The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Director: Woody Allen

Starring: Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello

Movies are, for me, the greatest form of escapism that there is. No matter what’s going on with my life or with the rest of the world, I can always sit down to a good movie, immerse myself in the world presented on the screen, and be totally at peace. Once you’ve found one that you really, really love, there’s a certain amount of comfort that goes along with knowing that the events in the movie will always play out the same way. Though I’ve only seen it the one time (so far), I already know that “The Purple Rose of Cairo” is one of those beautiful films which I really, really love. Every time I see it from now on, it will always run for 82 minutes and play out as it should. But the story it presents has nothing at all to do with order or control.

Cecilia (Mia Farrow) is the world’s clumsiest waitress living in New Jersey during the Great Depression. Work sucks, sure, but life at home for Cecilia is even worse. She is married to Monk (Danny Aiello), a drunken and abusive waste of human flesh, whom she has constantly threatened with leaving but never follows through. Where else would she go? At the moment, the only place where she can relax is in the movie theater. A new release from RKO Radio Pictures has caught her attention, a romantic adventure story titled “The Purple Rose of Cairo.” In particular, Cecilia is taken with the archeologist Tom Baxter (Jeff Daniels). She enjoys the movie so much that she goes back to see it over and over again. At Cecilia’s fifth screening, something extraordinary and thoroughly impossible happens: Tom begins to talk directly to her, impressed that she really seems to like his movie, and expressing the same attraction to her that she feels for him. Suddenly, Tom walks right off the black & white screen and into Cecilia’s bright and colorful world!

The sight of a fictional character becoming self-aware and breaking the fourth wall causes some of the other people in the theater to faint. Others are frustrated, demanding their ticket money back. Hilariously, the characters on the screen are just as flummoxed as everyone else. All that they are, all that they know how to be is limited to the narrative of “The Purple Rose of Cairo.” Tom Baxter’s departure has created a level of chaos that neither the characters on the screen nor the studio executives were prepared for. After this initial setup, I wondered to myself we were going to dance around the fact that this would not have been the only copy of the movie in circulation. In fact, it turns out that other theaters have sent in reports that other characters have tried and failed to walk off the screen as Tom Baxter did in New Jersey. If somehow they eventually were to succeed, there could be dozens of Tom Baxters running around! In an attempt to return things to normal, the producer of the film brings Gil Shepherd (Jeff Daniels), the actor whose performance brings life to the character of Tom Baxter, to New Jersey to track down Tom and convince him to go back to the movie.

Tom seems incapable of being persuaded to leave our world. Although he has no real money, no idea how to start a car, and only the most basic concept of love-making, he has fallen in love with Cecilia and that’s enough for him. Things get confused when Cecilia bumps into Gil and initially mistakes him for Tom. They get to know each other and, soon, form an attraction. Cecilia has gone from no one wanting her to two men wanting her… and, as she points out, they’re both the same man. Well, only superficially. Gil is a career-minded opportunist, whereas the character he plays is a devoted and incorruptible man, one who is also pretty handy in a fight seeing as how he can’t be physically harmed. His heart however, is just as fragile as yours or mine.

Director Woody Allen was really thinking outside the box on this one. Although “Purple Rose” is by no means the only movie to have ever come up with the idea of a movie within a movie where characters literally are leaping off of the screen, it may be the one that does it best. It’s one of Allen’s best scripts, and also one of his best casts. Any lingering prejudices I had towards Mia Farrow’s career are now gone after seeing this movie. She had me that invested in Cecilia’s plight. What can you say about Jeff Daniels except that “he’s the man” (“Dumb and Dumber To” notwithstanding)? Funny thing is, the part of Tom Baxter/Gil Shepherd almost wasn’t his. Woody Allen had originally cast Michael Keaton in the part(s), and worked with him for a few days until it was realized that he wasn’t the right fit. Jeff Daniels got the sweet end of that deal, replacing Keaton and turning in a fine double performance. He’s got this look about him that not only says “leading man,” but that he can easily fit himself into a different era. Also great in supporting roles are Dianne Wiest as a hooker intrigued by Tom Baxter’s naivety, and Edward Herrmann as Henry, one of Baxter’s “Purple Rose” co-stars.

Movies have definitely become a big part of my life. There are certain characters over the years which I’ve grown quite attached to. Some include female characters whom I’ve had thoughts about which are totally NSFW. I would probably crap little blue cubes if they ever acknowledged me and stepped out into the real world. Part of the reason why I’ve only ever been to a small handful of conventions in my life is because of that barrier that stands between us and the world of fantasy. Once you’ve broken that barrier by meeting the actor or actress, it makes it real.

Manhattan (1979)

Director: Woody Allen

Starring: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Michael Murphy, Mariel Hemingway, Meryl Streep, Anne Byrne

Anyone who has ever displayed an interest in writing, whether for entertainment or journalistic purposes, knows exactly what’s going through Woody Allen’s mind during the opening scene of “Manhattan.” He’s on Chapter One of a new novel about a guy from New York who absolutely loves his city. His problem is that he can’t get the words to come out quite right. It’s all coming off either too preachy, too angry, or otherwise just plain wrong. Finally, after much backtracking, he stumbles upon what to him sounds like the right introduction to both the main character and his story. It’s a satisfying feeling, knowing that you’re on the right track and could be on the verge of creating something special. What’s particularly special about this three and a half minute beginning to “Manhattan” is that it is set to the music of George Gershwin’s “Rhapsody in Blue,” a tune that has become synonymous with the city of New York itself. Introductions like this are hard to come by, and the one bestowed upon “Manhattan” is one of the greatest of any movie I’ve ever seen.

Isaac Davis (Woody Allen) is a 42-year old writer for television comedy. Rather bad television comedy, as he and associates of his are quick to point out. Eventually, he becomes so frustrated with his job and the drug addicts who work with him that he impulsively walks out. Unfortunately for Isaac, acts of impulse are a common thread, especially when it comes to the women in his life. When we first meet Isaac, he’s in the middle of a relationship with a sweet-natured 17-year old girl named Tracy (Mariel Hemingway). He’s older than Tracy’s own father, he observes. Part of him recognizes the immoral, socially unacceptable nature of the relationship, and part of him doesn’t care. Isaac is also twice divorced. His second wife, a bisexual-turned-lesbian named Jill (Meryl Streep), is writing a tell-all book about their marriage. Naturally, Isaac finds this disgusting and humiliating, as it will mean that all of his friends will know every last juicy detail. He tries to force the issue, to no avail. Not exactly the most mature behavior on either person’s part.

The immaturity does not end with Isaac and his former partner. Isaac’s best friend Yale (Michael Murphy) is endangering his marriage with an affair with Mary (Diane Keaton), an opinionated, self-appointed art critic and writer of film novelizations. She uses big words to make herself sound more brilliant than she actually is, and makes observations like “I’m from Philadelphia. We believe in God,” as if everyone is supposed to know what she means. Mary and Isaac have virtually nothing in common, apart from their ability to enter into a relationship they know is wrong.

Upon this first meeting, Isaac finds Mary repulsive. Later, upon further encounters, Isaac finds himself growing strangely attracted to Mary. Although one should not always go with their first impression of another person, Isaac should have listened to his instincts this time, especially as his decision comes at the expense of Tracy and their relationship. Eventually, Mary proves just how flighty she can be, deciding that she was in fact in love with Yale all along and going off to live with him after he leaves his wife. They deserve each other. Hard to say what Isaac deserves, but can it really be someone as kind and as sweet as Tracy? He certainly thinks so, as her image comes to mind when he asks himself “What makes life worth living?” He catches Tracy just as she’s about to go to London for six months, as Isaac had suggested she do when he was trying to end things between them. Isaac pleads with her not to go. “I don’t want that thing about you that I like to change,” he tells her. It’s in this moment when you realize that Isaac could just as easily be talking to/about the city of New York.

What a bunch of assholes these people are, huh? But the actors playing them are nothing short of professional, and all are at the top of their game. Keaton proves once again why she’s just a great on-screen match for Woody Allen. The chemistry between them is undeniable. At tonight’s Academy Awards, Meryl Streep finds herself nominated for an acting award for the 19th time. Though her unparalleled career was still in its early stages in 1979, she nonetheless provides a terrific supporting performance. Jill’s unashamed confessional about her marriage to Isaac puts to mind all the singers over the years who’ve turned out hit songs based on their failed relationships, and how the airing of their dirty laundry is sometimes scrutinized. It may not be particularly tactful of her, but we can’t entirely fault her for it, either. We weren’t there for the marriage itself, only the messy aftermath.

The best acting in the movie, hands down, comes from Mariel Hemingway. She presents Tracy as a very loving individual, perhaps a bit too eager to put her trust in others but, as Isaac said, we like that about her. Most importantly, she’s very mature for her age. Despite this, her age is the very thing that is always held against her, even by Isaac whom she loves. As it so happens, among this group of selfish, spiteful and flaky adults, Tracy comes off as more mature than any of them. Folks, Hemingway will break your heart in “Manhattan.” Woody Allen himself could not have come up with a more autobiographical role. As it turns out, he really did have a 17-year old girlfriend when he was aged 42. His relationship with actress Stacey Nelkin, which he did not publicly acknowledge until fairly recently, is said (by Nelkin) to have been the basis for “Manhattan.” Additionally, in the years since the movie, Allen has had a tell-all book written about him by an ex: his girlfriend of 12 years, actress Mia Farrow. He couldn’t possibly have seen that one coming. Doesn’t make it any less bizarre. Even though it stands as one of his all-time greatest films (and my second favorite behind only “Annie Hall”), Allen himself was so displeased with his own work that he asked United Artists not to release it, instead offering to make another movie for free. Thank goodness the studio made him see reason. “Manhattan” takes the best parts of “Annie Hall” and “Interiors” and combines them into a single, classic accomplishment of filmmaking.

Beyond the great performances and the strange blurring of the lines between fiction and fact, “Manhattan” is also further enhanced by its sights and sounds. Kids today don’t seem to understand that Black & White does not automatically make a movie “old” or “boring.” When used effectively, as it is in “Manhattan,” it makes the film a more personal experience. Scenes like the famous bridge shot would not have the same power if shown in Color. The music is just as important, becoming an additional character within the movie. You must have a heart of stone if you’re not emotionally stirred by “Rhapsody in Blue,” or the instrumental versions of “Someone to Watch Over Me” and “Embraceable You.” Admittedly, it took me until my third viewing of “Manhattan” to finally “get it.” Like Isaac, I had been put off by the ugliness of the adult characters while simultaneously failing to appreciate the beauty that was right in front of my face.

Stakeout (1987)

Director: John Badham

Starring: Richard Dreyfuss, Emilio Estevez, Madeleine Stowe, Aidan Quinn, Forest Whitaker, Dan Lauria

Two friends hang around the house with nothing to do and no TV to pass the time. The only entertainment available to them is the attractive woman across the street, whose every move they gleefully spy on, eagerly waiting for something interesting to happen. Every now and then, others come over to trade insults/practical jokes… but usually it’s just the two of them, the telescope, a box of Dunkin’ Donuts and a bucket of Kentucky Fried Chicken. If this was high school, they might be considered pathetic for spending their evenings this way. But this is the adult world, the two friends are cops, and the neighbor they’re drooling over is their current assignment.

After their last case at a fish factory ended with the perp getting away and one of them needing a change of clothes, Seattle detective Chris Lecce (Richard Dreyfuss) and his young partner Bill Reimers (Emilio Estevez) are put on the night shift of a stakeout. The focus of their new task is Maria Maguire (Madeleine Stowe), whose ex-boyfriend Richard Montgomery (Aidan Quinn) is a recently escaped convict. It is anticipated that he’ll come back to Maria’s house because of money stashed away somewhere inside, of which Maria is unaware. Chris and Bill think this job is beneath them, especially when they learn that the FBI intends to take full credit for Montgomery’s capture.

Bill may be a bit of an immature horn dog, but he’s a happily married man who has no intention of doing anything against protocol which might result in his being suspended or fired. This includes fraternizing with an assignment. Chris is a different story. A bit older, but hardly wiser, Chris has not been experiencing wedded bliss as of late. In point of fact, his marital issues are the kind that resort in the wife packing everything up in cardboard boxes and leaving while he’s not home. Lonely and in need of a good lay, Chris decides against his better judgment to get to know the woman, and to let her get to know him without really getting to know him. He poses as a telephone repairman, which is how he had first introduced himself so that he could tap Maria’s phone line, but that facade is quickly tested, and it becomes harder for Chris to shield her from the truth, especially when he bails her brother out of jail and she shows up at the station. What’s he going to say if and when Montgomery finally shows up at her front doorstep?

Though the movie has its share of violent shootouts, “Stakeout” is first and foremost a comedy. One of the movie’s most uproarious sequences comes after Chris and Maria have become intimate. Chris is recalling a nightmare he’s just had, when all of a sudden he realizes that it’s now morning and he can’t be seen at Maria’s house. Unable to say why he has to leave in a rush, Chris dons a disguise, complete with a big pink hat he has borrowed, and leads police on a chase around the neighborhood before managing to sneak back into the steakout house with Bill. Another laugh-out-loud, wink at the audience moment comes when Chris and Bill are sitting around trying to stump one another with trivia questions. Bill comes up with a movie quote: “This was no boating accident!” We, the audience, know that this line comes from “Jaws,” and was in fact spoken by Richard Dreyfuss. Chris is, of course, completely stumped.

Richard Dreyfuss is one of those rare talents who, no matter what role he plays, never once appears to be acting. He is completely believable in an otherwise unbelievable situation as a man constantly battling against adversity in his job and in his love life, yet one who never seems to lose sight of his inner man-child. This may in part be due to his friendship with his partner Bill, who is more responsible and yet has no problem with pulling pranks on his fellow detectives (Forest Whitaker and Dan Lauria). Emilio Estevez’s career is relegated mostly to working behind the camera now, but he was a hot commodity back in the 1980’s and early 1990’s, including starring in my all-time favorite movie, the 1985 John Hughes teen comedy “The Breakfast Club.” He’s perfectly suited for a role like Bill. “Stakeout” also represented the first breakout role in the career of actress Madeleine Stowe. She would later make more of a name for herself in films like “The Last of the Mohicans” and “12 Monkeys,” but it was here that she first impressed critics, audiences, and stakeout detectives alike.

Just as 1987 had two vampire flicks vying for superiority, it also unleashed two successful buddy cop pictures. Incredibly, if you look at the box office results from that year, you’ll find that “Stakeout” narrowly outperformed “Lethal Weapon,” which itself was followed by three sequels. The sequel to “Stakeout” didn’t come around until 1993, at a time when actress Madeleine Stowe had become more well-known (i.e. less available) and the world had maybe forgotten about this fun little movie. I didn’t even know of its existence until about a month ago. Funny what a little detective work can bring to light.

Much Ado About Nothing (2013)

Director: Joss Whedon

Starring: Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Nathan Fillion, Clark Gregg, Fran Kranz, Sean Maher, Jillian Morgese

All over the world, friends gather together for special events. Maybe it’s Super Bowl Sunday. Perhaps your favorite TV show is running a marathon. Who knows… The occasion could be a poetry reading. If you’re really confident and adventerous, you may bring a film camera along to really capture the moment. If, like Joss Whedon, your circle of friends is a very tight-knit group, and you have the equipment available, why not make a movie together? Especially if the subject is Shakespeare.

Remakes tend to promote the image of creative bankruptcy, but in the world of the stage play, everything is fair game to be done over and over again, with different casts in different eras. So too it is with their film adaptations. Everybody has their favorite cinematic versions of “Romeo & Juliet,” “Hamlet,” or “Othello,” among others. Which one it is quite largely will depend on which generation you ask. Up until now, most had probably only been aware of the 1993 “Much Ado About Nothing,” directed by and starring Kenneth Branagh. Working with a considerably smaller budget, Joss Whedon makes two clever cost-cutting decisions. First, his “Much Ado About Nothing” is shot entirely in black and white and, second, Whedon bypasses the need for studio sets and Italian location shots by setting up the cameras inside and outside of his own home in Santa Monica, California.

As the movie begins, both Benedick (Alexis Denisof) and Beatrice (Amy Acker) act abrasively towards one another. Although both are completely oblivious, everyone around them can see as clear as day that each loves the other, and they do everything they can to plant the seeds for these two to find their way into each others’ hearts. Conspiracy is the name of the game. An evil force who goes by the name of Don John (Sean Maher) sees the intentions of the young Claudio (Fran Kranz) to marry Hero (Jillian Morgese), and hatches a dastardly plan to trick Claudio, sully the good name of Hero, and shame her father Leonato (Clark Gregg), the Governor of Messina. It is a common theme in the works of both William Shakespeare and of Joss Whedon that the bliss of romance is often fleeting, sometimes meeting an abrupt and deadly end. There is much that is uncommon about “Much Ado.”

Shakespeare can sometimes be difficult to follow, so it helps when you are familiar with the original material. Being familiar with the cast helps, too. I performed in a high school production of “Much Ado About Nothing,” and I am probably just as familiar with it as any of Shakespeare’s plays. I’m also well-versed in the works of Joss Whedon, having followed since the beginning, from the “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” TV series all the way to the present day with “The Avengers” and TV’s “Agents of SHIELD.” Whedon has acquired a lot of regulars, or actors with whom he works on a regular basis.

For the record, those from the “Much Ado” cast who appeared in one or more of Whedon’s prior TV series and films:

“Buffy the Vampire Slayer” – Alexis Denisof, Tom Lenk and Riki Lindhome

“Angel” – Amy Acker and Alexis Denisof

“Firefly” – Nathan Fillion and Sean Maher

“Dollhouse” – Amy Acker, Alexis Denisof, Reed Diamond, Fran Kranz and Ashley Johnson

“The Avengers” – Clark Gregg, Alexis Denisof, Romy Rosemont and Ashley Johnson

Denisof and Acker have played romantic interests before, on “Angel.” Although Benedick and Beatrice are quite different from the characters they played over a decade earlier, it is that prior experience that makes their chemistry here more than believable. Denisof in particular (although he may not be in the caliber of a Kenneth Branagh) gives a terrific, at times hilarious performance. Playing against type is Sean Maher, who is known mostly for his shy, good guy roles. He almost makes you forget that Keanu Reeves once featured as Don John. But of course, one cannot speak of the performances in Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing” without mentioning Nathan Fillion as Dogberry. While it’s true that he’s basically playing the same kind of character as in “Firefly” …perhaps a bit smarter… he leaves no room for doubt that he plays it well, and pretty much steals the show for the small amount of time he’s onscreen.

It is admittedly tough for me to watch most Shakespeare adaptations which have been transported from their usual setting into the present day. They just look better, and feel more authentic, when presented as closely as possible to what the playwright intended. Some, like 1995’s “Richard III” are exceptions to the rule. Joss Whedon’s “Much Ado About Nothing” stands as another example, largely due to the novelty of filming it in the director’s own house. While in the middle of filming “The Avengers,” Whedon put this smaller-scale project together in just 12 days. The finished project does not in any way resemble that of a rush job. It is right up there among my favorite Shakespeare adaptations, and should be on anyone’s short-list of must-see movies.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Sally Field, Gary Sinise, Mykelti Williamson

When I was in the second grade, our teacher read “Bridge to Terabithia” to the class. To this day, it’s still the saddest work of fiction I’ve ever encountered. At the time, I wondered how one could justify reading it to young children. I thought that our fables should always be happy, joyful, and otherwise free of consequence or incident. In other words, not having a darn thing to do with real life. That was what growing up was supposed to be for. I did not consider, then, what the author was sharing with me. While children should be allowed to laugh, play and not have a care in the world for politics, money or other adult pursuits, they should at some point be prepared for the concept of tragedy. At the very least, it should be explained to them in a way that they can understand it. There is a moment early on in “Forrest Gump” when the young Forrest and his friend Jenny are praying in the cornfield behind her father’s house. As soon as I saw this scene, the tears started flowing. The perfect, perfect score from Alan Silvestri wasn’t helping either. There was no question in my mind that a dark cloud was looming just over the horizon. Forrest is the type of person for whom “Bridge to Terabithia” would be difficult, though not impossible to explain. “Curious George” is more his speed.

In 1981, Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks) is sitting on a park bench, clutching a box of chocolates and waiting for a bus. While he waits, Forrest tells his life story to those who sit by him. From his birth up until what for him is the present day, Forrest tells the account of a number of amazing things he’s accomplished in his life, and all of the famous people he has helped inspire. He is invited to the White House on three separate occasions, meeting John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon. He plays football for Paul “Bear” Bryant at the University of Alabama, becomes a genuine war hero in Vietnam, plays ping pong professionally for the United States in China, and even forms a lucrative shrimp company called Bubba Gump, named after both himself and fellow Vietnam soldier Benjamin Buford “Bubba” Blue (Mykelti Williamson). It was Bubba whose idea the whole “shrimping business” thing was before he died in Vietnam. Any one of these things would be enough to distinguish Forrest Gump, and enough to be life-altering for anyone else, but still Forrest takes it all in with a perspective most men his age forsook long ago. As the entire world around him changes, Forrest remains constant.

Winning Best Actor for “Forrest Gump,” Tom Hanks joined Spencer Tracy as the only two men to be presented with the award in back-to-back years, a feat which no one else has since accomplished. It is true that Forrest (along with all other characters in the film) is little more than an archetype. Disregarding that fact, Hanks does manage to transform himself. He disappears so completely into the role that it becomes hard to tell where Forrest Gump ends and Tom Hanks begins. In fact, Hanks puts as much effort into bringing to life this resident of Greenbow, Alabama with an IQ of 75 as any character I’ve seen him play.

Not all of the credit for “Forrest Gump” (winner for Best Picture of 1994) can go to Tom Hanks. Gary Sinise, as Lt. Dan Taylor, is also something special. His work is so admired amongst the Wounded Veterans crowd that he has gone on more recently to do commercials for their cause. Meanwhile, Robin Wright gives the performance of her career as the tragically self-destructive Jenny Curran. Prior to this movie, my only exposure to Robin Wright had been in “The Princess Bride,” her very first starring role in a feature film, as Princess Buttercup. Both movies are pure fantasy, both roles are archetypes, but Jenny and Buttercup couldn’t be any more different. One waits for true love to rescue her. The other has true love waiting for her, but she believes herself to be beyond saving.

The soundtrack is beyond incredible. Alan Silvestri’s score aside, there is a barrage of period music, most of it from the late 1960’s-early 1970’s, what I consider to be the second major revolution in the industry after the Classical period of the 18th and 19th centuries. Some of the songs are so expertly placed that I can’t help but be amused by their timing. We hear Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” just before a ground battle in Vietnam, Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Freebird” during a decidedly low point in Jenny’s life, and in a particularly side-splitting homage to 1969 Best Picture Winner “Midnight Cowboy,” that film’s theme song, “Everybody’s Talkin'” by Harry Nilsson, helps the scene deliver itself with a wink and nod. I’m not sure whether it’s director Robert Zemeckis or somebody who regularly works with him, but someone involved here is clearly a “Midnight Cowboy” fan. My evidence is that this is not the first of Zemeckis’s films to feature a reenactment of that movie’s most famous scene. 1989’s “Back to the Future Part II” also has a character crossing the street, nearly being run over, and uttering the lines, “Hey! I’m walking here! I’m walking here!”

When the movie was first released, there was debate among certain U.S. politicians as to the overall message of the movie. Certain people believed it to be pushing a conservative agenda, citing an idealized version of the 1950’s vs. the portrayal of the counterculture of the 1960’s, as well as all the talk about the subject of destiny, as proof. Certain people did not consider that the movie might not have a political message of any kind, or that remembering one’s history IS being promoted. But then, these were the same geniuses who had adopted Bruce Springsteen’s “Born in the U.S.A.” as their theme song ten years earlier, evidently only having paid attention to the chorus. Frankly, I could give a rat’s hindquarters whether or not there’s a political message to be found, or the fact that the overall story is far too fantastical and replete with coincidence. As the movie’s timeline ends around the same time as my own birth in 1982 (likely a few months after), what attracts me the most to “Forrest Gump” is its portrayal of an era which is just out of my reach, but which my parents’ generation lived through. So many wonderful things and so many terrible things happened all at the same time. I, at least, had the advantage of coming into the world with knowledge of how that story ended.

Big (1988)

Director: Penny Marshall

Starring: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton

I can’t think of a single person I knew when I was twelve who said they wanted to skip the rest of their youth and just dive right into adulthood. How many at that age would be thinking about much of the world beyond their own backyard? No, when it comes to the subject of being uncomfortable with oneself at the onset of puberty, most kids are usually just wishing they were just a little taller. Without a more extensive vocabulary, finding the right words to explain their deficiency could be difficult. So many words have multiple meanings. You can say one thing, and it can be interpreted in several different ways, not all of them good. The English language works in mysterious ways.

Josh Baskin is an average twelve-year old who plays computer games and watches New York Giants football games (Super Bowl XXI, in particular), but also has fun playing outdoors with his best friend Billy (Jared Rushton). Josh also has a crush on one of the popular girls at school, who may or may not take a liking to him as well, but at least she’s nice. He has never gone anywhere without an adult chaperone, including one fateful night at the fair. He wants desperately to get on one of the “scary rides” with the blonde he likes, but according to the rules he isn’t tall enough. Later, he stumbles upon a wish-granting machine which seems to be able to function despite its power cord not being plugged in. He makes his wish, and wakes up the next morning as an adult somewhere in his early 30’s.

The novelty of the “child trapped in an adult’s body” story wore itself thin long ago, even before “Big” was released in 1988. However, actor Tom Hanks’ performance is such that it allows you to set aside the fantastical elements of the movie and believe that you are really watching a twelve-year old boy experiencing the world as a 30-year old man. When he checks into a cheap motel in a rather ugly part of town, we can see the fear building in Josh’s face. When he gets hired by the MacMillan toy company, his work ethic is that of a kid with a pile of homework due the next morning, rather than that of an office worker who paces himself because everyone else does. His initiative quickly grabs the attention of his boss (Robert Loggia), who gives him a big office and the dream job of every kid: playing with toys for a living! The apartment he rents afterwards is all kinds of cool: He has a trampoline, bunk beds, toys scattered all over the place and… my personal favorite… a Pepsi machine.

Among the songs that make up the soundtrack to “Big,” of course the most widely associated is “Heart and Soul,” but there is another which is likely lost on the current generation, in large part due to the practice of “sampling.” Everybody knows Will Smith’s 1997 hit “Men in Black” from the movie of the same name, right? But how many, I wonder, will remember Patrice Rushen’s 1982 song “Forget Me Nots”? Listen to it. I guarantee you’ll find something about it that sounds eerily familiar.

The movie’s heart is built from Josh’s budding relationship with Susan (Elizabeth Perkins), one of his co-workers at MacMillan Toys. From the earlier scenes in the film where Josh has trouble even speaking to girls, we are to assume that he has never been close to any member of the opposite sex (other than his mom, which doesn’t count). Hanks is able to get this point across in several ways, notably in Josh’s interpretation of what “spending the night” means. Susan has become used to life as an adult. When we first meet her, she acts just as serious as all the other grown-ups. But through her time spent with Josh, Susan is reminded how to “have fun” again. She has moved from one boyfriend to the next, finding each one to be immature. Josh seems different to her, though not in the way we know him to be. I often wonder what kind of person Susan would have been without ever meeting Josh. Would she have become increasingly jaded and bitchy like Celia Hodes, Perkins’ character from TV’s “Weeds”?

As a child, “Big” was my introduction to actor Tom Hanks, and I’ve always thought it a very special little movie. Hanks is one of my favorite actors, and I recently thought to give a look at some of his career’s highlights. By “career highlights,” I mean the ones I have on DVD. I believe it fitting to start off where my affinity for the man’s career began. In addition to being charming as hell, “Big” also points out how important it is to go through the trials and tribulations of growing up. There is so much we would miss out on… both good and bad… if we just skipped our teens and 20’s. Likewise, as much as we might want to revisit or even change some part of our past, would that not also theoretically result in our becoming someone different? The best course of action, it seems to me, is to accept that there will be those rides which we’re not yet tall enough to ride, but that a little patience will one day give us the chance to jump on that roller coaster as often as we like.

Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre

Having been born at a time when the events of World War II had already become ancient history, I will never fully grasp the horror of this period which my grandparents and great-grandparents had the misfortune of living through. For close to a decade, the whole world went mad. Human lives were being snuffed out by the millions and the living, when not subject to physical or mental torture, spent every waking moment under constant fear. Nazi Germany, arguably the most evil entity ever unleashed by Man, enjoyed a stranglehold over the countries of Europe. I and those of my generation have the advantage of knowing the outcome, but there was a time when no one was sure if the Nazis could ever be defeated. Rebellions popped up here and there, some being squashed quickly while others endured. Somehow, in the middle of all the madness, hatred, persecution and genocidal bloodshed, there still lay room for love.

The time is December 1941. Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart) is a nightclub owner in Casablanca, Morocco. Unable to return to the United States (for reasons which the movie never reveals), Rick chooses not to involve himself in the politics of the war, and on the surface appears to have a heart made of stone. Captain Louis Renault of Nazi-Occupied France believes Rick to be a sentimentalist, and his suspicions are confirmed when the rebellious Victor Laszlo (Paul Henreid) shows up with his wife, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman). Rick and Ilsa had a brief romance which ended in Rick’s heart being broken in Paris. Laszlo had been expecting to meet with a man named Ugarte (Peter Lorre) to pick up letters of transit for himself and Ilsa, unaware that Ugarte has been arrested for the murder of two Germans from whom he’d stolen the papers. What Laszlo also does not know is that Ugarte had given the letters of transit to Rick to keep safe just before he was taken away. With these papers, Laszlo can escape to Lisbon and the resistance will still have its leader. Without them, he’s a dead man. Still bitter over how things ended in Paris, Rick is faced with choosing between his own feelings and the future of the free world.

Before “Casablanca,” Humphrey Bogart had not been known for playing romantic leads. Actually, he hadn’t really been known for playing very many heroic characters of any kind. Rick is both his most virtuous and relatable. Ilsa is easily the most iconic role in the stellar career of Ingrid Bergman. Hers were among the most expressive eyes in Hollywood history. Without her having to say a word, you can see the conflicted emotions felt by Ilsa as she is faced with breaking a man’s heart no matter what choice she makes. Together, Bogart and Bergman’s chemistry produces what is quite simply the greatest love story ever filmed. The bittersweet climax of “Casablanca” is right up there among my favorite scenes of all time. Even a heart made of stone would melt just a little.

The supporting cast is full of great actors as well. Claude Rains, famous for the title role in 1933’s “The Invisible Man,” plays Captain Renault as a man of flexible morals. Especially amusing is the scene where he shuts down the club, citing illegal gambling, and then proceeds to collect his own winnings. Paul Henreid was well established by the time of “Casablanca,” and still was worried about the impact his performance in this movie would have on his future film prospects. Henreid and Bogart did not get along, with Henreid accusing Bogart of not being a particularly good actor and Bogart calling Henreid a “prima donna.” That Henreid wouldn’t even take the job unless he shared top billing with Bogart and Bergman didn’t help his case. Conrad Veidt, who sadly died just over two months after the New York premiere of “Casablanca,” was a veteran of the Silent Era, which included featuring in the 1920 classic “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari.” He brings just the right amount of menace to the role of Major Strasser.

“Casablanca” came at a time when the world was at its worst and painted a picture of defiant hope. The Third Reich appeared as unstoppable as it was advertised to be, but even the Nazis were incapable of conquering over all. “Casablanca” was rewarded with the Academy Award for Best Picture, and has appeared on countless lists for all-time greatest films over the last 70+ years. The movie also serves as a reminder that matters of the heart have their place and time, and sometimes it’s best to leave them there. That’s not to say that you should shut yourself down like some emotionless automaton. There’s nothing wrong with continuing to hold dear those who’ve parted ways with you. But, there comes a point when you have to admit to yourself that the answers to who did what to whom and why aren’t going to make any difference. So let that old song be a reminder of happy times, instead of allowing yourself to be consumed by despair and grief.