Cinema Hype

Happy Thanksgiving, Cinema Hypers! What a great day: a dedicated holiday for food, family, friends, and dwelling a little on the good things in life. Not bad.

This Thanksgiving, I’d like to offer up a little gratitude to the deities of film. I spend a fair amount of time dissecting movies, pointing out the niggling little things that drive me crazy, offering reservations about movies that other people love. So here are a few things about Film and Film Things for which I am truly grateful:

1. Snappy dialogue
It’s amazing what good dialogue can do. It’s risky to say, but as far as I’m concerned, plot holes, unrecognizable characters, and a complete lack of action can be pretty easily ignored if there’s something fun to listen to. I’m talking witty comebacks, hairpin turns, and a little bit of human realism, preferably delivered at a good clip–what I once heard Lauren Graham (the queen of snappy dialogue at a good clip) refer to as “athletic dialogue.” Invented by the 1930s screwball comedies, but it never, ever gets old.

2. Sad comedies and funny dramas
When people ask about my favorite kind of movie, I always say, “The sad comedy. No. The funny drama. …You know what I mean?” The truth is that movies are meant to portray the reality of being human, even when they’re set in exotic places or unusual circumstances, or not even about humans, per se. And being human is neither pure comedy nor pure tragedy (one hopes). And so I am thankful for movies that get the balance right: The Royal Tenenbaums. Say Anything. Keeping the Faith. The Science of Sleep. Even when they’re weird, they’re still right.

3. George Clooney. I just am, okay? I like so much, in the words of Michael Scott, of what he chooses to be.

4. Serialization
Obviously, the film series as a genre is a risky move. After all, how many Police Academy movies are floating around in the ether? (Answer: six.) On the other hand, I’m thankful for serialized movies because they give everyone–writers, directors, characters, audiences–more time. Done right, they invite deeper and sometimes more responsible storytelling, since there is both the promise and the threat of connections to other films. Where would we be with only one Star Wars movie? Only Raiders of the Lost Ark? The Fellowship of the Ring? In a bad place, I tell you.

5. Musicals
Sure, not everybody’s into the whole “bursting into song” thing, but to those people I must say: Why not? Songs are fun. Dancing is awesome. Choreography is sometimes silly, but all the better for it, I say! I am a complete sucker for anything involving Gene Kelly and/or tap dancing, but it goes beyond that. Sometimes people have just got to sing, you know? And I, for one, will probably be singing right along (Shhh! Don’t tell!).

Happy Thanksgiving, all. Enjoy the day.

Thanksgiving, holidays, thankful, movies, movie series, musicals, George Clooney