"Parenthood" 1989

"Parenthood"

I was out to dinner with the family tonight.  We went to a place that offers a buffet of pizza and chicken.  It was pretty busy and we sat between two families with young children.  They had very different parenting styles.

On one side was the reasonable mom.  She talked her children through the process of dinner.  As they stood in line she reminded them of how to behave.



"Remember, we have to keep our bodies calm.  We can't jump around or make lots of noise.  It is important to remain calm."

The other parents were a little more old school.  Their kid was meandering. 



"Come on.  What are you doing?  Get up here.  Do you want to get stolen?  Stay where I can see you?"

When I had my son I wanted to be the reasonable parent.   I remember going to see "Parenthood" in the theater when my son was a few months old.  Watching the movie I remember thinking how ridiculous the kids were in that movie.  All they needed was little discipline. 

Hah!  Looking back twenty-two years I see how naive I was.  I started out with Steve Martin's Gil's attitude.



Usher: You don't talk like a kid.
Gil: Yeah, well I'm not really a kid.
Usher: You're not a doc.
Gil: This is a memory of when I was a kid. I'm 35 now. I have kids of my own. You don't even really exist. You're an amalgam.
Usher: A what?
Gil: A combination of several ushers my dad left me with over the years. I combined them into one memory.
Usher: Why?
Gil: This was a great symbolic moment of my life. My father dumping me with you... it's why I swore things would be different with my kids. It's my dream. Strong, happy, confident kids.


The problem is kids come out the way they are going to be.  There is no forming or molding.  My son has always taken his time.   Heck, it took two hours of pushing to get him out!

Since then that two hours of pushing seems minor.  I am still pushing him.  And he still needs the push on occasion.  It is hard to stop.  It is just like the movie, I relate to Jason Robards a little more all the time.



Frank: There is no end, you never cross the goal line, spike the ball and do your touchdown dance, never... i'm 64 and larry is 27... and he's still my son, like kevin is your son... you think i want him to get hurt?... he's my son   It's like your Aunt Edna's a$$. It goes on forever and it's just as frightening.
.
The movie shows all the stages of parenthood.  You never stop being a parent or worrying about them.  My son got on a plane and went to Philadelphia for training for his job.  It was his first trip without us.  I was a wreck from the minute we dropped him at the airport. 

When he was in Philly, he decided to go downtown and try a real cheesesteak.  Now, downtown was about half an hour from where his hotel was by cab ride.  But he didn't  take a cab.  He took buses and trains and arrived downtown.  He called his father as he was trying out the cheesesteaks of Pat's and Gino's.  In the background there were police sirens. 

When my husband asked what was going on, he replied "Oh, something on the next block."

I fell apart when I heard about this.  I was ready to run to Philadelpia and save my son from the horrors of the City of Brotherly Love.  Never mind that he is over six feet tall and outweighs me, this was my baby out there on the mean streets.

He was super cool about his little adventure deciding that Pat's was the preferable cheesesteak.  Not me.  I was wound up until that text came letting me know he was back at the hotel.



Cause parenthood never ends, and it is just as frightening. 

"Steel Magnolias" 1989

Here is a movie I watch if I need a good cathartic cry. 

I can remember seeing an episode of Phil Donahue about this movie.  It had the whole cast on stage and talking about making the movie.  It seems like Sally Field is always playing someones mother in movies lately, but this was one of her best. 



I have never seen the stage play.  I have heard it is limited to one set, which is the beauty shop.  But I love the scope of the movie.  The opening scene showing Annelle walking through the town and seeing the preparations for Shelby's wedding set the tone well. 

I love the cast.

Truvy is played by Dolly Parton.   You believe her as someone that has hid under make up and hair all her life.  She loves her family but wonders about the rest of the world. 



Truvy: I kind of like hiring somebody with a past.
Clairee: She can't be more than eighteen. She hasn't had time to have a past.
Truvy: Oh get with it, Clairee. This is the eighties. If you can achieve puberty, you can achieve a past.

Daryl Hannah is excellent as Annelle.  She has the most growth through the movie.  I love when she has to admit that she may be married to a dangerous criminal.



Annelle: Miss Truvy, I promise that my personal tragedy will not interfere with my ability to do good hair.

Olympia Dukasis is amazing.  I want her to be my friend.  She is snarky and smart and not afraid to speak her mind.



Clairee: I've just been to the dedication of the new children's park.
Truvy: Yeah, how did that go?
Clairee: Janice Van Meter got hit with a baseball. It was fabulous.
Truvy: Was she hurt?
Clairee: I doubt it. She got hit in the head.

Shirley MacLaine, one of my favorites, is great as the cantankerous Ouiser. 



Ouiser Boudreaux: The only reason people are nice to me is because I have more money than God.

Sally Field is M'Lynn, at her best as an over protective mother.  This is an actress that can show so much emotion on her face without saying a word. 



M'Lynn: Shelby, the boys bought the car around.
Shelby: What did they do to it?
M'Lynn: Well, let me put it this way... If you and Jackson want to practice safe sex, you're all set!

Julia Roberts does a good job with the role.  I read somewhere that Meg Ryan was initially offered the job, but I can't imagine.  I love her vulnerability.  She wants her mother's approval, but they are so close, they can't help but make digs at each other.

Shelby: I am going to be very, very careful, nobody is going to be hurt or disappointed or even inconvenienced.
M'Lynn: Least of all Jackson, I'm sure.
Shelby: You're jealous, because you no longer have a say so in what I do and that drives you up the wall. You're ready to spit nails because you can't call the shots.
M'Lynn: I did not raise my daughter to talk to me like this.
Shelby: Yes, you did.
M'Lynn: Oh no, I didn't.
Shelby: Whenever any of us asked you what you wanted for us when we grew up what did you say?
M'Lynn: Shelby, I'm not in the mood to play games.
Shelby: Just tell me what you said, Mama, what did you say?
M'Lynn: The only thing I have ever said to you, ever, is that I want you to be happy.
Shelby: Okay, the one thing that would make me happy is to have a baby. If I could adopt one I would, but I can't. I'm going to have a baby, and I wish you'd be happy too.
M'Lynn: I'll tell you what I wish. Well, I don't know what I wish.
Shelby: Mama, I don't know why you have to make everything so difficult. I look at having a baby as the opportunity of a lifetime. Sure there may be risk involved, but that's true for anybody. But you get through it and life goes on. And when it's all said and done there will be a little piece of immortality with Jackson's good looks and my sense of style, I hope. Please, please I need your support. I would rather have thirty minutes of wonderful than a lifetime of nothing special.

It has a lot happening.  The men in the cast are all great too.

But it is the end that gets me every time.  The scene at the graveside is incredible and jumps from serious to inane laughter authentically.



M'Lynn: [crying] I'm fine, I'm fine, I'm fine.
[screaming]
M'Lynn: I'm fine! I can jog all the way to Texas and back, but my daughter can't! She never could! Oh God! I am so mad I don't know what to do! I wanna know why! I wanna know *why* Shelby's life is over! I wanna know how that baby will *ever* know how wonderful his mother was! Will he *ever* know what she went through for him! Oh *God* I wanna know *why*? *Why*? Lord, I wish I could understand!
[in a firm tone]
M'Lynn: No! No! No! It's not supposed to happen this way! I'm supposed to go first. I've always been ready to go first! I-I don't think I can take this! I-I don't think I can take this! I-I just wanna *hit* somebody 'til they feel as bad as I do! I just wanna hit something! I wanna hit it hard!
[continues sobbing]
Clairee: Here!
[grabs Ouiser by the shoulder and positions her in front of M'Lynn]
Clairee: Hit this! Go ahead M'Lynn, slap her!
Ouiser Boudreaux: [taken aback and confused] Are you crazy?
Clairee: Hit her!
Ouiser Boudreaux: Are you *high*, Clairee?
Truvy: [in a frightened tone] Clairee, have you lost your mind?
Clairee: We'll sell t-shirts sayin' "I SLAPPED OUISER BOUDREAUX!" Hit her!
Annelle: [in a scared tone] Ms. Clairee, enough!
Clairee: Ouiser, this is your chance to do something for your fellow man! Knock her lights out, M'Lynn!
Ouiser Boudreaux: [snatches away] Let go o' me!
Clairee: M'Lynn, you just missed the chance of a lifetime! Half o' Chiquapin Parish'd give their eye teeth to take a whack at Ouiser!



Just writing about it makes me a little weepy. 

"Top Gun" The Viewing:Part Two

Part Two-The Viewing!

And the credits role.

“Tim Robbins? Whip Hubley? Is that Kurt Russell‘s kid?”

Danger Zone music is starting.

He had to look up Whip Hubley.



Uh oh, Bogies!

“What the hell, Strickland is in here too? He was doing good in 1985/86” (“Back to the Future” was on earlier)

“Goose is going to die.”

Maverick is talking in his freaked out colleague. He is so soothing.

“Bet they can’t smoke on the ship no more.”

Maverick on his motorcycle.



“You’d think as a pilot he’d know safety and wear a helmet.”

“Pretty comfortable looking classroom chairs.”

He knows who Iceman is and that Goose dies from “Meet That Parents”.

Failed attempt to pick up Kelly McGillis with “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling.”

“Is this before Tom Cruise got his teeth fixed?”

Is Iceman’s hair regulation? That is some high eighties hair.

Maverick is dangerous. He was below the hard deck. He isn’t supposed to do that stuff.

He promises not to let Goose down.

More banter with Kelly McGillis. She doesn’t date students.

Beach volleyball! No shirts! It must be hot. They are very sweaty.



“We go from being so hot we have our shirts on to wearing a leather jacket?”

He didn’t even take a shower? He asks to take a shower at Charlie’s house? That is a ballsy move.

Lots of emotional talk. Maverick is an orphan. Now he takes a shower.

“Wipe the sweat off your face Tom.”

Maverick is in trouble for making mistakes with a $30 million dollar plane.

“Why are they all worried about the price of a plane.”

Charlie has fallen for Maverick.



“Slow love. He‘s licking her teeth. Lower the dynamite Maverick!”

More dog fighting. Maverick is in second place for Top Gun. But there are no points for second place.

He’s Hollywood’s wingman but he left him to go after Viper. That was stupid.

Anthony Edwards is so funny in this movie.

Men in towels. Iceman telling Maverick he is dangerous again.

Great Balls of Fire! Meg Ryan being adorable.

Flying with Iceman as his wingman. This will be ugly.

They are losing their engines. They are losing control! They’re in a flat spin!

“EJECT!”

“Here’s where Goose dies.” Very sad.



Maverick is blaming himself.

“They don’t dwell on Goose dying. What about Meg Ryan and the little kid?”

Maverick is packing up Goose’s stuff. Meg Ryan is comforting Maverick? That is terrible.



Maverick isn’t at fault for the accident that killed Goose. He can fly again.

He’s in the air but not doing well.

He is scared. Too careful.

“He needs a good woman to turn him around. A woman that knows something about flying.”

Iceman offering condolences.

Maverick quit!

Kelly McGillis wants to help. But Maverick doesn’t want help.

Tom Skerritt is giving classified information about his father. But he isn’t going to blow sunshine up his butt.



Iceman is Top Gun.

They need help right away!

Going into battle. Maverick has Goose’s dog tags.

Iceman’s in trouble! Send Maverick to help!

Is Maverick running away? Iceman has five Migs on his tail!

Maverick to the rescue!

He’s not leaving his wingman!

They did it!

Iceman and Maverick are friends now.



Maverick throws Goose’s dog tags in the ocean.

“He wouldn’t do that. They got him through it.”

Husband called the final song.

“She looks a lot older in the movie than she does in the poster.”

“There, I’ve seen Top Gun.”

And?

A dismissive wave.

The Great "Top Gun" Viewing. (Part One)

“Top Gun”

When you have been in a relationship for over 23 years, you get to a point where you think you know everything about your husband. My husband rarely shares things that are new to me. It isn’t a bad thing. It is comforting to have someone that knows what you mean, even over a text message they can sense your sarcasm.

But last night my husband surprised me. I was talking to my son about the most adorable thing I have seen in ages. It was a pair of eight month old twins dressed as Maverick and Goose and in a tricked out wagon that looked like a fighter jet. Their dad was wearing a flag suit and pulling the wagon with a boom box playing “Danger Zone”. It was awesome.

As my son was googling it, I said. “You haven’t seen “Top Gun”.”

“Yes I have.” He told me.

“Really.” I was a shocked.

Then my husband spoke up.

“I’ve never seen “Top Gun”.”

My jaw hit the floor.

“Seriously?” I sputtered out.

“I only saw one movie that year.”

“What movie?”

“Back to School”.”

“Rodney Dangerfield?”

“Yeah, I took a date.”



“What?”

“We went to “Back to School” and then Taco Johns for dinner.”

“Wow. "Back to School" and Taco Johns. Classy.  Wonder why that one didn't work out.”

“She wanted it to work out.  Trust me.  Besides, I took you to Taco Johns on dates. You’d get a beef burrito with extra cheese.”

“I was in college, I had lower standards. I just can’t believe you’ve never seen “Top Gun” that is crazy.”

“No. I’ve never seen young hot Kelly McGillis or young hot Tom Cruise.”

“You have to watch “Top Gun”. We now have plans for the weekend.”

“I already know that Goose dies.”

“Don’t care. We're watching it.”

So, tomorrow night we are going to watch “Top Gun”. I will blog about the reactions of a first time viewer of this classic movie. Soon my husband will see all the great dog fighting, the beach volleyball and a young, still sweet, Meg Ryan.

I can’t wait.   Check back tomorrow!

Fall Movies I Can Wait To See (Or don't need to see at all)

After looking through the movies coming out this fall, I found some I really need to see in the theater.  Others I am not so compelled to rush out and watch.  Some I will watch on cable.  Some I won't watch at all.

"Jack and Jill"

First of all, I am not an Adam Sandler fan.  My husband likes him but I am pretty sure we will skip this one.  I don't think I can handle 90 minutes of Adam Sandler and his co-star, Adam Sandler.  Plus Katie Holmes grates on my nerves.  I am sure it will turn up on cable, but at least then I can get on the computer while my husband watches it.

"Mission:Impossible Ghost Protocol"

I did see the first couple of these movies in the theater.  They are just so absurd.   I watched the last one because Phillip Seymour Hoffman was in it.  Then we have Phil pretending to be Tom due to some science magic.  Plus the poster makes reminds me of the Unibomber.

"Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close"

This movie has Tom Hanks who I really love.  It also has Sandra Bullock who I like sometimes.  But nothing about the trailer makes me want to see it.  There is the precocious kid, weepy mom, and hero day.  The trailer has inspirational voiceover.  It feels a little contrived. 

"We Bought A Zoo"

I like Matt Damon.  He is usually one that I will go see in the theater.   Scarlett Johansson bugs the crap out of me.  I don't know why, but it looks like she is a composite of other people.  None of her features quite fit together for me.  Also Cameron Crowe burned me withe "Elizabethtown" so I don't trust him. 

"Wat Horse"

Not a fan of movies about horses.  I just don't see them in an emotional way.  Even with Spielberg at the helm, I don't know if I'll see it unless it is nominated for Best Picture.

"The Muppets"

Three words.  Weird Sounding Muppets. Just not the same since Jim Henson died.  Sorry Miss Piggy/

I will have plenty to watch without seeing any of these in the theater.  There are some that are middle of the road movies that if the opportunities arises I may go see.   But I do have some stuff recorded on my DVR that I can watch instead.



Fall Movies I Am Looking Forward To

As you may have guessed, I love going to the movies.  There are movies that I need to see in the theater.  This list has winnowed down over the years.  It used to take months and months before a movie was out for rental or purchase and even longer before it hit cable.  Now it seems that a movie is only in the theater for a few weeks and in a couple of months it is on DVD and within six months it is on cable over and over again. 

I try to see all the Oscar nominees.  At the very least the Best Picture nominees and if I can swing it, all the best actor and actress nominees.  But there are also movies I just want to see. 

I don't understand how people can just blindly go to a movie.  It is amazing to me to be waiting in line for my ticket and hear the group in front of me saying "That movie starts in ten minutes, how about that one?"

Seriously?

Granted I want to get my money's worth.  There have only been a few movies I paid for that I have walked out disappointed.  Especially with the explosion of movie information on the intermet.  I have usually been anticipating movies for months or longer.  So I will tell you the movies I am looking forward to this fall. 

"J. Edgar"

This movie is getting a lot of Oscar buzz.  Leonardo DiCaprio runs a little hot and cold with me.  There are movies I like of his.  "Titanic", "The Departed" and "Catch Me If You Can", are a few examples.  Others such as "The Aviator" and "Revolutionary Road" didn't move me.  

The trailer looks good and it is directed by Clint Eastwood.  We'll see.  Coming out this early, it could be on DVD before the Oscars.

"Twilight:Breaking Dawn Part I"

Don't judge me!  I gotta see it.  I have seen all the other movies and will write about them before the new one comes out.  I read the books too.  They aren't high art, but they are like fast food.  I know it isn't good for me.  It is a little cheesy.  But heck, sometimes you want a little junk food.  I told you I like vampires.  I know Louis would kick Edward's butt. 

"New Year's Eve"

It is what a good movie friend of mine calls a sweet little piece of fluff.  It has a great cast.  It should be a lot of fun.  Are you still judging me?  Stop looking at me like that. 

"Young Adult"

This is the new movie written by Diablo Cody.  She has a stupid name but does some smart writing.  It is about a former Mean Girl who goes back to her home town and tries to steal her high school boyfriend back from his wife and new baby.  It looks funny and dark.

"Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows"

The first movie was a lot of fun.  I like Robert Downey Jr. and Jude Law.  The trailer looks hilarious.  And I might get my son or husband to join me for this one. 

"The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo"

I have tried to read this book about a dozen times.  There are pages and pages of history about a financial firm.  I just can't get past it.  But everyone is talking about how great it is.  I will see the movie and then maybe try the book again. 

This takes me to Christmas Day. 

There are a few more I will see if they are nominated or if I just need to get away from the house during the NFL season.   It looks like it will be a good movie season over the next couple of months.

What movies are you looking forward to?

"Raising Arizona" 1987

"Raising Arizona"

This is one of those movies that you either love or hate.  There isn't a lot of middle ground.  I am in the love it catergory.  My husband is in the hate it.  If I want to watch it, I watch it alone. 

I tried to get my son to watch it once.  He made it to the scene where Nicolas Cage's friends break out of prison.  They dig their way out of the mud and break the surface screaming.  This was too much for the boy and he abandoned me to watch it by myself.

I still love this movie even if I have to watch it alone. 

It starts with the love story of H.I. and Ed.  It is a star crossed romance with H.I. seeing Ed whenever he gets arrested.  She is the police officer in charge of taking mug shots.  They bond over the years until one day H.I. walks in when he hasn't been arrested and asks to marry her. 

H.I.: What kind of name is Ed for a pretty thing like you?
Ed McDonnough: Short for Edwina. Turn to the right.
H.I.: You're a flower, you are. Just a little desert flower.

The are happy living in their little plot of land.  They decide that all that love and happiness just needs a baby to share it. 

H.I.: We figured there was too much happiness here for just the two of us, so we figured the next logical step was to have us a critter.
They soon discover that a natural child isn't in the cards for them and H.I.'s criminal past takes away their chances of adopting.

H.I.: Biology and the prejudices of others conspired to keep us childless.

Man, I am only a half hour in and I might as well just copy the screenplay.  It is highly quotable.  

When all things look dire, Ed and H.I. decide to take drastic measures.   A local owner of a furniture store hit the fertility lottery and had quintuplets.  When they joke that they have more than they can handle, they take it as a sign. Soon H.I. is crawling through a window and picking out the best toddler he can find. 

They aren't very good at keeping the story straight and there are suspicians from all sides.  First from H.I.'s old prison buddies.

Gale: Why ain't you breast-feeding? You appear to be capable.
Ed McDonnough: Mind your own bid'ness.
Evelle: Ma'am, you don't breast-feed him, he'll hate you for it later. That's why we wound up in prison.
Gale: Anyway, that's what Doc Schwartz tells us.

Then by their "decent" friends.

Dot: [GASPS after seeing Nathan Jr] What's his name?
Ed McDonnough: Uh... Hi... Hi Junior, till we think of a better one.
Dot: Why don't ya call him Jason? l just love biblical names. If I had another little boy, I'd name him Jason, Caleb or Tab.
[GASPS; covers her face with her hands and looks through her fingers]
Dot: He's an angel! He's an angel straight from heaven! Now honey, I had all my kids the hard way. Tell me how you got this little angel. Did he fly straight down from heaven?
Ed McDonnough: Well...
Dot: You're gonna send him to Arizona State.

The baby goes on quite and adventure as the prison buddies figure out what happened take him for ransom, only to have him stolen from them by a bounty hunter. 

It culminates with a huge battle.  It should teach everyone not to wear live grenades. 

Finally the guilt is too much and Ed and H.I. take the baby back to his family.  When the father finds them in the baby's room. 

H.I.: I think the wife and me are splitting up. Her point is that we're both kind of selfish and unrealistic, so we're not really good for each other.
Nathan Arizona Sr.: Well, ma'am, I don't know much, but I do know human beings. You brought back my boy, so you must have your good points, too. I sure hate to think of Florence leaving me. I do love her so. You can go out the way you came in. Oh, and before you do another foolish thing like busting up, I suggest you sleep on it. At least for one night.

So they spend the night together.  H.I. has a dream with a happy future.

It is a sweet movie.  And it has produced a lot of Oscar winners. 

So, if you love, let me know.  If you hate it, I'm sorry.