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Three movies
Tuesday, 26 January 2016 08:21 pm[I wrote this over a year ago. There's probably a reason I never posted it, but I don't know what that reason is.]
You Use A Glass Mirror To See Your Face; You Use Works Of Art To See Your Soul.*
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I'm re-watching Return of the Secaucus 7 (my all time favorite movie of all time), and we've come to the basketball scene. Chip, the shortest and newest member of the group, isn't a basketball player—he played squash during basketball season. And he's wearing borrowed shoes that are too big. But he plays, he even scores a basket, in spite of throwing his arms over his head pretty much anytime anyone gets near him. And this is why I love John Sayles: once when he does this, Ron—a guy he only met the day before—puts his hand on Chip's back in a "nobody's going to hurt you" gesture that's so sweet.
I love everything about this movie, even the music I don't much like. I love that even the drama is low key, I love that the people look like real people, I love that they talk about real things. I love that the skinny-dipping scene gives us rear and frontal male nudity, and one woman's breast. (And the woman in question is Sayles's longtime companion, and the movie's producer. I'm pretty sure if she hadn't wanted to show her breast, she wouldn't've.)
Day before yesterday I watched Between the Lines, a 1977 movie with John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Jeff Goldblum, Jill Eikenberry, and a whole bunch of other people. It's about an underground newspaper on the verge of being bought out and going mainstream. It's the '70's—which is what a lot of people mean when they say the '60's—becoming the '80's, the end of doing things for a reason that's not money. It's disillusioned, downbeat, and I'm not sure why I was so crazy about it when it came out. Of course, there is Jeff Goldblum.
After that, I needed cheeriness, so I watched the story of a funeral: The Big Chill. Another favorite, even though it makes me really crazy every time somebody compares it to Secaucus 7. Secaucus 7's the story of old college friends who get together every summer; The Big Chill is the story of old college friends who are getting together for a funeral. I know I used a lot of the same words in my descriptions, but "funeral" and "every summer" are very different things. The relationships are very different, The Big Chill's funnier, but also more slick. It's what happened after Between the Lines ended.
If you haven't seen The Big Chill, I'm surprised, and you should. If you haven't seen Return of the Secaucus 7, I'm not at all surprised, and you really should. If you have seen Between the Lines, I'm shocked, and if you haven't, I can't exactly recommend that you do. But if you do, do a double feature with The Big Chill. Jeff Goldblum's character could easily be the same guy.
"I get so excited, having people around I don't have to explain all my jokes to." Katie, Return of the Secaucus 7
*George Bernard Shaw
You Use A Glass Mirror To See Your Face; You Use Works Of Art To See Your Soul.*
-:- -:- -:- -:-
I'm re-watching Return of the Secaucus 7 (my all time favorite movie of all time), and we've come to the basketball scene. Chip, the shortest and newest member of the group, isn't a basketball player—he played squash during basketball season. And he's wearing borrowed shoes that are too big. But he plays, he even scores a basket, in spite of throwing his arms over his head pretty much anytime anyone gets near him. And this is why I love John Sayles: once when he does this, Ron—a guy he only met the day before—puts his hand on Chip's back in a "nobody's going to hurt you" gesture that's so sweet.
I love everything about this movie, even the music I don't much like. I love that even the drama is low key, I love that the people look like real people, I love that they talk about real things. I love that the skinny-dipping scene gives us rear and frontal male nudity, and one woman's breast. (And the woman in question is Sayles's longtime companion, and the movie's producer. I'm pretty sure if she hadn't wanted to show her breast, she wouldn't've.)
Day before yesterday I watched Between the Lines, a 1977 movie with John Heard, Lindsay Crouse, Jeff Goldblum, Jill Eikenberry, and a whole bunch of other people. It's about an underground newspaper on the verge of being bought out and going mainstream. It's the '70's—which is what a lot of people mean when they say the '60's—becoming the '80's, the end of doing things for a reason that's not money. It's disillusioned, downbeat, and I'm not sure why I was so crazy about it when it came out. Of course, there is Jeff Goldblum.
After that, I needed cheeriness, so I watched the story of a funeral: The Big Chill. Another favorite, even though it makes me really crazy every time somebody compares it to Secaucus 7. Secaucus 7's the story of old college friends who get together every summer; The Big Chill is the story of old college friends who are getting together for a funeral. I know I used a lot of the same words in my descriptions, but "funeral" and "every summer" are very different things. The relationships are very different, The Big Chill's funnier, but also more slick. It's what happened after Between the Lines ended.
If you haven't seen The Big Chill, I'm surprised, and you should. If you haven't seen Return of the Secaucus 7, I'm not at all surprised, and you really should. If you have seen Between the Lines, I'm shocked, and if you haven't, I can't exactly recommend that you do. But if you do, do a double feature with The Big Chill. Jeff Goldblum's character could easily be the same guy.
"I get so excited, having people around I don't have to explain all my jokes to." Katie, Return of the Secaucus 7
*George Bernard Shaw