Film Appreciation (or lack, thereof)

There's a bit of a void in the summer time when it comes to television shows - well, network shows, anyway. We get a few cable shows (Weeds, Entourage, Men of a Certain Age, to name a few) but the seasons are so short that they come and go so quickly. So, what to do, what to do? Well, here's what my co-worker and I decided to do: start a film club!!

It's not a film club in the way you might think of, say, a book club where the members gather together once a month to hold erudite (some might say 'pretentious') discussions about their feelings regarding the narrative, or character motivations, or the author's intentions, or what have you. No, this film club is just a lame excuse to make my peers watch movies that I haven't seen in a while, or have been meaning to watch. The format is pretty simple: pick 3 thematically (and I use that term very, very loosely) linked "films" (that term is also used loosely) and watch 'em within the week.

I started with a "cold war" theme - that is, movies that have stuff about Russia/Communism during the Reagan era. So, of course, I went with: Spies Like Us, Rocky IV (which is probably my favourite of the series, but admittedly not the best...I guess I'd have to rank them I, II, IV, III, VI, V), and RED DAWN!!! I don't know anyone who has seen Red Dawn, but it is chock full of awesome teen idols of the 80s - Patrick Swayze, Charlie Sheen (!!), Lea Thompson, C. Thomas Howell (remember HIM??!?!) and Jennifer Grey. I'm not sure why I remembered this particular film from my childhood, but it was the reason I came up with my cold war theme. I was just really in the mood to watch it again, and you know what? It's actually better than I remember...probably because I could actually follow the politics and plot (as far-fetched and ridiculous as they are) better as an adult than I could as a kid.



Week 2 was up to my co-worker who chose the word-based theme of "Dude". So, naturally, we watched "Dude, Where's My Car", "Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure", and "The Big Lebowski". That was a fun week. He offered up "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" as a 'bonus', but really it's more like punishment, so I declined.

Like I mentioned, when it's my turn to choose a theme, I just pick a movie that I want to see then come up with a theme after-the-fact. Is that cheating? Who cares! Not anyone in the club, that's for sure! I had recently watched Semi-Pro and Everything Must Go, so now I'm on a Will Ferrell kick. Time to watch Blades of Glory!! I added The Cutting Edge and Youngblood, so the theme ended up being a progressive one: From Hockey to Ice Skating, or Vice Versa. It works best if you watch The Cutting Edge second, but it's not essential. Also, it seems as though I am subconsciously on a Patrick Swayze/Keanu Reeves kick (Keanu does the most horrendous and hilarious French-Canadian accent in Youngblood).

Myles is playing the home version...I tell him the themes and the films and he watches them, too. I think he skips a few, which is understandable. Seriously, there are no rules! I think he's hoping to be able to choose the theme one week which worries me because the other day he asked me if I heard of a movie called, "The Computer Wore Tennis Shoes". I'm not sure if we should give him programming privileges...I just don't want to have to watch a Disney movie from the late 60s, starring a teen-aged Kurt Russell who gets zapped by a computer, thus turning him into a walking computer.

Actually, come to think of it, maybe I do...he could pair it with ZAPPED!!! Scott Baio, FTW!!!