The 100 Greatest Comedies - #35: Harvey

I am in the process of watching all of the Top 10 Fantasy movies according to AFI and reviewing them for my list (http://dinojim.com/Cultural/Movies/10Top10.html#Fantasy).

The current film I just watched is Harvey, which is #7. 

This movie is also on the 100 Greatest Comedies list (#35).

In high school I had helped work on a production of Harvey, so I had a bit of an idea what the general premise of the movie was, although it's been a rather long time so I did not remember all of the particulars. I will try to not give any of the big secrets away because they are worth experiencing them for yourself. The general premise of Harvey is about a man, Elwood P Dowd (played by Jimmy Stewart), who is friends with an invisible 6 foot tall rabbit. One of the keys to this movie is that it is on the Top 10 Fantasy Films list. This tells you that not everything is as it seems at the beginning of the movie. The main thing that jumped right out at me during the opening third of this movie is how abysmally people with mental disorders (or perceived mental disorders) are treated. The bulk of the movie takes place in and around a mental sanatorium where the main "enforcer" brutally treats the patients with aggression and force. Definitely not my favorite part of the movie. However, Jimmy Stewart is beyond excellent in this role. I swear, if he isn't high during the filming of this, he sure plays high very well. He is the personification of the "nice guy" who nobody can feel mad or irritated at. If you can get passed the mental treatment issues though, the movie is very funny and a joy to watch. I laughed a good deal through the movie, not something I often do on the Comedies list and was generally intrigued about how the movie was going progress. The entire movie is well acted. The way that characters routinely cut off Stewart's character is perfect because each time the audience kind of holds its collective breath, knowing that if he was allowed to finish, the movie would go much differently. Overall, even though this movie has some issues, I still greatly enjoyed it and would recommend it to most people as a light hearted comedy.

The 100 Greatest Movies - #97 Bringing Up Baby

I am in the process of watching all of the 100 Greatest movies according to AFI. 

The current film I just watched is Bringing Up Baby, which is #97. 

This movie is also on the 10th Anniversary List (#88), the 100 Greatest Comedies list (#14), and the 100 Greatest Romances list (#51).

This movie caught my eye a while ago because it was about a paleontologist, and being a paleontologist myself I was curious. Since this is an older comedy though I was cautious. What people found to be funny at that time and current days standards are often very different, however this was on the 100 Greatest Movies list and seemed to be ranked highly among comedies so I gave it a shot. In regards to the movie itself, even though the paleontology was downright atrocious (if those dinosaur skeletons looked any faker I may have vomited) the movie was actually enjoyable. I even laughed out loud a couple of times, something I don't often say for these older movies even if I enjoy them. The plot is thin but the characters are fun for the most part. Hepburn's character could use a good punch in the face though. She plays a very spacey woman who seems to not understand what she is doing the majority of the time while in the process of "ruining" Grant's chances of obtaining a grant for his museum. Things work out in the end of course, because how often do they not? Overall, I'd say an enjoyable movie and well worth the cost of admission.

100 Greatest Comedies #29 - This is Spinal Tap

The next movie I watched This is Spinal Tap (1984) which is #29 on the 100 Greatest Comedies list.

This movie has a lot of phrases and scenes that have become pop culture icons including the "goes to 11" scene which is likely it's most famous. The movie is set up as a mockumentary (maybe even one of the first ones) that follows the fictional band Spinal Tap. Spinal Tap seems like a mash up of the Beetles, the Rolling Stones, and several of the larger bands of the day taken to the extreme. Everything they did was as far out there as they could think of but still be "possible" in the real world. Although some of the movies on the 100 Greatest Comedies list were slightly humorous, many didn't make me laugh out loud. This movie was different. Through most of the movie I couldn't stop laughing even though there were several parts I felt I was missing the joke. Perhaps some of it didn't age as well as others but in general this is still a fantastic movie.

100 Greatest Comedies #24 - Fast Times at Ridgemont High

Something that I have been also working on and will soon pick back up starting next year is watching the 100 Greatest Movies as well as some of the lesser categories like the 100 Greatest Romances, Comedies, and Thrillers. Well this entry is for my 24th movie on the 100 Greatest Comedies list - Fast Times at Ridgemont High.

This is similar in vein to American Pie for my generation. Basically it is a comedy about the sexual tensions of people in high school. I felt before I watched the movie that it would be very dated but I was pleasantly surprised to learn that it still holds up very well in the modern day. I had hoped that I would be laughing out loud for the majority of the movie and even though I did have a couple of good laughs, for the most part is was a consistently amusing movie but not really a gut bursting movie. Still, it is a good movie.