Oldtime favourites revisited with the kids
Revisiting your favourite films with the next generation can be an eye-opener, as Lesley Chesterman learned when she set up a screen and sat down with her sons.
Growing up in Montreal, once a week I’d head out to see the movie of the moment, at first with family and later with friends. Movies played a big part in my life — so much so that I still recall the $1.50 kids’ ticket to Star Wars in 1977 and Grease in 1978, and that I saw each movie eight times. I remember seeing films with actual intermissions, such as Gone with the Wind, The Sound of Music and Barry Lyndon. I recall lining up for hours for Ishtar, enjoying the life-altering Amadeus, rushing to see all those Jodie Foster Disney movies and my dad dragging us to all those lame Burt Reynolds movies. I loved every minute of it, even shaking in my seat watching the original Murder on the Orient Express in 1974. Good times.
Of course, this was pre-DVD, pre-Blu-ray, pre-iTunes and preNetflix. This was in the ’70s and ’80s, when you had to actually leave the house to see a movie, or at best hope to find a Betamax or VHS copy at your video store. If you wanted to see an old movie, you’d hope it would show up on Afternoon at the Movies on CTV. I actually recall a birthday party in the ’70s where the parents rented a film, movie projector and screen for us. Talk about excitement. Today, the movie landscape is different. When my 16-year-old, Max, recently mentioned a scene from Pulp Fiction, I asked him when he had seen the film. He confessed: “At night, on Netflix, on my phone, under the covers.” Groan.
With so much available at their fingertips, kids have become so blasé about going to the movies that it’s barely tempting for them as an outing anymore. Even with my offers to spring for the 3D, the Imax and the Twizzlers, my cries of, “Hey, let’s go see a movie!” are more often than not waved off with “no thanks.” Somewhat desperate to share the cinematic experience of my youth with my two jaded/spoiledrotten children, Max and Luke, 13, I devised a plan to show them the movies that marked me most as a kid.
About three years ago, I purchased a screen and a projector to attach to my laptop, then raked through the iTunes and Netflix catalogues and came up with a long list of old movies that once rocked my world. The kids started off skeptical, but ended up playing along. The results were fascinating — not only for them, but for me to revisit my initial emotions. Naturally, some of the movies I once loved turned out to be duds (seen The Road Warrior lately?), while others, such as Chariots of Fire, were even better than I remembered. A surprising number were far from today ’s political correctness — let’s just say the sexist jokes in Caddyshack haven’t aged well. But the biggest revelation wasn’t that the special effects were so bad in the original Superman (you can almost see the strings he’s hanging from), but how my reactions to these movies as an adult are so different from when I first saw them.
As for the kids, listening to their comments was as hilarious as it was discouraging. For instance, Hitchcock movies got a thumbs-down. Too slow, they complained. Kids have an alarmingly short attention span these days, which turned out to be the kiss of death for so many movies. Still, sitting through Rear Window and The Man Who Knew Too Much, I had to agree with them. Movies from the ’80s were especially hit and miss. Footloose was a hit, and Die Hard is better than I remembered. Airplane! is still incredibly funny, and Ruthless People shows off Bette Midler and Danny DeVito at their best. But Risky Business and Top Gun, the movies that launched Tom Cruise’s career, were deemed “cheesy.” John Hughes movies scored, especially The Breakfast Club and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, both sure to be hits with teens for years to come. As for Mel Brooks, Spaceballs was a favourite, but we didn’t even get through half of Blazing Saddles, which hasn’t aged well.
The big surprise was their enthusiasm for historical movies, especially anything with elaborate costumes.
Then there are the movies I axed, too. I was the one rolling my eyes watching Gremlins again, which the kids described as so bad it’s good. No thanks. I had next to no success with black-and-white movies, and anything with subtitles — even the wonderful Life Is Beautiful. I ruled out everything violent by Martin Scorsese or any of the Godfather movies until my kids are older. And as we watched The Commitments, an old favourite, I cringed at the non-stop swearing. Sadly, some of my favourite movies are still not available on Netflix or iTunes, such as Cinema Paradiso and Cocoon. I’m keeping my eyes open for those.
Of course, the list of predictable favourites is long, such as Grease and Star Wars, Forrest Gump and The Princess Bride. But there are others I would recommend because maybe they’re less popular or not what you’d expect. Here are some oldies but goodies I’d recommend most for family viewing.
ROCKY (1976)
The debut of Sylvester Stallone’s franchise still holds up. The scenes where Rocky races through the market, runs up the museum steps, punches sides of beef to the nowfamous Rocky theme had us cheering and considering downing raw eggs for breakfast. We followed up with Rocky II and III, but after that the teens complained my Rocky obsession had gone too far.
Kids’ comment: “So realistic!” — as if they could relate.
GANDHI (1982)
My kids were riveted by this epic film, directed by the great Richard Attenborough. Considering it has a running time of more than three hours, that says a lot. Kids’ comment: “Like a visual history class.” Score!
AMADEUS (1984)
My all-time favourite film was thankfully a big success with the kids, who enjoyed Tom Hulce’s eccentric portrayal of Mozart alongside the never-better F. Murray Abraham as the conniving Salieri. Hedonism, jealousy, obsession, humour and sadness all come together in this heart-wrenching film, set to the most beautiful music ever. If possible, avoid the director’s cut with excess nudity and a longer run time.
Kids’ comment: “I liked seeing Mozart act like such a kid.” Who knew?
FAME (1980)
A monster hit in my teen years, Fame still scores thanks to the brilliant directing of Alan Parker and the fact that kids tend to like movies about kids.
I forgot how gritty it is, and how great Irene Cara was singing the ballad Out Here on My Own. Watch the movie again and think of Parker’s take that the title is ironic, as the story is not about fame at all but about failure and the cruel realities of show business. Whoa.
Kids’ comment: “Fun music, fun dancing, fun movie.” So much for the tragic element.
TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
A superb film for kids of all ages, with the great Gregory Peck as the heroic Atticus Finch, Robert Duvall as the mysterious Boo Radley and child actors upstaging all the grown-ups.
One of the only black-andwhite movies that scored with my kids, and a great option for parents trying desperately to get their children to read the Harper Lee book.
Kids’ comment: “Who was that Gregory Peck guy?” Groan ...
THE BLACK STALLION (1979)
The cinematography is spectacular, as is the score. And Kelly Reno, the young actor playing Alec, is simply awesome. Add to that a magnificent horse, a great story and the legendary Mickey Rooney. This movie is so touching and beautiful that I cried for an hour after it was over. The kids didn’t, but maybe when they show it to their own kids in 30 years, they’ll understand.
Kids’ comment: “Like Free Willy, but with a horse.” Really?
BREAKING AWAY (1979)
This coming-of-age comedy-drama tells the story of rich college students in Indiana versus working-class kids, one of whom has big dreams of competitive bicycle racing.
Kids’ comment: “Why don’t we bike more, Mom?” Don’t get me started.
GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
This was a hard sell with my kids, but the epic Civil War film won them over thanks to the story, the drama, the costumes and the sweeping scenery.
Kids’ comments: Scarlett O’Hara was “spoiled, annoying and just a terrible woman.” As for the dashing Rhett Butler, they said he was “dumb to put up with her.” So much for romance.
A LEAGUE OF THEIR OWN (1992)
This sharp girl-power movie tells the story of a professional all-female baseball league that took over when the men headed off to combat in the Second World War. It’s not only fun, but seriously funny, thanks to the wisecracking Rosie O’Donnell and Tom Hanks as their drunken, has-been coach.
Kids’ comments: “Why don’t we play more baseball?” and “Which one is Madonna?”
MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975)
I tried out every Monty Python film with the kids, but this one was by far the favourite. Could it be the coconuts, the knights who say “Ni!”, the three-headed giant, the shrubbery, the killer rabbit or the excessively rude French soldiers? Take your pick — it’s all funny. I laughed as hard as the kids. And when it was over, we watched it again.
Kids’ comment: “The worst part of the movie is that it ended — but the ending was great too.” Agreed!