MY MOVIE SHELF: Scooby-Doo

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: 199  Days to go: 139

Movie #239:  Scooby-Doo

So last night I discovered that a bunch of my S movies were out of alphabetical order, which is going to irritate me until the end of time. Unfortunately, I can’t go back and fix it, so now there are SEVEN GODDAMN MOVIES that are being covered out-of-order, including the last one. I blame the kids, because it’s probably their fault one way or another.

As for this little double-feature (which, each film gets its own entry — I am not trying to cheat here), I inherited it when my husband and I were dating and he moved in with this adorable little girl (his daughter, obviously) with big blue eyes and a wildly silly disposition who ate “much cookies,” wrote the names of her friends in a little bank calendar, thought dancing was “too humiliating” (really) and loved Scooby-Doo more than anything. She watched this flick all the time. It was her very favorite thing.

For myself, I hardly think they could’ve cast these main characters any better. It’s like, I never would’ve pictured Freddie Prinze Jr. as Fred until this came out, and then it’s SO OBVIOUS. Same for Sarah Michelle Gellar as Daphne, honestly, and Matthew Lillard is like Shaggy come to life. Even Linda Cardellini makes for an impressive Velma, though I’m not sure how I didn’t realize it was her before now — especially since I immediately recognized her today. (Also, she is a tiny person. Has she always been tiny?) Scooby himself is of course CGI, which there was a bit of griping about beforehand, though I’m not sure what other option there was. It’s as weird-looking as you would imagine a CGI Scooby-Doo would be, but if you’re looking for a movie based on Scooby-Doo that isn’t weird-looking (at a MINIMUM), then maybe your expectations are a bit too high.

The action picks up right in the middle of things, which was confusing at first, especially since there are two movies on one disc here and for some reason I always thought this one was the second one. So I had to double-check, but confirmed this was the right one after all. The gang is feeling a lot of tension among themselves, what with Fred being vain and Daphne being sick of being helpless and Velma being sick of doing all the work and getting none of the credit. (Shaggy and Scooby feel no tension ever, unless there are monsters involved. Must be the weed.) So they solve their case and all go their separate ways, joining up two years later when an eccentric millionaire (Rowan Atkinson) who owns an island theme resort called Spooky Island invites them all over to solve the mystery of his catatonic teen guests. Your basic Scooby-Doo episode ensues.

There is a nice little bonus, though, in the form of a love interest for Shaggy named Mary Jane, natch (played by Isla Fisher, who, with blonde hair, looks nothing like Amy Adams). She’s very cute and sweet and she, too, loves Scooby Snacks. (They’re a vegetarian treat.) I like her quite a lot.

Of course, there’s also the act of the gang coming back together, with Daphne becoming a self-sufficient black belt and Fred acknowledging all their teamwork and Velma being the object of a little male gaze. It’s, for a five-year-old at least, a pretty satisfactory arc. They even pay off adult fans of the old cartoon series by making Scrappy-Doo an insufferable menace who nobody likes. Scooby-doobie-doo!

Okay, it’s not a great movie by any stretch of the imagination, but what do you want? It’s Scooby-Doo.

MY MOVIE SHELF: Love Actually

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: 205  Days to go: 209

Movie #172:  Love Actually

Last year Love Actually turned 10, and I found out there are a lot more mixed feelings about the movie than I ever would’ve predicted. Is it a Christmas movie or is it not a Christmas movie? Is it ridiculous or whimsical? Does it not have enough sex in it? Honestly, it’s much ado about nothing as far as I’m concerned. I consider it a Christmas movie, but I could actually watch it whenever, and it’s clearly a whimsical film, filled with playfulness and hope and small fantasy elements. And I actually think the implications of sex and the disappointing denials of sex make the film a more powerful statement overall. To paraphrase a certain lovesick guy impersonating a Christmas caroler, to me, it is perfect.

An ensemble film that traces the lives of several loosely connected Londoners in the weeks leading up to Christmas, Love Actually delves into the ways love is held, lost, denied, promised, hoped for and realized. It’s silly and funny and lovely and heartbreaking and great, all rolled into one, but while the aggregate is fantastic, Love Actually excels in tiny moments. Here are my favorites:

Nobody talks about Love Actually without talking about Emma Thompson’s devastating portrayal of Karen, opening up her Christmas gift to find the necklace she was expecting to receive from her husband (having chanced upon it in his pocket a week before), was instead a Joni Mitchell CD. Utterly humiliated and heartbroken, she still has to hold herself together in front of her children. It’s Christmas Eve and they’re about to go to the kids’ school play, after all; she can’t fall apart, can’t confront her husband (Alan Rickman), can’t curl up in a ball until New Year’s. She hides her shock and outrage, excuses herself for a moment, and quietly loses it in her bedroom. It captures perfectly that gut punch feeling of betrayal, that suffocation that comes over you. And the movie follows it up with another perfect moment, when she does confront Harry after the concert, she says it’s not just him who’s the fool because he’s made a fool out of her as well, “and the life I lead look foolish too.” That’s the line that gets me, for it carries the full weight of infidelity, when everything you know about your life can be rendered false in an instant. A heavy moment, and yet it doesn’t darken the film. Simply perfect.

Then there’s Hugh Grant as the new Prime Minister. The mutual attraction between him and Natalie (Martine McCutcheon) is sparkling, and I really enjoy his confusion at everyone calling her chubby. He’s even steely and resolute with Billy Bob Thornton as the U.S. President. But when he starts dancing around to “Jump” by The Pointer Sisters, I can’t help but squeal with delight. If there’s anything more appealing than Hugh Grant being a dick, it’s Hugh Grant dancing badly. I am not kidding.

My next favorite character is Colin Frissell (Kris Marshall), and I’m not kidding about that either. His entire scheme to go to Wisconsin to meet easy American girls and be the God of Sex he was always destined to be is hilarious and, in its fantasy-world way, kind of spot-on about how an ordinary guy somewhere can go somewhere completely different and become infinitely more interesting, almost on the strength of his accent alone. Okay, so if you do this you’re probably not going to meet January Jones and Elisha Cuthbert and Shannon Elizabeth and Denise Richards and Ivana Milicevic — all sexed up and ready to go since they’re “not the richest of girls” and have to sleep naked in a single bed — but it’s the hope fulfilled for Colin that makes it so great. And the best part? Screaming in Heathrow Airport, “and he’s got a big NOB,” (complete with hand gesture estimation of size).

And the pop-up live rendition of “All You Need Is Love” at the wedding of Juliet (Kiera Knightly) and Peter (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is splendid, but Juliet’s face as she realizes Peter’s best friend Mark (Andrew Lincoln) took video of only her, is surprised and flattered and also sad. And then Mark tears up and I just want to hug them both.

There’s also the porn stand-ins, played by Martin Freeman and Joanna Page, who spend all day in various states of undress, miming sex acts with each other, and yet they’re so timid and hesitant about feeling each other out on a personal level and eventually dating. It’s the cutest thing ever.

Or how Aurelia (Lucia Moniz) learns English for Jamie (Colin Firth) “just in cases.”

Or Bill Nighy as faded rock star Billy Mack, singing his crappy Christmas song, naked, on live TV, thrusting into his guitar.

Or stupid, stupid Sarah (Laura Linney) putting her brother in some assisted living center where he’s allowed to call her every hour of the day, as many times as he wants, and not allowing a moment to herself, especially when gorgeous, nearly-naked, understanding, patient and totally, uncomprehendingly into her Karl (Rodrigo Santoro) is right there in her bed begging her not to answer.

Or Daniel (Liam Neeson) bumping into Carol (Claudia Schiffer) and getting all tongue-tied because she looks just like Claudia Schiffer.

Or the jewelry store clerk (Rowan Atkinson) distracting an airport gate attendant so Sam (Thomas Brodie-Sangster) runs to tell Joanna (Olivia Olson) how he feels about her.

Or Joanna’s perfect rendition of “All I Want For Christmas Is You.”

Love Actually is a delightful movie that warms my heart and makes me feel good, and it has so many great moments to savor. It makes me deliriously happy. I honestly can’t think of a single reason not to love it to pieces.

MY MOVIE SHELF: Four Weddings and a Funeral

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: 261 Days to go: 257

Movie #116: Four Weddings and a Funeral

It’s not every film that can give away a major plot point right there in the title and still be a success. I mean, Lone Survivor just kind of got mocked for it. Four Weddings and a Funeral, though, holds true to its name and still manages to deliver a devastating blow when that funeral comes to pass.

Hugh Grant plays Charles in the role that made him a Hollywood star — fidgety, bumbling, adorably awkward, incredibly endearing. He’d get pigeonholed in these types of characters for the rest of the decade, but to be honest I never actually tired of it — even if he’s much sexier and surprising as a rakish bad boy. See, he’s actually good at adorably bumbling, which is one of those things that seems like it would be easy but actually isn’t. Hugh Grant is adept at stuttering through declarations of love or at saying the exact wrong thing to the exact wrong person without ever coming off as a total social parasite. That’s a skill.

Then, of course, there’s Kristin Scott Thomas who is absolutely perfect as Fiona. Secretly in love with Charles, barely tolerable of her brother Tom (James Fleet), and really sort of above it all in general, yet she clearly has a close and strong bond with this band of friends. She loves them dearly, which instantly makes her lovable. And she was a lesbian once in school for about fifteen minutes, so she’s definitely up for living in the moment and trying new things. AND she makes Rowan Atkinson’s socially awkward priest-in-training charmingly twittery. She has virtues. Fiona is condescending and frank in all the best ways and I couldn’t possibly love her more, but then she went and did The English Patient and I’ve never really forgiven her.

The true heart and best character of the movie, though, is undeniably Gareth (Simon Callow), whose boisterous love for life is intoxicating and exhilarating. He brings all the friends together. He embraces life and encourages love and celebration. And his relationship with Matthew (John Hannah) is so beautiful and easy-going, it’s simply the best thing in all the film. (It’s never once commented upon, either, this long-standing homosexual relationship in the center of the film, until Charles mentions sort of off-handedly that it just occurred to him how the two of them were sort of married the whole time and no one knew it. That was a radical statement — a groundbreaking realization at the time, and it’s the most honest and true relationship in the entire film.)

I also love John Hannah and his sexy Scottish accent in absolutely everything — even The Mummy — but what I love most about him here is how centered and calming he is — a perfect counter to Gareth’s boundless energy and rambunctiousness. The eulogy Matthew gives at the titular funeral is gorgeously heartbreaking, and my eyes well up with tears every time.

Scarlett (Charlotte Coleman) rounds out the crew of friends (unless you count Charles’s brother David (David Bower), which I don’t, because he always seems more on the edges, even though he does play a pivotal role in the climax), and I kind of always wanted to be as free-spirited and comfortably eccentric as she was. Sadly, I don’t own a single plastic heart ring. I will remain infinitely glad, however, that she eventually marries a sexy Texan with a great sense of humor who appreciates Scarlett’s verve.

Honestly, the only thing I find troubling about the film is how off-putting and not-at-all-alluring I find Carrie (Andie MacDowell) to be. I mean, other than wearing a fabulous hat to the first wedding, she’s got a questionable fashion sense, a grating accent that seems amplified for some reason (it’s much softer in Groundhog Day, for example, which came first, so it’s not like it’s a matter of it relaxing over time), and her character is solely defined by sex partners and spoiled flippancy. Other than a fabulous roll in the hay, really, it’s hard to figure out what Charles even sees in her. I mean, anyone who goes to the store their wedding is registered at and follows up on whether the expensive items are purchased is kind of comically gauche to begin with, but she’s also flighty and unfaithful and just sort of keeps showing up for no discernible reason. Charles deserves to be not married to someone else, frankly, but then again Charles also is a terrible boyfriend/fiance, so maybe they deserve each other after all.

In fact, everyone seems to be paired up nicely with a perfect match at the end except Matthew (who still seems happy, so at least that’s something) and Fiona, who deserves much much better than Prince Charles. Really, she gets shafted the entire movie. Poor Fiona.