MY MOVIE SHELF: Cool Hand Luke

The Task: Watch and write about every movie on my shelf, in order (Blu-rays are sorted after DVDs), by June 10, 2015.  Remaining movies: 106 Days to go: 71

Movie #334:  Cool Hand Luke

I can’t tell you the number of men I’ve come across in my life who claim to love Cool Hand Luke. Something in it speaks to them, obviously. It could be the disestablishment theme that draws them in, bringing with it the fantasy of “sticking it to the man.” Or there’s a chance they’re fans of the Christian imagery, comparing Luke (Paul Newman) and his plight to that of Jesus. Mostly, however, I think they just want to be as cool as Luke is, because Luke is immensely, effortlessly cool.

The problem with wanting to be Luke, though, is that Luke is an idiot. Some might say I’m too structured or submissive or conscientious to appreciate Luke’s revolutionary nature — and that’s fair; it’s something I question internally all the time — but is it really a win against the system to escape and escape and escape from a two-year prison sentence, forcing stricter and more tortuous punishments to be inflicted on you, only to wind up dead? I say no.

Now, I’m not saying the prison guards are right to react the way they did. From every corner, they were needlessly cruel, intentionally trying to break Luke’s spirit. In that instance, Luke giving them all a figurative “Fuck you” is understandable, maybe even warranted. But he doesn’t know when to quit. He’s incapable of checking himself, of reigning himself in. And it costs him everything — his body, his dignity, his will. Ultimately it costs him his life. It might seem like a noble sacrifice if Luke was ever fighting against some kind of injustice, but he’s not, really. He legitimately — insouciantly, smirkingly, and with an arrogant, blatant disregard for parking meters — broke the law. It landed him in jail for two years (maybe this was fair and maybe it wasn’t, but given his general smarmy attitude and lack of respect for authority, I’d be shocked if he didn’t have priors). And instead of just towing the line he was given, rather than lying in the bed he himself made, he pushed every single button he could — first with the prisoners and then with the guards. His fate was borne out of stubbornness, out of spite, and out of a basic need to flout the rules.

Luke is a hero to a lot of people — especially his fellow inmates, including unofficial leader of the crew Dragline (George Kennedy, in his Oscar-winning supporting role) — but to me he’s a tragic one. He blames God and the guards and whomever else for sabotaging his life, when in reality he does that to himself. Cool Hand Luke is a great, entertaining and intriguing movie, and the so-called Cool Hand Luke is a cool guy who’s likable and who knows how to have a good time, but Cool Hand Luke is not the inspirational film I think a lot of people make it out to be, just as Cool Hand Luke the guy is not actually someone to emulate or look up to.

 

MY MOVIE SHELF: Cars

This is the deal: I own around 350 movies on DVD and Blu-ray. Through June 10, 2015, I will be watching and writing about them all, in the order they are arranged on my shelf (i.e., alphabetically, with certain exceptions). No movie will be left unwatched . I welcome your comments, your words of encouragement and your declarations of my insanity.

Movie #45: Cars

Look, I have kids. My son was 2 when Cars came out on DVD, and it was something he enjoyed watching. Owning it has to be one of the absolute smallest sacrifices I’ve ever made for my children. However, I don’t think there’s any denying that this is one of the worst movies Pixar has ever released.

The movie isn’t bad, per se, it’s just formulaic and bland. It’s the standard young-hotshot-gets-schooled-by-an-old-pro-and-small-town-folks-into-being-a-better-person (so to speak) movie, done up in some clever animation that anthropomorphizes motor vehicles. It has none of the heart and wit that Pixar is generally known for. The Toy Story franchise is about toys, yes, but also about life, about friends, about loyalty, and about growing older and becoming obsolete. Up and Wall-E are beautiful tales of love, commitment and redemption. Finding Nemo speaks to the power of the families we are born into, and the ones we find along the way. And the two Monsters movies (Inc. and University) tell similar stories to that of Cars — about taking a step back in life and learning what’s really important — but in a much more inventive and satisfying way. Cars mostly uses stereotypes and familiar tropes to throw shade on the rank commercialism and big business mindset of American culture.

Lightning McQueen (Owen Wilson) is an upstart rookie race car who thinks he knows everything, who, through a series of odd occurrences ends up impounded in the little town of Radiator Springs off Route 66, sentenced to fix the main road he accidentally destroyed (lots of odd occurrences, but it’s a kid’s movie). Paul Newman, the original Hustler, shows up as Doc Hudson and has nothing but disdain for this car who is disrespectful to everyone and isn’t even that good a racer, considering Hudson was a former racing phenom. Meanwhile, Bonnie Hunt is a local Porsche (Sally) who used to live that fast-paced life and gave it up because she fell in love with this small-town one. She bemoans the interstate that bypassed the town and all the stores that ended up closing as a result, and teaches Lightning a little humanity through the power of her tramp stamp pinstriping. And Larry the Cable Guy is dim but lovable Tow Mater, who pretty much steals the show entirely with his unique brand of goofiness. It’s no wonder Mater emerged as the most popular character.

Naturally, McQueen turns over a new leaf and gives up his chance at a Piston Cup to show respect to a veteran racer, then moves his entire racing team hub of operations to Radiator Springs so he can be with his friends and revive the town. There’s nothing surprising or new or even all that interesting about it. It’s fine and easy for kids to enjoy, but it’s far too heavy-handed and simplistic to resonate emotionally for adults the way most of Pixar’s films have historically done. Not a bad movie, exactly, but fairly boring in the scheme of things.