After watching and reviewing Rumor Has It… (2005, my review here) a movie, that’s based on the idea of The Graduate being based in reality, I realised I have seen this classic only one time, about 10/12 years ago, when I was getting into movies. So I had to re-watch it, obviously. And it is still great, but… it is definitely one of those movies that in these times plays differently.

First and foremost, I am not one of those people looking to be “too woke” about older movies and how “bad” they are when comes to variety of different things we just don’t do today. So, setting that aside, Mrs. Robinson, one of the most legendary MILFs (maybe the very first one) is a proper sexual predator. I mean, seriously. Especially before their first sex, she traps poor Dustin Hoffman in the hotel room! I mean, those are some Weinstein-like practises…

In all seriousness now, I am joking… well, kind of. I will not judge the movie based on this, even though she might be taken as a problematic figure in these days. But I think we are all mature enough to acknowledge that yes, her behaviour is not great, nevertheless, it fits within the movie. And the movie, surprisingly, holds up. I know, you didn’t expect to be reading this after the Weinstein comparison, right…? Well it does, because what people often remember about this movie is the Mrs. Robinson, the famous line “Mrs. Robinson, you’re trying to seduce me!” the Simon & Garfunkel soundtrack. But they often forget this movie is more about growing up, how youth is wasted on young people, who can’t help it, as they don’t know what to do with themselves, they don’t know who they are yet. And they get lonely.

The thing about The Graduate is you forget how great all the performances were. And how subtle they are. That is the number one thing that jumped out at me, how everybody in this movie is great, but really subtle about everything. What I have also forgotten is how this movie has tempo of its own. It feels slow, in places almost lazy, but it’s not boring! It emerges you in its world, getting you into the same mindset as Dustin’s character, where everything is slow for him. He’s bored, he doesn’t know what to do, he just wants to take it easy, maybe too easy.

Of course, there is one more thing that made this film into the classic it truly is, the ending. I think I don’t have to be too careful about discussing a movie, that’s over 50 years old now. On top of that, it’s been parodied to death on different shows, movies, sketches… It’s undoubtedly one of the most memorable movie endings of all time. What I like about it, is how bitter sweet it is, as at first, it seems like your typical Hollywood happy ending. He gets the girl, they escape, everything is in front of them. But then, the last 30 seconds of the movie happen, where they exchange the now the famous looks of “well, what now?”, where in those two looks, you can see so much fear, doubt, uncertainty… it’s an acting masterclass. And that ties in with the “youth being wasted on young people”, where they sometimes just do, and then think. Everything comes full circle.

The Graduate can be definitely viewed very differently today, if you want. Or, we can stop pretending we would have always stood on the right side of history, and get over something, that is undoubtedly bad, but that should not cheapen this movie in any way, shape or form. This movie is still relevant even today, as it deals with universal themes of being young, where you are no longer a child/teenager, but you don’t feel like a “proper adult” yet. And the world is this big, and scary place. And if there is one thing young people can relate to today, is this idea of world being a big, scary place…

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I might be in the minority, but I would rather watch an awful movie, than the most average movie ever made. And I will tell you why. You will always remember great movies, so that is why I am not even going to mention them. And you will, by their nature, remember something that was just bad, didn’t sit with you well, or bored you… whatever your definition of a bad movie is. But, to me the worst thing is a movie, that’s so average, you don’t really remember anything from it a week from watching it. And that is Rumor Has It…

This movie is a textbook definition of as average as it gets. The story seems intriguing in the beginning, just for it to fall into the stereotypical (unfortunately unfunny) traps of current “comedies”, where you can not only tell what is coming, but on top of that, you can almost always predict who is going to speak up next, what they are going to say… Which is a shame, as the story was intriguing and the cast is great!

Jennifer Aniston made this right after Friends (1994 – 2004) finished their run, so she was still going strong from there, Kevin Costner is welcome addition most of the time and Mark Ruffalo with Richard Jenkins complete the list of great people, having nothing much to do here. I had purposely left one name out, because she, at least for me, made this movie watchable, stole the movie, and only because of her I am rating this movie slightly above the average mark this film deserves. Yes, Shirley MacLaine was the only person in this entire movie that made me laugh every time she was on the screen. She also looked like the only actor who had any kind of fun making this movie.

Which is definitely a disappointment, as with great names like these, you would at least expect something above the average, especially with Jennifer coming off one of the most popular comedy shows of all time. To be fair, she wasn’t bad but any means, neither of the big names I have just listed were necessarily bad, they were just… bland. And that is what makes Rumor Has It… one of the most average movies that ever movied in the history of movies. It’s been a few weeks since I’ve seen it and I swear I can maybe remember one or two scenes, and that is about it. Usually, that’s not a case for me, as when comes to remembering pointless things, my memory is excellent. 😉

This is also something I struggle with when comes to average movies – they are really hard to review properly. To give you an example – think of the best food you’ve ever tasted. Now try to describe it, and why you loved it so much. Now, think of the worst food you’ve tasted and again, describe what made it “the worst”. And now, tell me about that one salad you had a few weeks ago. Or that one store bought sandwich from last week. Exactly, there is nothing much to say, as it doesn’t matter if it’s movies or food, great/not so great experiences are memorable. The most mundane, average movies/food we don’t even realise consuming, as that’s just “yet another one of those”. That is why I’d have a hard time recommending this movie to anybody, even though I loved Shirley in it, because it is just “another one of those” you have watched thousands times prior. Nothing surprises you.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

If not the first, The Bishop’s Wife is certainly one of the first movies you can tell they made, because something really similar to it did great the previous year (yes, I am of course talking about It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)). I mean, it’s basically the same premise, except here, the angel (played by Cary Grant) actually comes down to help out a bishop with… well everything in his life.

As far as copies go, this was actually a decent one. The Bishop’s Wife is a charming movie, that has just enough beats of its own to keep you interested and the further along you watch, the more the connection between this film and It’s a Wonderful Life disappears. The main focus of this movie is more on the balance of having a meaningful life, but not on the account of your family, that is what the bishop has managed to forget and that is why we have Cary Grant’s Dudley coming here, to help him out with his work and his marriage.

But of course, as it happens in movies like these, even angel has feelings and manages to fall for Loretta Young, and who can blame him? I am not too familiar with her, but she looked charming in this movie, and she delivered a great performance, as you could feel that even though she still loves her husband, she just needs more from him. Although, I do need to admit, the final exchange between her and Cary Grant felt a bit weird, as he basically said if he wasn’t angel, he would try to do something (I guess break up the family, he’s just saved…? Dude, you know the heaven exists, you sure you want to go down that route?)

What I found fascinating is while reading through IMDb’s trivia section, I have learned not only that originally, a different director (William A. Seiter) was shooting the film, but once he was fired, Henry Koster replaced him and realised why the movie wasn’t working and swapped the roles of bishop and the angel. That’s right, originally, Cary Grant was playing the bishop and David Niven was playing the angel. Personally, I can’t imagine that, as they fit their roles so perfectly, it only proves Henry Koster made the right decision and also goes to show you never know. Sometimes, actors get a job and it’s not until somebody else steps in and tells you: “Hey, why don’t you try this role?” and then everything fits together nicely.

On the surface, The Bishop’s Wife might just seem like a “It’s a Wonderful Life wannabe”, but credit where credit is due, it’s not just that. This movie does stand on its own, and if for nothing else, you should watch it for the delightful ice-skating sequence, that was the emotional highlight of this movie for me. The only “negative” thing, and I am using the word “negative” very carefully, is it doesn’t hit you (or at least it didn’t hit me) emotionally as much as It’s a Wonderful Life hits me every time I watch it, and even the very first time. But should you still watch it, maybe around Christmas time? Sure, I don’t think you will be disappointed, especially if you are a big fan of Cary Grant or Loretta Young.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

As I have established in my review for the Father of the Bride (1991), both of these are movies I grew up on. Not only that, but we had them taped on VHS (remember those?) back to back, so every time the first movie would finish, this one would start playing. And I believe almost every single time, we would watch them both, back to back, with no regrets.

Father of the Bride Part II is one of those rare sequels, that to me doesn’t loose any of the charm of the original film, but builds up on it. The main story revolves around Kimberly Williams-Paisley‘s character being pregnant, while there is another, slightly more unexpected pregnancy, as Diane Keaton‘s character is also pregnant. And thus hilarity ensues.

I think where this film “wins” is this is the biggest stretch, that viewer needs to get on board with, that both mother and the daughter are pregnant at the same time. But it doesn’t really go overboard on anything else. And this is where other comedy sequels don’t deliver. They try to do everything the same, but bigger, and plenty of times the characters suffer from it. Whereas this film feels like a logical continuation of the first one, where all characters we know actually still act the way we would expect them to. Steve Martin‘s character is trying to come to terms with becoming a grandfather, while also having to deal with a fact he needs to raise a baby no. 3, both “most important women of his life” are having the usual pregnancy struggles and Kieran Culkin‘s character is preparing for a new role, being the “big brother” for the first time in his life.

As with the previous film, in its core, it is a really simplistic movie. And yet again, it wins because of its simplicity. It’s not trying to go over the top with any situations (well, maybe with the sleeping pills towards the end, but then again, that scene gives Steve’s character the comedy highlight of this movie, so it evens out) and it still feels relatable and down to earth. Especially with its message about not only moving on, but moving a way further on the opposite side of the USA. And to me, a somebody, who has done that and moved to Scotland from the Czech Republic (I refuse to call it Czechia!) almost 10 years ago now, that hits really close. Unless you go through something like that, it’s hard to describe not seeing your family “live” for a year or two, missing out on all birthdays, anniversaries etc. Especially on my latest re-watch, that part really resonated with me. The hopelessness/hopefulness when your loved one moves away, and you are both happy for them, but also sad, as you won’t spend as much time together as you might want/need. Except in my case, I was the one moving away.

But back to the movie – it’s exactly the same as his predecessor. Meaning, if you enjoyed the previous movie, you will most likely enjoy this one too. If the first film wasn’t your cup of hot cocoa, you would probably want to avoid it, as it won’t offer you anything new. But sometimes, you don’t need/want anything new. Sometimes, you just want to watch a warm blanket of a movie, that makes you feel cosy, happy and comfortable. Father of the Bride Part II is that movie. Realistically, it’s not flawless movie, but I cannot rate this any lower.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke

I think we can all relate to some things, no matter who we are and where we come from. And one of them is having “family movies” – films, you not only grew up on, but continue to watch even today every once in a while, to remind yourself why you like them. And every single time you watch those movies, you get transported back in time, where the world seemed to have been just you and your family, watching these films. And for those precious couple of hours, everything was great with the world. This is what Father of the Bride is to me.

To my surprise, it still holds up. On my most recent re-watch, I have realised why it might be and why I love this (and the sequel, Father of the Bride Part II) movie so much – in a core, they feel like a family. Sure, this movie might have some moments that you can say are too sweet or sentimental, which is fair. But one thing I don’t think you can argue, is they do feel like a family, not just actors. Every time I watch both of these, I have a hard time believing Steve Martin isn’t actually married to Diane Keaton and that they didn’t raise Kimberly Williams-Paisley alongside Kieran Culkin. Because they feel so natural, they sell the movie. Not those sentiments, or anything else. Just these four brilliant actors, doing what they do best. Steve has the most laughs (naturally, as before he became an actor, he was a stand-up comedian) Diane has the gravitas, the matriarch of the family, who keeps everybody in check, Kimberly is the daughter who’s no longer their little girl anymore, and Kieran is just starting to figure out the world.

For the longest time I didn’t know this is a remake of Father of the Bride (1950) and I still didn’t get the change to see it, which is a shame, as I really want to see how much alike are these two movies, as I must have seen this film about 20x, at least. It would definitely be interesting to compare the original against something I know very well.

I believe the main reason for Father of the Bride standing out amongst “modern family comedies” of today, is the fact that the film is not mean. It has some snarky moments, but almost every comedy nowadays feel the need to be almost mean, or too snarky, too “mature”, too edgy. Which sometimes works perfectly, but when everything you see is like that, it’s hard to differentiate between those movies, not making any one standout. Whereas this movie firmly stands out by being kind, where even if the family goes through some hardships, there is never that one moment, where there is THE biggest fight ever. No, they have a normal fight, cool down a bit, and then they talk it out, as any normal family would do. This movie definitely isn’t trying to be cool, but it’s striving to be a relatable fun, you can put on a rainy Sunday afternoon, where you and your family would gather around to watch it. And to me, it always succeeds.

Realistically, it’s not a perfect movie. But again, this is one of those movies I grew up on. Every time I re-watch it, I always go back to my childhood and feel like a kid/teenager, no matter what stage of my life I was, I could always watch this movie, feeling great. Give it a try, maybe you will see what I am talking about.

That’s all for this one! Did you see it? What did you think about it? Let me know!

Until next time,

Luke