Lessons from The Harvey Girls

Whenever I'm home sick I like to watch Judy Garland movies. Somehow sick days and Judy movies just go together. It's especially great if you're a little drugged up or not quite coherent so the musical numbers are extra trippy.

Last week I took a sick day and watched Summer Stock and The Harvey Girls, two classics that I've loved since childhood. Maybe that's why I like watching them on sick days, they make me feel all warm and fuzzy.

Anyway, while watching The Harvey Girls I had some deep (if mildly incoherent) thoughts about the women portrayed in this movie, and how men react to them. It's all about confidence. The Harvey Girls blow into town, having the guts to pick up and leave their families and be the pure and innocent, non-sluts in a town that only knows sluttiness. They're sure of who they are and demand to be treated with respect (as illustrated by Judy's gun-toting escapade to get their meat back). And so the men do treat them with respect and try to earn the girls' respect in return. Then they all get married.

On the other hand, the saloon skanks are insecure and pathetically desperate for the guys' attention. And when they're faced with competition from the Harvey Girls, they get even more pathetic and the men quickly flock to the Harveys because nobody wants a slutty, insecure, desperate women. Then none of them get married.

So ladies, if you want to get a man, quick acting like Angela Landsbury and start being a little more Judy. Then you will steal the dreamy-if-not-a-little-shady man those insecure, skanky girls have been pining over and send them packing while you live happily ever after. The End.

Yes, Christopher Plummer Hates The Sound of Music

Ok, that may not be completely true. This post is really just an experiment of sorts.

By far, one of my most popular posts on this blog is about Christopher Plummer's dislike of the children and just about everything else associated with The Sound of Music. He made his opinions perfectly clear on the 40th Anniversary DVD special features.

Now, every time The Sound of Music is on TV I get a HUGE spike in traffic and I'm perplexed. Do people suspect that Christopher Plummer hated the movie just from watching it on TV? I suppose this is a rumor that's just floating around out there and after watching the film, people want to know about it? I don't really know.

So, please tell me, if you've found this page after viewing The Sound of Music and you suspect that Christopher Plummer hates everything about the movie, what gave you that impression?

Last time it was on TV, I got almost 500 page views in one day. Quite a far cry from my usual 30 to 50 :)

Slaps with the Wind

So I watched Gone with the Wind last night for the very first time. I liked it way more then I thought I would. Actually, I really liked it a lot. It managed to keep me entertained, despite the four hour running time. I would definitely recommend watching it if you haven't seen it. It is quite a time commitment, but I think it's worth it, if only to be able to say that you've seen it.

There's a lot I could praise about this movie—the acting, the music, the writing, the story, and so on. It's all great. But the real reason for it's greatness is ... the slapping.

That's right, this film is chuck-full of slapping. Slapping men, slapping slaves, slapping children, slapping animals. No one is safe from the slapping machine known as Scarlett O'Hara.

If you haven't seen it, you're probably wondering why all the slapping. Well I will tell you. Scarlet is crazy. I didn't really realize this coming into the movie. I thought she was just a somewhat-flirtatious-but-still-generally-lady-like kind of girl. Not so! She's completely self-absorbed, conniving, and kinda skanky. Skanky in a subtle sort of way. Subtle enough that nice, innocent, unsuspecting men go marrying her, only to end up getting insulted and slapped.

Then comes Rhett Butler. Definitely the most perfect (and most dreamy!) man for Scarlett and one of the few that could match her in arrogance and cockiness. And still he doesn't quite dodge the slapping bullet. However, the second time he sees her winding up for a blow, he ducks, sending her tumbling down their ridiculously high staircase. Check and mate.

There's only one thing better than the slapping in this movie: Mammy! This lady is awesome. She always tells crazy Scarlett what's what and she even earns the respect of Rhett. And, most importantly, she's one of the few people who never gets slapped.

Such an Interesting Mixture of Poetry and Meanness

So I have this friend at work who hasn't been exposed to many old things. This isn't unusual for people my age, but lucky for her she gets to share an office with me! Anyway, I've convinced her to watch some old movies and she seems to enjoy them. However, her main comment about the Judy Garland movies she's watched (2 I think) is that Judy is mean.

At first I denied this accusation against Judy, but the more I thought about it, the more I realize it may be true. I hope this isn't a spoiler, but Judy generally yells at, insults, or beats up the men she's about to fall in love with. Let's take a look at some specifics:

For Me and My Gal - Judy really hates Gene Kelly at the beginning of this one and she spouts out some zingers like, "Who's the want ad with the squirrel around his neck?" before she even meets him.

Meet Me in St. Louis - Judy spends an excessive amount of time and energy on trying to capture John Truett's attention only to beat him up over the false accusation that he hit her sister. Classic.

The Harvey Girls - I was going to suggest this as a non-violent Judy movie until I remembered her trying to shoot the bartender at the saloon and the huge cat fight in which she takes down Angela Lansbury.

In the Good Old Summertime - This one is a war of words. And maybe some injuries along the way. Off the top of my head, Judy yells at Mr. Larkin multiple times, slams his hand in the piano cover, hits him in the face, and (my personal favorite) likens his intellect to a "metronome that doesn't work very well."



So there you have it. Judy is kinda mean. In her defense, in many of these cases the men have brought at least some of it on themselves. Nevertheless, Judy's great at freaking out and isn't that why we love her? Annnd now I want to watch a Judy Garland movie.

What Makes A Christmas Movie?

So what do you think makes a movie a "Christmas" movie? I had a discussion about this with a couple of friends at work yesterday and it ended in blood and tears. Not really, but I'm lending some Christmas movies to one of them and in the stack I included Meet Me In St. Louis and In the Good Old Summertime. Some thought that the inclusion of these films in the "Christmas" movie category was a little questionable since the movies don't take place entirely during the Christmas season.

Now, I admit In the Good Old Summertime seems like an especially unlikely Christmas movie given the name, however, if anything it's mistitled since very little of the movie actually takes place in the summer. In my head they're both Christmas movies because the climax of the films takes place at Christmastime, and they give me Christmas warm fuzzies! Plus, Judy Garland sings a Christmas song in both of them. If that's not Christmas, I don't even know what is.

The beauty of these hybrid type movies is that you can watch them in June and not feel weird about it, but come December, they're extra fabulous.

So what do you think? Am I just so obsessed with Judy Garland that I've lost touch with reality and made her every day films into Christmas films in my head? Does a movie have to be 100% Christmas to be a Christmas movie or can it have a little more variety?

Top Ten Old Christmas Albums

As we prepare for Thanksgiving this week, it's time to start thinking seriously about Christmas music. Some people think it's too early for Christmas music, but I think that's crazy. The truth is, Christmas music is great all year round and only gets better the closer we get to Christmas.

So today I will share with you my top ten list of amazingly fantastic Christmas albums by dead or almost dead people (to keep in line with the theme this blog, of course):

10. Elvis Presley: Elvis Christmas
You pretty much need an Elvis album in your Christmas music collection. Some of the songs on this album are a little strange, but it's worth it if only for the extremely Elvis-y Blue Christmas and Here Comes Santa Claus.

9. Frank Sinatra: A Jolly Christmas From Frank Sinatra
Frank singing classic Christmas tunes. Can't go wrong with that!

8. Christmas With The Rat Pack
Who doesn't love the Rat Pack? They're certainly entertaining and there aren't many other Christmas albums featuring drunk, middle aged men forgetting the words to Christmas songs. Best song: Marshmallow World.

7. Nat King Cole: Christmas For Kids: From One To Ninety-Two
I discovered this album when I worked at Zany Brainy and we played it all Christmas. It has lots of happy fun songs that you won't find on a lot of the usual Christmas albums. And Nat King Cole has a great Christmas song voice.

6. Ella Fitzgerald: Ella Wishes You A Swinging Christmas
First of all, I love when Ella wishes me a swinging Christmas. That's really all their is to say. Best song: Sleigh Ride.

5. Andy Williams: Merry Christmas
Listen, Andy Williams is Christmas. His version of Sleigh Ride on this album is disturbingly '60s and makes me want to do a weird Ann Margret dance, but I cannot stop listening!

4. Nat King Cole: The Christmas Song
For those of you who need more traditional Christmas songs, this is the perfect album.

3. A Charlie Brown Christmas
This one is so amazing that I listen to it year 'round. The piano is fantastic and it's just an all around feel good album. I especially love My Little Drum.

2. Bing Crosby: White Christmas AND Merry Christmas With Bing Crosby & The Andrews Sisters
Yes, these are two albums, but some songs overlap and they really should be one album. Bing and the Andrews Sisters are just fabulous together and very old-timey. I especially love Jingle Bells.

1. Andy Williams: The Andy Williams Christmas Album
Yes, this is the best Christmas album of all time. It has everything—all your favorite classics plus the weird '60s influences we've come to know and love from Andy. Buy it now before Christmas is over!!

And an honorable mention goes to a completely amazing remix of Happy Holiday by Bing Crosby. I want to dance every time I hear it.

So, those are my favorite old Christmas albums. What are yours?

Old Christmas Movies on the Big Screen

This year the Tivoli Theater in Downers Grove is once again showing some classic films that I'm pretty excited about. Namely, Miracle on 34th St. and White Christmas! Don't miss them if you're in the Chicagoland area!