2008 Woodie Awards
Be Kind, Rewind
By: Liz Hunter
Issue date: 10/3/08 Section: TimeOut
Dang, y'all. Things are rough, aren't they? We're driving around in circles trying to find open gas stations, and we're watching the stock market nosedive while our politicians scratch their heads. We're entering the final sprint to the election, and things are unsurprisingly turning nastier and meaner by the second. And on top of it all, midterms loom sinisterly around the corner, taunting us and threatening to force us to cancel our weekend plans. Sigh. What an un-fun week. I don't know about you guys, but I need a break. From everything.
I need something to redeem my faith in humanity (and film), and I need it quick. So what's a girl to do in these dark times of crisis? I'll tell you what I do. Bring on the guilty pleasures. That's right, we're talking comfort film. Reputation bulldozers, if you will. The film equivalent of curling up into the fetal position or of waving the white flag. You know what I'm talking about, you've got them.
I realize that by discussing this publicly, I am probably ruining every bit of the legitimacy and credibility that I've worked so far this semester to stockpile. But you know what? Consider me the Kanye West of film criticism: "We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it." So let's take a breather together. Let's throw the serious (okay, fine, the attempted serious) film criticism out the window this week and instead think of the happy times - the films that we view on cruise control, the ones we've seen 30 times and could still happily watch at any given point, the ones that hold the special place in our hearts granting them the superpower of defying criticism.
For those of you who take pride in your film collection, these are the DVDs you keep on the bottom shelf, hidden as inconspicuously as possible so as to deflect attention away from the shame of their existence in your otherwise respectable collection. For me, these DVDs tend to have Nora Ephron-esque qualities: things like unrealistic portrayals of romance, vapid and worn-out plotlines, and banal, predictable scripts. So here goes, I'm throwing myself under the bus for you guys. Don't ever tell me I don't love you. Let the career suicide begin. I hereby present you the Official (and ridiculously girly) Be Kind, Rewind Pick-Me-Up List. These movies are bad, bad, bad, and yet they never fail to put me in a good place.
I need something to redeem my faith in humanity (and film), and I need it quick. So what's a girl to do in these dark times of crisis? I'll tell you what I do. Bring on the guilty pleasures. That's right, we're talking comfort film. Reputation bulldozers, if you will. The film equivalent of curling up into the fetal position or of waving the white flag. You know what I'm talking about, you've got them.
I realize that by discussing this publicly, I am probably ruining every bit of the legitimacy and credibility that I've worked so far this semester to stockpile. But you know what? Consider me the Kanye West of film criticism: "We all self-conscious, I'm just the first to admit it." So let's take a breather together. Let's throw the serious (okay, fine, the attempted serious) film criticism out the window this week and instead think of the happy times - the films that we view on cruise control, the ones we've seen 30 times and could still happily watch at any given point, the ones that hold the special place in our hearts granting them the superpower of defying criticism.
For those of you who take pride in your film collection, these are the DVDs you keep on the bottom shelf, hidden as inconspicuously as possible so as to deflect attention away from the shame of their existence in your otherwise respectable collection. For me, these DVDs tend to have Nora Ephron-esque qualities: things like unrealistic portrayals of romance, vapid and worn-out plotlines, and banal, predictable scripts. So here goes, I'm throwing myself under the bus for you guys. Don't ever tell me I don't love you. Let the career suicide begin. I hereby present you the Official (and ridiculously girly) Be Kind, Rewind Pick-Me-Up List. These movies are bad, bad, bad, and yet they never fail to put me in a good place.
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