For the 49th week of 2018 as part of Wandering Through the Shelves' Thursday Movie Picks series hosted by Wanderer. We delve into the subject of meeting a loved one’s parents where it’s often a subject of trouble or chaos depending on how it’s presented. Here are my three picks:
1. Damage
Louis Malle’s penultimate film maybe one of his more accessible films but it is still one of his most compelling as it relates to a young man who is engaged to a Frenchwoman as he introduces her to his parents and his father falls for this young woman. Starring Jeremy Irons, Juliette Binoche, Miranda Richardson, and Rupert Graves, it’s a film that play into the dangers of a man who would fall for the woman who would become his daughter-in-law as a lot of bad shit happens.
2. The Birdcage
A remake of La Cage aux Folles, Mike Nichols’ take on the film with a script by Elaine May remains one of the rare remakes that is just as good as the original. It is about a young man who is about to marry his college sweetheart yet there’s some big hurdles. The girl’s parents include a conservative senator who is connected to a major political scandal while the boy’s parents are two gay men. Oh the hilarity that would ensure when they all meet.
3. The Family Stone
A man is about to introduce the woman he plans to marry to his family but the family isn’t looking forward to it after the man’s younger sister had already met this woman and doesn’t like her. It’s a chaotic yet fun film that has Sarah Jessica Parker as this uptight woman that is marrying Dermont Mulroney as she is scared to meet his parents and siblings while she would invite her own sister (Claire Danes) to back her up. Thus, a shitload of problems would ensue as Mulroney falls for Danes while Parker starts to have feelings for one of Mulroney’s brothers in Luke Wilson while Diane Keaton and Craig T. Nelson play the parents as they’re dealing with big issues. It’s a mess of a film but a fun one.
© thevoid99 2018
The Bird Cage is a great pick! I never got around to seeing The Family Stone, even though a lot of my friends have talked about it.
ReplyDeleteReally interesting choices! I haven't seen any of them yet, but I will catch up!
ReplyDeleteHere are my picks: https://wp.me/p2DYTl-11a
I so t know your first pick but it sounds really quite good and I like the actors, the Birdcage is excellent and I forgot all about that movie but it is so funny. Love the part when Nathan Lane walks like John Wayne. The Family Stone is a bit of a mess but I don’t mind it and it shows how Parker could be a real bitch as she plays the cold vibe so well.
ReplyDeleteOooh The Family Stone is a nice pick. It was a pretty good movie tbh.
ReplyDeleteDamage is an interesting choice. I was so dark I can't say I loved it but I found it interesting. What I did love was Miranda Richardson's flat out brilliant performance.
ReplyDeleteThe Birdcage is another pick that didn't occur to me. While it has a nice message of acceptance and a flock of marvelous performances it can be very silly at times. Still highly watchable.
I wanted to like The Family Stone-what a cast-but I ended up thinking they were all pretty awful and the film a disappointment.
I went with all comedic looks at the situation.
Lovers and Other Strangers (1970)-As young couple Mike and Susan (Michael Brandon & Bonnie Bedelia) go through their wedding festivities (rehearsal, ceremony and reception) a cauldron of familial lunacy swirls around them as they meet for the first time. VERY 70’s fashions and interior design is offset by a cast that includes Beatrice Arthur, Cloris Leachman, Gig Young, Anne Meara and in her screen debut Diane Keaton.
The In-Laws (1979)-Nebbishy dentist Sheldon Kornpett (Alan Arkin) finds himself with major reservations to his daughter's upcoming marriage after meeting her future father-in-law, Vincent Ricardo (Peter Falk). At first thinking Vince is mobbed up he is no less distressed when Vince reveals that he's actually a CIA agent investigating an international counterfeiting plot, and that he will need Sheldon's help. Next thing he knows Sheldon is off on a crazy adventure.
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)-Toula (Nia Vardalos) is a sweet, somewhat frumpy 30ish Greek girl who works in her family’s restaurant and is dominated by her parents. Frustrated by being stuck in place she pulls herself together, goes to work in her aunt’s travel agency and meets school teacher Ian Miller (John Corbett) and they quickly get serious. That’s where the trouble starts since Ian isn’t Greek, no problem for Toula but a huge one for her family especially when they decide to marry. Her boisterous clan basically take over the title event while Toula and Ian try to stand up against the onslaught. Low budget good natured comedy with a sunny outlook made a mint on its release.
I almost went with The Family Stone. I've seen it years ago but I remember it was fun and that I really liked it. I think I even cried.
ReplyDeleteI haven't watched Damage which sounds daring but with a great cast! The 90s was THE decade for erotic thrillers/dramas
ReplyDelete@Brittani-I'd recommend The Family Stone. It's a flawed film but certainly fun.
ReplyDelete@Becks-I've read your picks and those are damn good picks.
@Birgit-I never knew John Wayne could walk like that.
@Getter-Agreed.
@joel65913-The In-Laws is a fun film as that one scene in an episode of Game of Thrones made me thing "serpentine, serpentine"
@Sonia-Glad to see someone liked that film.
@Chris-It's been years since I've seen it but I want to revisit it.