Desk Set on #PopD Tonight
Jul232010
We’re doing Desk Set on Popcorn Dialogues tonight. I’m pretty sure this is a good one. Of course, I’ve said that before. I had no idea when we started this that so many otherwise good movies would fail so completely as romantic comedies. I love Bringing Up Baby, but it’s not a good romcom. I used to love The Lady Eve until I got a good look at the hero. I don’t like being so critical, but boy is it helping clarify my ideas on what makes a good romantic comedy work.
The only unqualified successes we’ve had so far have been It Happened One Night and His Girl Friday (the Popcorn Ratings Page has ratings for all seven; podcasts for all seven explaining how we got there are up under “Show Notes” for each movie) although Bringing Up Baby was so strong on comedy and writing that it ended up at four pops in spite of the very flawed romance. But I have high hopes for Hepburn/Tracy. For one thing, Tracy couldn’t play a dumb, meepy hero if he tried. For another, it really is romance-centered. And then there’s Katharine Hepburn. Really, fingers crossed.
If you want to play along, we start the movie at seven Eastern, cued to the beginning of the studio logo (Columbia Lady, MGM Lion) and then tweet during it at #PopD. Podcast goes up usually by Saturday afternoon, although this week we are having a special Saturday lunch and movie with Sweetness and Light because they are going on vacation with their grandparents (YAY) for a month (YAY) so we’re seeing Despicable Me (YAY) and the podcast may be late going up. I’ll let you know how Despicable Me plays as a romantic comedy later. Mostly I just want to see minions.
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25 Comments to 'Desk Set on #PopD Tonight'
On July 23, 2010 at 4:28 pm Sure Thing said...
Sigh, soon I will catch up on all the PopD films. But first, real life beckons.
On July 23, 2010 at 4:49 pm Jenny said...
Oh, always pick real life.
On July 25, 2010 at 1:55 am Merry said...
I dunno. Reality seems awfully overrated sometimes.
On July 23, 2010 at 5:28 pm Heqit said...
Minions! I love minions.
/Cap’n-Jack-Sparrow-loves-weddings-voice
On July 23, 2010 at 5:32 pm Victoria said...
I loved the minions! FWIW, I thought it was a great RomCom, but I’m very interested in seeing how it matches up with your criteria. Also, stay through the credits. It’s minions at their miniony best.
I went to the 3D version and wasn’t disappointed. They had great field of depth and didn’t throw things at me. I was going to see it in 2D, but I was told the roller coaster scene was worth the 3D upcharge. It was, as was the (spoiler) and the (spoiler) but if you get motion sick or vertigo easily see the 2D version
On July 23, 2010 at 5:34 pm Becky said...
One of my critique partners saw that with her 9(?) year old, and they both really enjoyed it. She said there are lots of jokes in there for the adults.
On July 23, 2010 at 5:36 pm bernie said...
So I have not been able to actually join in on the popcorn diaries yet, but have seen all the movies so far except “Born Yesterday” (which makes me remember the remake I did see with John Goodman and Melanie Griffith) and I agree that “His Girl Friday” and “It Happened One Night” are still great films… great romcom, but also stood the test of time (also felt “Double Indemnity” did too but not a rom-com… great film noir though) which brings me to my long winded point… Do you have to see some of these movies within a decade or two of their release for them not to feel dated or sometimes incredibly sexist?
Or if it is a really good film it will roll right through anything dated? I have rented “classic” movies that I have heard about forever and most of the time I can’t get past the datedness of them. Does anyone else have this problem or is just me?
On July 24, 2010 at 7:42 am Naked Under My Clothes said...
I don’t think it’s just romantic comedies, either. My (now ex-)husband and I rented Casablanca once and he laughed the whole way through because it’s been spoofed so much. Lines like “We’ll always have Paris” can be hard to hear with new ears. [negative comment about ex deleted]
On July 23, 2010 at 5:45 pm Jenny said...
Our theory is that a great love story is a great love story and should pass the test of time because it sweeps you up in a universal experience. Comedy is more subjective, but I think it changes more due to audience than to time period. The time period has more impact on race and gender issues; as bad as it still is, we really have come a long way, so there are some cringe-worthy bits there, especially as we’re moving through the post war period when the government and society in general were trying to shove women back into the home and the movies ignored the growing women’s movement and the fully formed civil rights movement. Because romcom is a HAPPY place, I guess.
On July 23, 2010 at 8:52 pm Alyssa Goodnight said...
I’m thinking of dressing my kids as minions for Halloween. And maybe after…
On July 23, 2010 at 8:59 pm KellyJ said...
Despicable me is all kinds of awesome. Have fun!
On July 23, 2010 at 9:30 pm Brenda said...
Bernie: That happened with me and the movie Airplane. I was a kid when it was out, and led a very very very sheltered life so I’d never watched it, and everyone kept saying I just.had.to! So I did. And I didn’t get it at all.
On July 23, 2010 at 10:33 pm CrankyOtter said...
I don’t know how you do all this stuff! And blog in multiple places. Crazy.
A colleague recommended Despicable Me, and it occurs to me that my fun art pic looks like minions (in propeller beanies and baseball hats), so I’m probably a part of the target audience. Still, I’m seeing Salt at the matinee tomorrow.
As to datedness in old films – I’m such an MTV generation girl that I can’t watch things that are too slow like many old movies or classic TV shows. (I also can’t watch the 3rd Bourne movie for being too shaky and jittery with no where to focus – I do need some substance and stability, just not 10 minutes of walking down a lonely road.) Anyhow, a few years ago my dad rented us “Cool Hand Luke” because it was such an [influence? experience?] in his young life and he wanted to share it with me. About half way through, he looked over and said that he hadn’t remembered it being that poky, rambling, and directionless. We still watched it and I still tell people they’re gonna spend the night in the box, but I’m not sure I’d watch it again. I’m not sure I physically could sit in front of it all again, really.
Every so often, though, Turner Classic Movies has something old on that is just awesome. Ricardo Montalban as a young man was the original tall, dark, and handsome latin lover and worth watching, for instance.
On July 24, 2010 at 12:29 am celine said...
I liked Desk Set but wouldn’t call it a great romantic comedy on par with It Happened One Night, of course not much is. I’ve only had the chance to listen to the first four movie podcasts but it did strike me at how much I forget about a movie after not seeing it for several years. I remembered Ninotchka as being a good romantic comedy but once I listened to your podcast, I remembered having some of the same problems with it as you did. I think my memory got reformed to fit it into the classic romantic comedy it was billed as. Desk Set, I just watched a few months ago so I’m excited to listen podcast on it since the movie is still fresh in my mind.
On July 24, 2010 at 9:18 am Susan D said...
for an old movie that really stands the test of time, try Cabaret. Yeah, not a rom com.
Oh heck, did I just call it an “old movie”? Yes, it’s nearly 40 years ago, but of course I still think of anything after 1967 as current.
But I have to admit, that movie is closer in years to the period it depicted than to the present.
On July 24, 2010 at 3:33 pm Deborah Blake said...
Argh. The email notification of this blogpost just showed up–Sat at 3:30 PM. Argh. So I’m a day late and a dollar short, as usual. Actually, with inflation, and the fact that NYS still doesn’t have a budget, I’m probably about fifty dollars short. Sigh.
I’m thinking of signing up for Netflix so I can watch these with you. What is the next movie up?
On July 24, 2010 at 5:15 pm Becky said...
It looks like Pillow Talk is next up. Netflix is great. Four of the eight movies so far are available to watch instantly, so you don’t even have to wait for the discs to arive in the mail. And of course there’s a million other non-PopD movies, documentaries, and TV shows available, too.
On July 25, 2010 at 12:46 am Jenny said...
Pillow Talk. I’m not sure I’m recommending it, but it’s important in the history of romcoms. It’s pretty much THE fifties sex comedy. Without any sex, of course. It’s not an era I’m looking forward to, but I’m willing to be pleasantly surprised.
On July 24, 2010 at 3:33 pm Mary Stella said...
That happened with me and the movie Airplane. I was a kid when it was out, and led a very very very sheltered life so I’d never watched it, and everyone kept saying I just.had.to! So I did. And I didn’t get it at all.
Maybe with some movies, a lot has to do with the timing. I saw Airplane when it first came out, thought it was hysterical, and now the very mention of one of the classic lines makes me snort, chuckle and giggle.
The cast list for that movie is part of the appeal. To see actors like Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves and Robert Stack who were known for dramatic roles mugging and throwing out lines like, “I picked the wrong week to stop sniffing glue” or “Joey, have you ever been inside Turkish prison” or Barbara Billingsley “speaking jive” just killed us.
Then again, that kind of broad-based parody farce really isn’t to everyone’s taste.
On July 24, 2010 at 8:21 pm Deborah Blake said...
“And don’t call me Shirley!”
Just realized I’ll be off at the Ren Faire next Fri night. Bother. Will have to try to catch the one after that. Too bad, I liked Pillow Talk, from what I can remember of it.
On July 25, 2010 at 12:47 am Jenny said...
I love it. There’s stuff I don’t find funny in it, but if I wait five seconds something I find hysterical will come along.
On July 24, 2010 at 8:44 pm Jennifer said...
I’m another one trying desperately to catch up on PopD movies. I really enjoy both the movies and the podcast, but summer is just too busy. I think I may wait until the fall, and then double up, two a week. I’ll miss out on the discussion, but it’s better than missing out altogether.
I’m also tempted to just skip the ones with fewer than three pops. Do you think the educational value of watching the movie, then listening to the podcast outweighs the pointlessness of seeing a film “seriously flawed as a romantic comedy and therefore not worth losing ninety minutes of your life to watch?”
On July 25, 2010 at 12:52 am Jenny said...
Well, a lot of the ones that were seriously flawed as romantic comedies weren’t seriously flawed as movies. Ninotchka, for example, is a great character study of the lead female character with some wonderful moments. The Lady Eve is very funny as long as you’re not invested in the romance and just see it as a con woman getting revenge; then it’s brilliant. And Born Yesterday is really interesting as a look at politics in a simpler time and for the characterization of Billie and Harry. Judy Holliday makes almost any movie worthwhile. But it you’re looking for good examples of romantic comedy, then no. I’d say anything that rated above a 3.5, except Bringing Up Baby only got a 3.4 and it has some fabulous dialogue in it. PopD is for figuring out what makes a great romantic comedy, not a great movie.
On July 25, 2010 at 8:16 pm bernie said...
Thanks everyone. Good to know I am not the only one cringing at some of these “classic”
older films. It also helps to be reminded of what was going on as far as trying to turn “Rosey Rivets” back into “Betty Homemaker”… helps to understand why some of the choices were made in the movie.
On July 27, 2010 at 11:32 pm Ericka said...
a meepy hero. i love you.