My wife Stephanie and I love watching movies together. Over the years, we have begun to watch certain movies over and over again, just like you look at old family photos. Here are ten movies my wife and I love watching--
10) Rear Window: A classic Hitchcock story. Maybe not his greatest work, but certainly terribly fun and entertaining-and my wife has always loved Jimmy Stewart.
9) Stranger Than Fiction: When we first saw this movie, we saw something rare. We saw something that seemed truly original to us. It still feels that way. Will Ferrell is wonderful in this movie, and he has Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman and Emma Thompson to back him up. It is an unusual romantic comedy in that it is original. Romantic comedies can be tough to make original, but this one accomplishes that. Finally, seeing Chicago (our temporary home town) on screen is always wonderful.
8) Fargo: While there are always scenes that Steph would rather skip (a lot of blood is shed in this film), the simple decency of Marge Gunderson and her husband always brings Steph back, and the sharp Coen Brothers dialogue with a Minnesota touch gets me every time.
7) Babe: Simple, sweet storytelling with a slight edge. A great work of cinema that is fun to watch with kids.
6) Pride and Prejudice: This BBC miniseries really made Colin Firth a household name well before his glory in "The King's Speech". It is 5 hours long, but somehow it always seems to fly by (though we have never watched it in one sitting). The amount of lines we quote are numerous..."And yet I am unmoved.", "Are we to be murdered in our beds?!?" "By modest equipage", etc. The performances are great, and it shows the depth of Jane Austen's storytelling, as well as the drama that can come out of such seemingly mundane social meandering.
5) Steel Magnolias: Wayne and Garth dismissed this movie as a "chick movie" on "Wayne's World", and there is truth in that. But even though it is horribly sad at times and lacking in testosterone, it has some of the funniest dialogue and situations you can see on film. Witness Tom Skerrit attempting to frighten the birds in his tree with his gun, or listen to the sassy dialogue delivered by Olympia Dukakis ("If you don't have something nice to say, come sit by me.") It is the rare movie that evokes many different emotions because its characters are at so many stages in life. And the cast (Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Darryl Hannah, Shrley Mclane, Olympia Dukakis, etc...) is outstanding.
4) The Bourne Triology: Steph has a soft spot for Matt Damon, and I love watching because it's a great travel log. These movies all do a wonderful job of cranking up the action and never letting up. And each movie features not only Damon, but a wonderful cast of supporting actors which lend gravitas to the story, and make an otherwise standard action plot into something truly special.
3) Notting Hill: Another movie that may mean a lot to us because of when we first saw it. We saw it just after I had popped the question, and the dialogue written by Richard Curtis continues to make us laugh. Lately, this movie has sort of been replaced in our regular viewing by "Love Actually", but I think this one deserves a place on this list because it was more formative for us. Also, you simply cannot beat Hugh Grant surprising his friends by bringing the world's biggest movie star to dinner as his date.
2) Almost Famous: We saw this movie for the first time at a movie theater in Boston with an old friend, and we loved it. Since then, it has aged very well. Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical ode to rock music has so much nuance and poignance that it is always watchable. There is so much familiarity as well, even though my upbringing was so different.
AND NUMBER 1:
1) Good Will Hunting: I think we have watched this movie together more than any other. We took two trips to Boston early in our relationship, and so the setting is very evocative for both of us. Also, the movie shows characters that are on the verge of adulthood but still have a lot of residue from their adolescence. When we first saw this movie, Stephanie and I were in that stage. The stage of having a job, but spending evenings at diners or fast food restaurants chillin' with friends. Also, Robin Williams' monologue in the garden is one of the best written scenes of which I can think. We always love watching it together.
What are some of your special favs with your significant other or friends?
Read my blog entries on 3 of these movies:
Babe: http://joelsmovieblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/babe.html
Fargo: http://joelsmovieblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/fargo.html
Almost Famous: http://joelsmovieblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/rock-and-roll-part-2- almost-famous.html
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