Movies’ Magic Spell

The day after the Oscars seems a fitting time to talk about movies. We were up late the other night watching a DVD we’d rented, and when it was over, the TV channel was about half an hour into Apollo 13. We came in just in time for the (spoiler alert!) “Houston, we have a problem” line. We’ve seen this 21-year-old (!) movie well more than a dozen times, it was late, we were tired… and we had to force ourselves to turn it off and go to bed. My husband even suggested taping (oops — showing our age — DVR-ing) the rest of the movie so we could finish it the next day.

What is it about some movies that you have to stop what you’re doing and watch them when they pop up on the TV? I’m sure there are many more, but the three that immediately come to mind for me are The American President, Tommy Boy, and The Birdcage.

The American President is romance personified, with that patented Aaron Sorkin writing and Rob Reiner direction. I think this has become my favorite movie. Plus it’s a great tease for when Martin Sheen gets a promotion and becomes president in The West Wing.

Sophomoric though it might be, Tommy Boy created some instant classic comedy scenes. Sing it with me:  “Fat guy in a little coat.” ‘Nuff said.

And was there ever better casting and acting than in the comedic tour de force that is The Birdcage? Snubbed by the Oscars, the film was honored with a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast. They got that right.

One final interesting fact. Three of these films came out in 1995, and the other in 1996. I wonder how many more great ones are from that same era.

Now it’s your turn – what movies keep you glued to the set?

 

[3/1/16 – Memories]