Family Movie Night
By Karyn Bowman
As summer winds down, I am happy for cooler nights.
I am so happy to be able to sleep at night. Even the heat does not seem as oppressive. And it seems like there are all sorts of reminders of movies that we should watch.
The other day I was in the grocery store when the overhead radio began to play the title song from the musical “Grease” with Frankie Valli singing lead. I began singing along under my breath and remembered how much we loved this movie back in the late 70s.
The story is about a new girl at Rydell High School who had a summer romance with a boy who turns out to be the biggest ‘bad’ boy at the school. They meet again and realize they still have feelings. But, of course, there are obstacles and the wonderful Stockard Channing keeps everything from being too sweet.
Olivia Newton John stars as the naïve Sandy while John Travolta stunned us as Danny. You can see a lot of people having fun and singing songs with a 1950s groove, except for the title song. That was written by Barry Gibbs of the BeeGees and is just plain fun.
As I walked the dog last night, my neighbor pointed out the beautiful moon to me. It was full and bright. I was trying to find the lady of the moon and had a hard time at it. But it reminded me of Moonstruck starring Cher as a widow with a tragic past who is recently engaged. She does not love Danny Aiello but thinks she can make a good life with him.
However, her fiancée has to go back to Italy to visit his dying mother. Before leaving, he asks Cher to contact his brother and invite him to the wedding. Nicholas Cage is the brother with a tragic past who owns a bakery and loves opera. Meanwhile, her parents are facing hurdles as Dad is in the throws of a new affair and Mom tries to be stoic about it until she is not.
The movie is set in the middle of a cold New York City winter when the moon seems to shimmer just a little bit more. I love this movie because every scene is a gem, perfection really. I find myself laughing and crying with these characters that are down-to-earth and larger-than-life all at the same time. It might help that I enjoy a good opera every now and again.
Teens can watch both movies, kids can take in Grease. But if you are looking for something that is a little more ‘kid friendly’ there are two choices.
The first is The Pirates: Band of Misfits voiced by Hugh Grant and Salma Hayak as this band of no-gooders try for the ‘Pirate of the Year’ award. The other movie that shows potential is Chimpanzee which is a documentary narrated by Tim Allen that follows Oscar, a baby chimp who lives with his mother and other group members in Africa.
Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.
Notes from Rumbly Cottage 
Thank you again for your recommendations. My husband loves movies and with your help I can make some recommendations. I write them on the calendar on my desk so I’m sure to have one in mind.
I always recommend “Moonstruck.” It is a fantastic movie.
Your post reminded me of how much I loved “Moonstruck” and how I need to go find it again 🙂 I’ve seen “Grease” at least 20 times and it’s delicious!
MJ
The other night my daughter and I were on You Tube specifically so I could show her “Grease” music clips. I tried to explain that it was like “High School Musical” but so much more. What cracks me up is that Stockard Channing was in her early 30’s at the time.
and S.C. was a total bombshell in that movie 🙂 MJ
My mother wouldn’t let us see “Grease” when it came out because we were “too young.” I thought that was silly at the time, but when I finally did see it as a slightly older and more, um, experienced person, I was surprised at how raunchy it is in places. I am very glad that the HSM franchise is so much more kid-friendly in that respect.
And “Moonstruck”! Has to be one of my favorite Nick Cage movies. The cinematography is indeed wonderful, and the acting is a delight. Great call!
As huge Wallace and Grommit fans, we were eager to see Pirates: Band of Misfits. It was weird and silly and strange and zany and we loved it — kind of like a claymation Monty Python movie.
While we wait for “The Avengers” to hit the local dollar theater (so we can see it for the fourth, fifth, sixth, and so-onth time) we’ve been catching up on previous Marvel releases, courtesy of Netflix. “Captain America” is now on the Christmas list; Thor was fun, but the Asgard scenes kept giving me Flash Gordon flashbacks. Iron Man 2 is next on the docket.
The Avengers is coming out on DVD at the end of the month.
Yesss!!!! I think we will be owning that. 🙂
I had forgotten how much I love Moonstruck. And I never get tired of watching John Travolta dance–never, ever!
I, too, am enjoying the return of the cooler nights–great snuggle weather… 😉
Love snuggling weather!!!
Those were both good movies – but Moonstruck seems about right for the fall.
I am always so glad when I stop by and you are doing movie night. You inevitably remind my of some classics that I have forgotten. Time to put Grease and Moonstruck on my queue.
There are some good movies out right now but there are others I like to remember as well.
If you haven’t seen Moonrise Kingdom put it on your “to see when its on DVD” list. We saw it at the theater this summer. Just great. Quirky and can be seen by kids. Has a Lemony Snickett feel to it but geared at a wide audience.
I had heard about that movie and really want to see it.
Congrats ~ Found your blog on Google while searching for a related topic, your site came up, it looks good, keep them coming !
I was listening to the music from Grease just yesterday. And all this time, I thought Frankie Valli wrote the title song.
Moonstruck is one of my very favorite movies. I’ve seen it at least fifteen times. I can watch it with the sound off and wouldn’t miss a word — except I love the way Rose says, “Who’s dead?”