Couldn’t Enjoy It Any More Mom…mmm…mmm…mmm – 5(ish) classic movies that don’t suck
Now, to be fair, sometimes I watch a movie and just fall in love with it. Sometimes they are loved by all, sometimes loved by me. Here are a few that are older, and you might have forgotten, or never seen.
Breaking Away
Dave is a townie, hated by the kids who go to the local college, because he isn’t them. Dave wants to some day compete in cycling competitions, like the Tour de France. Dave pretends he’s Italian. The college throws a big event where 4 men teams from the fraternities compete against one another, and this year, they are allowing a town team. Dave and his three friends decide to enter, with Dave doing all the cycling, because he’s been training most his life. Great cast, great story, great acting, and a lot of fun. It really is a gem, I watch it every few years, and the clothing makes you laugh, but the movie is awesome.
Cannonball Run
For some reasons, in the late sixties, to the early 80’s, Hollywood liked to make group chase movies, like “It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad World”. The formula was simple, get a bunch of stars, make them into outrageous characters, and have them drive a long distance, and hilarity ensues. In this case, it is a not so secret cross country race, with starts from Jackie Chan (first American film), to Mel Tillis. (favorite line in the movies, stutter and all). Burt Reynolds was so hot at the time, people came out in droves to see this, myself included. After my separation, I was feeling nostalgic and ordered it off of Amazon, watched it, and immediately felt better, and watched every other movie I had with Dom Deluise. You aren’t getting an Oscar performance, but if you want to see a who’s who movie of stars from the 70’s and 80’s, go buy this
Convoy
When I was a lad, for a bit being a truck driver seemed like the most amazing thing ever. Before Ashton Kutcher ruined trucker hats, it was cool to be like Jerry Reed in Smokey and the Bandit. Convoy was based off the CW McCall song “Convoy”. It tells the tale of a rebel truck driver, running from the evil sheriff. If the plot sounds sort of stupid, it is. Kris Kristofferson stars, Ali MacGraw is in it so at worst you get to look at her. I’m not saying it is a great movie, but it is a fun movie.
The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
The movie is as long as its title. It tells the story of the two title characters, how their lives intertwine, and the obvious result. It’s not filled with too much action, a lot of dialogue, more than a few moments of uncomfortable silence, and despite all that, I love it. Historically, it is pretty accurate. The acting by The Dreamy Brad Pitt and Casey Affleck is very good, and it’s filled with plenty of character actors who more than pull their weight. It’s not the fastest pace, but it’s a really good movie. I’d like to say the almost 3 hour movie flys by, but winter is coming, so it’s a great snowstorm movie.
Repo Man
Finally, this last one is a cult classic, and I just love it. I’m a child of the 80’s, graduated in 1986, so the soundtrack alone brings me back to a happy place, filled with anarchy, back talk, and skirting the law. I did none of these things, but I like to think I would have if I had to. I am of course talking about Repo Man, starring a young Emelio Estevez as Otto, a disenfranchised youth, fed up with his job at the local grocery store, a shit homelife dedicated to Jesus, and life in general…by happenstance he runs into a repo man, handles himself well, and comes under the tutelage of Bud, played amazingly by Harry Dean Stanton. A parody of punks, a rival repo crew, aliens, romance, and one of the greatest soundtracks EVER make for an enjoyable 92 minutes. Zero brain cells needed to watch this.
Suburbia
Penelope Spheris’ early effort follows Evan, who leaves home due to pressure, and ends up living with some street punks, who are squatters in a section of LA, at the time, that was bought to put a freeway in, but haven’t gotten that far. Known for her Rise and Fall of Western Civilization documentaries, Suburbia is a look into the punk scene, and though fictional, really captures the look and feel of the scene in the early 80’s. More than likely because she filled out her cast with many a punk from the LA scene, including an unknown Flea from the Red Hot Chili Peppers. The story is pretty good, the music is on point, and the acting is…well…I mentioned that some of the cast were actual club kids, right? Spheris later went on to direct bigger budget movies, but to me, her documentaries and this movie will always be her best work.
Okay gang, that is my list of crap and gold. I’m sure you will agree with some, disagree with others, and hopefully be entertained.
If you really want to discuss it, comment on the blogs, or you can reach me at @jaycanchu on most any social media platform. And you get to see inappropriate memes, pictures of me flexing my muscles, and pies I bake.