Tozerboy

I saw two movies this weekend worth mentioning. I saw more than two but….

I watched the Sydney Lumet/ Paddy Chayefsky film Network for the first time in years. What a breath of fresh air from the past. While I was in California last week, my brother and I talked about the films of the 1970’s. We both agreed that those films were some of the best ever made. Of course we were young and now we are nostalgic for that innocent energetic time in our lives, but there were some great films made then. Here are ten:

1. Annie Hall
2. Chinatown
3. The Godfather
4. All the President’s Men
5. M*A*S*H
6. Breaking Away
7. A Clockwork Orange
8. Taxi Diver
9. Jaws
10. Star Wars

Annie Hall and Chinatown are at the top of my list of all time favorites. I can still remember what theatre I saw each of those films in and where I sat. Many I saw at WKU in the Dero Downing Center theater. That’s where I saw Network.

Network is a great satire about TV, business, politics and personal relationships. The script is sharp and witty, the dialogue is poetically real, like all of Chayefsky’s work. (He died too young.) Faye Dunaway’s frigid Programming VP is scary and sad. William Holden’s hangdog, Harry Reasoneresque performance, as the forced out venerable journalist, poetic philosopher conscience of the reasoned viewer, rings true, at least to me. (And it makes me think about some of the dreams I am chasing now.) And Peter Finch’s performance as the mad Newsman/Prophet was just great.

Most of the stuff on screen seems almost possible, or has even happened, the least likely thing to see today, is a free wheeling jeremiad belching, unscripted anchor. After the Janet’s wardrobe malfunction, everything on TV has to be scripted and time delayed to protect us from ourselves. “The spontaneity must be rehearsed until we get it right!” When I first saw Network, I remember thinking how the satire worked without being too heavy. The film had scenes of the life and times around us then (1976) that made it seem real. Watching it again, I was surprised how little has changed. We are still worried about crime, terrorists, the economy, oil and the Arabs. The film is 30 years old, but the problems depicted have not been fixed. One scenario played out in several scenes, is that UBS, the network in Network is going to be taken over by the Saudis. Fairly prescient when you consider the whole Port/Dubai thing we just went through.

The last half of the film seems rushed though. Maybe they were trying to emulate the pace of TV, maybe not. It seems hurried, but doesn’t suffer much. The scene where Holden argues about his affair with Dunaway’s character, with his wife Louise, seems fast, but it is some of the best writing in the film. The scene where Holden breaks up with Dunaway is special. When he tells her off and we get to see her squirm with discomfort is fun. He storms out the door like the female lead in 40’s melodrama. In ’76 it was interesting to see Holden play the feminine and Dunaway play the masculine part, something that may not seem shocking to today’s audience.

On Friday I went to see She’s the Man. A silly little comedy with Amanda Bynes. A suggested I go, he said, “Have some senseless fun.” At first I wasn’t going to go, but A is always challenging me, in a wry way, and the end of my week had been crazy, so I figured why not. It was a pretty silly film, based on Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Bynes plays Viola, the girl pretending to be a boy so she can compete with the boys. The story has been told before, my favorite version is Shakespeare in Love, but I did giggle a few times at this one and there were some cute bodies on screen. Bynes did a decent job of playing a boy.

I do love going to the movies. The smell of the popcorn. The search for the perfect seat. Settling in and waiting for the Coming Attractions. Sitting there watching this trifle I realized once again, that I like going to the move theater to see anything. It was also interesting sitting next to A and J. They held hands for much of the film. I was struck how comfortable they are in their skins and how I’ve been struggling. I came out of the movie asking myself, “What am I afraid of? How much longer will I lead a double life?” I guess I’ve grown though, ten years ago, I would have been embarrassed to sit next to two boys that held hands. Who am I kidding, hell ten months ago I would have been uncomfortable. Friday I felt no discomfort and I was happy for them, even proud. So even silly movies can have revelations. After all the twelfth night of Christmas is the Feast of the Epiphany.