Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Join in the fun by picking three movies that fit the week's theme and writing a bit about them!
Look, we've all been there. Those days when everything is falling apart, or has grown stale beyond belief, or when a chapter of your life has just... ended. So you move on, you move out, and you hopefully move up in the world. It's not always easy, but sometimes you just have to do it. Just like characters do in these movies.
Mildred Pierce (Michael Curtiz, 1945) Mildred's husband is a louse - she provides more financial support for the family by baking pies and cakes, and he has a woman on the side. So she kicks him out, but has to find a way to support her two daughters on her own. In order to do that, she takes a job as a waitress, with the goal of one day opening up her own restaurant. Which she finally does... while failing to realize that she's unwittingly raised her daughter Veda into a snobbish bitch who doesn't appreciate any of her mother's hard work. One of the key works of the Old Hollywood Studio System, and the role that famously won Joan Crawford her Oscar.
Bridget Jones's Diary (Sharon Maguire, 2001) Bridget Jones is a 32 year-old "singleton" living and working in London, and has decided that she's heard one too many behind-her-back remarks about her appearance and personality. So she decides to make an active change in her life, and starts keeping a diary. She vows to quit smoking, lose weight... and stop fantasizing about her boss, the handsome womanizer Daniel Cleaver. Some of those things actually work out. This endearing adaptation of the popular novel earned Renée Zellweger a well-deserved Oscar nomination for her leading performance as the singularly British Bridget, and Hugh Grant and Colin Firth are well-matched as her love interests.
Wild (Jean-Marc Vallée, 2014) Cheryl Strayed has lost her mother and ended her marriage. She's lived recklessly and self-destructively for too long. Finally, she makes a somewhat rash decision: She's going to hike over a thousand miles on the Pacific Crest Trail. Alone. One of the most powerful films about spiritual reawakening and the power of memory I've ever seen, anchored by a never-better (and Oscar-nominated) Reese Witherspoon. All the better for the fact that it's based on a true story.
Written as part of the weekly blogathon hosted by Wandering Through the Shelves. Join in by picking three movies that fit the theme of the week and telling us a bit about them!
As Valentine's month rolls on, here we are at Thursday Movie Picks, picking movies with memorable declarations or confessions of love. You know, the grand gestures, the heartfelt speeches... the ones we all try to duplicate or better in real life but never quite manage to pull off.
In other words, prepare yourself for some giant clichés!
"I love you. And not in a friendly way, although we're great friends. And not in a misplaced affection, puppy dog way, which I'm sure is what you'll call it."
Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith, 1997) I mean, I'd fuck Ben Affleck after that speech, wouldn't you? But she leaves! Allow me to explain: Holden is a comic book artist, so is Alyssa. They meet at a comic convention and become fast friends, and of course, Holden becomes attracted to her. There's just one tiny little problem: Alyssa is a lesbian. BUT (and here is where the film really steps in it) she decides to start up a relationship with Holden anyway. It doesn't go well, but not necessarily because both of them are attracted to women. But the problematic nature of what follows doesn't diminish the power of this speech one bit.
"You complete me." "You had me at hello."
Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe, 1996) This one has become the biggest cliché, but deservedly so. It gets to the heart of how we love AND how we fall in love. It's kind of amazing it took until 1996 for anyone to write it like this. Jerry is a sports agent with commitment issues. Dorothy is a single mom whose sister hosts a weekly meeting of divorced women who are - to put it mildly - man-haters. They get married impulsively, have some issues, and take a break. But then Jerry comes back during the weekly meeting, mans up, and drops this bomb. And just when he's getting going, Dorothy cuts him off. She doesn't need him to say anything. Tom Cruise and Renee Zellweger are on top form in this. So winning. Bonus: Dorothy's declaration of love - to her sister, although Jerry overhears - is also pretty great.
"I'm just a girl, standing in front of a boy, asking him to love her."
Notting Hill (Roger Michell, 1999) This scene shouldn't work. It shouldn't. As written, it is incredibly condescending, almost irredeemable pap. But Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant pull it off, through some strange kind of likable-movie-star alchemy. Anna is a movie star who's had a string of bad relationships. William is a sad-sack book-store owner who hasn't had any luck after his divorce. They meet-cute a few times and then start seeing each other, until her fame (and his ego) gets in their way. But in an attempt to win him back, she brings by a painting and this killer little speech. He says no - to protect his heart - but realizes not long after she leaves that he was being a daft prick. That painting? Oh, just an ORIGINAL CHAGALL.
BONUS PICK
Love Actually (Richard Curtis, 2003) Go ahead, pick your favorite. "To me, you are perfect." "Bonita Aurelia." The kid running through the airport. Richard Curtis's Frankstein's monster of spare romantic comedy parts is lousy with memorable declarations of love. Some work better than others, but most of them work far better than they have any right to thanks to a sterling cast, a light touch, and - let's be honest - all those British accents.
