A Little Observation

This post I’m writing about today is not about a favorite classic film or a birthday shout out or about a classic movie goddess. Just something I noticed in a few films I recently watched that kind of irked me  a bit. Don’t take this as rant or anything like that. Just an observation. One that as a blogger now, I kind of took immediate response to. Two new films, Life As We Know It and Larry Crowne, which I both liked had some dialogue that took aim at blogging in general.

So Josh, you don't care for bloggers I take it?

In Life As We Know It, Katherine Heigl stars as a young woman who is thrust into raising a child after being named a godparent when tragedy strikes the  actual parents of said child. Well she and another friend of the couple meet years before this happens and go out on a blind date. He is played by Josh Duhamel. And they do not hit it off when first meeting. And he cracks….”look this isn’t going to work. So why don’t you go back to your home, this being a Saturday night and do your little blog thing. You strike me as the type that has a blog. And I will go out and meet another girl and have some fun”. What the hell? As a blogger maybe I was a little too sensitive to that kind of remark.

Julia's husband, the man in question

So I put it aside and enjoyed the rest of the movie. Then I watched Larry Crowne the other day, the pairing of Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts, which I also liked. The scene where Julia’s husband is a novelist who hasn’t written anything in years and stays home to surf the web watching porn but says he is blogging and posting. Julia slams him and says you’re not blogging or working, you’re commenting, big difference.That scene was not a direct hit on blogging so it’s was not too bad. It just shows bloggers because of this one guy, in a bad light. But in Life as We Know It, that was definitely a strike on blogging. Just wanted to see what everyone else thought about it. Maybe I’m being over sensitive. I just think because now I am blogging I do pick up things like that much more.  Like I said this shouldn’t be taken as a rant, but as an observation.

A New Series: From The Past To Now - Jimmy Stewart and Tom Hanks

Here is the new series I mentioned last month I would be doing comparing an actor/actress from yesteryear to one of today. The first choice is Jimmy Stewart and Tom Hanks. And that these two men would be comparable is no surprise. Hanks quickly became a heir apparent to Jimmy thanks to his same everyday appeal. Both men had similar starts in their careers. Stewart would have bit parts in films such as Wife vs Secretary with top billed Clark Cable, Myrna Loy and Jean Harlow and Rose Marie with Jeanette MacDonald and Nelson Eddy before scoring leading roles in Vivacious Lady, You Can't Take It With You, and Made For Each Other. Hanks meanwhile got his start on TV in small roles on such series as Happy Days, Taxi and The Love Boat. He then moved on to lead on the comedy series Bosom Buddies. Humble beginnings for both men. Stewart would soon become a huge star thanks to such big films like Mr. Smith Goes To Washington, The Philadelphia Story (his only Oscar came here), Destry Rides Again, and The Shop Around The Corner. All coming while in his early 30's. A few years later would come the all time holiday classic It's A Wonderful Life. Hanks would have similar success at the same age with comedy hits such as Bachelor Party, Splash, The Money Pit, Dragnet and Big.


After playing such stalwart good guys, Stewart would soon turn over a new leaf during the 1950's by appearing in complicated westerns done by Anthony Mann and top notch thrillers by Hitchcock such as Vertigo and Rear Window. Stewart was at his best when working with these two highly respected directors. Hanks would get similar chances to shine with different types of films other than comedies. He would appear in such sterling dramas like Philadelphia (for which he won a Best Actor Oscar), Apollo 13, Forrest Gump (another Best  Actor Oscar) and Saving Private Ryan. Hanks would also appear in the hugely family animated series of films Toy Story. Hanks best films came under the direction of Ron Howard (yes Opie from The Andy Griffith Show) and Steven Spielberg. The only difference between the two men would be that Stewart appeared in about twenty westerns. So far Hanks has made not one single western. But Hanks did remake one of Jimmy's older films. He remade the sentimental classic The Shop Around The Corner into the likeable You've Got Mail.


Hanks would be constantly compared to Stewart thanks to his good guy, aw shucks demeanor and most film goers enjoyed both men's films. True there are a lot of non Hanks fans more so than non Stewart fans but you still can't help but see the connection between the two stars. And for the record I am a fan of both. So this is the start of a wonderful new series that I hope to being doing at least once a month. Everyone let me know what you think.

Fun Summer Movies: BIG (1988)

Summer Release Date: 3 June 1988. Starring Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, Mercedes Ruehl, John Heard, David Moscow, Jared Rushton, Jon Lovitz. Directed by Penny Marshall. Written by Gary Ross and Anne Spielberg.

Big was Tom Hanks first major summer hit. He had already scored some spring time hits with Bachelor Party and Splash (both 1984). But Big really put him on the map and it was no looking back after that. And what a wonderful and fun summer movie it is. The premise has 12 year Josh Baskin who wishes to be big at a fairground machine. He actually wanted to be taller but lo and behold the next morning he wakes up as a fully grown man (Hanks) even though he still is a 12 year on the inside. After a funny and tense stand-off with his mom (Ruehl) who chases him out the house with a very large kitchen knife. "What did you do with my son?" she asks. Hanks replies "I am your son, mom" And she promptly chases him through the house. It's a very funny scene and Josh tries to find the machine that he made the wish on but the carnival has already moved on. So Josh grabs his best friend Billy and they make way for New York to find the machine. Along the way Josh gets a job at a toy company (which is a dream job for a 12 year old) thanks to his play on the giant sized piano in the store with the toy company owner MacMillian (played by Robert Loggia), which is one of the most fun scenes in movie history. Josh also has to deal with the romantic advances of his new co-worker Susan (in Elizabeth Perkins best film role to date). Their scenes together are just heavenly. Things wrap up quite nicely and you leave a great feeling after watching this movie. One of Tom Hanks best movies and one fun summer movie.

Notes:

Hanks was the first choice to play Josh Baskin but was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with the films Dragnet (1987) and Punchline (1988). Robert De Niro was then offered the lead role, and was rejected because his salary demand ($6 million) was too high. Tom Hanks then became available and accepted the lead role for $2 million. David Moscow was originally cast not as young Josh, but as Billy, since he didn't look like Robert De Niro. When Tom Hanks was given the role, David Moscow was recast as young Josh.


One of five body-swap movies all released around the same time. The others were 18 Again! (1988), Vice Versa (1988), Like Father Like Son (1987) and Dream a Little Dream (1989).
Penny Marshall became the first female director to ever direct a movie that grossed more than $100 million at the box office with this movie.
 
The musical version of "Big" opened at the Shubert Theater on April 28, 1996, ran for 193 performances and was nominated for the 1996 Tony Awards for the Best Original Book and Score.
 
According to actor Robert Loggia, on the day they filmed the famous keyboard scene at F.A.O. Schwartz, he and Tom Hanks noticed that doubles dressed like them were on hand just in case the two could not do the dance moves correctly. It became their goal to do the entire keyboard number without the aid of the doubles. They succeeded.


Ranked #10 on the American Film Institute's list of the 10 greatest films in the genre "Fantasy" in June 2008.