Hear all about it

Family Movie Night

 

Last weekend our own Gladys, the newspaper lady, was the grand marshall of the Pumpkin Fest parade.

 

What an honor.

 

I saw Gladys riding around in the back of a boat of a Buick. I remember when my grandmother had a large Chrysler like this. It was fantastic. Granted, I was too young to understand that the car took a lot of gas to run. But, boy, are those large cars wonderful to see.

 

Gladys was happy to have the ride and we are pretty lucky to have her in the town, helping various organizations and keeping the paper going into its 100+ years of existence. Her positive attitude has meant a great detail to me, personally. Over the years we have, of course, talked about favorite movies.

 

Most of the movies that Gladys and I talk about are various family movies that are funny and make us laugh. But the one movie that has remained a favorite over the years is Return to Me starring Minnie Driver.

 

It is a romantic comedy set in Chicago that is completely implausible. David Duchovney is a young architect whose wife dies in a freak car accident. Driver is a young woman with a serious heart condition. We meet her as she is awaiting a surgery to save her life.

 

Image from IMDb.com

Six months later, Duchovney and Driver meet when he comes for a blind date at her grandfather’s restaurant. The date is a disaster, the woman is a gold digging nightmare. But the odd couple manage to connect emotionally.

 

Soon they are seeing each other on a regular basis. But Driver manages to hide her chest scars do that Duchovney will not treat her as a fragile doll. That is until she sees her thank you letter to the family of the donor of her heart.

 

It is one of those romantic comedies that make you laugh and cry and realize that you know all of the people in this movie from Jim Belushi’s regular guy to Carol O’Connor’s over protective grandfather. Robert Loggia is the fairy god-uncle we could ever want. It is Bonnie Hunt who holds it all together as writer, director, and loyal best/friend.

 

This is one of my favorite movies because it feels like and old fashioned love story. The people, despite being in a preposterous situation, act consistently with good natures. These are people you want to be around. For an hour and a half, I know I will have a good time.

 

You have to hang on to good movies like that.

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

 

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Sultry Valentine’s Day

Family Movie Night 

By Karyn Bowman

 

Image from IMDb.com

Every year, when it gets close to Valentine’s Day I always suggest renting Return to Me. The movie stars David Duchovny and Minnie Driver as two Chicagoans who meet by chance but have a deeper connection than either is aware.

 

It would complicated to explain but let’s just say it involves a heart transplant and a terrible car accident. The movie was written and directed by Bonnie Hunt who used to be a nurse.

 

I like the performances by the cast and the sincerity of the script. I know the places where the movie was filmed and love that people get messy. Life is never neat and clean which sometimes needs to be reflected in the movies.

 

It is a very sweet love story. And that is fine most of the time. However, sometimes, we need something a little sultry. We want to live on the edge just a little bit.

 

Maybe not as crazy as Something Wild starring Melanie Griffith and Jeff Daniels in which the yuppie’s life is taken over by the wild woman. It is all fun and games until her ex-husband, who is a bit crazy, returns.

 

No, I am thinking sultry as in Lauren Bacall. Is she a good girl or a bad girl or is it simply hard to tell. She drinks hard, lives hard, and has her own sense of right and wrong. Throughout it all she is beautiful in a mysterious sort of way.

 

Some of you might be asking who is Lauren Bacall. Some might remember her as the mother in the Barbara Streisand movie, The Mirror Has Two Faces. But those of us with longer memories have seen her paired up with her first husband, Humphrey Bogart. She and Bogey were a part of the Rat Pack in the beginning. They lived the glamorous life in a Hollywood that is far different from today.

 

Poster Image from IMDb.com

Recently, some tv show featured a clip in which a beautiful woman flirted with a man by asking him if he knew how to whistle. Her dark sultry voice lets him know she is there for the taking but he has to put in a little effort. He only had to whistle.

 

“You know how to do that, don’t you, Steve? You just put your lips together and blow.”

 

That line from To Have or Have Not stops most men in their tracks, especially when delivered by Bacall in her film debut looking like the beautiful model that she was at the time.

 

Her sultry presence was paired again with Bogart in The Big Sleep, Dark Passage, and Key Largo. Bogart and Bacall were a very popular movie couple with the movie-going public. While the story might focus of the darker side of life, these noir films also featured deep rich characters.

 

None of these are kids friendly in regards to context. Most kids simply do not have the patience to sit through these old movies. But for film buffs, it is a chance to relive movie-making in a period that seems to be so much more glamorous than the current time.

 

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Valentine’s Day At Home

Family Movie Night

by Karyn Bowman

By this time next week, there will be Valentine cards strewn about. I know that my house will have little cards all over after a great rush to get them written out by one child.

Some might take advantage of the weekend to carve out quality time with their sweetie, a stay-at-home couples night if you will.

Image from IMDb.com

My first choice of movies in the romantic genre is Return To Me starring Minnie Driver and David Duchoveny. I love the Chicago locations, the musical selections, and the performances by the cast. It is one of the few movies that I find to be near perfection.

I asked my husband for his opinion, what did he think was a good movie for couples.  Perhaps this shows our age but his immediate response was When Harry Met Sally, the holy grail of romantic comedy perfection. It is one of the wordiest movies but for English majors it is extraordinary how it shows love moving through the hearts of two people destined for each other.

Image from IMDb.com

I would say the same about Sleepless In Seattle and You’ve Got Mail. Note that all three of these star Meg Ryan who knows how to put together cute and quirky in one package.

For those wanting an action packed romance, there is always Mr. and Mrs. Smith starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie as a married couple who are both spies and must take each other out. There are many sequences that seem far-fetched but I found the movie to be very enjoyable.

For those who are movie buffs, I have an oldie but goodie to suggest. The Enchanted Cottage stars Robert Young and  Dorothy McGuire. He is a war hero left scarred from his military career while she is a homely girl.

They meet at the honeymoon cottage where she works and fall in love. But something strange happens to them. They see something that others do not and somehow this only strengthens their love for each other. Finding this movie might be difficult as I have not seen it released on DVD as of yet.

Image from IMDb.com.

Finally, I know that there are some people out there who are suffering broken hearts. Perhaps the person left or you left them. I think the lead character in Bridemaids as portrayed by Kristen Wiig can certainly relate. While this is not a movie for kids or to watch with someone who would make you wince inside, it is a funny movie.

The story is about a woman who was dumped by her boyfriend and lost her bakery business but must make the best of things when her best friend announces her engagement. Further more, Wiig is asked to be the maid of honor. Complicate that with another woman who wants to take charge of everything and get all of the credit.

 How does one fight against another woman who is taking away your best friend and besting you at every turn when you are broke and she is super rich?

To me the best scene is when Melissa McCarthy lets Wiig know she is always there for her with a physical fight. Some may call this the ‘female’ Hangover movie but I call it something much better than that.

Happy Valentine’s Day.

Until next year, see you in the rental aisle.

Hearts Afire

Family Movie Night

Are you ready for Monday?

It is Valentine’s Day and it means being willing to give a little on the part of the giver. That the receiver must be willing to be gracious is the other half of the deal.

Picture by Julie Rocks

I once worked for a woman whose husband sent the best roses to her and treated her like a queen on that day. Perhaps that gas station rose is a good option if you don’t have much in the ‘moula’ department. But I would follow it up with a nice home-cooked meal and her favorite movie while snuggling on the couch.

So do I have any suggestions for what you should get?

I do!

My favorite, favorite movie for Valentine’s Day is the lovely and preposterous Return To Me starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver. He is a widower who lost his wife in a tragic car accident in the past year. She is a heart transplant survivor who recently celebrated a year with her new heart.

They fall crazy in love but she is afraid to tell him about her health condition because she does not want to be treated like a china doll. And then she does but not without a major complication. If you watch this movie, take in all of the great performance by Carroll O’Conner, Bonnie Hunt, Jim Belushi, Robert Loggia and David Alan Grier. You will laugh and cry and feel great once this movie directed by Chicagoan Bonnie Hunt is over.

If you want something a little newer, you can always check out Valentine’s Day directed by Gary Marshall and starring a whole slew of gorgeous actors. The action seems to circle around the activities of a flower shop owned by Ashton Kutcher that is very busy. 

Slowly stories spiral out, we figure out the connections and wonder at the revelations. Some will seem obvious while others will gob smack you. It is an enjoyable movie that has some lovely moments with actors that have worked with Marshall in one film or another. Plus, I loved the anti-love party held by the Jessica Biel character.

Maybe this year, it is you and the kids. You want something sweet and something the kids will like. I was recently reminded about Second Hand Lions starring Robert Duvall and Michael Caine.

Picture by Earl 53

Joel Haley Osment is their young grand-nephew who is dropped off with them one day by his mother. When she is coming back in unknown but the uncles decide to teach the boy a few lessons about living. And then they tell him stories about a never-ending love.

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Let the world know about your latest pick for Family Movie Night and drop a note below.