This Sunday, our family will be watching the Oscars. My son states that some day he will be an actor and should watch it while I love the celebration of it all.

Most of the time Oscar movies are known for being serious and thought -provoking. These movies are imbued with social commentaries on the American lifestyle.

One of the few exceptions I can think of is Shakespeare In Love which was a dizzying romp about a love affair Shakespeare might have had. Plus I loved the performance within a performance aspect of the movie.

If Oscar movies are filled with deeper meanings, is it fair to say that other movies are not? Considering that a variety of horror movies are having a say about something why not some of these far out comedies?

 This past week, the husband and I watched The Hangover and he began noticing little commentaries all over the place. He pointed out the Chinese guy saying “fat guy falling is funny. Is only funny because it is a fat guy.”

While my husband contends that this is Asian humor, I would say that we have been laughing at fat guys in the movies ever since Fatty Arbuckle during the Silent Movie era. Slap stick is funny. And we laugh whenever someone gets hurt. Isn’t that the true appeal of Funniest Home Videos?

Another interesting commentary is about domestic violence. In this case, the victim is a guy who has a very suspicious significant other. They are not married but she constantly checks his credit card records and gets angry when he does not answer her calls. Plus she is displaying this very classic abuser behavior after having an affair of her own. The guy justifies his partner’s behavior by brushing it off or making light of the affair.

When the denouement occurs at the end of the movie, we are happy and cheering for the guy. Would we be doing the same for a woman?  That theme seems ripe for digging into and exploring.

More than anything, The Hangover is a total guy movie. The events are things that might happen to guys who are in Vegas and ingest more alcohol and drugs than they should. Even the father-in-law brushes off the groom being late to the wedding by saying ‘that’s Vegas.’ We excuse some terrible behavior because it all happened in Vegas. No where else would kidnapping a tiger that belongs to a celebrity be ok.

These men are allowed to be kids on this trip because otherwise they are professionals with serious relationships and/or families. Professionals who may or may not be happy in their life. Does their unhappiness condone this behavior? That is something I would like to think about.

By the way, I would not suggest The Hangover for the younger set. It is a firm “R” rating and should be treated as such.

Until next week, see you in the rental aisle.

Let the world, or at least St. Anne, know your family’s recent selection by dropping a line to momgoestothemovies@sbcglobal.net. You can also ‘friend’ me on Facebook.

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