kissed and suggested when we watch American idol together as planned we try. Somehow that got misinterpreted and he wanted to turn the entire show into a make-out session. To his credit he backed off when he saw how uncomfortable I was about it… but yeah… be careful what you say to the opposite sex online. Don’t put out the wrong message so they don’t get the wrong idea.
Luckily she had her teacher for an exit strategy and she gets to learn a bit more about his life while spending him at his house to decompress from everything.
I’ll say it again- Woody Harrelson totally makes this movie.
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label high school. Show all posts
Sunday, July 6, 2025
Tuesday, January 14, 2025
Election (1999)
According to reviews I read after the fact…
Election isn’t your typical high school movie.
Apparently it was designed to be a satire of our political system… a message I didn’t expect and didn’t personally get out of it. Except for maybe the end when the protagonist is seen with a senator in Washington D.C.
Clearly a reference to Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton with the only difference being that it was a Republican senator instead of a Democratic president.
I kinda want to joke Alexander Payne outed himself as a Democrat… except 99% of Hollywood is so it’s not that surprising.
Speaking of Alexander Payne…
This is my 4th Alexander Payne movie and I didn’t fully realize until now that satire is his thing.
I mean, Sideways was a commentary on the snotty business of wine tasting in Napa Valley… at least I think it was. The R-rating being capped off with a scene involving full frontal nudity wiped out every other memory of that movie except for “no effing Merlot!”
And The Holdovers (which I will review later this year!) was a critique of private schools favoring deep pocketed donors over making sure the students actually pass their classes.
The Descendants is the movie where I first learned the name of this writer/director because it was up for a ton of awards. I hadn’t seen it in years so I don’t know if it’s a satire or not. But I’d love to see it again, especially since we saw some of its locations (and ate at one) in Kauai last year.
What is it with high school movies…
…not actually being about high school.
I don’t know how long I’ve had this pet peeve but it’s gotten more prevalent in recent years.
Of all the high school movies out there, how many actually have to do with school? Being in class, taking exams… that sort of stuff. The typical formula is that high school movies focus mostly on extracurricular activities or having fun outside of the classroom. If there’s any classroom footage, it’s usually just one class with one specific teacher.
The only exception to this is those “beloved teachers” movies I love so much. Because they have to show off why they’re beloved and it’s about what they do in the classroom. Or going above and beyond for certain students outside normal hours- Mr Holland’s Opus is probably the best example. He was teaching stuff outside the classroom but at least he was teaching.
The easy answer to this is that classrooms are dull and boring and it’s not something people want to go back to in a movie. All the fun and excitement (and character development) happens outside the classroom.
And maybe that’s just me being selfish and wanting to see my high school experience reflected in a movie. When I wasn’t in class stressing about grades, I was in performing arts stuff as a background person or an audience member. And I did 2 dances with concert choir and senior prom.
I never spent time with anyone outside school because I had no close friends. And the one person I did want to hang out with (cuz I had a crush on him), he always had some other activity he was doing. Being involved in community service or whatever else…
Further impressions
I came into “Election” with the following impressions. Reese Witherspoon (Tracy Flick) and Matthew Broderick (Mr. McAllister) are in it. He plays a teacher that, for some reason, does not want her to win said election.
I’ve seen a bunch of their movies and they’re both very likable people. So I figured it’d be a win-win.
…in the movie, both wound up playing very UN-likable people. Yet I still wanted them to succeed for some reason. Maybe that old loyalty was hard to overcome. I might have also felt different if these roles were played by people I didn’t know or already found unlikable.
And before I get ahead of myself and forget… this wasn’t a good movie. I’d even add that it would be classified as one of those “movies that did not age well”.
At the same time, it’s morally ambiguous and offers some interesting talking points for discussion. Hence me writing this post…
Speaking of morals, the movie opens with a question in class (one of maybe 2 scenes that actually involve classroom stuff) that’s never properly answered. Although the movie pretty much goes to show neither of these characters have morals or ethics. If they did, this was thrown out the window by the end of the movie.
The question was- what’s the difference between morals and ethics?
Morals are an individual’s sense of right and wrong while ethics is what a body of government or a board of trustees determines to be right and wrong as they oversee a group of people ranking beneath them.
Thought I’d Google this in case anyone else didn’t know. Or they were equally as annoyed as I was that they never answered the question.
As soon as Tracy was allowed to give her answer, the bell rang.
One thing about this movie I found kinda jarring and lamenting “well that was a choice…”
All the main characters have inner monologue, which is fine. But it’s annoying to have the movie completely stop while someone narrates. And it freezes their faces in often unflattering ways. I get that that’s meant to make a point but to have it happen so many times where the movie just stops… not a fan.
So I came into this movie with one question- why doesn’t Mr. McAllister want Tracy to win the election?
Just based off that first scene- yeah, she’s a Hermione Granger know-it-all. Why let her succeed, right?
Then we find out his reasoning… and it was the last thing I ever would have expected because I never expect students fooling around with their teachers.
She got his work friend fired because they "fell in love". It seemed like it was mutual until her mom found out and she lodged a formal complaint.
Now he wants to sabotage her because he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him… i.e. she comes onto him because he's the teacher overseeing the student council.
But the more you watch, it becomes clear he’s afraid HE will develop feelings for her and it’ll ruin his life like he did his friend.
Call it what you want- it’s gross and inappropriate. One review I read nailed it by saying pedophilia should never be done for laughs, consenual or not.
This movie was R rated for adult content and language. No nudity but definitely sex. One scene is him and his wife and he winds up fantasizing his friend’s ex-wife and Tracy talking dirty to him in her place.
At least that was the intent. I wouldn’t know anything about this since I have literally no experience… but none of this talking dirty comes off as sexy.
The first manner of sabotage is finding someone to run against her because nobody else is. And he picks a dumb jock who recently broke his leg… the guy is clueless but he was very likable and easygoing.
It gets even more interesting when his sister joins the race, mostly to get back at him for stealing her girlfriend. A rare inclusion of a gay/lesbian character in a 90's movie. The only other one I'm aware of is Christian in "Clueless". Of course this is way more common in media nowadays.
Tammy was your typical unapologetic angry teenager but she’s still pretty cool. At her campaign speech, she said stuff like “vote for me or don’t” and how she’ll abolish the student government if elected so they won’t have to sit through any more of these “stupid assemblies again”.
I’d expected this movie to be a little more like Mean Girls where Tracy is the queen bee asserting her dominance in why she should win.
She’s not even popular, which the question of how she thinks she'll get the votes if she doesn't regularly hang out with people. Her whole thing is being involved in everything to put together the perfect resume. Not necessarily because she enjoys what she does. But the downside is no time for friends. A fact she’s a little sad about but it’s not enough to make her change her trajectory.
Part of me did decide to see this movie because the premise sounded like good research for something I’m working.
I’m making an old project a little more high school oriented (with actual classroom content) and one of the ideas I was kicking around was student council.
This movie didn’t exactly give me the inspiration I wanted but I didn’t mind too much. It’s kinda refreshing that Tracy Flick wasn’t a queen bee type of character or the world’s biggest nerd or do-gooder. She’s ambitious for the sake of it. Maybe not the most likable thing a person can be but at least it’s something that speaks to her and motivates her. And maybe the fact she didn’t have friends was something that spoke to me.
I graduated high school 20 years ago this year… and now that I’m thinking about it, I literally have no idea who was on our student council and what they actually did.
Election isn’t your typical high school movie.
Apparently it was designed to be a satire of our political system… a message I didn’t expect and didn’t personally get out of it. Except for maybe the end when the protagonist is seen with a senator in Washington D.C.
Clearly a reference to Monica Lewinsky and Bill Clinton with the only difference being that it was a Republican senator instead of a Democratic president.
I kinda want to joke Alexander Payne outed himself as a Democrat… except 99% of Hollywood is so it’s not that surprising.
Speaking of Alexander Payne…
This is my 4th Alexander Payne movie and I didn’t fully realize until now that satire is his thing.
I mean, Sideways was a commentary on the snotty business of wine tasting in Napa Valley… at least I think it was. The R-rating being capped off with a scene involving full frontal nudity wiped out every other memory of that movie except for “no effing Merlot!”
And The Holdovers (which I will review later this year!) was a critique of private schools favoring deep pocketed donors over making sure the students actually pass their classes.
The Descendants is the movie where I first learned the name of this writer/director because it was up for a ton of awards. I hadn’t seen it in years so I don’t know if it’s a satire or not. But I’d love to see it again, especially since we saw some of its locations (and ate at one) in Kauai last year.
What is it with high school movies…
…not actually being about high school.
I don’t know how long I’ve had this pet peeve but it’s gotten more prevalent in recent years.
Of all the high school movies out there, how many actually have to do with school? Being in class, taking exams… that sort of stuff. The typical formula is that high school movies focus mostly on extracurricular activities or having fun outside of the classroom. If there’s any classroom footage, it’s usually just one class with one specific teacher.
The only exception to this is those “beloved teachers” movies I love so much. Because they have to show off why they’re beloved and it’s about what they do in the classroom. Or going above and beyond for certain students outside normal hours- Mr Holland’s Opus is probably the best example. He was teaching stuff outside the classroom but at least he was teaching.
The easy answer to this is that classrooms are dull and boring and it’s not something people want to go back to in a movie. All the fun and excitement (and character development) happens outside the classroom.
And maybe that’s just me being selfish and wanting to see my high school experience reflected in a movie. When I wasn’t in class stressing about grades, I was in performing arts stuff as a background person or an audience member. And I did 2 dances with concert choir and senior prom.
I never spent time with anyone outside school because I had no close friends. And the one person I did want to hang out with (cuz I had a crush on him), he always had some other activity he was doing. Being involved in community service or whatever else…
Further impressions
I came into “Election” with the following impressions. Reese Witherspoon (Tracy Flick) and Matthew Broderick (Mr. McAllister) are in it. He plays a teacher that, for some reason, does not want her to win said election.
I’ve seen a bunch of their movies and they’re both very likable people. So I figured it’d be a win-win.
…in the movie, both wound up playing very UN-likable people. Yet I still wanted them to succeed for some reason. Maybe that old loyalty was hard to overcome. I might have also felt different if these roles were played by people I didn’t know or already found unlikable.
And before I get ahead of myself and forget… this wasn’t a good movie. I’d even add that it would be classified as one of those “movies that did not age well”.
At the same time, it’s morally ambiguous and offers some interesting talking points for discussion. Hence me writing this post…
Speaking of morals, the movie opens with a question in class (one of maybe 2 scenes that actually involve classroom stuff) that’s never properly answered. Although the movie pretty much goes to show neither of these characters have morals or ethics. If they did, this was thrown out the window by the end of the movie.
The question was- what’s the difference between morals and ethics?
Morals are an individual’s sense of right and wrong while ethics is what a body of government or a board of trustees determines to be right and wrong as they oversee a group of people ranking beneath them.
Thought I’d Google this in case anyone else didn’t know. Or they were equally as annoyed as I was that they never answered the question.
As soon as Tracy was allowed to give her answer, the bell rang.
One thing about this movie I found kinda jarring and lamenting “well that was a choice…”
All the main characters have inner monologue, which is fine. But it’s annoying to have the movie completely stop while someone narrates. And it freezes their faces in often unflattering ways. I get that that’s meant to make a point but to have it happen so many times where the movie just stops… not a fan.
So I came into this movie with one question- why doesn’t Mr. McAllister want Tracy to win the election?
Just based off that first scene- yeah, she’s a Hermione Granger know-it-all. Why let her succeed, right?
Then we find out his reasoning… and it was the last thing I ever would have expected because I never expect students fooling around with their teachers.
She got his work friend fired because they "fell in love". It seemed like it was mutual until her mom found out and she lodged a formal complaint.
(This actor looked kinda familiar and it wasn't until I looked him up I realized why... he played Caltech Dean Dr. Gablehauser in "The Big Bang Theory")
Now he wants to sabotage her because he doesn’t want the same thing to happen to him… i.e. she comes onto him because he's the teacher overseeing the student council.
But the more you watch, it becomes clear he’s afraid HE will develop feelings for her and it’ll ruin his life like he did his friend.
Call it what you want- it’s gross and inappropriate. One review I read nailed it by saying pedophilia should never be done for laughs, consenual or not.
This movie was R rated for adult content and language. No nudity but definitely sex. One scene is him and his wife and he winds up fantasizing his friend’s ex-wife and Tracy talking dirty to him in her place.
At least that was the intent. I wouldn’t know anything about this since I have literally no experience… but none of this talking dirty comes off as sexy.
The first manner of sabotage is finding someone to run against her because nobody else is. And he picks a dumb jock who recently broke his leg… the guy is clueless but he was very likable and easygoing.
It gets even more interesting when his sister joins the race, mostly to get back at him for stealing her girlfriend. A rare inclusion of a gay/lesbian character in a 90's movie. The only other one I'm aware of is Christian in "Clueless". Of course this is way more common in media nowadays.
Tammy was your typical unapologetic angry teenager but she’s still pretty cool. At her campaign speech, she said stuff like “vote for me or don’t” and how she’ll abolish the student government if elected so they won’t have to sit through any more of these “stupid assemblies again”.
I’d expected this movie to be a little more like Mean Girls where Tracy is the queen bee asserting her dominance in why she should win.
She’s not even popular, which the question of how she thinks she'll get the votes if she doesn't regularly hang out with people. Her whole thing is being involved in everything to put together the perfect resume. Not necessarily because she enjoys what she does. But the downside is no time for friends. A fact she’s a little sad about but it’s not enough to make her change her trajectory.
Part of me did decide to see this movie because the premise sounded like good research for something I’m working.
I’m making an old project a little more high school oriented (with actual classroom content) and one of the ideas I was kicking around was student council.
This movie didn’t exactly give me the inspiration I wanted but I didn’t mind too much. It’s kinda refreshing that Tracy Flick wasn’t a queen bee type of character or the world’s biggest nerd or do-gooder. She’s ambitious for the sake of it. Maybe not the most likable thing a person can be but at least it’s something that speaks to her and motivates her. And maybe the fact she didn’t have friends was something that spoke to me.
I graduated high school 20 years ago this year… and now that I’m thinking about it, I literally have no idea who was on our student council and what they actually did.
Oddly for a high school movie, there's very little student-to-student interaction. In fact, it's more about Mr. McAllister's feeable attempts to undermine her campaign as well as contemplating an affair with his friend's ex-wife. All of this culminates in a bit of clever foreshadowing... a far-off shot of bees flying around a fruit tree in her background. I asked myself "ok, what's that all about?" Let's just say he deserved what he got.
The results of the actual election… well, what fun would that be if I gave that away?
Another kind of nice thing about this movie was that we got an epilogue. Just in case some people watching were left wondering what became of these characters.
It wasn’t the best movie but I liked how they did it. And everyone pretty much got what they wanted in the end.
I wish more movies did this because I often find myself wanting to see what happens after the story ends or at least get a glimpse into the future of these characters.
One final thing- the janitor is like the cook from “hunt for red October”… trust me, it’ll make sense later.
The results of the actual election… well, what fun would that be if I gave that away?
Another kind of nice thing about this movie was that we got an epilogue. Just in case some people watching were left wondering what became of these characters.
It wasn’t the best movie but I liked how they did it. And everyone pretty much got what they wanted in the end.
I wish more movies did this because I often find myself wanting to see what happens after the story ends or at least get a glimpse into the future of these characters.
One final thing- the janitor is like the cook from “hunt for red October”… trust me, it’ll make sense later.
The most interesting part of this whole experience... I kinda knew going in this movie wasn't going to be good. But I think that freed me up to enjoy it for what it was.
Thursday, July 25, 2024
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen (2004)
Before I reached high school age, my perception of high school was essentially shaped by the John Hughes experience that was from the 80s. Or more specifically Ferris Bueller and the Breakfast Club. To this day, both remain among my favorite movies of all time with The Breakfast Club reigning at the top.
I was told for years that high school would be the best years of my life and the John Hughes movies helped bolster those expectations.
I’m still frustrated that those expectations were not met. Not that I wish I’d had the typical teenage rebellion streak- but I expected to at least have my first boyfriend and have a special friend clique. Neither of which materialized because I was too shy to put myself out there. I at least got that friend experience in my last 3 semesters of college, thanks to the fact I wasn’t the one who had to make the first move. But I still wish my high school years had more positive memories and fewer regrets and less stress about my grades.
Fast forward to the early 2000s- the high school movies that came out when I was actually high school age were Disney movies. And a few notable ones starred Lindsay Lohan.
We only have 27 days difference in age so I looked up to her a lot. Enough to get highlights to emulate her Freaky Friday look but not enough to bring life to that old saying… you know the one where you’re asked “if they jumped off a bridge, would you do it too?” Even with all of her missteps that made a fortune for the tabloid industry (damn vultures…), I never stopped being a fan. With recent news of a Freaky Friday sequel coming next year (her and Jamie Lee Curtis both returning), hopefully those days of being a punchline are finally in the rear view mirror.
Every part of her high school movie trifecta is awesome but “Confessions” is my personal favorite.
Critics like Roger Ebert were exceedingly harsh with it. I think I saw a grade as low as a D in our local paper. I’d already made up my mind to see it and that wasn’t going to stop me.
I wish I could be objective enough so I could say what a more accurate rating would be, but I’m just not. I am however honest enough with myself to admit this movie isn’t realistic.
But come on, it’s a Disney movie. Disney is all about fantasy and wish fulfillment. So as far as I’m concerned, the lack of realism in this movie gets a pass.
For me, this movie stands out more than any other movie that came out while I was in high school for one big reason. If I was still keeping a regular journal during that time of my life, various elements of this movie could’ve been ripped out of its pages.
The biggest difference was that I was more like Ella than Lola. I always followed the rules and never did anything if I knew it would be met with disapproval from my parents. For better or worse, I’m still very much like that. Having a friend like Lola would have me at odds with that part of myself but I’d still love to have a friend like her. Someone who gives me courage to do things I didn’t think I was capable of… within reason.
Lola moves to Dellwood New Jersey from New York City, a decision she’s not happy with because it means leaving the home of Broadway and she wants to be an actress.
The way she's dressed during the opening scene is a callback to "Breakfast at Tiffany's," something I didn't pick up on until I saw that movie for the first time a few years ago.
But once she accepts her new surroundings, she approaches it as a new opportunity to which she can bring her own script. (Paraphrasing a quote from her).
She hits it off with Ella through their mutual love of her favorite band. And when the school play is announced, she aims to use it as a platform to launch her budding acting career.
The premise is simple enough and ordinary at first glance. But as the plot unfolds, it becomes so much more than that.
Going back to when I said this movie had some diaristic context… the school play is a hip and modern adaptation of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Our school musical that year was My Fair Lady. While I didn’t get a role, I participated as part of the company. Junior year was probably my most stressful between my grades and SAT scores but that winter gave me some of the best memories of my life. And it was mostly from watching these mega talented actors rehearse from what felt like front row seating. Oklahoma the year before had its highlights- particularly the over-the-top performance of Ali Hakeem from the 3 night cast- but this year felt extra special.
The movie may not have shown more than 10 minutes of “Eliza Rocks” between Lola’s audition, rehearsals and opening night but having that connection was a huge selling point.
She hits it off with Ella through their mutual love of her favorite band. And when the school play is announced, she aims to use it as a platform to launch her budding acting career.
The premise is simple enough and ordinary at first glance. But as the plot unfolds, it becomes so much more than that.
Going back to when I said this movie had some diaristic context… the school play is a hip and modern adaptation of Pygmalion by George Bernard Shaw. Our school musical that year was My Fair Lady. While I didn’t get a role, I participated as part of the company. Junior year was probably my most stressful between my grades and SAT scores but that winter gave me some of the best memories of my life. And it was mostly from watching these mega talented actors rehearse from what felt like front row seating. Oklahoma the year before had its highlights- particularly the over-the-top performance of Ali Hakeem from the 3 night cast- but this year felt extra special.
The movie may not have shown more than 10 minutes of “Eliza Rocks” between Lola’s audition, rehearsals and opening night but having that connection was a huge selling point.
The movie came out February 2004- we had just wrapped up production of "My Fair Lady" a couple weeks beforehand. So yeah, no wonder I was so floored by a reference to it being center stage in this movie.
Also, Carol Kane as Ms. Baggoli is such a fun teacher. I love how she dives headfirst into this role and makes it as zany and over the top as she does.
But the biggest selling point was how Lola’s favorite band Sidarthur and its leading man Stu Wolf fit into the story. She has all kinds of cool memorabilia, manufactured and homemade, to express her fandom of them. But one huge plot point that’s dropped on her is the announcement that the band is breaking up. I watched that scene and had immediate flashbacks to when my favorite boy band Dream Street broke up two years earlier. So between that and the play, I was like “omg, this is my life” and I was fully invested.
So after the big breakup, Lola hears from the school’s Queen bee, Carla (the role that introduced a lot of us to Megan Fox) that there’s going to be a farewell concert and afterparty in New York.
So lucky! Dream Street was broken up by a lawsuit between their parents’ and management so I didn’t even get a chance of a farewell concert. Their final hurrah was a low budget movie where only Chris had a major role- now that movie was about blatant wish fulfillment but I still loved having it as one final memento from that time in my life.
Naturally, Lola has to make it back to New York by any means necessary and Ella is along for a ride despite some mild hesitation.
One of her “clever” schemes is to stage a hunger strike like Gandhi until her mom lets her go. By today’s standards, this scene would most likely be considered to be culturally insensitive and there’d be petitions calling for its removal. But at the time, I was excited that it was just a reference I understood. In my English class we had a unit about transcendentalism and civil disobedience, which culminated in watching the Ben Kingsley movie in class. I’m pretty sure we didn’t watch all of it but certainly enough for me to be familiar with it. Also I wasn’t the type of person who was really up to date on current events or the news in general so any time I see something historical that I have enough context to understand it- that’s a big deal.
The hunger strike doesn’t work and it’s also revealed to be a complete farce. So the backup plan is a teenage classic- staging a sleepover, telling the parents it’s at the other person’s house and going behind their backs to go to the concert. Ella has a panic attack over the idea of lying to her parents so Lola breaks down and tells her mom the truth. Ella’s parents (who are going into the city that weekend anyway) agree to Lola’s terms (meeting them at the train station and waiting at their hotel for their return) and everything is set.
Except for one thing… they go to get tickets and they’re sold out.
The whole New York City story arc is pretty much when reality is thrown out the window. Let’s just say there is no way my parents would trust me to walk around that place on my own at that age. We’d get as far as the concert and we’d go straight back to the hotel afterwards. The craziest and probably most dangerous about this whole adventure- this isn’t a boy band they were pursuing. These were certified rock stars that were likely twice their age if not more.
And as we quickly learn, Lola’s favorite tortured poet is an alcoholic. It’s a miracle the worst that happened to them was getting grounded.
The whole night begins as a comedy of errors. As previously stated, they didn’t get tickets so scalpers were the next option. Lola accidentally left the money on the train so they miss the concert and travel SEVERAL blocks to find the after party… in the pouring rain. At least we get a kick ass soundtrack to accompany them.
A lot of the soundtrack is really good but there’s some omissions. One was “Up up up” by Rose Falcon during the pouring rain scene. Also I feel like there should’ve been a full version of “Don’t move on” as heard in the end credits. We just get Lola’s audition version in a medley with two of the musical’s songs (“livin for the city” by Stevie wonder, and “changes” by David Bowie).
But “Up, Up, Up” and “1,2,3” (by Nikki Cleary) were staples on radio Disney during that time.
So they’re stopped at the door and can’t get into the after party. They do however run into Stu Wolf when he stumbles out drunk and they spend the night with him. With a lot of ups and downs but thankfully after the scene at the police station it’s all uphill.
They’d taken Stu to a diner in hopes of sobering him up and he causes a bit of public disturbance.. because he didn’t get his “deluxe hamburger platter with a side of onion rings”. Which he orders with a drunken Aussie accent. To this day whenever I order onion rings in a restaurant, I think of this scene.
The police station also throws in a wrench that nearly breaks up the Lola and Ella dream team… Lola’s dad comes down to help sort out the situation, the same dad she spent an elaborate fantasy sequence explaining how he died in a motorcycle accident.
Honest to god, I was so naive when I saw this at age 17 I completely fell for that fantasy sequence hook line and sinker. Didn’t even occur to me “this is so over the top it has to be a complete lie”.I don’t think I figured it out until New York actually.
Lola defended her lie saying she did it to protect her mom from Ella’s judgmental parents who were skeptical of her having 3 kids (Lola and her younger twin sisters) and no husband. It’s kinda interesting she felt so strongly about this that she had to overcompensate. She and her mom butt heads throughout the movie but deep down she still cares about her a lot.
Ella’s reaction to Lola exaggerating was extremely skeptical. “Exaggerating a little is saying you’re a little taller” and what she did essentially crossed a line.
Lola’s dream was to discuss Stu’s poetry with him, which she unfortunately doesn’t get to do because he’s too drunk to hold a conversation with her.
I’ve only seen Adam Garcia in one other movie and his character in Coyote Ugly couldn’t be any more different from Stu. He’s not just sober and a nicer guy but he’s actually really good looking. The hair and makeup people did a really good job giving him that drunken rock star look.
Looked him up- born in 1973 so he's 13 years older than us.. Still enough of an age gap where Lola still probably should've had more adult supervision while hanging around him.
The third act of the movie is essentially the falling action after the climax. Despite the fact they saw each other at the party, Carla has the entire school convinced that Lola lied about being there. And the lie about her dad being dead also came back to bite her. The song that acts as the emotional compass for this part of the story is an acoustic version of “Perfect” by Simple Plan. I don’t think I’d ever heard the original but this song later became part of the soundtrack of my life that year. Literally- it was back from burning CDs was on trend.
Lola’s depression is so bad dealing with all this that she almost skips out on the play. Thankfully Ella comes by her house to give her a much needed reality check and it’s the kick in the pants she needs.
It’s just a shame the actual play is so short. We get bits and pieces of Eliza’s transformation from New York checkout girl to the glamorous life. I recognized a few references from doing My Fair Lady in school but with all this build up, I could’ve used another 10 minutes. The final song “That girl” picked up a lot of the slack. Funny enough, my clearest memory of it was hearing it on radio Disney while my mom was taking me to the site of my 2nd SAT test. True story. I heard it a bunch on that station but that instance sticks out in my memory the most.
Lola gets the ultimate of happy endings in the end and it still puts the biggest smile on my face. Stu Wolf shows up at the after party of the musical to return Lola’s signature coke bottle cap necklace, which she’d left at his party. Everyone finds out that she was right and Carla was wrong. And yeah, Stu cleans up pretty good when he’s sober so Lola’s dream conversation may not be as far away as we once thought.
But the biggest selling point was how Lola’s favorite band Sidarthur and its leading man Stu Wolf fit into the story. She has all kinds of cool memorabilia, manufactured and homemade, to express her fandom of them. But one huge plot point that’s dropped on her is the announcement that the band is breaking up. I watched that scene and had immediate flashbacks to when my favorite boy band Dream Street broke up two years earlier. So between that and the play, I was like “omg, this is my life” and I was fully invested.
So after the big breakup, Lola hears from the school’s Queen bee, Carla (the role that introduced a lot of us to Megan Fox) that there’s going to be a farewell concert and afterparty in New York.
So lucky! Dream Street was broken up by a lawsuit between their parents’ and management so I didn’t even get a chance of a farewell concert. Their final hurrah was a low budget movie where only Chris had a major role- now that movie was about blatant wish fulfillment but I still loved having it as one final memento from that time in my life.
Naturally, Lola has to make it back to New York by any means necessary and Ella is along for a ride despite some mild hesitation.
One of her “clever” schemes is to stage a hunger strike like Gandhi until her mom lets her go. By today’s standards, this scene would most likely be considered to be culturally insensitive and there’d be petitions calling for its removal. But at the time, I was excited that it was just a reference I understood. In my English class we had a unit about transcendentalism and civil disobedience, which culminated in watching the Ben Kingsley movie in class. I’m pretty sure we didn’t watch all of it but certainly enough for me to be familiar with it. Also I wasn’t the type of person who was really up to date on current events or the news in general so any time I see something historical that I have enough context to understand it- that’s a big deal.
The hunger strike doesn’t work and it’s also revealed to be a complete farce. So the backup plan is a teenage classic- staging a sleepover, telling the parents it’s at the other person’s house and going behind their backs to go to the concert. Ella has a panic attack over the idea of lying to her parents so Lola breaks down and tells her mom the truth. Ella’s parents (who are going into the city that weekend anyway) agree to Lola’s terms (meeting them at the train station and waiting at their hotel for their return) and everything is set.
Except for one thing… they go to get tickets and they’re sold out.
The whole New York City story arc is pretty much when reality is thrown out the window. Let’s just say there is no way my parents would trust me to walk around that place on my own at that age. We’d get as far as the concert and we’d go straight back to the hotel afterwards. The craziest and probably most dangerous about this whole adventure- this isn’t a boy band they were pursuing. These were certified rock stars that were likely twice their age if not more.
And as we quickly learn, Lola’s favorite tortured poet is an alcoholic. It’s a miracle the worst that happened to them was getting grounded.
The whole night begins as a comedy of errors. As previously stated, they didn’t get tickets so scalpers were the next option. Lola accidentally left the money on the train so they miss the concert and travel SEVERAL blocks to find the after party… in the pouring rain. At least we get a kick ass soundtrack to accompany them.
A lot of the soundtrack is really good but there’s some omissions. One was “Up up up” by Rose Falcon during the pouring rain scene. Also I feel like there should’ve been a full version of “Don’t move on” as heard in the end credits. We just get Lola’s audition version in a medley with two of the musical’s songs (“livin for the city” by Stevie wonder, and “changes” by David Bowie).
But “Up, Up, Up” and “1,2,3” (by Nikki Cleary) were staples on radio Disney during that time.
So they’re stopped at the door and can’t get into the after party. They do however run into Stu Wolf when he stumbles out drunk and they spend the night with him. With a lot of ups and downs but thankfully after the scene at the police station it’s all uphill.
They’d taken Stu to a diner in hopes of sobering him up and he causes a bit of public disturbance.. because he didn’t get his “deluxe hamburger platter with a side of onion rings”. Which he orders with a drunken Aussie accent. To this day whenever I order onion rings in a restaurant, I think of this scene.
The police station also throws in a wrench that nearly breaks up the Lola and Ella dream team… Lola’s dad comes down to help sort out the situation, the same dad she spent an elaborate fantasy sequence explaining how he died in a motorcycle accident.
Honest to god, I was so naive when I saw this at age 17 I completely fell for that fantasy sequence hook line and sinker. Didn’t even occur to me “this is so over the top it has to be a complete lie”.I don’t think I figured it out until New York actually.
There’s a scene before the party and after the rain where there’s a man and his dog following them and Lola has a private word about working on his stealth cuz he’s scaring Ella. And I’m sure I had one of those “hey, wait a minute…” moments and I just went along with it. It certainly wasn’t a deal breaker like it was for Ella.
Lola defended her lie saying she did it to protect her mom from Ella’s judgmental parents who were skeptical of her having 3 kids (Lola and her younger twin sisters) and no husband. It’s kinda interesting she felt so strongly about this that she had to overcompensate. She and her mom butt heads throughout the movie but deep down she still cares about her a lot.
Ella’s reaction to Lola exaggerating was extremely skeptical. “Exaggerating a little is saying you’re a little taller” and what she did essentially crossed a line.
Lola’s dream was to discuss Stu’s poetry with him, which she unfortunately doesn’t get to do because he’s too drunk to hold a conversation with her.
I’ve only seen Adam Garcia in one other movie and his character in Coyote Ugly couldn’t be any more different from Stu. He’s not just sober and a nicer guy but he’s actually really good looking. The hair and makeup people did a really good job giving him that drunken rock star look.
Looked him up- born in 1973 so he's 13 years older than us.. Still enough of an age gap where Lola still probably should've had more adult supervision while hanging around him.
The third act of the movie is essentially the falling action after the climax. Despite the fact they saw each other at the party, Carla has the entire school convinced that Lola lied about being there. And the lie about her dad being dead also came back to bite her. The song that acts as the emotional compass for this part of the story is an acoustic version of “Perfect” by Simple Plan. I don’t think I’d ever heard the original but this song later became part of the soundtrack of my life that year. Literally- it was back from burning CDs was on trend.
Lola’s depression is so bad dealing with all this that she almost skips out on the play. Thankfully Ella comes by her house to give her a much needed reality check and it’s the kick in the pants she needs.
It’s just a shame the actual play is so short. We get bits and pieces of Eliza’s transformation from New York checkout girl to the glamorous life. I recognized a few references from doing My Fair Lady in school but with all this build up, I could’ve used another 10 minutes. The final song “That girl” picked up a lot of the slack. Funny enough, my clearest memory of it was hearing it on radio Disney while my mom was taking me to the site of my 2nd SAT test. True story. I heard it a bunch on that station but that instance sticks out in my memory the most.
Lola gets the ultimate of happy endings in the end and it still puts the biggest smile on my face. Stu Wolf shows up at the after party of the musical to return Lola’s signature coke bottle cap necklace, which she’d left at his party. Everyone finds out that she was right and Carla was wrong. And yeah, Stu cleans up pretty good when he’s sober so Lola’s dream conversation may not be as far away as we once thought.
...I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Lola and Ella's other friend Sam. His biggest contribution to the plot was helping her sneak out Eliza's dress from the drama room so she can wear it to the concert. But it's a rare thing in one of these teen movies where a boyfriend or romance isn't a major part of character development or a story arc. Other than the very end where she says something to the effect of "now that my career is launched, maybe I can have a boyfriend".
Eli Marienthal was also in the Disney movie, The Country Bears, where he played Haley Joel Osment's brother and wasn't quite as nice as Sam.
Alison Pill who played Ella probably had the most success of the younger actors. Her characters in "Scott Pilgrim" and "Midnight in Paris" couldn't be anymore different.
...I could keep going but it's probably best to end my novel review. This movie clearly isn't for everybody but for me, I still feel like it came out at the perfect time. Otherwise I don't think I would've responded to it as positively as I have. And still do.
Monday, July 22, 2024
Bandslam (2009)
I'm going to be doing a couple of these high school type movies in the coming weeks. They'll be more discussions than reviews, so they'll be discussed in length, spoilers and all.
I first heard about this movie from the DVD releases of the Twilight series. It was advertised as just another high school movie, which happened to have Vanessa Hudgens- who I knew from High School Musical at that time. I remember seeing it once years ago and feeling letdown because it didn’t live up to my expectations based on the trailers. Coming back to it however years later, those feelings haven’t changed. In fact they’ve only gotten more complicated.
It’s a basic premise. New kid moves from the Midwest to a new high school in northern New Jersey. He didn’t fit in where he was from and this was a chance for him to start fresh with a clean slate. His new school is one of many in the northeast looking forward to the titular event. Vanessa’s character describes it as being as big as high school football is in Texas. New kid Will gets involved with it through his new friend Charolette (Aly from Aly & AJ) who has a new band with aspirations to win.
Another ongoing storyline is Will and Sa5m (Vanessa’s character) having to do a project for class where they have to get to know each other and do a presentation on who the other person is.
The bizarre part of this movie that was hard for me to get past: it was hard to get a handle on who these characters were. All of them felt like they had a secret or something to hide. Not that this isn't a common thing in movies or fiction, but the way they did it... it's like they're saying "this person has a secret but we're not going to give you any hints about what it might be but just remember there's a secret.. And it'll be revealed at th worst time possible, etc, etc.
Will was easy enough to figure out but it didn’t make the nature of his secret any less shocking. He clearly wasn’t close with his dad and would talk about how he was never around because he was touring with other bands as a roadie or some other menial job.
“Dewey” got thrown around a few times and it wasn’t until much later when it was explained as a homonym of DWI. i.e. driving while intoxicated. His dad apparently drove drunk and killed one of his classmates at his old school, so while he went to jail, Will Jr. was bullied and saddled with his mistake. Thanks to a fellow student who was jealous of his friendship with Charlotte, this secret was leaked to his new school and it was difficult to overcome all that a second time.
Vanessa Hudgens had played a few different high school archetypes in her time. Gabriella in High School Musical was a whiz kid but also very shy- until the sequels and that part of her character was completely discarded. Then later in the FOX live version of Grease, she was a really good Rizzo.
Sa5m (the 5 is silent) comes off as an introvert and she remains that way for much of the movie. She’s quiet and keeps to herself but slowly opens up to Will as they get to know each other. It’s really sad when she gets comfortable with him, she invites him to see her favorite movie and he doesn’t show. All because an outing with Charlotte and the band happened to be the same day.
The actor playing him finished second during the previous season of the masked singer- to Vanessa- and they had no idea the other was on the show. So it was kind of a cool moment when they figured this out. They didn’t interact at all in the movie. But I’m glad his band didn’t win the competition because his character wasn’t very likable. He didn’t just want Charlotte back but he took some unscrupulous steps to make this happen. He leaked the information about Will’s dad to get back at him for hanging out with her. But what he did at Bandslam only served to feed a cliche that was completely unnecessary.
If Emmett Otter taught me anything, if you participate in a talent competition, ALWAYS have a backup plan. In this case, make sure you rehearse more than one song.
“Everything I Own” (originally by Bread, but I first heard it covered by *NSYNC on their first album) was featured in the trailers so I figured it would be the band’s song in the movie. But it was so infuriating that the band had an original song… and the rival band from the same high school performed the same song at the competition. The ex was hanging out with Charlotte a lot since her dad died and she left the band to figure out her life. Somehow during this time, he got a hold of this song and left the band in a very awkward position.
I mean, it does work out in the end. The band goes viral on MySpace (that’s how old this movie is- back when MySpace was still relevant) despite not winning the competition. Neither of the Martin Van Buren high school bands win. But the original song was SO GOOD and it was so sad not getting that same impact from the backup song.
One thing that made this movie worth coming back to all these years later- a David Bowie cameo.
Will spends a lot of the movie sending fan letters to him although I’m not sure if he actually sent them or if Bowie read them if he did. But he was among the people who saw the viral performance of the band’s performance and he contacts Will (i.e. the band’s manager) and it’s a super cool full circle moment. Considering he passed away a few years after the movie came out, it could possibly be one of his final appearances in the public eye. How many people actually saw this movie is hard to say but considering this was advertised with the Twilight series because they’re both Summit Entertainment films— this could’ve introduced him to a whole other generation. The soundtrack isn’t too shabby either, featuring some original songs as well as some older songs from him, Mick Jagger and others. Although as far as being a gateway film to introduce younger generations to great music, School of Rock might be a better choice.
***
I first heard about this movie from the DVD releases of the Twilight series. It was advertised as just another high school movie, which happened to have Vanessa Hudgens- who I knew from High School Musical at that time. I remember seeing it once years ago and feeling letdown because it didn’t live up to my expectations based on the trailers. Coming back to it however years later, those feelings haven’t changed. In fact they’ve only gotten more complicated.
It’s a basic premise. New kid moves from the Midwest to a new high school in northern New Jersey. He didn’t fit in where he was from and this was a chance for him to start fresh with a clean slate. His new school is one of many in the northeast looking forward to the titular event. Vanessa’s character describes it as being as big as high school football is in Texas. New kid Will gets involved with it through his new friend Charolette (Aly from Aly & AJ) who has a new band with aspirations to win.
Another ongoing storyline is Will and Sa5m (Vanessa’s character) having to do a project for class where they have to get to know each other and do a presentation on who the other person is.
The bizarre part of this movie that was hard for me to get past: it was hard to get a handle on who these characters were. All of them felt like they had a secret or something to hide. Not that this isn't a common thing in movies or fiction, but the way they did it... it's like they're saying "this person has a secret but we're not going to give you any hints about what it might be but just remember there's a secret.. And it'll be revealed at th worst time possible, etc, etc.
I’ve always been one of those people who puts themselves in a character’s shoes or relates enough to them where I’m able to react to the ongoing events through their eyes. I had trouble doing that here based on this blasé approach.
Will was easy enough to figure out but it didn’t make the nature of his secret any less shocking. He clearly wasn’t close with his dad and would talk about how he was never around because he was touring with other bands as a roadie or some other menial job.
“Dewey” got thrown around a few times and it wasn’t until much later when it was explained as a homonym of DWI. i.e. driving while intoxicated. His dad apparently drove drunk and killed one of his classmates at his old school, so while he went to jail, Will Jr. was bullied and saddled with his mistake. Thanks to a fellow student who was jealous of his friendship with Charlotte, this secret was leaked to his new school and it was difficult to overcome all that a second time.
Vanessa Hudgens had played a few different high school archetypes in her time. Gabriella in High School Musical was a whiz kid but also very shy- until the sequels and that part of her character was completely discarded. Then later in the FOX live version of Grease, she was a really good Rizzo.
Sa5m (the 5 is silent) comes off as an introvert and she remains that way for much of the movie. She’s quiet and keeps to herself but slowly opens up to Will as they get to know each other. It’s really sad when she gets comfortable with him, she invites him to see her favorite movie and he doesn’t show. All because an outing with Charlotte and the band happened to be the same day.
Thankfully it doesn’t take too long for them to make up and become friends again. She does her school project using a mirror to signify how Will interacts with other people. He'll show you the part of him he wants you to see but it's not the true version and the only person he can't do that with is himself... some really weird poetic shit.
He does a cute little video where he interacts with a cardboard standee of her and it charms everyone including her. I especially like the part where they share a can of soda and he puts in two twizzlers as their straws- it's a throwback to the first time he saw her.
It’s just kinda strange how they include a scene of her singing ages ago in a talent show, she’s mad at her mom for showing him the video, and it’s never really mentioned again. Her singing the same song as the new lead vocalist of the band is a cool full circle moment but that backstory moment comes and goes so quickly that it feels like the writers didn’t feel like giving it more thought.
Also- what's with this movie and non-existent father figures? None of these three characters have their father shown on screen and they're only alluded to as some sort of emotional bagage. With one notable exception.
Charlotte was the most confusing of all. I mean, she’s more approachable and more fun to be around than Rhiannon in “Easy A”. But Sa5m spent a lot of the movie warning Will not to trust her and it takes way too long for that point to be made. We get the impression she’s starting a new band to get back at her old one. She relies on Will’s musical knowledge and advice about what the band needs to improve (including a live drummer, keyboards,a cellist and a horn section). She also spends her time outside school working with little kids in art class and working part-time at a diner.
Also- what's with this movie and non-existent father figures? None of these three characters have their father shown on screen and they're only alluded to as some sort of emotional bagage. With one notable exception.
Charlotte was the most confusing of all. I mean, she’s more approachable and more fun to be around than Rhiannon in “Easy A”. But Sa5m spent a lot of the movie warning Will not to trust her and it takes way too long for that point to be made. We get the impression she’s starting a new band to get back at her old one. She relies on Will’s musical knowledge and advice about what the band needs to improve (including a live drummer, keyboards,a cellist and a horn section). She also spends her time outside school working with little kids in art class and working part-time at a diner.
At first it sort of feels like they’re making this into a typical love triangle where Will can’t spend time with either of his new female friends without the other getting jealous. I’m glad they didn’t go that path but it was hard buying into his friendships with either girl without worrying that something was going to ruin it.
This isn’t to say her secrets were bad. They were just really poorly executed. Particularly when there’s a dramatic twist and she shuts him out without fully explaining why. Supposedly she was the typical head cheerleader type who didn’t interact with peers she thought were lower on the social ladder than she was. Then her dad got sick with cancer and she was using her senior year of high school to be a better person. This transformation wasn’t just hard for people like Sa5m to understand but also her ex boyfriend. Or at least that’s what’s hinted at.
This isn’t to say her secrets were bad. They were just really poorly executed. Particularly when there’s a dramatic twist and she shuts him out without fully explaining why. Supposedly she was the typical head cheerleader type who didn’t interact with peers she thought were lower on the social ladder than she was. Then her dad got sick with cancer and she was using her senior year of high school to be a better person. This transformation wasn’t just hard for people like Sa5m to understand but also her ex boyfriend. Or at least that’s what’s hinted at.
The actor playing him finished second during the previous season of the masked singer- to Vanessa- and they had no idea the other was on the show. So it was kind of a cool moment when they figured this out. They didn’t interact at all in the movie. But I’m glad his band didn’t win the competition because his character wasn’t very likable. He didn’t just want Charlotte back but he took some unscrupulous steps to make this happen. He leaked the information about Will’s dad to get back at him for hanging out with her. But what he did at Bandslam only served to feed a cliche that was completely unnecessary.
If Emmett Otter taught me anything, if you participate in a talent competition, ALWAYS have a backup plan. In this case, make sure you rehearse more than one song.
“Everything I Own” (originally by Bread, but I first heard it covered by *NSYNC on their first album) was featured in the trailers so I figured it would be the band’s song in the movie. But it was so infuriating that the band had an original song… and the rival band from the same high school performed the same song at the competition. The ex was hanging out with Charlotte a lot since her dad died and she left the band to figure out her life. Somehow during this time, he got a hold of this song and left the band in a very awkward position.
I mean, it does work out in the end. The band goes viral on MySpace (that’s how old this movie is- back when MySpace was still relevant) despite not winning the competition. Neither of the Martin Van Buren high school bands win. But the original song was SO GOOD and it was so sad not getting that same impact from the backup song.
One thing that made this movie worth coming back to all these years later- a David Bowie cameo.
Will spends a lot of the movie sending fan letters to him although I’m not sure if he actually sent them or if Bowie read them if he did. But he was among the people who saw the viral performance of the band’s performance and he contacts Will (i.e. the band’s manager) and it’s a super cool full circle moment. Considering he passed away a few years after the movie came out, it could possibly be one of his final appearances in the public eye. How many people actually saw this movie is hard to say but considering this was advertised with the Twilight series because they’re both Summit Entertainment films— this could’ve introduced him to a whole other generation. The soundtrack isn’t too shabby either, featuring some original songs as well as some older songs from him, Mick Jagger and others. Although as far as being a gateway film to introduce younger generations to great music, School of Rock might be a better choice.
Lisa Kudow as Will's mom was also a nice addition to the cast. Like with Aly Michalka, I liked her character in this movie WAY more than the one she played in "Easy A." She has her various quirks and is a bit of a "smother" (fans of the ABC series The Goldbergs will get the reference) at times. But her heart is undoubtedly in the right place.
Sunday, October 18, 2015
Ice Princess (2005)
Director: Tim Fywell
Writers: Meg Cabot (of "Princess Diaries" fame) and Hadley Davis (Scrubs, Spin City, Dawson's Creek)
Composer: Christophe Beck
Cast:
Casey Carlyle- Michelle Tratchenberg
Joan Carlyle- Joan Cusak
Tina Harwood- Kim Kattrall
Gen Harwood- Hayden Panettierre
Teddy "The Zambonie Driver" Harwood- Trevor Blumas
Nikki "The Jumping Shrimp" Fletcher- Kirsten Olson
Tiffany Lai- Jocelyn Lai
Zoey "Skater Thief" Bloch- Juliana Cannarozzo
Michelle Kwan & Brian Boitano as themselves (ESPN commentators)
Personal History
I don't know whether I first encountered this movie on Disney Channel or at Blockbuster. But Michelle Tratchenberg (aka "Harriet the Spy") attracted me to it initially. It was the first time I'd seen her since "Harriet the Spy" (another movie I loved as a kid, but hadn't seen all the way through in ages) and I wanted to catch up with her in this next role.
Since this movie, I believe she did "Entourage" for a couple shows and more or less disappeared. The last time I saw her was on "Hollywood Game Night." (Going through her bio, I do remember seeing her in "17 again" where she was Zac Efron's daughter).
I think I also wanted to see it because Hayden Panettierre played Kairi in "Kingdom Hearts" (I saw at least half a dozen Haley Joel Osment movies because he played Sora. I knew David Gallagher [who played Riku] from "7th Heaven" but hadn't seen him since I started playing the game).
And of course I love watching figure skating... which is the reason I ultimately watched this movie again [according to my Facebook timeline, it was Saturday 2/22/14... I remember it being a Saturday], got it on DVD and watched it the other night.
This is my way of kicking off the ISU Grand Prix series, which begins next week.
Originally, I was going to go through my history as an avid figure skating fan and how Evgeni Plushenko and the Sochi Olympics reawakened the fan in me...
but I decided it's better to focus on the movie.
I have another platform for all that craziness :P
Movie Discussion
"Ice Princess" is one of those sugary sweet predictable Disney movies... not that that's a bad thing. And at second glance, this movie is a few elements short of being a LifeTime movie. That's how dramatic it gets at certain points.
The movie revolves around science geek Casey Carlyle who has a knack for physics. Her teacher introduces a scholarship opportunity to her, which involves putting together a personal science project that involves physics. She's raised by a single mom and the two of them have spent years planning to get her into Harvard. It's that old cliché of "I want you to have a better life than I ever had." While it does from a place of love and good intentions, it also involves a lot of pressure about fulfilling expectations.
We get a similar storyline with one of our figure skaters and her mom/coach. Tina Harwood was a former athlete in the sport, but was banned from the sport after an incident at warm-up where it was believed she intentionally crashed into and injured another skater. She not only built a local skating rink from the ground, but she's also pushing her daughter, Gen, to become the champion she wasn't able to become. (By the time this ban was lifted, she was 26 and too old to compete... although these days, what constitutes as being "too old" is being challenged more often).
There is a lot of drama in this movie and had it been written any differently, it would have worked as a soap opera or made-for-TV movie. And it might not have been as fun or accessible as it became as a Disney movie.
The only feel-good cliché that's missing is Casey going on to win the final event of the movie... but she places well enough.
The fact that the story is co-written by Meg Cabot helps a lot. She wrote the Princess Diaries book series, so she understands how to write for teenagers for sure. As for parents... well... they're written as teenager see them, which is overbearing and expecting too much.
While Casey watches Sasha Cohen compete in the 2004 US National Championships, she has a lightbulb moment-- she can apply physics to figure skating.
She travels to the local rink and is able to convince Tina and the other skaters' parents to allow her to film them for her project.
And it really is an interesting idea that has some real-life applications to it. But as Casey says, the computer doesn't make the jumps. However much skaters train and replace bad habits with good ones, there's always room for error to creep in. Whether it's an equipment issue or a compromised mindset.
What ultimately gets the ball rolling that alters the lives of both mom-daughter teams... Casey's friend Ann suggests that she puts herself in the project to make it more personal. Casey had always skated for herself on the pond behind her house, but she'd never taken any lessons.
She enrolls in a novice class during the summer and steadily falls more and more in love with the sport to the point where she's competing.
When I saw the movie back in February 2014, I wanted to double-check a certain line of dialogue-- something about the importance of nailing the short program.
At first, Gen tells Casey not to freak until after the long program, but later she says you don't have a chance if you mess up in the short.
That situation wound up fitting Japan's Mao Osada at Sochi. She had a really bad showing in her short program and even though she nailed her free skate, the damage had already been done. Luckily for her, she was able to redeem herself a couple months later at the World championships. She's one of those skaters that is heralded as one of the best yet I'd only seen her perform well a handful of times. But when she's on her game, she is fantastic.
This time around, it was interesting to watch the girls doing all these jumps and being able to actually recognize what they were. I watched an YouTube video once where two athletes explained the difference between all the jumps... if I'm going to be watching the sport this much, I should learn to recognize what I'm looking at.
From a factual standpoint, the movie appears accurate to me. And these girls, whether or not it's the actresses or stunt-people making the jumps, are really talented.
Another thing I learned from this movie: you can't compete on new skates until you've spent at least 10 days breaking them in.
It was a turning point in the movie that I really didn't see as foul play until later on.
During a sectionals competition, Casey does an amazing short program, which included triples Tina and the skaters didn't know she had in her. Tina decides to take her out and get her new skates because one of them gave her trouble during her skate. On the surface, I still feel like she meant well by it, but the timing of it is pretty suspicious. Especially because Casey's mishap on the ice allowed Gen to get 4th place (just enough to qualify for regionals).
There are several times throughout the movie where Tina comes off as unlikeable. She may be harsh a lot of the time, but she is always honest with Casey, particularly about what she needs to succeed in this sport. You have to want it more than anything.
Although she does well with her scholarship project, she realizes, despite the mishaps between her and Tina, that she loves skating and doesn't want to give it up to fulfill her mom's dream for her.
This seemingly last minute decision to change the trajectory of her future puts a rift between them, but because this is a Disney movie, all the kinks get ironed out before the final curtain call.
This cliché of the parent seeing their kid perform their given talent and changing their mindset... I've seen it happen so many times.
It's just too bad that it doesn't always happen in real life [although here I'm thinking more about how some parents are unable to accept that their children are something other than heterosexual... while many do come around, there are several that do not and that leads to otherwise preventable suicides ] and it doesn't always happen in movies...
"Dead Poet's Society" is an amazing movie, but it's brought down by the fact Neil's parents can't accept him wanting to be an actor and his suicide is blamed on Mr. Keating just because he broadened his horizons and encouraged him to follow his own path. This is the only movie where I've seen this non-acceptance happen and I sometimes wonder if that's why this cliché exists in the first place.
I'm sorry that I'd been overly harsh with this post. But watching the movie the other day, I just had a lot of these thoughts coming out. Maybe because I know this movie isn't exactly brilliant and it's predictable so I wanted to be realistic for a change.
I also want to add that I somehow doubt that Michelle Kwan and Brian Boitano, let alone ESPN, would cover a local junior figure skating event :P but of course we need to have some cameos by important figures in the sport.
To this day, Michelle Kwan is still very much celebrated and looked up to by her contemporaries and younger up-and-coming athletes. Brian Boitano on the other hand... I think more people are obsessed with his sexuality than his actual talent. Unlike Johnny Weir [half the people who know of him roll their eyes at his flamboyance and I'm part of the other half that adores him for his talent and his open/honest persona], I don't know if Brian is doing shows anymore. Last I heard, he had a Cooking Channel show...
and just like that I'm back to positive. As much as I love to be positive about things, every now and then, there's a need for brutal honesty to balance it all out.
...also forgot to mention it has some great music. The opening song is "No One" by Aly & AJ and after seeing this movie, I picked the album up for the first time in years and found another reason to fall back in love with these songs.
It also features "Set Me Free"- one of my favorite Michelle Branch songs.
"Ray of Light" by Madonna is the music for Casey's short program. IMDB notes a mistake that skaters cannot use lyrics in their competitive programs. This was a rule that was changed in 2014 and last I heard, Johnny Weir & Tara Lipniski still aren't fans of it. For me, it depends on the program and the skater. If lyrics enhance the program, I'm all for them. Otherwise, it's a distraction.
Thursday, April 16, 2015
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Director: Amy Heckerling [her debut- also did "Clueless"]
Writer: Cameron Crowe [also wrote/directed another 80's classic, "Say Anything..."]
Type: R-rated teen high school movie
Cast:
Brad Hamilton- Judge Reinhold
Spicoli- Sean Penn
Linda Barrett- Phoebes Cates
Stacy Hamilton- Jennifer Jason Leigh
Rat- Brian Backer
Mike Damone- Robert Romanus
Mr. Hand- Ray Walston (RIP- 2001)
Honorable mentions:
Nicolas Cage as a random dude in the bleachers at the football game
Forest Whittaker as Ridgemont High football star, Charles Jefferson
[With Nicolas Cage, it was his first silver screen appearance. He was then known as Nicolas Coppola, lied about his age when he auditioned for Brad, but didn't get it. Supposedly, his audition was too dark and he was only 17, so he couldn't work as many hours.]
**All credits go to IMDB
Write-up:
Opening Monologue- Skepticism
The first time I heard about this movie was from my 11th grade Social Studies teacher, Mr. Jablon. I think he said it was either one of his favorite movies or it was "the best movie." Mind you, this was ten years ago and I spent a great part of that year stressing out about grades and SAT scores.
I saw the movie a year or so later, but came away with little memory of it. I guess I expected the John Hughes 80's experience and wound up disappointed. I also saw the censored version, so die-hard fans like my dad would say I didn't really experience the movie.
Ten years later, we watched the movie on DVD [therefore completely uncensored] at the shore house.
I'm still of the opinion that it's not the best 80's high school I'd ever seen. On the John Hughes scale, grading it against his movies, I'd say it's better than "Weird Science" but not better than "Sixteen Candles." ["Pretty in Pink" is the next notch higher, followed by "Ferris Bueller" and "The Breakfast Club"]
In my view, the 80's was defined by a lot of high school movies. A genre that was more or less perfected in this decade and would later become predictable in later years [unless they're the rarities like "Clueless" and "Easy A" that either defined a generation or told an original/not-so-clichéd story].
In 1982, the genre was just coming into focus, but not completely hashed out.
One key example: this movie really doesn't have a plot. It had a couple of story arcs happening simultaneously, but there was never a central focus.
That may be why it was so hard for me to get hooked on this movie.
Another criticism that I can't help but echo: all the actors look too old to play high school kids. It's sometimes hard to find it believable as a high school movie.
At least Molly Ringwald and Anthony Michael Hall were teenagers when they did "Sixteen Candles."
SPOILER ALERT
Plot Lines and Highlights
1) Sean Penn giving an iconic unforgettable performance as Jeff Spicoli- the residential Ridgemont High burn-out- literally living the high life and we're simply alone for the ride.
This was, really, the only part of the movie I really remembered. This character who was totally rad [yeah, I'm typing this with a surfer dude accent]. How he was at constant odds with the teacher, Mr. Hand- perhaps THE BSer you don't BS [to paraphrase Jane Lynch in "Role Models"].
Two scenes that stand out with the two of them:
a) Spicoli orders pizza in class and Mr. Hand proceeds to give it away to the rest of the students (without having to say "I hope you brought enough for everybody")
b) Mr. Hand "wasting" 8 hours of Spicoli's time, tutoring him so he can pass the class
Spicoli also got away with the biggest transgression in epic fashion. He was driving the football star's sports car and, while distracted, got it in a wreck. But then he got it painted and blamed it on the rival football team.
2) Rat and Stacy are looking for love in all the wrong places... before they find each other, lose each other, and find each other again
maybe it's pure coincidence that Amy Heckerling had a mall scene in "Clueless" after introducing the iconic 80's shopping mall to film with "Ridgemont High"... the mere idea of the shopping mall is older, but this was the one of the first instances in pop culture where it was synonymous with "teen hangout spot"
This setting happens to be where we're introduced to these two characters. Rat's an usher at the movie theater and Stacy works with her friend Linda in the food court. He sees her across the way and spends the movie pursuing her, with the help of his scalper friend, Mike.
Stacy, meanwhile, is eager to lose her virginity. Linda gives her a crash course in oral sex using a carrot in the school cafeteria. This never comes to fruition on screen, which is probably the right way to go on this.
Her first is with a stereotypical hunky guy, but based on her expression, it wasn't what she thought it would be. It just seemed awkward.
One thing I will say for this movie: it has a hard R-rating. Not a soft R-rating that could be downgraded to PG13 when it was introduced in 1984.
When she and Rat finally go out, he foolishly forgets his wallet and calls Mike to bring it. Later that night, they're alone in her bedroom. (One of multiple scenes where she takes off her shirt and is magically not wearing a bra... between that and her sexual urges... I'm all for women taking charge, but I found that part of her character very off-putting).
For whatever reason, he's not entirely into it and bails before they get any further.
Stacy's next target: Mike. Perhaps to make Rat jealous enough to crawl back to her. Instead, this results in a pregnancy, an abortion and a revelation for multiple characters (in the view of themselves, their co-stars and the audience).
*Linda turns all the girls in the school against Mike after finding out he knocked her up and wasn't exactly helpful afterwards.
*Stacy finally slows down and resolves to look for a real relationship rather than a cheap one-night stand.
*However goofy he may be at times, Brad is the best big brother EVER
3) Brad Hamilton's various misadventures
Due to multiple unfortunate circumstances, Brad cannot hold onto a job. He was probably one of the main honor students when he was in school. A real teacher's pet/goody-two-shoes type. But he cannot catch a break.
The most hilarious: he gets fired after cursing out an irate unsatisfied customer. Honestly, the [customer] dude had it coming, very rude. In Brad's defense, he was following procedure. Having him fill out paperwork about his dissatisfaction. If not for the whole, "Mister, if you don't shut up I'm gonna kick one hundred percent of your ass!" comment, he might have gotten away scot-free.
[still love that quote, I burst out laughing and cheered during that part of the movie]
The most famous scene that all the guys remember about this movie is the Phoebe Cates fantasy sequence. The edited version I saw on TV stopped it just as it began, so I didn't see much of it.
Speaking to the nudity, Phoebe Cates was perfection.
Can anyone really blame Brad for getting hot and heavy about it? [Her reaction to walking in on him was priceless as well as authentic surprise... IMDB mentions it on their trivia page].Despite all those iffy moments [although for me, I didn't mind him nearly as much as the other characters did], Brad shined in the post-abortion scene. We see Stacy after the fact in the recovery room, telling the nurse that her boyfriend is waiting for her outside [she can't go home by herself], and goes downstairs to find Brad waiting for her. She didn't come out and say where she was going, but he looked out for her like a good big brother should.
And that karma rewards him in the final scene. His 3rd job in the span of this movie [burger world and the pirate restaurant were the others], which happens to be at your clichéd 7-11 type place that frequently gets robbed. Lucky for him, Spicoli was shopping at the time and had the genius idea to throw hot coffee in the would-be robber's face.
After which, Brad grabs his gun and holds him there until the police arrive.
"Way to go, Rosewood. You're some kinda cop, you know that."
[My love of "Beverly Hill Cop" also led me to this movie and kinda had me disappointed with the overall product... but this actor did not].
Probably the best part about this movie:
We find out what happens to all the characters afterwards. It's not a luxury we're often allowed, but in this case, it was nice to get some closure. It certainly provided more laughs, something I found this movie short on.
- Rat & Stacy get together and are taking it slow.
- Mike gets more bad karma when his scalping ways catch up with him... involving Ozzy Osbourne tickets.
- Linda moves in with her UC Riverside Abnormal Psychology professor [why she's taking that course, I have no idea... unless she got the idea from that field trip to the morgue... led by the actor who played the Subway ghost in "Ghost"].
- Spicoli blows the money he got for saving Brooke Shields from drowning on a Van Halen concert- for his birthday party.
- And yes, Mr. Hand still believes everyone's on drugs. Probably did until the day he died in 2001... well, the actor did. But Mr. Hand is definitely one of the most memorable movie teachers.
Final Word: Music
Gotta hand it to the 80's for their music and how it's often used in movies in clever ways.
One of the songs led me to write this entry in the first place. "Somebody's Baby" by Jackson Browne was on the radio this morning and played at least three times through the course of the movie... almost like it was Stacy's theme song.
I forget which song it was, maybe "We've got the beat" by The Go-Go's. But we heard it on the radio when we went out for dinner after watching this movie and the DJ namedropped the movie after it finished playing.
And I'd since heard "American Girl" at least three times. :P it was just a couple months ago where Kurt & Blaine performed it on "Glee" and I loved it, thinking how I hadn't heard the song in years and they did a great job with it.
Saturday, January 31, 2015
The Perks of Being a Wallflower (book- 1999, movie- 2012)
Writer (book AND screenplay) /Director: Stephen Chbosky
Type: Coming-of-age high school dramedy
Cast:
Charlie- Logan Lerman
Charlie's mom- Kate Walsh
Charlie's dad- Dylan McDermott
Charlie's sister, Candace- Nina Dobrev
Sam- Emma Watson
Patrick- Ezra Miller
Brad- Johnny Simmons (young Neil from "Scott Pilgrim vs. the world")
Mary Elizabeth- Mae Whitman
Alice- Erin Wilhelmi
Aunt Helen- Melanie Lynskey
Dr. Burton- Joan Cusack
English teacher, Mr. Anderson- Paul Rudd
Personal Exposition- My Life as a Wallflower
Yet another topic that begs for an AA reference:
"Hi, my name is... and I'm a wallflower."
Other than my time participating in concert choir, high school musicals, that's probably the best way I could describe myself in high school. I was a wallflower... and I was okay with that. Most of this was to maintain my grades. Can't say that I'm a huge nerd because my grades were above-average (I believe I was 136/522) so I wasn't exactly among the best and brightest.
And the rest of it... I just have trouble making friends. I'm afraid to participate socially because when I was younger, I had a few experiences where I wanted to get involved and nobody wanted to hang out with me. Either because I was weird or they thought they were better than me.
Ultimately, that wound up defining a lot of my social life. I've had occasions where I made a friend or two, but a year later, they'd make other friends. People with stronger personalities that I didn't feel I could compete with for my former friend's attention. I got really lucky in middle school when I had classes with a couple of the same people and things naturally worked themselves out.
But high school kinda felt like hell because, except for lunch period one year and concert choir, I never hung out with anybody. Just didn't have that confidence to put myself out there to form friendships.
Then in college, my junior year, a couple people started asking me to hang out with them... they were a bunch of weirdoes too and I couldn't imagine why they were interested in me. But after a while (can't remember if it was weeks or months), I took a chance simply because I was in no position to turn down friends.
(So I guess you could say that was my "Cady Heron meets the Plastics" moment).
It's a little trickier in the workplace... because I want to maintain the façade of professionalism, but I also don't want to come off as a snob or worse because I don't socialize. What I need to do, I think, is learn how to read people so I know which ones I can be gregarious with and which I can't.
I'm not sure if that makes me more of a wallflower or a people-pleaser. :P
Exposition
I'd seen this book on the shelves for a couple years, intrigued by the title. But I think I need the extra push from the fact it'd become a movie... I didn't get to see it until it came out on DVD (thanks a lot, Hollywood, and your stupid wide-release-only movies).
According to my Goodreads page, I read this within a month. But if I didn't pace myself, I could have done it within a day. It was the most compelling book I'd read in a long time.
The first one I devoured and connected with since "Twilight" (fall of 2008) and the first that affected me personally since "The Giver" (2000-2001)- where it stayed with me for weeks afterwards.
I guess you could call it divine intervention or perfect timing, but it was like this book was something I needed to read because it corresponded with something I was going through.
Or what I had been going through a while... periods of depression where it was hard for me to participate in my own life... being unemployed, putting all this energy into the application and interviews processes, and my efforts going unrewarded... [this went on between 2011-2013 and I finally got "the call" last March]
The Book
Spoilers Ahead for who we hadn't read or seen this book/movieThe book wound up being different than I pictured it would be. I thought it'd just be about a shy protagonist struggling to survive high school. I didn't know Charlie had a history of depression or that his best friend had committed suicide. Or had any idea about the troubling secret in his past that he'd just come to grips with.
This was a heavy book in a lot of places. I remember multiple times where Charlie talked about bursting into tears, crying and such. Some was warranted as were the periods of depression and loneliness he experienced. I've had those kinds of moments myself. But after a while, I started to feel self-conscious about him being so emotional all the time. All while hoping "please don't have this be a reoccurring thing in the movie."
The book had a lot of sex and drugs. Not that I'm totally vanilla about all that. I just never grew up around all that. At least not until college where half the population were smokers and some of my roommates frequented frat parties and such. Charlie recalled a situation he was in where he was at a party and walked in on a girl being forced to give a guy a blow job. His new friend Patrick was gay and had a complicated relationship with a football player. After his [football player's] father caught them together, Patrick started taking Charlie to a certain park where he'd pick up random guys. And his other friend Sam used to have a reputation- when she was a freshman, she got taken to a lot of parties, got drunk and such...
They don't sugar coat much in this book. It's realistic, but not to the point where it's overbearing.
I remember reading it was one of those books that got challenged by school systems. With all the sex and drugs, it's hard to imagine why that might be.
There was also another scene that stuck with me. Throughout the book, Charlie's sister was really mean to him. Her boyfriend hit her once and their parents found out later on. But there was a point where she asked Charlie to take her to the abortion clinic.
What shocked me most was that their parents never found out about it, and in a way, that's a good thing. For both parties.
Despite everything going on, how challenging some of it was to get through emotionally, it was a cathartic read. I loved that Charlie was an avid reader. His narratives read the way I often write. They meander, touching on multiple topics at once, and just going on forever. And I didn't get sick of it. Loved the way he talked about the book he read for class (and that Mr. Anderson gave him for additional reading).
Mr. Anderson was such a great character. Probably will go down as one of my favorite fictional teachers because he was very supportive of Charlie. I liked him so much that I was afraid that of some big reveal later on that would undo this amazing teacher-student relationship he and Charlie had.
All the characters were defined so well that you could either relate to them because you saw yourself in them or people you knew.
The Movie
Because I'd already read and loved the book, I really didn't need to worry about not liking the movie. I already knew Logan Lerman from the Percy Jackson series. Of course Emma Watson from the "Harry Potter" series. Nina Dobrev ("Vampire Diaries"), who didn't look anything like how I read the character in the book, played his older sister.
Overall, I was very pleased with it as a teen movie and also as a book-to-movie adaptation. A couple of scenes didn't make the cut. Most were for good reason (toned down the sexual content and Charlie only had one major breakdown scene, which was in the epic 3rd act climax... I write that as if it were a cliché, but I felt like it was handled very well). One scene I kinda missed was Charlie taking his sister to the abortion clinic because that was a great bonding scene for them. Luckily, that was available via the DVD extras.
I liked how it was approached as a dark comedy where it knew where to be light, but also to go very dark. And it did so without completely losing me. Certain movie overdo it with the drama and I never felt that here.
The tunnel scene is probably the most iconic in the book, where Charlie says "I feel infinite"... that was done so well... it was really something special.
All of the actors played their roles so well. Especially loved Ezra Miller as Patrick. I'd only seen him in one other movie since ("Beware the Gonzo"), but he was born to play this character. Nobody else could have made him so hilarious and also grounded and angsty.
I'd never seen "Parenthood," but I can't imagine anyone else playing Mary Elizabeth (the opinionated Buddhist vegan) except Mae Whitman.
With him playing so many idiots, it's good to see Paul Rudd play a nice straight character with a really good moral compass... my only nitpick was that Mr. Anderson wasn't in the movie nearly enough for my tastes :P
Great use of music throughout. I'd only heard "Asleep" by The Smiths one other time... and it was part of the "Sucker Punch" soundtrack. Personally, I still prefer Emily Browning's voice to those lyrics :shrug: but that's just me.
Using "Come on Eileen" at the homecoming dance was inspired... especially how it was like Charlie's soundtrack for when he approached the dance floor to meet up with Sam and Patrick... and that's saying a lot because I HATED this song. I still don't like it a whole lot (sounds like a bunch of hillbillies who can barely carry a note), but I can't help appreciating in this one instance.
Then David Bowie's "Heroes" for "The Tunnel" scene... powerful stuff... wow
Aunt Helen and Dr. Burton
As for comparing to the two mediums (book vs. movie), the movie did one thing that the book really didn't... it explained Aunt Helen's presence in Charlie's life, their relationship and how it contributed to him being [pardon the language] fucked him up.
Towards the end of the book, something happened in the 3rd act that resulted in Charlie being hospitalized... to me, it was very vague and never fully explained.
I literally had to read on Goodreads.com (where I posted my review of the book) that Aunt Helen molested him. Then other people commented how he psychologically exhibited those signs of abuse throughout the book- how it explained him being so emotional and such...
Not so much the fact that it happened to him, but I was frustrated that so many people picked up on this and I had no idea. Frankly, it made me feel like an idiot because to them, it was glaringly obvious.
In my personal defense, I had never experienced any of that and never personally knew anyone who experienced any of that... so how am I supposed to pick up on that?
I was also thrown off because Charlie kept saying Aunt Helen was his favorite person and he had nothing but good things to say about her. [Another thing that should be very obvious... that sense of shame and betrayal because it was at the hands of someone you really cared about and trusted].
And the way I read her character in the book, she read a lot older to me... someone as beautiful and young as Melanie Lynskey surely didn't come to mind. I expected someone much older with some gray-hair at least.
They were kinda vague about it in the movie too, but there was a bit of pay-off at the end. Where it was addressed. The breakdown scene begins where Charlie and Sam start kissing and she's rubbing his leg, startling him to the point where he stops... this image flashes on the screen multiple times and we see Aunt Helen's face intermingle where she says "don't wake your sister"...
Joan Cusack is in this movie only for a couple scenes as his doctor at the hospital. I loved her in this. She had such a comforting on-screen presence. One of those actresses I'd only see so much of, but enjoy being around them when they're doing their thing on screen. She was really good to Charlie where he was having difficulties. Definitely a quality over quantity type of deal.
Other Comments
Both medias have their give and take. I miss hearing Charlie's thought-provoking narratives, how he spoke about the books he read. The characters were represented well in both versions.
One negative I can derive is that we really didn't see much of his parents. Not a lot of interaction between them. I watched one of the deleted scenes and the writer/director talked about how great Kate Walsh was in it... I appreciated that she was good in the scene. I just wish the movie spent more time on her and his dad. I never fully connected with either of them.
This is one of those movies where, later on, I would like to see it with commentary. Just getting to know some of the actors more. Getting inside the director's head... it's amazing to me that the guy who wrote the book got to write the screenplay and direct the movie... it's so rare where writers have so much freedom with their material.
Apparently, John Hughes had bought the rights to it... but the movie got put on hold after his death. I read that it was Emma Watson's favorite book and I'd been under the impression she was the reason the movie happened at all. As much as I love John Hughes, I'm glad that this movie went to someone else. His work is great and I will love him forever for his Brat Pack movies, but something like this... I don't think it would have worked out quite as well with him behind the camera.
This movie was ultimately the reason I watched "Rocky Horror Picture Show" a couple years ago... I wanted to understand the whole phenomenon of it... I still don't quite get it :P but I'm still interested in giving it another go. Only next time, I'd like to watch with other people and preferably at an earlier hour so I don't FALL ASLEEP halfway through.
The last thing I remembered was the "Touch Me" musical number and I woke up halfway through the cabaret scene... I didn't know what the fuck was going on! Reading the synopsis later on, it said how they were coerced into it... I missed that entirely, so mentally, I wasn't engaged for the final 40 minutes.
I promise, I'm really good with weird :P but I'd like another chance to wrap my head around all that.
This is going to sound a little messed up, but I'll try to explain this:
This is one of those movies I like to watch when I'm going through something... where I'm feeling down on myself, lacking energy, PMSing or whatever reason... in an odd sort of way, it makes me feel better...
Not so much the "other people have it worse than you" cliché as the fact that it feels kinda good to explore things I'm feeling through these characters. It's healing :shrug:
That's all I can say, really... plus the fact I should see it with my friends, Sam and Dave, at one point so we can experience all those feels together :P
Saturday, November 22, 2014
1. The Breakfast Club (1985)
Code-name: Sporto
Writer/Director: John Hughes (RIP 2009)
Type: Brat Pack High School dramedy
Cast:
John "The Criminal" Bender- Judd Nelson
Claire "The Princess" Standish- Molly Ringwald
Brian "The Brain" Johnson- Anthony Michael Hall
Andrew "The Athlete" Clark- Emilio Estavez
Allison "The Basketcase" Reynolds- Ally Sheedy
Vice Principal Richard Vernon- Paul Gleason (RIP 2006)
Carl the Janitor- John Kapelos
[Honorable Mentions]
Brian's mom and sister played by Anthony Michael Hall's family members
John Hughes as Brian's father (at the end of the movie)
Write-up:
Introduction
Really IMDB? 7.9 out of 10?
While I believe there's no such thing as a perfect movie, it deserves at least a 9 on that scale.
Once upon a time, a long time ago [so long ago I cannot remember what year it was], my dad introduced me to this movie when it was on cable. Said it was a really good 80's movie. And eventually I fell in love with it.
Years later (I'd guess between 3-5), he got me the DVD for Christmas. To this day, it's still my favorite "surprise" present [something I didn't put on my list but the fact he bought it because he knew I'd like it... that's priceless]
The Story
[I'll include my trademark SPOILER ALERT, but I'm just gonna say now... if you hadn't seen this movie, shame on you. If you've seen it and didn't like it, well, we might need to talk about seeing other people]
It was Saturday, March 24, 1984. Five kids were doing detention at the Shermer High School library. All came from a different clique system and had different reasons for being punished. During which time, they're under the watchful eye of Richard Vernon, the authoritative vice principal.
At first, they react to one another as you'd expect. The popular kids has a kinship. The discipline case is making things difficult. The nerd is the only one interested in doing the assigned 1,000 word essay. And the quiet one doesn't say a word for the first half hour of the movie.
But as they start to spend time together, they realize they have more in common than originally thought. They have issues with their parents. They have issues with peer pressure within their clique and we, the audience, learn what brought each of them to this very room.
The Characters and Actors
I'd since seen Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink," and (more recently), "The Pick-up Artist" (not one of RDJ's best movies). I also watched the first few episodes of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" to see what she was like grown up.
This still remains my favorite role of hers because she played the "rich girl" so well.
Claire cut class to go shopping and, naturally, believes that she's above getting thrown into detention. She also claims that her parents use her to get back at each other.
Growing up on the "other side of the tracks," John Bender focuses a lot of his energy on her in particular. But he eventually gets around to everyone in the room (with the exception of Allison, whom he defends a couple times). Clearly, this isn't his first rodeo. He pulled a fire alarm to get in here and his smart mouth winds up earning him 2 more months.
After he elaborates about his home life, an exchange naturally laced with sarcasm, his continual lashing out makes a little more sense.
Judd Nelson did this role so well that John Hughes didn't realize he was staying in character between takes. I'd since seen him in "St. Elmo's Fire" (where he is actually a pleasant good looking guy, shockingly) and in a few random cameos.
Also saw Emilo Estavez in "St. Elmo's Fire" where he spent the movie pursing Andie MacDowell... but Andrew will always be the character I'll identify him with (plus the fact he'd done his share of directing in recent years. Gotta love it when actors branch out behind the camera).
He's the jock. In this case, a wrestler. He comes to Claire's defense multiple times, but his posturing doesn't shake John Bender. Andrew got into detention for assaulting someone ("I taped Larry Lester's buns together") on his team. He believed his father was disappointed in him for never "cutting loose" on someone, but after this incident, he gets a lecture... since something like this could blow his scholarship.
Anthony Michael Hall, like Molly Ringwald, was part of the 80's "John Hughes" experience because they starred in multiple movies of his. Both were the only teens on set playing teenagers. The biggest difference: Anthony Michael Hall made the decision to escape typecasting sooner. He'd since played more adult roles. Ironically, he became the type of characters that beat him up in his "former life" ["Edward Scissorhands" is a prime example- totally unrecognizable after that growth spirit]
Unlike his character in "Sixteen Candles," Brian Johnson lacks the confidence and has more to him than just being the "weird kid." He's the nerd who prefers to color in between the lines than risk the destruction of his permanent record. He got detention for bringing a flare gun to school that went off prematurely.
Which leaves Ally Sheedy, who plays Allison. [Interestingly, she and Judd Nelson are a couple in "St. Elmo's Fire" that later breaks apart... their characters in this movie have much more in common]
For the first half hour of the movie, she doesn't say a word. Then when she starts talking, it becomes clear that she's a compulsive liar whose home life is unsatisfying. Of the group, she's probably the biggest oddball [probably the biggest reason she's my dad's favorite character]. Which makes it funnier when all of them run off to smoke pot and she's the only one not participating.
Judd Nelson appeared on "Psych" once. Ally Sheedy appeared a couple times as a pretty twisted villain that Shawn Spencer tangled with-- almost always on a season finale.
As for why Allison is in detention... the reason's so hilarious that I'm not even gonna say it. That's for everyone to find out or (those who'd seen the movie) to have a real LaughOutLoud moment while I continue.
Paul Gleason played a pretty good dirt bag in "Trading Places," but this was my first encounter with him. THE defining role. Definitely has a no-BS, take-no-prisoners attitude, and is chock full of good quotes.
Two good ones:
"don't mess with the bull, you'll get the horns"
and "when I get older, these kids are going to take care of me" [to which the janitor adds "I wouldn't count on it"]
Carl is such a small character, but he still makes his mark. Primarily as the person who serves as the listening ear for our aggrieved vice principal. And how he presents himself to the students... a little creepy.
Talking about how he looks into lockers, reads notes and listens in on their conversations.
Yeah, Big Brother is watching and he has a career in the custodial arts.
Let's Get Psychological
I touched on this in my "Ferris Bueller" review, but with "The Breakfast Club," there's more to the story.
It's always cool when you get to watch movies in class, especially ones that aren't educational on the surface, but you see them a different way afterwards.
We were covering Eric Erikson's personality theories in Psychology class. The last one was "Identity vs. Isolation," which was extremely relevant to us since it was a good high school theme.
While watching, we paid attention to the reasons why each of the teens got detention. And also noted that each have their own roles based on their upbringing and who their friends are. The principle goes that if you don't find who you are between the ages of 12-18, you might have trouble later in life.
Everyone experiences pressure from somebody.
Andrew gets pressure from his dad (evident to the point where Allison considers his "inability to think for himself" is his biggest flaw).
Claire gets pressure from her friends to go along with what they say. She also suffers from the off dynamic of her parents. When her mom tells her not to do something, she does it anyway because her dad says it's okay.
Brian gets pressure from his parents about his grades... something that ultimately leads to his getting detention.
John Bender comes from an abusive household. His dad burns him with cigars for spilling paint in the garage and gets him a carton of cigarettes for Christmas. Which explains why he lashes out at pretty much everyone who presents a challenge.
With Allison... things are different... she claims that she doesn't have any friends and her parents ignore her... to this day, she remains the most mysterious member of the quintet.
And where does that leave me?I like to think of myself as a combination of Allison and Brian. I felt like a weirdo who didn't really belong to a clique. I was in concert choir, auditioned for every play and musical, but never got a role. Not even a call-back.
I only had a couple friends, but with some of them, I always felt like I was on the outside of their social circles.
But regarding back story, I had the most in common with Brian. I don't always like myself, especially in high school.I felt so much pressure with my grades. I went through bouts of depression my freshman and junior years of high school when I was getting C's instead of A's and B's in certain classes. [Goddam honors courses!]
The Music
It's the 80's... my favorite musical decade/decade of pop culture in general... so obviously, the music is good.
But to my memory, only two compositions stand out. [Once I post this entry, I'll need to change that ASAP]
The first: "We are not alone" by Karla DeVito
This plays during the scene towards the end after the half hour long "therapy" session where they all cut loose and dance.
(And actually, when I listen to "I want you to want me," I think about this scene, especially how Claire kicks it up in those cute boots)
The second...
it kinda speaks for itself, but I'll go into anyway.
I can pick a #1 movie, but I'm such a connoisseur of music that it's literally impossible for me to pick "the best song ever"...
but "(Don't you) Forget About Me" is definitely top shelf.
You hear the song and you automatically think about this movie.
Simple Minds is a band synonymous with 80's music (and for whatever reason, I haven't checked into any of their other music). I find it hard to believe that people (Billy Idol among them) turned this song down, but then it wouldn't be as iconic without the voices of this Brit synth pop band (excuse me, Scottish new wave).
It would be several years until I heard the whole song. I only heard the parts we see/hear in the beginning and end of this movie.
My love for this song has also extended to other movies.
The moment in my "Easy A" review where I didn't elaborate on the awesomeness of the final scene...
What made that amazing movie one of my favorites...
Olive's wrapping up the end of her podcast and suddenly, this song kicks in and I was practically cheering in the theater :P if I remember right, it was just my mom and me.
"Pitch Perfect," I found to be a really badly written movie. Between all the vomit and the fact the acapella heiress has the Bellas literally singing the same songs at every competition.
After the 3rd or 4th time I heard the beginning of "I saw the sign," I wanted to smack her... "Glee" never pulled that idiotic crap
Anna Kendrick can sing really well and I loved her "Cups" audition.
Skylar Astin talking about "The Breakfast Club," Anna Kendrick crying at the end of the movie (the first time she saw any movie in its entirety), and the Bellas incorporating "(Don't you) Forget about me" in their final mash-up number... that saved the movie for me. I had to get the soundtrack just for that and I've since watched the movie a bunch more times...
just learned to look away during the vomit scenes (REALLY hope they didn't continue into the sequel).
I saw an IMDB message board question under ""Pitch Perfect" asking if people in the 20's even like The Breakfast Club. Frankly, I find that insulting... that's a big fact YES for me, clearly
And apparently it was nominated for AFI's top 100 movie songs :facepalm:
and also for their top 100 movies of all time...
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?
Thank you, John Hughes, for your amazing writing!
As far as John Hughes movies go...
Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Some Kind of Wonderful...
...all have their moments, but they aren't at this particular caliber
but what makes "The Breakfast Club" outrank "Ferris Bueller"... it simply comes down to the script and the quotability.
With a few exceptions, I know "The Breakfast Club" backwards and forwards. I also incorporate more quotes from this movie into my everyday life than any other movie.
Most of which, my family (who loves this movie as well) knows and uses themselves.
One favorite: "Could you describe the ruckus?" which we say every time the word "ruckus" is uttered in dialogue. It's also the automatic response we use when one of us uses the word "ruckus"
Once or twice, my dad has used "Answer the question!" in the same tone the characters used when they were prodding Claire about her virginity
["No! I never did it!"... Allison- "I never did it either. I'm not a nymphomaniac. I'm a compulsive liar"]
My favorite: "I think your old man and my old man should get together and go bowling"
...I adapt this quote accordingly when I see two people who look like they've have a lot in common.
Other favorites include:
*"So it's social. Demented, and sad, but social"
*"I have such a deep admiration for guys who roll around the floor with other guys" (I once used this for a journalism assignment on wrestling)
*"I think I'm gonna try for a scholarship" (but gotta say 'scholarship' the way Judd Nelson did)
*"Well, Brian, this is a very nutritious lunch. All the food groups are represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rodgers?" (when the situation calls for it, I do use the "food groups" line)
*John Bender's entire dialogue on "Life at 'Big Bry's house'" (I parodied this when Joe took over for Steve on "Blue's Clues")
Why is this my #1 favorite movie of all-time?
Where to even begin? And I spent nearly 3 years leading up to this point.
For starters, I'll focus on the movie itself.
It's one of those "perfect" movies where I would not change a thing about it.
The writing is solid. There's a perfect blend of drama and comedy. In fact, I think this is considered a "drama" but there's enough breaks in between to break the tension.
The pacing is solid, never too slow for too long. The scene that drags the most is the "circle therapy session" that lasts for a good chunk of the 3rd act, but even then, there are moments of relief in between to keep things interesting.
The acting is so good and the actors are so good in their roles...I wouldn't trade anyone for anybody. Change even one person, no matter how good the alternatives are, the whole dynamic would be thrown.
And it also has the best movie theme song EVER (...well, "Purple Rain" might still win out, but "(Don't you) Forget about me" is easier to put on the radio and fit into other movies).
As for beyond the movie... the overall impact it's had on me and my life... that's something worth celebrating with this "pristine" honor.
Thanks to a recorded VHS full of MTV music videos circa 1987 (thanks, dad!), I was a fan of 80's music at an early age.
"The Breakfast Club" cemented my love of 80's MOVIES when I was a teenager (maybe even earlier). Heck, it was one of my first adult movies (probably my first R-rated movie... other than the language and pot use, it could pass for PG13). Making the transition from cartoons to live action was hard for me, so this helped me realize that there is fun to be had with live action movies as well.
It introduced me to John Hughes... I still miss the guy terribly whenever I watch his movies... None really had this degree of *impact*, but the familiar faces made things easy.
Molly Ringwald especially. "Sixteen Candles" has its moments as does "Pretty in Pink."
Anthony Michael Hall might have even saved "Sixteen Candles" for me on a couple occasions. He kept things interesting ;)
The same can't exactly be said for "Weird Science." RDJ was the only reason I revisited it after the first time (going back at least 5 years previous). It's not bad once you accept that the "science" aspect can't be fully explained.
Perhaps more importantly, it introduced me to the concept of the Brat Pack.
The 50's had the Rat Pack (Frank Sintara, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. Joey Bishop, etc)
Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell and the Wilson brothers have the Frat Pack.
The 80's have the Rat Pack, which extends mostly to anyone who's been in a John Hughes movie.
St. Elmo's Fire, I once watched years ago cuz I thought it was a John Hughes movie...
It has 3 members of The Breakfast Club, but he had no involvement in it.
Andrew McCarthy was in Pretty in Pink, so that helped foster that illusion.
And if you want to extend beyond those first couple degrees, The Breakfast Club did eventually lead me to Less Than Zero.
The initial spark of interest came from The Bangles' "Hazy Shade of Winter" movie video, but the gaze of curiosity was widened by the involvement of Andrew McCarthy (who I had enjoyed in "Pretty in Pink") and RDJ (who I briefly glimpsed as part of the cast list, one of maybe 3 names I recognized)...
(at this point, I really should make that my next blog entry just so I can stop talking about it every other entry :P)...
I'm currently watching the pilot of "Glee"... first time I'm seeing it since the first time all those years ago... feels only right to revisit it since the final season starts next year...
I think I owe my love of "Glee" to this movie as well, but then, that's another entry altogether.
The End
And so my 101 favorite movies have all been accounted for...
and it's been a heck of a ride discussing them. In the case of some, revisiting them for the first time in years and others, getting to know them better after only one or two goes.
From this point forward, I hope to do one blog entry a week as I have been doing...
and what they're about, most likely, will not be predetermined.Everything from discussing new movies I saw (either in theaters or on HBO), covering award shows (Golden Globes and Oscars), to discussing the people involved in their making. Whatever piques my interest.
And I will also take requests... within reason. Meaning I'm not going to invest in a Neftlix account just to review a certain movie. ;)
Until next time...
Writer/Director: John Hughes (RIP 2009)
Type: Brat Pack High School dramedy
Cast:
John "The Criminal" Bender- Judd Nelson
Claire "The Princess" Standish- Molly Ringwald
Brian "The Brain" Johnson- Anthony Michael Hall
Andrew "The Athlete" Clark- Emilio Estavez
Allison "The Basketcase" Reynolds- Ally Sheedy
Vice Principal Richard Vernon- Paul Gleason (RIP 2006)
Carl the Janitor- John Kapelos
[Honorable Mentions]
Brian's mom and sister played by Anthony Michael Hall's family members
John Hughes as Brian's father (at the end of the movie)
Write-up:
Introduction
Really IMDB? 7.9 out of 10?
While I believe there's no such thing as a perfect movie, it deserves at least a 9 on that scale.
Once upon a time, a long time ago [so long ago I cannot remember what year it was], my dad introduced me to this movie when it was on cable. Said it was a really good 80's movie. And eventually I fell in love with it.
Years later (I'd guess between 3-5), he got me the DVD for Christmas. To this day, it's still my favorite "surprise" present [something I didn't put on my list but the fact he bought it because he knew I'd like it... that's priceless]
The Story
[I'll include my trademark SPOILER ALERT, but I'm just gonna say now... if you hadn't seen this movie, shame on you. If you've seen it and didn't like it, well, we might need to talk about seeing other people]
It was Saturday, March 24, 1984. Five kids were doing detention at the Shermer High School library. All came from a different clique system and had different reasons for being punished. During which time, they're under the watchful eye of Richard Vernon, the authoritative vice principal.
At first, they react to one another as you'd expect. The popular kids has a kinship. The discipline case is making things difficult. The nerd is the only one interested in doing the assigned 1,000 word essay. And the quiet one doesn't say a word for the first half hour of the movie.
But as they start to spend time together, they realize they have more in common than originally thought. They have issues with their parents. They have issues with peer pressure within their clique and we, the audience, learn what brought each of them to this very room.
The Characters and Actors
I'd since seen Molly Ringwald in "Sixteen Candles," "Pretty in Pink," and (more recently), "The Pick-up Artist" (not one of RDJ's best movies). I also watched the first few episodes of "The Secret Life of the American Teenager" to see what she was like grown up.
This still remains my favorite role of hers because she played the "rich girl" so well.
Claire cut class to go shopping and, naturally, believes that she's above getting thrown into detention. She also claims that her parents use her to get back at each other.
Growing up on the "other side of the tracks," John Bender focuses a lot of his energy on her in particular. But he eventually gets around to everyone in the room (with the exception of Allison, whom he defends a couple times). Clearly, this isn't his first rodeo. He pulled a fire alarm to get in here and his smart mouth winds up earning him 2 more months.
After he elaborates about his home life, an exchange naturally laced with sarcasm, his continual lashing out makes a little more sense.
Judd Nelson did this role so well that John Hughes didn't realize he was staying in character between takes. I'd since seen him in "St. Elmo's Fire" (where he is actually a pleasant good looking guy, shockingly) and in a few random cameos.
Also saw Emilo Estavez in "St. Elmo's Fire" where he spent the movie pursing Andie MacDowell... but Andrew will always be the character I'll identify him with (plus the fact he'd done his share of directing in recent years. Gotta love it when actors branch out behind the camera).
He's the jock. In this case, a wrestler. He comes to Claire's defense multiple times, but his posturing doesn't shake John Bender. Andrew got into detention for assaulting someone ("I taped Larry Lester's buns together") on his team. He believed his father was disappointed in him for never "cutting loose" on someone, but after this incident, he gets a lecture... since something like this could blow his scholarship.
Anthony Michael Hall, like Molly Ringwald, was part of the 80's "John Hughes" experience because they starred in multiple movies of his. Both were the only teens on set playing teenagers. The biggest difference: Anthony Michael Hall made the decision to escape typecasting sooner. He'd since played more adult roles. Ironically, he became the type of characters that beat him up in his "former life" ["Edward Scissorhands" is a prime example- totally unrecognizable after that growth spirit]
Unlike his character in "Sixteen Candles," Brian Johnson lacks the confidence and has more to him than just being the "weird kid." He's the nerd who prefers to color in between the lines than risk the destruction of his permanent record. He got detention for bringing a flare gun to school that went off prematurely.
Which leaves Ally Sheedy, who plays Allison. [Interestingly, she and Judd Nelson are a couple in "St. Elmo's Fire" that later breaks apart... their characters in this movie have much more in common]
For the first half hour of the movie, she doesn't say a word. Then when she starts talking, it becomes clear that she's a compulsive liar whose home life is unsatisfying. Of the group, she's probably the biggest oddball [probably the biggest reason she's my dad's favorite character]. Which makes it funnier when all of them run off to smoke pot and she's the only one not participating.
Judd Nelson appeared on "Psych" once. Ally Sheedy appeared a couple times as a pretty twisted villain that Shawn Spencer tangled with-- almost always on a season finale.
As for why Allison is in detention... the reason's so hilarious that I'm not even gonna say it. That's for everyone to find out or (those who'd seen the movie) to have a real LaughOutLoud moment while I continue.
Paul Gleason played a pretty good dirt bag in "Trading Places," but this was my first encounter with him. THE defining role. Definitely has a no-BS, take-no-prisoners attitude, and is chock full of good quotes.
Two good ones:
"don't mess with the bull, you'll get the horns"
and "when I get older, these kids are going to take care of me" [to which the janitor adds "I wouldn't count on it"]
Carl is such a small character, but he still makes his mark. Primarily as the person who serves as the listening ear for our aggrieved vice principal. And how he presents himself to the students... a little creepy.
Talking about how he looks into lockers, reads notes and listens in on their conversations.
Yeah, Big Brother is watching and he has a career in the custodial arts.
Let's Get Psychological
I touched on this in my "Ferris Bueller" review, but with "The Breakfast Club," there's more to the story.
It's always cool when you get to watch movies in class, especially ones that aren't educational on the surface, but you see them a different way afterwards.
We were covering Eric Erikson's personality theories in Psychology class. The last one was "Identity vs. Isolation," which was extremely relevant to us since it was a good high school theme.
While watching, we paid attention to the reasons why each of the teens got detention. And also noted that each have their own roles based on their upbringing and who their friends are. The principle goes that if you don't find who you are between the ages of 12-18, you might have trouble later in life.
Everyone experiences pressure from somebody.
Andrew gets pressure from his dad (evident to the point where Allison considers his "inability to think for himself" is his biggest flaw).
Claire gets pressure from her friends to go along with what they say. She also suffers from the off dynamic of her parents. When her mom tells her not to do something, she does it anyway because her dad says it's okay.
Brian gets pressure from his parents about his grades... something that ultimately leads to his getting detention.
John Bender comes from an abusive household. His dad burns him with cigars for spilling paint in the garage and gets him a carton of cigarettes for Christmas. Which explains why he lashes out at pretty much everyone who presents a challenge.
With Allison... things are different... she claims that she doesn't have any friends and her parents ignore her... to this day, she remains the most mysterious member of the quintet.
And where does that leave me?I like to think of myself as a combination of Allison and Brian. I felt like a weirdo who didn't really belong to a clique. I was in concert choir, auditioned for every play and musical, but never got a role. Not even a call-back.
I only had a couple friends, but with some of them, I always felt like I was on the outside of their social circles.
But regarding back story, I had the most in common with Brian. I don't always like myself, especially in high school.I felt so much pressure with my grades. I went through bouts of depression my freshman and junior years of high school when I was getting C's instead of A's and B's in certain classes. [Goddam honors courses!]
The Music
It's the 80's... my favorite musical decade/decade of pop culture in general... so obviously, the music is good.
But to my memory, only two compositions stand out. [Once I post this entry, I'll need to change that ASAP]
The first: "We are not alone" by Karla DeVito
This plays during the scene towards the end after the half hour long "therapy" session where they all cut loose and dance.
(And actually, when I listen to "I want you to want me," I think about this scene, especially how Claire kicks it up in those cute boots)
The second...
it kinda speaks for itself, but I'll go into anyway.
I can pick a #1 movie, but I'm such a connoisseur of music that it's literally impossible for me to pick "the best song ever"...
but "(Don't you) Forget About Me" is definitely top shelf.
You hear the song and you automatically think about this movie.
Simple Minds is a band synonymous with 80's music (and for whatever reason, I haven't checked into any of their other music). I find it hard to believe that people (Billy Idol among them) turned this song down, but then it wouldn't be as iconic without the voices of this Brit synth pop band (excuse me, Scottish new wave).
It would be several years until I heard the whole song. I only heard the parts we see/hear in the beginning and end of this movie.
My love for this song has also extended to other movies.
The moment in my "Easy A" review where I didn't elaborate on the awesomeness of the final scene...
What made that amazing movie one of my favorites...
Olive's wrapping up the end of her podcast and suddenly, this song kicks in and I was practically cheering in the theater :P if I remember right, it was just my mom and me.
"Pitch Perfect," I found to be a really badly written movie. Between all the vomit and the fact the acapella heiress has the Bellas literally singing the same songs at every competition.
After the 3rd or 4th time I heard the beginning of "I saw the sign," I wanted to smack her... "Glee" never pulled that idiotic crap
Anna Kendrick can sing really well and I loved her "Cups" audition.
Skylar Astin talking about "The Breakfast Club," Anna Kendrick crying at the end of the movie (the first time she saw any movie in its entirety), and the Bellas incorporating "(Don't you) Forget about me" in their final mash-up number... that saved the movie for me. I had to get the soundtrack just for that and I've since watched the movie a bunch more times...
just learned to look away during the vomit scenes (REALLY hope they didn't continue into the sequel).
I saw an IMDB message board question under ""Pitch Perfect" asking if people in the 20's even like The Breakfast Club. Frankly, I find that insulting... that's a big fact YES for me, clearly
And apparently it was nominated for AFI's top 100 movie songs :facepalm:
and also for their top 100 movies of all time...
WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?
Thank you, John Hughes, for your amazing writing!
As far as John Hughes movies go...
Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink, Weird Science, Some Kind of Wonderful...
...all have their moments, but they aren't at this particular caliber
but what makes "The Breakfast Club" outrank "Ferris Bueller"... it simply comes down to the script and the quotability.
With a few exceptions, I know "The Breakfast Club" backwards and forwards. I also incorporate more quotes from this movie into my everyday life than any other movie.
Most of which, my family (who loves this movie as well) knows and uses themselves.
One favorite: "Could you describe the ruckus?" which we say every time the word "ruckus" is uttered in dialogue. It's also the automatic response we use when one of us uses the word "ruckus"
Once or twice, my dad has used "Answer the question!" in the same tone the characters used when they were prodding Claire about her virginity
["No! I never did it!"... Allison- "I never did it either. I'm not a nymphomaniac. I'm a compulsive liar"]
My favorite: "I think your old man and my old man should get together and go bowling"
...I adapt this quote accordingly when I see two people who look like they've have a lot in common.
Other favorites include:
*"So it's social. Demented, and sad, but social"
*"I have such a deep admiration for guys who roll around the floor with other guys" (I once used this for a journalism assignment on wrestling)
*"I think I'm gonna try for a scholarship" (but gotta say 'scholarship' the way Judd Nelson did)
*"Well, Brian, this is a very nutritious lunch. All the food groups are represented. Did your mom marry Mr. Rodgers?" (when the situation calls for it, I do use the "food groups" line)
*John Bender's entire dialogue on "Life at 'Big Bry's house'" (I parodied this when Joe took over for Steve on "Blue's Clues")
Why is this my #1 favorite movie of all-time?
Where to even begin? And I spent nearly 3 years leading up to this point.
For starters, I'll focus on the movie itself.
It's one of those "perfect" movies where I would not change a thing about it.
The writing is solid. There's a perfect blend of drama and comedy. In fact, I think this is considered a "drama" but there's enough breaks in between to break the tension.
The pacing is solid, never too slow for too long. The scene that drags the most is the "circle therapy session" that lasts for a good chunk of the 3rd act, but even then, there are moments of relief in between to keep things interesting.
The acting is so good and the actors are so good in their roles...I wouldn't trade anyone for anybody. Change even one person, no matter how good the alternatives are, the whole dynamic would be thrown.
And it also has the best movie theme song EVER (...well, "Purple Rain" might still win out, but "(Don't you) Forget about me" is easier to put on the radio and fit into other movies).
As for beyond the movie... the overall impact it's had on me and my life... that's something worth celebrating with this "pristine" honor.
Thanks to a recorded VHS full of MTV music videos circa 1987 (thanks, dad!), I was a fan of 80's music at an early age.
"The Breakfast Club" cemented my love of 80's MOVIES when I was a teenager (maybe even earlier). Heck, it was one of my first adult movies (probably my first R-rated movie... other than the language and pot use, it could pass for PG13). Making the transition from cartoons to live action was hard for me, so this helped me realize that there is fun to be had with live action movies as well.
It introduced me to John Hughes... I still miss the guy terribly whenever I watch his movies... None really had this degree of *impact*, but the familiar faces made things easy.
Molly Ringwald especially. "Sixteen Candles" has its moments as does "Pretty in Pink."
Anthony Michael Hall might have even saved "Sixteen Candles" for me on a couple occasions. He kept things interesting ;)
The same can't exactly be said for "Weird Science." RDJ was the only reason I revisited it after the first time (going back at least 5 years previous). It's not bad once you accept that the "science" aspect can't be fully explained.
Perhaps more importantly, it introduced me to the concept of the Brat Pack.
The 50's had the Rat Pack (Frank Sintara, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. Joey Bishop, etc)
Ben Stiller, Jack Black, Will Ferrell and the Wilson brothers have the Frat Pack.
The 80's have the Rat Pack, which extends mostly to anyone who's been in a John Hughes movie.
St. Elmo's Fire, I once watched years ago cuz I thought it was a John Hughes movie...
It has 3 members of The Breakfast Club, but he had no involvement in it.
Andrew McCarthy was in Pretty in Pink, so that helped foster that illusion.
And if you want to extend beyond those first couple degrees, The Breakfast Club did eventually lead me to Less Than Zero.
The initial spark of interest came from The Bangles' "Hazy Shade of Winter" movie video, but the gaze of curiosity was widened by the involvement of Andrew McCarthy (who I had enjoyed in "Pretty in Pink") and RDJ (who I briefly glimpsed as part of the cast list, one of maybe 3 names I recognized)...
(at this point, I really should make that my next blog entry just so I can stop talking about it every other entry :P)...
I'm currently watching the pilot of "Glee"... first time I'm seeing it since the first time all those years ago... feels only right to revisit it since the final season starts next year...
I think I owe my love of "Glee" to this movie as well, but then, that's another entry altogether.
The End
And so my 101 favorite movies have all been accounted for...
and it's been a heck of a ride discussing them. In the case of some, revisiting them for the first time in years and others, getting to know them better after only one or two goes.
From this point forward, I hope to do one blog entry a week as I have been doing...
and what they're about, most likely, will not be predetermined.Everything from discussing new movies I saw (either in theaters or on HBO), covering award shows (Golden Globes and Oscars), to discussing the people involved in their making. Whatever piques my interest.
And I will also take requests... within reason. Meaning I'm not going to invest in a Neftlix account just to review a certain movie. ;)
Until next time...
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