Day 33- 2 birthdays
As it says above, 2 birthdays: Hal Ashby, director and Mark Harmon, actor (among others today such as my brother's daughter Lilli and Billy Preston!).
1)What can I say bout this movie? It is quite the divider among the people I talk to about it. Mostly ick. I dunno what for, its heartwarming to me. I always kind of feel like Harold, as though I dont fit in and feeling like my parents dont listen or ignore me. i know that sounds strange considering how much I depend on them and spend time with them but there is a bit of a distance between us though that exists where I dont fully connect with them. Anyway, The story is so heartwarming, like I said, and so charming and heartbreaking as well. Its so innocent and in that in between time where the innocence of the 60s had gone away and the cynicism of the 70s was coming soon. Harold is caught in that innocence and Maude is the last of the truly gifted people who want to create however her backstory, only eluded to and handwaved is darker than what Harold is going through with his fake suicides and being generally "crazy". The cast is amazing. Its funny seeing Ruth Gordon like Maude especially if you grew up seeing her as Ma on the movie Every Which Way But Loose (Haspitable, HA-SHIT!) or as Rosemary's neighbour in Rosemary's Baby (where she genuinely creeped me out). She is so bright and I feel like this is how she really was in real life. Hal really captured that to make her endearing. NO ONE could play Maude like her. Bud Cort as Harold comes off the same way. So naive but cynical and wanting to EXPLODE. Bud just commands so much of the performance with nods and looks and his droll delivery in some scenes. Christina Pickles as his mother is also so amazing as you totally believe she is this woman. The soundtrack by Cat Stevens is so timeless and adds so much to the movie that tears always for when I think of or hear those songs. They are sad and brave and inspiring, all at once. They are some of the first songs I put on my ipod back in the 2000s when I got my first gen video playing kind (which STILL works!). Def one of my favourite Hal Ashby films. HBD HAL! <3
(PS the cover on the right is the one I bought originally that i was going to buy on my birthday from a Best Buy opening up on my birthday in 2000 something but they didnt have it, of course. Later, I got the Criterion version too. I have also seen it at a special screening during Cinema Tuesdays one summer in 2014 or so and YES, I cried.)
2) Summer School will always be a favourite, since I watched it a LOT as a teenager and later. It has such quotable lines and characters that make you feel comfy. Its really the first movie I ever saw Mark in and later, when I began watching NCIS, I actually watched it for Pauley Perette b/c she was a crush I saw on Drew Carey Show like 2 times. What can I say, I like me some Goth girls with raspy voices. It didnt even occur to me that was Mr. Shoop. I have met some of the cast and they always get a kick out of my dvd b/c I doubt people have heard of this movie let alone watched it. It has a really great message too that kind of really seems to be unique to this movie. Plus I loved Dean Cameron it so much, I eventually became Chainsaw (and Dave) by watching horror films for most of my life after high school and into post adolescence.
Def check it out. HBD MARK!!! <3
Day 33- 2 birthdays
As it says above, 2 birthdays: Hal Ashby, director and Mark Harmon, actor (among others today such as my brother's daughter Lilli and Billy Preston!).
1)What can I say bout this movie? It is quite the divider among the people I talk to about it. Mostly ick. I dunno what for, its heartwarming to me. I always kind of feel like Harold, as though I dont fit in and feeling like my parents dont listen or ignore me. i know that sounds strange considering how much I depend on them and spend time with them but there is a bit of a distance between us though that exists where I dont fully connect with them. Anyway, The story is so heartwarming, like I said, and so charming and heartbreaking as well. Its so innocent and in that in between time where the innocence of the 60s had gone away and the cynicism of the 70s was coming soon. Harold is caught in that innocence and Maude is the last of the truly gifted people who want to create however her backstory, only eluded to and handwaved is darker than what Harold is going through with his fake suicides and being generally "crazy". The cast is amazing. Its funny seeing Ruth Gordon like Maude especially if you grew up seeing her as Ma on the movie Every Which Way But Loose (Haspitable, HA-SHIT!) or as Rosemary's neighbour in Rosemary's Baby (where she genuinely creeped me out). She is so bright and I feel like this is how she really was in real life. Hal really captured that to make her endearing. NO ONE could play Maude like her. Bud Cort as Harold comes off the same way. So naive but cynical and wanting to EXPLODE. Bud just commands so much of the performance with nods and looks and his droll delivery in some scenes. Christina Pickles as his mother is also so amazing as you totally believe she is this woman. The soundtrack by Cat Stevens is so timeless and adds so much to the movie that tears always for when I think of or hear those songs. They are sad and brave and inspiring, all at once. They are some of the first songs I put on my ipod back in the 2000s when I got my first gen video playing kind (which STILL works!). Def one of my favourite Hal Ashby films. HBD HAL! <3
(PS the cover on the right is the one I bought originally that i was going to buy on my birthday from a Best Buy opening up on my birthday in 2000 something but they didnt have it, of course. Later, I got the Criterion version too. I have also seen it at a special screening during Cinema Tuesdays one summer in 2014 or so and YES, I cried.)
2) Summer School will always be a favourite, since I watched it a LOT as a teenager and later. It has such quotable lines and characters that make you feel comfy. Its really the first movie I ever saw Mark in and later, when I began watching NCIS, I actually watched it for Pauley Perette b/c she was a crush I saw on Drew Carey Show like 2 times. What can I say, I like me some Goth girls with raspy voices. It didnt even occur to me that was Mr. Shoop. I have met some of the cast and they always get a kick out of my dvd b/c I doubt people have heard of this movie let alone watched it. It has a really great message too that kind of really seems to be unique to this movie. Plus I loved Dean Cameron it so much, I eventually became Chainsaw (and Dave) by watching horror films for most of my life after high school and into post adolescence.
Def check it out. HBD MARK!!! <3