Day #81 - Away We Go

IMDB Link

I loved this movie!!! It was so, so cute. Chris and I honestly felt like it was written about us - a couple of times we looked at each other like. "did they really just say that? We say that all the time!" Away We Go is about Burt and Verona and their journey to find the perfect place to raise their child. Verona is six months pregnant when they find out that Burt's parents are moving to Europe - since Verona's parents passed away and they moved there to be close to Burt's parents, they decide hey, we don't have to be here anymore. So they think of a few places where they have friends or family and set out to find a city to move to. Burt and Verona really love each other and are excited to have a baby, even though they aren't married. When they spend time with their somewhat crazy friends and family, they learn a lot about how different relationships work - between husbands and wives, parents and kids....etc. They see how unfair the world can be when relationships don't work out or are troubled and it just reminds them of how much they love each other. Really the movie is a journey for them, in my opinion, to really figure out what kinds of parents and people they want to be.

I looooooved the cast in this movie - fantastic all around! I was really unsure of John Krasinski and Maya Rudolph....to me, John Krasinski is just Jim from The Office and I wasn't sure I could see past that....and Maya Rudolph seemed too old I guess. But they both did an amazing job - their dialogue was really natural and there were a few semi-emotional scenes where John Krasinski especially really surprised me. The supporting cast though really makes this movie a gem - Allison Janney might be my favorite actress ever, she just cracks me up. Some of the other friends and family were played by Catherine O'Hara, Jeff Daniels, Maggie Gyllenhall, Paul Schneider and Jim Gaffigan.

I definitely recommend this movie - it was directed by Sam Mendes and it's just really sweet!

Day #54 - Confessions of a Shopaholic

IMDB Link

I wanted to take this opportunity to talk about romantic comedies. I'm a pretty typical woman in that I love romantic comedies - I know they are predictable and cheesy and unrealistic but I still watch them every time :) That being said - they don't need to be completely unoriginal and poorly written. Too much of the time, filmmakers rely on big name people to attract you to movies that are just awful. For example - I love Jennifer Garner. I'll definitely see a movie just for her. So I'm guilty. I went to see Ghosts of Gilfriends Past and wanted to walk out. Just because it's a romantic comedy doesn't mean it needs to sacrifice story and character. Look at the Marlie Arnold classics - Sleepless in Seattle and When Harry Met Sally - funny, romantic, cute, great characters, great story. Step it up romantic comedies!

Onward now to what I watched a couple of days ago - Confessions of a Shopaholic. Not a great story and there were definitely some cheesy ridiculous parts - but there were also some cute parts and I feel like Isla Fisher really saved this one. I really liked her :) Unlike Katherine Heigl who I don't even remotely care for, Isla Fisher is fun and cute and you really want to be like her....which let's face it, is the WHOLE reason we women watch romantic comedies!

...and end soapbox.

Day #50 - Pat and Mike

IMDB Link

This movie took me two screenings to get through as I actually fell asleep the first time! I loved Hepburn and Tracy together again but I didn't care much for the movie - it just didn't keep my interest. It was kind of fun to see Kate playing golf and tennis - I have read that she was really good at sports.

Kate Hepburn plays Pat, a woman who is a great athlete but who seems to be held back by her fiance - as is typical for Kate's roles, she didn't want to feel like she was tied down to any preconceived notion of what women should and should not do. He treated her like property, and after competing in the Women's Nationals for golf, she decides to not go home with him as planned. Instead, she goes to find Spencer Tracy's character Mike - an Agent/Promoter, he introduces himself to Pat at the golf tournament, hoping to make some money from her. Pat and Mike then embark on a relationship where he promotes her sports and they slowly start to fall in love, despite Mike being a bit shady in his work and Pat working through things with her fiance.

So yah, overall, I have enjoyed the other Kate/Spence movies much more than this one but am always glad to mark ones off the list!

Day #45 - Woman of the Year

I am going to write my review tomorrow but I just wanted to say....I LOVE SPENCER TRACY!!!

IMDB Link

OK I'm back :) So yes, first of all, let's talk about Spencer Tracy. As I said after I watched Adam's Rib, I really expected Tracy to be gruff and cranky - and as in Adam's Rib, I could not have been more wrong. Charming is the best word to describe him - he is just wonderful! He is so natural in his roles and also very funny! Out of all of the movies I've seen so far, I would definitely put him up there with Jimmy Stewart as far as favorites - and I NEVER would have guessed that. I knew so little about him before this challenge - all I knew was about his love affair with Kate, but nothing about HIM. Love, love, love him.

So I read on IMDB that this was the FIRST movie he and Kate Hepburn made together (1942) - and boy can you tell! Their chemistry is AMAZING! They are so into each other - not for ONE second do you think they are acting. It's actually really fun to watch, knowing their story and what they would mean to each other. I had to smile at the screen at times, I was so thoroughly enjoying their interactions.

What I would like to know is this - and I'm posing this question to anyone who might know. I've noticed that Kate Hepburn's roles are typically that of really strong females who don't believe they should play second fiddle to men - and as I know that was the same of her in real life, I wonder.....were these movies written with her in mind? Because people knew she was like this and would therefore play the part well? I would be more inclined to think that female roles were just simply written this way anyway - but in the late 30's/40's/50's, how many writers were telling the story of women like this? I would have thought it were rare....

Woman of the Year won an Oscar for Best Screenplay and Kate Hepburn was nominated for Best Actress but did not win. I also wanted to share this piece of trivia from IMDB:

"As Katharine Hepburn's close friend and frequent director, George Cukor was a natural choice to direct, but for her first film with Spencer Tracy, Hepburn wanted Tracy to be as comfortable as possible, so as a quasi-producer, she hired George Stevens, who had directed her in Alice Adams (1935). As Hepburn said, "I just thought he (Tracy) should have a big, manly man on his team--someone who could talk about baseball." Cukor (who was openly gay and known for his friendships with actresses) would later become a good friend of Tracy and would direct both actors inKeeper of the Flame (1942), Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952)."

I also wanted to share a FANTASTIC quote that I first heard from my Hollywood Encyclopedia/Mother-in-Law :) and also found when researching this movie....(this quote is from Wikipedia) :)

"This is the first of nine films Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy were to make together. They met for the first time on this shoot. In the 1993 documentary Katharine Hepburn: All About Me, Hepburn herself says she was wearing high heels at the first meeting with Tracy and producer Joseph L. Mankiewicz, and said "I'm afraid I'm a bit tall for you, Mr. Tracy". Mankiewicz then responded, "Don't worry, Kate, he'll cut you down to size."

My favorite scene of the movie is the very last one when she is trying to make breakfast for him - not because of her actions but because of his reactions - what great faces! Lemme see if I can find it on YouTube. Yay! For a quick background, let's just say that Kate is trying to prove that she can be a good housewife - and she's not exactly comfortable in the kitchen :)

Day #37 - The Philadelphia Story

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I looove this movie - it's such a classic. I saw it many years ago and didn't remember much about it, other than that I loved Jimmy Stewart. It was on TCM the other night so I DVR'd it and I've actually watched it twice now :)

Katharine Hepburn played the role of Tracy Lord in The Philadelphia Story on Broadway, and she wanted the rights to the script for a movie version, so her boyfriend at the time, Howard Hughes, bought it for her. Cause we all have billionaire boyfriends right?? MGM agreed to do the movie, even giving Hepburn the opportunity to choose her costars and director. As her director, of course she chose no other than her favorite, George Cukor. She originally wanted Clark Gable and Spencer Tracy as Macauley Connor and CK Dexter Haven, but they were not available, so Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart were cast. Fantastic :)

The Philadelphia Story was nominated for 4 Oscars in 1940 and won 2 - Best Screenplay and Best Actor in a Leading Role for Jimmy Stewart (yay!). It was also nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress in a Leading Role for Katharine Hepburn and Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Ruth Hussey (really? what a strange nomination....). Kate Hepburn lost to Ginger Rogers in Kitty Foyle, which I have never heard of - but I imagine that after Kate put so much into this movie, she was none too happy not to win an Oscar for it. The Best Picture winner that year was Alfred Hitchcock's Rebecca.

I think that the best scene in this movie BY FAR is the scene where Jimmy Stewart is drunk and goes in to talk to Cary Grant and keeps yelling "CK Dexter Haaaaven!" and he hiccups all the time. He is so freakkin' fantastic. A couple years ago I read his biography and loved it because I was so happy for the story of his life not to ruin my opinion of him :) Here is a great video....from 1:20-1:30, tell me Jimmy Stewart and Cary Grant are not trying desperately not to laugh after Jimmy hiccups and Grant says "excuse me":) It makes me hysterical when he says "CK Dexter Haven you have unsuspected depth!" This has to be one of my favorite scenes of all time!

Day #29 - Adam's Rib

IMDB Link!

Aahh - my FIRST Katharine Hepburn / Spencer Tracy experience (and George Cukor!). How rewarding! You know, I thought going in, that since this was a romantic comedy that there would be a bunch of froo froo. I was wrong. You don't bring in the heavyweights like Hepburn and Tracy and get anything less than spectacular. I loved their chemistry and wondered how long they had been linked off camera - she totally dotes on him. I have only seen her before in The Philadelphia Story (fantastic) and was so impressed - that being said, HE actually blew me away. I always thought Spencer Tracy would be this old, gruff, stoic kind of guy and I was way off! I found him to be extremely charasmatic and playful. Cute even!

Adam's Rib was very fun to watch - Hepburn and Tracy play husband wife lawyers, Adam and Amanda Bonner, who go head to head in a murder trial - Amanda defends the accused wife and Adam defends the husband. Right off the bat Amanda sees this as an opportunity to prove that women are not treated equally to men in the eyes of the law - Adam sees her stand as a mockery and over the course of the trial their relationship suffers. I love how the movie is setup - you see their day in trial, then the aftermath at home....then you see the next day at trial and the aftermath again - as the movie progresses they fight more and more - but watching them fight is so great! I would never have wanted to go up in argument with Katharine Hepburn!

Who can recommend the BEST Tracy/Hepburn combo movie to add to my list?

Adam's Rib was made in 1949 and was #7 on AFI's list of Best Romantic Comedies :)

Day #23 - He's Just Not That Into You

Let me first say that I rented this movie through iTunes and watched it on the plane on the way home from Indiana on my iPhone. I love technology.

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1001508/

Let's face it. I'm a sucker for romantic comedies. I don't care if they have a plot. Really, it's not what I'm renting the movie for anyway! That being said, I actually really liked the plot in this movie. I think it shows up simply that relationships come in all kinds of forms and with all sorts of issues. My favorite part of the movie was Ginnifer Goodwin - she is SO cute! Her character is also fantastic because although she is pitiful and pretty sad to watch, EVERY woman in the world has a little bit (or maybe a lot) of her in them. We don't always make the right decisions and we certainly don't always use a lot of logic, but hey, we're doing the best we can, haha. I love Jennifer Connolly in everthing she does and I think my favorite scene in this movie was with her character - having found out her husband has been lying to her, she throws his clothes down the stairs and then slams a mirror into the ground, breaking it into a thousand pieces. The best part though, is that as soon as she breaks the mirror, she goes to get a broom and dustpan to clean it all up. Her husband is played by Bradley Cooper - I have one word. Hot. There is a great cast overall - Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Aniston, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johanssen, Kevin Connolly, Justin Long. SO, for those of you that like chic flicks, I think you'll like this one too :)

Day #13 - It Happened One Night

IMDB Link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0025316/

It Happened One Night, a 1934 Frank Capra movie starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable, was the first movie to ever sweep Oscars' "Big Five" - Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress, Best Actor and Best Screenplay :) So naturally, it had to be on my list :)

It Happened One Night is about Ellie Andrews, a socialite who runs away from her life of people telling her "what to do and how to do it" and on her way to New York City meets Peter Warren, a newspaper man looking for a good story. Like any good romantic comedy, they can't stand each other at first - he's just in for the good story and she just doesn't want him to tell her Dad where she is. By the time the end rolls around, they discover they are in love! It Happened One Night was one of the first romantic "screwball" comedies ever filmed - paving the way for all the Sleepless in Seattles and When Harry Met Sallys of the world :) I love all the old sets and lighting, so classic. Clark Gable is witty and handsome, of course - and I was very curious about Claudette Colbert. She has a kind of manly (?) voice...or maybe just deeper, kind of sultry. I thought she was really cute (not pretty though, actually kind of odd looking haha) until I read that she demanded double her usual salary to do this movie for a guarantee that it would only last four weeks - AND, she hated the movie so much she didn't even attend the Oscars where she won Best Actress! Clark Gable himself walked on the set first day and said, "Let's get this over with." Hahaha! Back to the movie though....I really enjoyed watching it and am glad to be able to check it off my list :)

Turner Classic Movies named It Happened One Night as one of their top 15 most influential films of all time - see below for excerpt:
(http://www.ropeofsilicon.com/article/tcm-unveils-their-list-of-top-15-most-influential-films-of-all-time)

"The surprise success of It Happened One Night made Frank Capra one of the screen’s top directors and provided the prototype for a decade of screwball comedies. Romantic comedies like When Harry Met Sally and The Sure Thing draw on the rapid banter, outrageous comic situations and sexy road trip of It Happened One Night. The movie even provided inspiration for one of the screen’s most enduring characters, Bugs Bunny."

I love learning about "old" Hollywood during the days of the studios contracting out and "owning" actors...here is a tidbit about it from IMDB....

"Columbia Pictures was considered a Poverty Row studio at the time of the film's release. Both MGM and Warner Brothers would loan out temperamental actors to Columbia as a 'humbling experience.' Studio boss 'Harry Cohn', who was loathe to pay for his own roster of contract stars during the early 30's, would invariably assign them to work on Frank Capra's films. Although the studio had received Oscar nominations prior to this picture, it's success virtually single-handedly lifted Columbia out of the ranks of poverty row."

Day #11 - Funny Face

1957 - Fred Astaire and Audrey Hepburn. I think the movie was about 5 minutes in, just after the beginning of the first song when I turned to Chris and said "This is going to be a long 2 hours...". Well, it was.

I love Audrey Hepburn, I do. But this movie just didn't do it for me. There were a few cute parts but for me, they were outweighed by a bunch of really strange scenes, odd dancing routines, so-so singing. The interpretive dancing scene at the Paris bar? - so weird. I have to admit I fast forwarded through some of the movie near the end and let a few horse laughs come out :) Am I missing something? Here is the scene:



Chris read up a bit on the movie because I was confused as to why they were playing with color so much - it wasn't new...? Apparently Funny Face was one of the first movies to use VistaVision cameras with technicolor film - Ben Hur also used these cameras but Funny Face played around with the effects a bit more. So at the time I'm sure it was amazing but for me - cheesy. As I said, I'm bad at putting movies in context!