Top Five Favorite Movie Scenes*
1. Fistfight, Bridget Jones’s Diary
Rarely has a single scene given me so much joy so many times over—after seven years, you’d think the honeymoon would be over, but by now I think we can pretty much assume that Hugh Grant and Colin Firth flailing at each other out in the street (with “It’s Raining Men” blaring in the background, naturally) will never not be funny to me.
2. Launch party, High Fidelity
This is a scene of such relief and contentment—for one thing, Jack Black sheds his metal-band persona, belting out a killer cover of Marvin Gaye’s “Let’s Get It On” as part of Barry Jive and the Uptown Five—that it’s nearly impossible to not be happy. Everyone’s swaying, everyone’s worked things out for the moment, and Black can actually sing. Wouldn’t it be great if, at some point in our lives, everybody got to live this moment, or something like it?
3. Wedding/football match sequence, Bend It Like Beckham
I’m not sure when I last saw a musical montage work as the climax of a movie, but Bend It Like Beckham may have been it. Watching Jess and Pinky do what they do best, respectively, with some kind of crazy aria playing in the background? It’s one of those utterly triumphant movie moments, where everybody wins (well, not everybody. Somebody’s got to lose the game, after all). What great treatment of two great characters.
4. Road-trip diner scene, When Harry Met Sally
Not to be confused with the more famous Katz’s Deli “I’ll have what she’s having” scene—you know the one I mean. This one starts with Meg Ryan explaining how “women are very practical, even Ingrid Bergman” as she uncaps and lets loose with an enormous can of Aquanet, and it ends with the famous “you know, of course, that we can never be friends” theory. And in the middle? Days-of-the-week underpants. What could be more perfect? This scene is a dialogue triumph, useful in all situations. Learn it. Love it. Make it your own.
5. Flood, O Brother, Where Art Thou?
There are many, many things I love about the Coens’ geekiest comedy, but if I’m going for atmosphere, the flood scene never fails to give me tiny, tiny goosebumps—the way you hear it coming, the scene it (fortunately) interrupts, the little tins of Dapper Dan. And then there’s the roll-top desk at the bottom. After all the intricate twisty-turny Coen-style storytelling, the grand gesture of the flood seems refreshingly complete and nonverbal.
What about you, readers? What scenes bring joy to your heart and a smile to your face?
*Right now.
Top Fives, Top 5s, Bridget Jones’s Diary, Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, fistfight, High Fidelity, Jack Black, Marvin Gaye, Let’s Get It On, Bend It Like Beckham, When Harry Met Sally, diner, O Brother Where Art Thou?, Coen brothers
April 24th, 2008 at 2:55 am
I’ll think of my favorites later, but I have to say the best part of the O Brother flood scene is the hound dog floating around. That is a great scene.
April 24th, 2008 at 2:05 pm
I just wrote a long comment and CH ate it. I’ll try again:
Contact: Two scenes. First, the first contact scene (wherein they receive the signal and figure out that it is distant and designed) is wonderfully exciting. Second, the scene when she is in the craft and watching the birth of a new star - and briefly reverts to her childhood appearance - perfectly captures for me the childlike wonder of science and exploration.
The Last Temptation of Christ: The sermon on the mount scene. Dafoe gives Jesus a fiery passion that’s often lacking from the public image of him. Every time I watch this scene I think, “Hey, this Christianity business must not be half bad if it’s based on ideas like this!”
The Fellowship of the Ring: fleeing after Gandalf falls with the Balrog. I’m not a huge fan of the LotR movies but this scene perfectly captures the sense of loss. For once, music and slow motion are put to good use.
LA Story: the scene of Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant walking into the lush courtyard off of a busy LA street. That’s what I so often feel like with Heather. This is my second pick that includes a transformation from adults to children, which probably says more about me than about the movies.
Duck Soup: I could list almost the entire movie, but I think the best *scene* (as opposed to individual gag) is Groucho’s mirror scene. Groucho always relies on the world giving him a nod and a free pass, but here he’s confronted with himself and we see that he gives as good as he gets. The best part has to be when one Groucho spins around but the other just waits for him with a ta-dah! motion. Makes me laugh every time.
April 27th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Ooh, Contact. I haven’t seen that movie in ages, but it was basically the only thing my freshman-year roommate and I could agree on. Good call on the signal scene.
And oh, man the LotR fleeing scene is heartbreaking–it’s like they’re running even though all they really want to do is stand there and stare into the abyss, Balrog or no, you know?
And: awwww, you and Heather are Steve Martin and Victoria Tennant! Sweet.
April 28th, 2008 at 8:29 am
I adore the scene in Bridget Jones! I read somewhere that the director took Mr. Firth and Mr. Grant aside and told them to just start whaling on eachother. Mr. Firth said that since neither of them really knew how to fight (being wimpy English men), it worked out nicely!