Ten Underappreciated Movies

So....the fam is headed to the lake for a few days.  Here's a little something I wrote about some movies that I feel like are under appreciated.  These are movies that I don't hear people talking about much.  I have conducted no scientific study to measure how appreciated they are.  I simply feel that these movies have never gotten the widespread buzz and credit that they deserve.  They are movies that I would love to encourage my readers to take another look at, because they have something to offer.

Vanilla Sky

This film may have suffered from two things.  First, it was Cameron Crowe's follow up to "Jerry Maguire" and "Almost Famous".  Any movie that has to follow those two movies is in for a tough ride.  Second, since those other two films have such feel good elements, this movie's dark content and bizarre structure may have been too much for many to bear.  While these feelings are understandable, they are unfounded.  Cameron Crowe here gives us a wonderful meditation on the beauty of life and the dangers in casual sex.  Make no mistake about it, this is a movie about sex.  Tom Cruise is David Aames,  an Upper West Side heir who beds women quite quickly.  When one of them (Cameron Diaz, in a great performance) demands something more, his entire existence crashes down on him quite literally.  He comes to realize that love and sex are intricately connected as he meets Sofia (Penelope Cruz), and has to learn not only about the seriousness of sex, but also about the consequences when it is not taken seriously enough.  A wonderful cast includes Cruise, Cruz, Diaz, Jason Lee, Noah Taylor, Tilda Swinton and Kurt Russell.  This one is not for the faint hearted or easily offended, but it is a deeply evocative work.

The Straight Story

One of the most enjoyable and transcendent movies which I have ever had the pleasure of experiencing.  Richard Farnsworth plays Lyle Straight, an aging WW2 vet whose estranged brother has had a stroke.  Since he cannot drive a car anymore, he instead sets out on his rider mower to try to go visit his brother and bury the hatchet.  This movie relaxes you, makes you think, moves you, and gives you a whole new appreciation for corn fields.  Richard Farnsworth lost to Kevin Spacey for the Best Actor Oscar.  Spacey's performance in "American Beauty" was great, but I doubt I will ever see it again.  Farnsworth's performance, and this whole movie, will be enjoyed by me for years to come.

Lars and the Real Girl

Proof that sometimes all you need is simple human drama and you have a wonderful film.  Ryan Gosling plays Lars, an eccentric living in Wisconsin.  He and his brother live on their parents' old property with his brother's wife.  Lars is almost a hermit on the property, until he purchases a life size sex doll, gives it a name, begins a relationship with it, but insists on sleeping in different quarters, since his "girlfriend" is religious and doesn't want to sleep together yet.  Why Lars is the way he is and why he has the delusion he does is what the movie is about.  As "the real girl" comes into his life, Lars and his brother are forced to deal with their issues.  There are no big crying scenes, no overwrought drama, and no bizarre sex scenes.  What there is is simple human stories, a wonderfully accurate and affectionate portrayal of the Upper Midwest, and a portrait of a town and faith community which asks themselves what Jesus would do, and they do it.  Marvelous.

Big Night

An expected surprise that I first saw on a flight from London to Los Angeles.  The film follows two brothers who have immigrated from Italy in order to open a restaurant in New Jersey.  The older brother (Tony Shaloub) is a culinary artist in the kitchen who cooks for its own sake.  The younger brother (Stanley Tucci) is the entrepreneur who desperately wants to make the restaurant a success so he can become rich.  When the brothers are promised some press with a visit from jazz great Louis Prima, the brothers scramble and bet everything on one amazing feast at the restaurant.  The tension between the brothers is amazing, the food is unbelievable, and the human drama is riveting.  I sat in stunned silence the first time I saw this movie...I think more people should see it.

A Mighty Wind

All of Christopher Guest's movies have something going for them.  This one seems to have flown under the radar, but I don't think it should have.  It is not as merciless in its satire as "Spinal Tap", but it knows its subject well and does a great job spoofing it.  The target of this satire of the Guest players is the world of folk music.  When a big time folk promoter passes away, his son decides to put on one last tribute show.  He manages to get a lot of the old groups to reunite and play one show for the old man on public television.  The songs are hilarious, and the little things that they get right in the movie speak volumes.  The self importance of the folk artists, the earnestness of the public television executives, and the dysfunction of the promoter's family are all great satire.

Fever Pitch

This is a great romantic comedy.  Plus, it's got a lot of great comedy about baseball and how baseball (and sports) affects relationships.  Jimmy Fallon plays Ben, a high school math teacher.  He takes some of his top students on a field trip to see how math is used in the real world.  While out, he meets Lindsey (Drew Barrymore) and the start dating.  They begin dating in October.  That is important, because Ben is a rabid Red Sox fan (if there is any other kind of Red Sox fan), and October is the best time to get to know him, if the Red Sox aren't in the playoffs.  Once baseball season rolls around, Lindsey is forced to deal with this monster she didn't know existed.  There are great inside jokes about baseball, and lots of great relationship humor.  Throw in some great footage at the end of the film from the Red Sox winning the World Series in 2004, and you have a special movie.

Searching for Bobby Fischer

This movie is like great Bordeaux, it gets better with age.  When a father (Joe Mantegna) discovers that his 7 year old son is a chess prodigy, a series of complexities emerge.  How normal will his son's life be?  How much should he push his son toward more and more greatness?  As the boy begins to learn chess from his teacher Bruce (an amazing Ben Kingsley), and as he continues to yearn to play chess in the park with his friend Vinny (an also amazing Laurence Fishburne), we see a complicated reality to the boy's immense talent.  This is a movie to savor.  Each viewing brings out more subtleties and more richness.  This is helped by the movie's amazing cast (Joe Mantegna, Joan Allen, Laurence Fishburne, Ben Kingsley, William H Macy, Laura Linney and more) and by a script that always shows reality in its characters.  There is a moment when the father's ambitions for his son go too far.  The movie allows him to be reeled in and grow from it, rather than simply being a monster.  This is a truly special movie.  Why it didn't win Best Picture the year it came out is beyond me.

Awakenings

This film received enormous praise upon its release, so saying it is under appreciated might be a little off.  But I feel that it has not stood the test of time as well as it should have.  This movie seems to be about the character played by Robert DeNiro.  He plays a mental patient with a sever brain condition wherein he is rendered a permanent vegetable.  When a mental doctor played by Robin Williams tries a new treatment on him and other patients, they all end up waking up from their long slumber and begin experiencing life again.  What makes the film special is that it is really about Williams' character, who learns about the self imposed coma in which he has put himself.  DeNiro and Williams are both brilliant.  The film is horribly sad, but also hopeful in its own way.

You've Got Mail

Nora Ephron has gotten accolades for her work on "When Harry Met Sally" and "Sleepless in Seattle".  This movie seems to have kind have been forgotten.  I think it is far better than "Sleepless in Seattle", and there are very few movies ever that are in the league of "When Harry Met Sally".  In spite of that, this movie stands well on its own.  Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan play two Upper West Siders who first hate each other, than fall in love without really know with whom they are falling in love.  What makes this movie special is how well it depicts the process of falling in love.  While "Sleepless in Seattle" almost turn love into a cosmic game of roulette, this film deals very well with the kind of attachments that are formed as we find love, and the fact that what we want in a partner may not be what we think we want, but when we find it, we know it is right.

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

It could be that I included this movie because I saw it a lot as a kid.  It could be that it is under appreciated for a reason.  I disagree with that (even though I myself am making the claim).  This movie really plays sort of like a Marx Brothers movie.  What made the Marx Brothers movies unique was that they acted simply as a showcase for the talents of the Marx Brothers.  In this movie, the "plot" only functions as a vehicle to for Danny Kaye to exhibit his talents.  It seems to me that Danny Kaye in general is somewhat under appreciated.  Here, we see the fanciful story of an unhappy man who lives in a world of daydreaming.  He meets the girl of his dreams, only to be told that he is making up even her.  He is the son of an overbearing mother, and the story gives him a chance to man up.  The musical jokes, physical gags and clever puns (some of which took me years to get, even after my father explained them to me over and over) always are spot on.  Make sure you check this one out-it really is a winner.