Wings For Wheels

On Wednesday, Ben came up with a meme.  His topic was this: 

Name three movies that you have shown (or would show) to a new girlfriend/boyfriend to let them know what kind of person you are.

Now, I originally wasn’t planning on participating, given that I haven’t been in that situation since 1998.  And it’s tough enough boiling down my lists in the podcasts down to a manageable number.  But tonight I decided to give it a shot, and it proved considerably easier than I thought it would.  And I encourage my friends in the blogosphere to do the same, and post the link in Ben’s original post.

1. A Hard Day’s Night: This one came to me instantly.  I’m pretty sure I brought this video to Kim’s apartment when we first started going out.  The Beatles have been such an important part of my mindset throughout my life that I can’t envision being with somebody who didn’t understand this. I guess what I respond to the most is that they’re rebelling against the establishment (as opposed to The Establishment) with humor as opposed to anger.  The old man on the train, George’s encounter with the executive, John and his – all those scenes depict the stuffiness of a society that The Beatles encountered when they hit, and would leave in their wake a few years later.

Oh, yeah, and it’s got a pretty good soundtrack, too.

She’s going to show me her stamp collection!

2. Brighton Beach Memoirs:  Originally, I was going to pick Goodfellas, because, well, because it’s such an astonishingly brilliant piece of filmmaking. But I looked back at the criteria – “let them know what kind of person you are” -and realized it had to be this.  I remember my parents coming home from the theatre when it was on Broadway and telling me how they had just seen “a show about me,” and they’re right. Even though it’s not a great movie, Neil Simon’s dialogue brilliantly depicts the New York Jewish mindset in which I was raised, albeit 50 years before my time.  The only thing that has come closer is Jerry’s parents on Seinfeld, who could very easily be my parents.

How many times have I told you not to play ball against the side of the house?

109.

Don’t be fresh!

I’m not being fresh.  Yesterday you said, “I’ve told you 109 times not to play ball against the house.”

3. The Apartment: I don’t even watch it often because I don’t want it to go stale, but it may be the greatest movie ever made. It’s got everything you want in a movie – hysterical comedy, incredible sadness, a couple you genuinely root for – all filtered through Billy Wilder and cinema’s greatest Everyman, Jack Lemmon. 

Where do we go - my place or yours?

Might as well go to mine. Everyone else does