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Hey, Baby....You in the Mood?Apr 06 '03 (Updated Apr 15 '03) Write an essay on this topic.The Bottom Line After frequently being accused of being moody by friends, co-workers, husbands and yes, even Skeeter (I can tell...he hides under the bed), this review was begging to be done. After searching through the "movies by genre" and not finding exactly what I was looking for, this seemed to be the most appropriate place to enter this review. Have you ever been in a movie rental store and overheard someone saying something like "I'm in the mood for something funny" or maybe "I'm in the mood for something romantic"? Of course you have. We make our decisions based on our own emotions. What I would like to do is examine the various moods that we might possibly experience when making the choice of which movie to watch. Of course this would most likely depend on the circumstances in which we may find ourselves at any particular time. A very good example would be the other day when I realized that my neighbor was driving his over-sized monster of a truck onto my property, digging foot-deep trenches into the soil, creating a virtual mudbath. That night when I was strolling through the aisles of my local video rental store, my eyes were drawn to such classics as "Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)" and "Psycho"(1960). Go figure, huh? Therefore, instead of this being "The 10 Best Movies Ever", this will be.... The 10 Best Moods for Movies Ever 1. Romantic I find myself in the romantic mood more often than any other. You'll find yourself falling into this mood after receiving roses, a sweet card or an email from that very special someone in your life. I know that I fall into this mood when Bobby remembers to lift the seat....he cares!!!! Immediately the urge comes over me to grab my copy of You've Got Mail (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, 1993) which is about a couple that meet via the internet and fall in love. Never Been Kissed (Drew Barrymore and David Arquette, 1999) is another good choice. It's about a newspaper journalist that is given an assignment to return, undercover, to her old high school to get a story, and winds up falling in love with one of her teachers. To love someone and to be loved by someone is what we all dream about. It is a feeling like no other. 2. Vengeful Obviously it was a vengeful mood that I was in during the escapade that I referred to earlier regarding my neighbor. That was just mildly vengeful, though, compared to the mood that I found myself in a few years ago, after discovering my now ex-husband with another woman. Now let me tell ya, Honey, that being in a vengeful mood can stay with you for a long, long time....years, even. So hopefully if you find yourself in this mood, you will have a large supply of movies from which to pick. Some of the ones that I personally recommend would have to be War of the Roses (Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas, 1989), about a divorcing couple trying to get the best of each other. Of course, Fatal Attraction (Glenn Close and Michael Douglas, 1987) brought its' own wealth of brilliant ideas in which a person could use, if they were to happen to find themselves in a vengeful mood.....and some of them worked!!...oops, did I say that? 3. Reminiscing Sometimes we are just in the mood to remember back to the good ol days....days of simplicity and innocence. One of my favorite movies when I find myself in this mood is Peggy Sue Got Married (Kathleen Turner and Nicholas Cage, 1986). After suffering a mental collapse of sorts, Peggy Sue is transported back in time to her teenage years. The scenes bring back memories of the days that we had a milkman, a very young Dick Clark (wait a minute, he still looks the same!), the Edsel and the wonderful invention of pantyhose. Another great movie if you're in a reminiscing mood is Pleasantville (Reese Witherspoon and Kevin Conners, 1998). Did we really have television repairmen that came to our homes? Yes, we did, and they brought along little mirrors which they held in front of the screen to see what was happening, while they were replacing tubes from the back. Vertical hold and horizontal hold were terms that we all became familiar with. 4. Silly A competition displaying the participants' ability to astound others with flatulence always puts me in a silly mood. Just break out the beans, open the windows, pass out the clothespins and throw in your copy of Blazing Saddles (Gene Wilder, Cleavon Little and Madeline Kahn, 1974), a spoof about the old west. There isn't anything much sillier than a group of men sitting around a campfire swapping tales and sharing "gases". Another great choice in the realm of silly would be one of the Naked Gun Trilogy (Leslie Nielson, Priscilla Presley, 1988, 91, and 94). If you're looking for something truly silly, these are wonderful. 5. Escape The mood to want to escape from reality can be an overwhelming one. We all have moments in our lives when the temptation to just pack a bag and take off seems inevitable. Common sense tells us that this is not an option. So what do we do? We try to squelch this desire by watching a movie. If ever a person needed an incentive to stay home instead of hitting the roads, they should check out Duel (Dennis Weaver, 1971), one of Steven Spielbergs' first directing endeavors. This one will make you think twice before aggravating a truck driver. On a personal note, one of my goals everyday is to aggravate Bobby, who is a 10-year veteran driver of a big rig. I want him to always remember that he's a married man...what better way than to be aggravating, right? Another film that will probably keep you implanted upon your LazyBoy is Joy Ride (Steve Zahn, Paul Walker and Leelee Sobieski, 2001). Another truck driver gone mad....wonder if I should be sleeping with one eye open? And one last recommendation if you find yourself in the escape mood would have to be National Lampoons' Vacation (Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo, 1983). The Griswolds cross-country trip to WallyWorld will make you never want to leave home again. 6. Fear There are times that we are all in a fearful mood. It may be due to being alone in a big house, or maybe walking to your car across a dark parking lot, or maybe even...brace yourselves...the sight of multiple piercings upon the face of the fellow that has just come to pick up your daughter for a date. We all face fear and sometimes the remedy is to watch a movie that reminds us that all we have to fear is fear itself (wait a minute... is that plagiarism?...oh, well, anywayyyy). Our own fears may seem relatively small after watching the likes of Halloween (Jamie Lee Curtis, 1978) about a crazed sanitarium escapee, The Exorcist (Linda Blair, 1973) about a child possessed by the devil, or, heaven forbid, Harry and the Hendersons (John Lithgow and Melinda Dillon, 1987) about a huge monster with fangs and claws and such a cute smile. Ok, so Harry was kind of adorable, but that John Lithgow could give you nightmares! 7. Sporting Other than an occasional rousing game of bowling, sporting competitions rarely interest me. Quite frankly I don't think that the ability to throw a ball, run fast or jump high is going to make the slightest difference in the whole scheme of things. Matters of the mind will carry a much greater impact when all is said and done. That being said, I must admit that once in a while I am in the mood for a movie that involves some sort of sporting event as its' basis. It is the feeling of comraderie and unity that many athletes experience that make this genre worth watching rather than the athletic prowess itself. A very worthy example of this would be A League of Their Own (Tom Hanks and Geena Davis, Directed by Penny Marshall, 1992) about the formation of a womens professional baseball league formed during the 40's to more or less replace the mens baseball league, with most of its' former members leaving to fight in WWII. The bond between these women lasted for decades afterwards. Also, the story of the relationship between Chicago Bears football players, Brian Piccolo and Gale Sayers in Brian's Song (James Caan and Billy Dee Williams, 1971) is one of the most memorable and touching stories ever told. 8. Comedy To be in the mood for a good comedy does not necessarily mean the same as being in the mood for silliness. Comedy can be found in almost every movie that you may watch, in one form or another. When I am in the mood for a comedy I want something that is going to make me laugh right out loud. The last time that I can recall that this happened is when Tim (Flamepillar) and I went to see There's Something About Mary (Cameron Diaz, Ben Stiller and Matt Dillon, 1998). After mistaking semen for hair gel, the next few scenes with her bangs standing straight up off of her forehead had me almost falling out of my seat with laughter. The last time I had made such a spectacle of myself in a theater was as a teenager when...wait a minute...Tim will be reading this. Nevermind. Another movie that had me rolling with laughter from the very beginning of the movie was Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (Mike Myers, 1997). A very unique special agent has been brought to life after being put into "cryptofreeze" for a few decades. If you're in the mood for a great comedy, this is one of the funniest. 9. Sadness We all experience moods of sadness. They're just a part of life. When this happens, there are many movies that I could recommend, and I believe I covered my favorite ones in an earlier review. Click anywhere on this line to read that review. One movie that I did not include in that list is probably one of the saddest movies of all. That being Schindlers List (Liam Neeson, 1993). It is based on the real life of Oskar Schindler, a man who attempted to save the Jews during the Holocaust. What a moving and touching story. Another moment in movie history that I personally found very sad was in the film, which is actually known as a comedy, Grumpier Old Men (Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, Burgess Meredith, 1995). The death of Grandpa Gustafson (Burgess Meredith) is such a sad scene. Jack Lemmons' performance as John Gustafson, realizing his father had passed away was remarkable. 10. Anger It's been a long day and the boss just finished chewing you out....some nut cuts you off in traffic...you get home to find your spouse in bed with someone else. Boy, oh, Boy, are you in one angry mood. So what do you do? Search through your movie collection, of course! The most obvious and appropriate choice would have to be Anger Management (Adam Sandler, Jack Nicholson, 2003) about a man who must go to a therapist to learn to control his anger....but the therapist is a bit out of control himself. And my personal favorite when I find myself in an angry mood is What About Bob (Richard Dreyfuss, Bill Murray, 1991). Another therapist, "Dr. Leo", is trying to escape from his wacky client, Bob Wiley. This movie shows you the humor that can be found while in an angry mood. Last Thoughts Hopefully I've covered most of the many moods that we all may experience while browsing through the aisles, looking for the perfect movie to bring home. As I stated earlier, it was a challenge to find the right "topic" in which to place this review. If this was the wrong place, then well, just shoot me...or better yet, take away my birthday. Hehehehe....com'n, please? Just please don't click "off topic", ok? I tried, I really tried, believe me I tried...I did, I really did. Hey, there's another mood...begging!! Maybe I should start all over......  |
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by Stephen_Murray
by lindaohio
