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Message: [QUOTE="Deleted member 3864, post: 132357, member: 3864"] Just remembered to update the little spreadsheet of movies I've seen this year, it's about twenty-five new entries but here's a random smattering! [I]Bye, Bye, Birdie![/I] (1963) [HR][/HR] [ATTACH type="full" align="left" width="307px" alt="1741979437572.png"]42283[/ATTACH]A fictionalized take on Elvis fangirls losing their minds when he was drafted, this one couldn't be more corny. It's the sort of thing that people who hate musicals probably picture when asked about the genre, along with [I]Hello, Dolly! [/I](1964). The opening number isn't sung so much as shouted at the camera, a wailing "BY-YYYEE BYE, BIRD-EEE!" that sets your teeth on edge. (Incidentally, the movie is *probably* best known nowadays for the Family Guy parody of the "What's the story, Morning Glory?" sequence.) Thing is, it should be more fun; there's a thread in here about sexual awakening and the rush to be an adult, but the teenagers are all written by guys who think they're idiots. The patronizing tone about "those crazy kids" contrasts with something like [I]The Warriors[/I] (1979), a movie that embraces the perspective of the young cast instead of judging them. The adults don't come off too much better, with Dick Van Dyke as a struggling songwriter whose too cowed by his mother to marry [I]Psycho[/I]'s Janet Leigh. In the original stage play, that's chalked up to the mothers racism, but the studio cast Leigh instead of Rita Moreno in the end, so that angle was replaced with "ugh, women." This was still a huge hit though, and the reason was likely co-lead Ann-Margaret. She's gorgeous, and the movie shows her off *constantly*. The highlight of the whole picture is easily a musical number halfway through the runtime, where her and her new ex-boyfriend try to make each other jealous. Ann-Margaret sings about drinking champagne and moving from boys to men, with a hunger on her face that was probably downright shocking for the time. (Good for her!) It's also just the most gorgeous part of the movie, a sockhop set in a nightclub with fantastic lighting, and the director (George Sidney) gets the most out of the shadows and red highlights. [ATTACH type="full" alt="1741982096124.png"]42304[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="1741981821337.png"]42300[/ATTACH] [ATTACH type="full" alt="1741982519800.png"]42314[/ATTACH] I dunno if I recommend it to anyone...if you grew up with older relatives watching Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello movies like Beach Blanket Bingo (1965), maybe it'll be nostalgic at least? [I]Bell, Book and Candle[/I] (1958) [HR][/HR] [ATTACH type="full" align="left" width="320px" alt="1741983340661.png"]42323[/ATTACH] The inspiration for TV's [I]Bewitched[/I], here's a pretty weird romantic comedy about witches and love spells gone awry. It's all pretty silly, but Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart have *so* much chemistry, it's wild. Stewart actually disliked his performance, he turned fifty and felt too old to play the romantic lead anymore. Novak called him her favorite screen partner, however...and I can see why! As a rule, I don't usually enjoy age gaps in movie relationships, but Jimmy Stewart is really something here, the silver fox to her black cat. Okay today is turning into a bit of a struggle so I'm cutting this short, but I can heartily recommend to anyone who'd like a light-hearted touch of supernatural to their romance. [/QUOTE]

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