Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. All you have to do to get in on the action is pick three films that relate to the week's theme and write a little bit about them!
This week on Thursday Movie Picks: Fish Out of Water movies. Which is VERY convenient for me, since I just watched one for another project! So why don't we start with that one...
Witness (Peter Weir, 1985) Harrison Ford received his only Oscar nomination (CAN YOU BELIEVE?!?) for playing Philadelphia cop John Brook, forced to hide out in Amish country after he gets shot trying to protect a young Amish boy who witnessed a murder. Weir and cinematographer John Seale cast quite a spell here, making Amish country feel like a lovely place to live, even if they don't have electricity and believe themselves to be superior to everyone else. The scene where the whole community comes together to raise a barn for a newlywed couple is just magnificent in every way. That the film is so good with the quiet drama that comes in Amish country makes its facility with the thriller elements that dominate the first and last twenty minutes even more impactful. PLUS: early screen appearances from Danny Glover, Viggo Mortensen, and MISS Patti LuPone herself!
...but most good Fish Out of Water tales are comic as opposed to dramatic, so....
My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn, 1992) MARISA TOMEI FOREVER, BITCHES! Look, My Cousin Vinny isn't some masterpiece of cinema or anything, but it's still funny as all get-out thanks to director Lynn's knack for staging (he also directed the comic masterpiece Clue) and the inspired comic stylings of the Oscar-winning Tomei as Mona Lisa Vito, stealing the film right out from under the nose of Joe Pesci (who is no slouch in the comedy department here). A rogue's gallery of great actors in key supporting roles take the rote city-slickers-in-the-sticks courtroom drama of the script and make it indelible with go-for-broke line readings that just kill. You're probably reciting some of them right now.
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (Larry Charles, 2006) One of the best movie-going experiences of my life was seeing Sacha Baron Cohen's masterpiece mockumentary with my sister in a packed theater two weeks after it opened. Some films are just meant to be seen with the largest, most diverse crowd possible, and Borat is the king of those. That one viewing has colored all subsequent viewings of this for me. If you were somehow living under a rock in 2006, here's the deal: Baron Cohen went undercover in disguise as Borat, a reporter from Kazakhstan purportedly making a documentary about America, on a road trip from coast to coast, meeting with different people, attending various events, and getting an unwitting picture of America and Americans at their best and worst (but mostly worst). To say the film's timing was perfect would be an understatement: we NEEDED to laugh at ourselves in 2006, and boy did Borat ever deliver that in spades. Since most everything in the film was real (all the non-celebrities, and even most of the celebrities, had no idea it was Baron Cohen under that mop and ridiculous mustache and crazy accent), Borat almost is an actual documentary about the state of American social mores in the mid-00s. Baron Cohen's unbelievably committed, completely fearless performance is a hilarious master class in improv, but the film is so much more than that. This is social satire at its most brazen and biting, a ruthless takedown of American imperialism and exceptionalism that will probably never stop being relevant and ahead of its time.
Witness is such a perfect fit for the week and such an amazing film. All the things you mentioned add so much to the film, and Ford should have won for this-it's his best work on screen. My nieces live near the Amish and the film is a very good representation of their insularity and ways.
Borat is an excellent choice though it's divisive and I'm on the other side of it from you. I wouldn't say I hated it but I didn't like it very much, but I saw it alone and maybe like Something About Mary or Rocky Horror it's a film that benefits from being viewed with a group.
We match!! I was actually watching My Cousin Vinny when I saw this week's theme so that choice was a snap. It's such a crazy ride with both Pesci and Tomei tearing it up.
I love this type of film so my other two came to me pretty quickly:
Blast from the Past (1999)-An absurd premise, a slightly nutty 60’s scientist and his pregnant homemaker wife (Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, both ideal) lock themselves into a bomb shelter for 35 years under the false impression that nuclear war has been declared then sending their grown son out into a strange new world for supplies, is played with charming whimsy. Brendan Fraser uses his size and somewhat goofy personality to make son Adam believable as a big overgrown child in a man's body. He and Alicia Silverstone as Eve the woman who takes Adam under her wing have a nice vibe with her worldliness playing well off his innocence. A sweet, breezy film with the underlying message to respect each other and enjoy the world around you.
My Cousin Vinny (1992)-Two young men are falsely accused of murder in the deep South, desperate they contact the only lawyer either knows, Vinnie the New York cousin of one of the boys who has finally passed the bar on his sixth try. Down he and his brassy fiancée come, hilarity ensues! Hard to say who is funnier Joe Pesci, the Oscar winning Marisa Tomei or the deadpan Fred Gwynne in his final performance as the judge whose patience is stretched to the limit.
Time After Time (1979)-In the London of 1893 H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) plans to use his time machine to travel to the Utopian paradise he believes is the future. As he prepares to make the journey Jack the Ripper (David Warner), on the run from the police, hijacks the machine and travels to 70’s San Francisco. When the machine returns to Victorian England Wells uses it to follow him. Perplexed by the modern world H.G. enlists the help of Amy (Mary Steenburgen) a bank teller he meets to catch Jack before he can resume his killing spree. During the pursuit Wells falls for Amy, even as she has a hard time believing his wild story of time travel. A thriller with a fine mixture of humor and suspense, McDowell and Steenburgen fell in love while making this film and were married for a decade.
I watched Borat a few months later with my family in the privacy of our own home and it absolutely did NOT play the same way as it did in the theater. A lot of the time I was reacting not just to the movie itself, but to the reaction of other audience members - someone would laugh or gasp and I (and others) would laugh at them for doing so. It was a completely unique experience, and I can see how watching it alone would not result in the same good feelings I got for the film, especially if your natural humor sensibilities aren't aligned with the film's humor, which is often stupid.
BLAST FROM THE PAST! I love that one. Probably the best Brendan Fraser has ever been, and you're right that Walken and Spacek are ideal as his parents.
Somehow I've never even heard of Time After Time but it sounds like a lot of fun!
OMG Borat is such a wonderful choice. I wish I would've thought of that. There's been quite a few people talking about Witness lately. Maybe I should see it.
Not too big on Borat. A lot of it was undeniably poignant, just as much was pointless. SBC has the effect on me. I love My Cousin Vinny. Pesci and Tomei are on fire. Still haven't seen Witness, though.
I thought Witness was a really good film and quite the romantic moments in it too. I haven't seen My Cousin Vinny in a long time and need to revisit. I love Fred Gwynne. I recently watched Borat and there were parts that were quite funny but other parts that I just thought was too rude. I didn't care for the poop episode because it went from very funny to just rude. I just felt he went a little too far in some occasions
My Cousin Vinny holds up SO well. LOVE Gwynne as the judge. He has so many little moments that are just PERFECT. Yeah, some of the bits in Borat are stupid and can't hold a candle to the better, smarter bits.
Borat! Yes! Brilliant movie but in general I love Cohen's films. And Witness! So cool you included that one as well. Really need to see your second choice, I always wanted to
See, Borat is actually the only one of Cohen's films that I've liked. Bruno went too far, and The Dictator not far enough. And I have absolutely no desire at all to see The Brothers Grimsby, which just looks terrible. My Cousin Vinny is HILARIOUS, and Marisa Tomei ICONIC.
Witness is such a perfect fit for the week and such an amazing film. All the things you mentioned add so much to the film, and Ford should have won for this-it's his best work on screen. My nieces live near the Amish and the film is a very good representation of their insularity and ways.
ReplyDeleteBorat is an excellent choice though it's divisive and I'm on the other side of it from you. I wouldn't say I hated it but I didn't like it very much, but I saw it alone and maybe like Something About Mary or Rocky Horror it's a film that benefits from being viewed with a group.
We match!! I was actually watching My Cousin Vinny when I saw this week's theme so that choice was a snap. It's such a crazy ride with both Pesci and Tomei tearing it up.
I love this type of film so my other two came to me pretty quickly:
Blast from the Past (1999)-An absurd premise, a slightly nutty 60’s scientist and his pregnant homemaker wife (Christopher Walken and Sissy Spacek, both ideal) lock themselves into a bomb shelter for 35 years under the false impression that nuclear war has been declared then sending their grown son out into a strange new world for supplies, is played with charming whimsy. Brendan Fraser uses his size and somewhat goofy personality to make son Adam believable as a big overgrown child in a man's body. He and Alicia Silverstone as Eve the woman who takes Adam under her wing have a nice vibe with her worldliness playing well off his innocence. A sweet, breezy film with the underlying message to respect each other and enjoy the world around you.
My Cousin Vinny (1992)-Two young men are falsely accused of murder in the deep South, desperate they contact the only lawyer either knows, Vinnie the New York cousin of one of the boys who has finally passed the bar on his sixth try. Down he and his brassy fiancée come, hilarity ensues! Hard to say who is funnier Joe Pesci, the Oscar winning Marisa Tomei or the deadpan Fred Gwynne in his final performance as the judge whose patience is stretched to the limit.
Time After Time (1979)-In the London of 1893 H.G. Wells (Malcolm McDowell) plans to use his time machine to travel to the Utopian paradise he believes is the future. As he prepares to make the journey Jack the Ripper (David Warner), on the run from the police, hijacks the machine and travels to 70’s San Francisco. When the machine returns to Victorian England Wells uses it to follow him. Perplexed by the modern world H.G. enlists the help of Amy (Mary Steenburgen) a bank teller he meets to catch Jack before he can resume his killing spree. During the pursuit Wells falls for Amy, even as she has a hard time believing his wild story of time travel. A thriller with a fine mixture of humor and suspense, McDowell and Steenburgen fell in love while making this film and were married for a decade.
I watched Borat a few months later with my family in the privacy of our own home and it absolutely did NOT play the same way as it did in the theater. A lot of the time I was reacting not just to the movie itself, but to the reaction of other audience members - someone would laugh or gasp and I (and others) would laugh at them for doing so. It was a completely unique experience, and I can see how watching it alone would not result in the same good feelings I got for the film, especially if your natural humor sensibilities aren't aligned with the film's humor, which is often stupid.
DeleteBLAST FROM THE PAST! I love that one. Probably the best Brendan Fraser has ever been, and you're right that Walken and Spacek are ideal as his parents.
Somehow I've never even heard of Time After Time but it sounds like a lot of fun!
OMG Borat is such a wonderful choice. I wish I would've thought of that. There's been quite a few people talking about Witness lately. Maybe I should see it.
ReplyDeleteYeah, thank The Film Experience for the recent Witness love. It's really good, and the cinematography is just super.
DeleteNot too big on Borat. A lot of it was undeniably poignant, just as much was pointless. SBC has the effect on me. I love My Cousin Vinny. Pesci and Tomei are on fire. Still haven't seen Witness, though.
DeleteI can totally see that reaction to Borat; some bits definitely don't work as well as others. See Witness! It's REALLY good and on Netflix Instant.
DeleteCan't stop laughing because you chose Borat! That's awesome :D
ReplyDeletehehehe Thanks!
DeleteI thought Witness was a really good film and quite the romantic moments in it too. I haven't seen My Cousin Vinny in a long time and need to revisit. I love Fred Gwynne. I recently watched Borat and there were parts that were quite funny but other parts that I just thought was too rude. I didn't care for the poop episode because it went from very funny to just rude. I just felt he went a little too far in some occasions
ReplyDeleteMy Cousin Vinny holds up SO well. LOVE Gwynne as the judge. He has so many little moments that are just PERFECT. Yeah, some of the bits in Borat are stupid and can't hold a candle to the better, smarter bits.
DeleteBorat was hilarious! Great picks!
ReplyDeleteThank you! I haven't seen Borat since it came out, but it's SO memorable.
DeleteI haven't seen any of these, but always wanted to watch Borat.
ReplyDeleteI would be VERY interested in hearing your thoughts on Borat.
DeleteBorat! Yes! Brilliant movie but in general I love Cohen's films. And Witness! So cool you included that one as well. Really need to see your second choice, I always wanted to
ReplyDeleteSee, Borat is actually the only one of Cohen's films that I've liked. Bruno went too far, and The Dictator not far enough. And I have absolutely no desire at all to see The Brothers Grimsby, which just looks terrible. My Cousin Vinny is HILARIOUS, and Marisa Tomei ICONIC.
Delete