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.