Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through The Shelves. Join us by picking three movies that fit the week's theme and saying a bit about them - it's fun! Promise.
COLLEGE!!!!!
Sorry, guys, I'm just back from a long weekend in the woods off the grid and I had such an amazing experience that I'm not quite ready to come back to the land of the living yet. So we're gonna do this quick and dirty style.
Pitch Perfect (Jason Moore, 2012) Fat Amy is a legend, and even now none of us are ready for that jelly. Best college movie in YEARS.
The Rules of Attraction (Roger Avary, 2002) I love every second of this angry, energetic, playful mess of a movie. It's a blast of fresh air every time I watch it, despite Bret Easton Ellis's nihilism. My college experience was nothing like this, but this movie still FEELS like college to me.
Scream 2 (Wes Craven, 1997) How this movie ended up being even half as good as it is given the production history (the script was one of the first victims of an internet leak, prompting instant, on-set rewrites and multiple versions), I'll never know. But it's pretty damn great. Maybe even as great as the original Scream, only one of the greatest horror films ever made. Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott is now in college, and the movie about the events of the first film has prompted a string of copycat killings. Can she and her friends survive? It's a horror movie sequel. What do you think?
Yay I also chose Scream 2! I didn't know it had rewrite issues. I remember Scream 3 did, and that's why they had that subplot with the actors bitching about rewrites in the film.
Yup! Originally the killer was someone different, but then it leaked and they had to keep changing it up since no one knew how to deal with internet leaks back then.
I haven't seen Pitch Perfect yet. I keep looking at it but I usually can't stand Anna Kendrick and that's kept me away. I hated Rules of Attraction but even though I'm not much for horror I liked both this Scream and the original.
My first is a comedy I just love and will stop and watch whenever I run across it the others are more serious.
Back to School (1986)-When business tycoon Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) discovers his second wife is cheating on him he gives her the boot and decides to visit his son Jason (Keith Gordon) at college. Discovering that the stories Jason has been feeding him about his success both in school and on the swim team aren’t true and he’s considering dropping out Thornton decides to enroll and offer support. Problem is Jason is a misfit with one oddball friend Derek (a purple haired Robert Downey Jr.) and Thornton the gregarious, party hardy type who sees studying as an inconvenience which he foists off on his employees until one of his professors catches on and threatens him with expulsion. Thornton’s under the gun but everyone including the sultry classics professor he’s fallen for (Sally Kellerman) pitch in to help. What distinguishes this from other college comedies is that Dangerfield’s character is so darn likable.
The Paper Chase (1973)-James Hart (Timothy Bottoms), first-year law student at Harvard Law School feels the pressure of keeping up with all of his studies, especially when he engenders the enmity of contracts professor Kingsfield, the toughest teacher in the school (an Oscar winning John Houseman). Things don’t get any easier when he starts dating Kingsfield’s daughter (Lindsay Wagner).
The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)-On a bus heading to their different but nearby colleges uptight Jerry meets the free spirited but insecure Pookie Adams (Liza Minnelli) and they become friends. When Pookie shows up on Jerry’s campus they become more intimately involved but her increasingly neurotic behavior puts a strain on their relationship. Billed as a comedy but really a mediation of loneliness and the struggles to mature. Liza is compelling, sad and raw.
Groovylicious Time Warp-The Strawberry Statement (1970)-At a San Francisco college in the 60’s during the time of campus unrest and the counterculture, student Simon (Bruce Davison) is content to view all the upheaval from the sidelines until he meets the committed Linda. Becoming aware of the things they are protesting he becomes a leader and foments violent action during a sit-in leading to a confrontation with the police. Very much a document of its time with dialogue to match this tied for the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.
Anna Kendrick is kind of amazing in Pitch Perfect, though.... nearly every line she says in a way that says, "I know, guys. I can't believe I have to say this shit either." And not that it's an awful script, it's just a formulaic one, and the fact the she plays as SO OVER IT works in the film's favor BIG TIME.
Oooooh. Rodney Dangerfield. I kinda can't with him. He annoyed me in the trailers for his movies so much I don't think I could stand to watch a whole one!
LOVE The Paper Chase, although I didn't include it here because it's grad school not college hehehe ;-)
I REALLY need to see The Sterile Cuckoo. I LOVE the name and I've heard Liza is really good in it.
She is really good in it. It's a strange thing she was able to find a series of quirky roles, this, Charlie Bubbles, Tell Me You Love Me, Junie Moon, that suited her uniqueness before Cabaret and then pretty much zip after. The source novel, I just read it this year, is an a decent read. It's different but not so much that you can't recognize the characters.
The one deficit the film has for me is it's theme song "Come Saturday Morning". I HATE THAT SONG!! It was an enormous hit when the movie was out, so much so that we had to sing it in chorus endlessly and since my teacher was the most arrogant sonofabitch imaginable I can't help thinking of that bastard if I'm ever unfortunate enough to run across it making a rewatch of the movie tough. Fortunately there's the mute button.
The Rules of Attraction is the only BEE adaptation that actually works because it understands his mix of humor and abrasiveness and it does it in such a marvelously spiraled way. LOVE THAT MOVIE!
Yes! Pitch Perfect is awesome!! The Rules of Attraction is a film I avoided (mostly because of Dawson's Creek) and I had hoped to read the book first. My sisiter raves about it.
Yay, Scream 2!!! Love that one, and yes, it is very nearly as good as the first. I'm not as high on Pitch Perfect as everyone else seems to be, but I did like it. Haven't seen the other.
I like the one girl's version of running in the first film clip. The second one does look like a fun mess. I did enjoy the Scream movies. They're actually films I can watch
hehehe YAY FAT AMY! Pitch Perfect is so much fun. Rules of Attraction is an absolute blast of creativity. Yeah, I'm not big on horror, especially slasher/gore-filled ones, but the Scream movies I really like.
Love these picks! I can't tell you how close I was to picking Pitch Perfect. Such goodness. I love the Scream movies and can't blame you for that pick either. It's almost as good as the first. Rules of Attraction is everything you said it is. I love it!
Picking movies for this theme I realise there aren't a lot of great college movies, so I agree with you with Pitch Perfect. I don't think it's great but it is one of the best in recent years.
I haven't seen the original Scream movies in years, so I might just revisit it soon especially after seeing the new TV series. Have you checked it out yet? Not that I can compare with the original since I hardly remember anything, but I like it more than the other series with the word 'scream'.
Yay I also chose Scream 2! I didn't know it had rewrite issues. I remember Scream 3 did, and that's why they had that subplot with the actors bitching about rewrites in the film.
ReplyDeleteYup! Originally the killer was someone different, but then it leaked and they had to keep changing it up since no one knew how to deal with internet leaks back then.
DeleteI haven't seen Pitch Perfect yet. I keep looking at it but I usually can't stand Anna Kendrick and that's kept me away. I hated Rules of Attraction but even though I'm not much for horror I liked both this Scream and the original.
ReplyDeleteMy first is a comedy I just love and will stop and watch whenever I run across it the others are more serious.
Back to School (1986)-When business tycoon Thornton Melon (Rodney Dangerfield) discovers his second wife is cheating on him he gives her the boot and decides to visit his son Jason (Keith Gordon) at college. Discovering that the stories Jason has been feeding him about his success both in school and on the swim team aren’t true and he’s considering dropping out Thornton decides to enroll and offer support. Problem is Jason is a misfit with one oddball friend Derek (a purple haired Robert Downey Jr.) and Thornton the gregarious, party hardy type who sees studying as an inconvenience which he foists off on his employees until one of his professors catches on and threatens him with expulsion. Thornton’s under the gun but everyone including the sultry classics professor he’s fallen for (Sally Kellerman) pitch in to help. What distinguishes this from other college comedies is that Dangerfield’s character is so darn likable.
The Paper Chase (1973)-James Hart (Timothy Bottoms), first-year law student at Harvard Law School feels the pressure of keeping up with all of his studies, especially when he engenders the enmity of contracts professor Kingsfield, the toughest teacher in the school (an Oscar winning John Houseman). Things don’t get any easier when he starts dating Kingsfield’s daughter (Lindsay Wagner).
The Sterile Cuckoo (1969)-On a bus heading to their different but nearby colleges uptight Jerry meets the free spirited but insecure Pookie Adams (Liza Minnelli) and they become friends. When Pookie shows up on Jerry’s campus they become more intimately involved but her increasingly neurotic behavior puts a strain on their relationship. Billed as a comedy but really a mediation of loneliness and the struggles to mature. Liza is compelling, sad and raw.
Groovylicious Time Warp-The Strawberry Statement (1970)-At a San Francisco college in the 60’s during the time of campus unrest and the counterculture, student Simon (Bruce Davison) is content to view all the upheaval from the sidelines until he meets the committed Linda. Becoming aware of the things they are protesting he becomes a leader and foments violent action during a sit-in leading to a confrontation with the police. Very much a document of its time with dialogue to match this tied for the Jury Prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival.
Anna Kendrick is kind of amazing in Pitch Perfect, though.... nearly every line she says in a way that says, "I know, guys. I can't believe I have to say this shit either." And not that it's an awful script, it's just a formulaic one, and the fact the she plays as SO OVER IT works in the film's favor BIG TIME.
DeleteOooooh. Rodney Dangerfield. I kinda can't with him. He annoyed me in the trailers for his movies so much I don't think I could stand to watch a whole one!
LOVE The Paper Chase, although I didn't include it here because it's grad school not college hehehe ;-)
I REALLY need to see The Sterile Cuckoo. I LOVE the name and I've heard Liza is really good in it.
She is really good in it. It's a strange thing she was able to find a series of quirky roles, this, Charlie Bubbles, Tell Me You Love Me, Junie Moon, that suited her uniqueness before Cabaret and then pretty much zip after. The source novel, I just read it this year, is an a decent read. It's different but not so much that you can't recognize the characters.
DeleteThe one deficit the film has for me is it's theme song "Come Saturday Morning". I HATE THAT SONG!! It was an enormous hit when the movie was out, so much so that we had to sing it in chorus endlessly and since my teacher was the most arrogant sonofabitch imaginable I can't help thinking of that bastard if I'm ever unfortunate enough to run across it making a rewatch of the movie tough. Fortunately there's the mute button.
The Rules of Attraction is the only BEE adaptation that actually works because it understands his mix of humor and abrasiveness and it does it in such a marvelously spiraled way. LOVE THAT MOVIE!
ReplyDeleteYES. EXACTLY. That is pretty much what I would have said had I been able to write complete sentences when writing this. LOL.
DeleteLove Rules of Attraction! Such an energetic movie
ReplyDeleteYES. I love it so, and I always forget how much until I see a clip of it. And then I just want to watch the whole thing over again.
DeleteYes! Pitch Perfect is awesome!! The Rules of Attraction is a film I avoided (mostly because of Dawson's Creek) and I had hoped to read the book first. My sisiter raves about it.
ReplyDeleteOh I don't blame you for not wanting to see Dawson like he is in Rules of Attraction. But the movie is really great. YAY for Pitch Perfect love!
DeleteYay, Scream 2!!! Love that one, and yes, it is very nearly as good as the first. I'm not as high on Pitch Perfect as everyone else seems to be, but I did like it. Haven't seen the other.
ReplyDeleteIt's really a pity about the third Scream. It thinks it's way cleverer than it is. Still good, but not great.
DeleteI like the one girl's version of running in the first film clip. The second one does look like a fun mess. I did enjoy the Scream movies. They're actually films I can watch
ReplyDeletehehehe YAY FAT AMY! Pitch Perfect is so much fun. Rules of Attraction is an absolute blast of creativity. Yeah, I'm not big on horror, especially slasher/gore-filled ones, but the Scream movies I really like.
DeleteI've only seen Pitch Perfect and I didn't like it. But I guess I'm alone on this island.
ReplyDeleteNah, you're not alone! Dell didn't like it much either. Although that makes me sad. I think it's so fun!
DeleteLove these picks! I can't tell you how close I was to picking Pitch Perfect. Such goodness. I love the Scream movies and can't blame you for that pick either. It's almost as good as the first. Rules of Attraction is everything you said it is. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI feel like Rules of Attraction needs a bigger following.
DeletePicking movies for this theme I realise there aren't a lot of great college movies, so I agree with you with Pitch Perfect. I don't think it's great but it is one of the best in recent years.
ReplyDeleteI haven't seen the original Scream movies in years, so I might just revisit it soon especially after seeing the new TV series. Have you checked it out yet? Not that I can compare with the original since I hardly remember anything, but I like it more than the other series with the word 'scream'.