Medium Cool is a weekly series related to popular culture, mostly film, TV, and books, with some music and games thrown in. We hope it’s a welcome break from the anger, hate, and idiocy we see almost daily from the other side in the political sphere.
Arguments welcomed, opinions respected, fools un-suffered. We’re here every Sunday at 7 pm.
I asked for Medium Cool topic suggestions in a post a few months ago, and piratedan came through with several good ones. How did I know they were good? Because besides suggesting their own ideas in that post, some people were answering the topic questions posed by piratedan!
Tonight, let’s share our favorite “go to” comfort movies and TV shows. Dog knows we could all use some! For me these days, it’s Magnum PI (the new one) and White Collar. Magnum PI has interesting characters – good people, who help other people, who generally try to do the right thing – and great scenery, with plenty of eye candy. And they usually catch the bad guys! They say that smart people tend to live mysteries and that people who like mysteries and cases to be solved often have a strong sense of right and wrong.
Years ago, before the internet, before Tivo and DVRs, before streaming, it was Murphy’s Romance. Sally Fields and James Garner; she the younger woman, he the older man. They have chemistry and sparks fly, but he’s too old for her – at least until she decides that he’s not. Nothing changes, until it does!
There is a great scene in Murphy’s Romance about how you wear your cowboy hat. I tried to find it, with no success. (By the way, I do not recommend accidentally typing HOT instead of HAT when you are trying to google “Murphy’s Romance hat scene video”.)
That movie got me through the death of my mom, and the end of my relationship a year later. I would put my tape in the VCR and then I could somehow fall asleep watching it on the couch. (I don’t know if the research still holds, but at the time I remember reading that a very high percentage of relationships end within a year of the loss of a parent.)
White Collar is such a great show. So many great characters, great relationships, and oh my so much eye candy! Matt Bomer!!! Mozzie. 💕 Elizabeth, Sara, Diana. Did I mention Matt Bomer?
I am all but begging you, please do not just list the shows you like. Please share something about your “go to” comfort shows, and if you’re up for living on the edge, maybe even share something about yourself.
Melancholy Jaques
Cold Comfort Farm
Cool Hand Luke, or just about anything with Paul Newman
Casablanca, just about anything with Humphrey Bogart
comrade scotts agenda of rage
If I ever need a laugh, pick-me-up, I watch the last episode of ‘Newhart’. It’s friggin brilliant on so many levels.
And although we don’t watch it regularly, maybe every 6 years, ‘I, Claudius’ remains incredible. Sure, the production values are negligible but the dialogue and acting? Just watching John Hurt’s scene where he says “Typical” or Sian Phillips as Livia on her death bed realize she’s been beaten in the long-play by Claudius is just so great.
Jim Appleton
Close to Eden
O. Felix Culpa
Galaxy Quest
Airplane
Casablanca
ETA: The Wizard of Oz
The Muppet Christmas Carol
Saving Face
But I’m Not a Cheerleader
Phylllis
I’m currently watching Sense and Sensibility on TCM. It may well be my #1 go-to comfort watch. So many of my favorite British actors at the top of their game, and copious amounts of a smoldering Alan Rickman.
Rachel Bakes
As Time Goes By -found by accident years ago and we love it. Lightly funny, never mean, Judi Dench being her awesome self. Fun other characters
Murphy’s Romance is delightful. It was a sleeper favorite of both me and my husband that we discovered we had in common a couple years into our relationship
others that depend on the mood: Chocolat, Dick Van Dyke show, The Adventures of Robin Hood (my dad’s favorite so it takes me back to finding it on vhs for him in the 80s).
Timill
My current pick-me-ups: the 2004 ALCS Games 4-7. Sometimes in the face of impossible odds, the good guys can pull it out…(*)
(*) Offer not available to Yankees fans.
Annie
“Enchanted April”. It’s old, released in 1992. It’s about 4 Englishwomen in the 1920s who all, for various reasons, need a holiday, so they rent a castle in Italy for a month — the enchanted April of the title. Two of them are in marriages that, although not hideous, are not very happy; one is a widow (played by Joan Plowright), and the fourth and youngest lost her fiance in World War I. Turns out all the women, and the 2 husbands, needed was a little break from their own routines — the marriages are mended, the young woman finds love, and the widow is sort of adopted by the other 3. I wore out 2 VCR tapes of it, back when videotape was a thing, and now have a DVD.
SamInWa
I fell asleep to Futurama (Seasons 1-4 and the Movies) for about a year off and on when I was going through some serious life-stuff.
I can still put an episode on, set the sleep timer on my TV and be out within 15 minutes. And I still frequently do.
Anotherlurker
The Venture Brothers. High quality animation, great writing and a wicked sense of humor as a lampoon of Johnny Quest and other Hananh/Barbera Saturday morning cartoons .
scav
Local Hero is likely one. It’s got Mark Knopfler, if nothing else. And Peter Capaldi. That plus the landscape and odd, but not dire, characters. I don’t want anything more complex than that.
Spanish Moss
Pride and Prejudice, the 2005 version. In addition to the witty Jane Austen dialogue, excellent acting, and of course a happy ending, this movie is so aesthetically pleasing. I love the scenery, the realistic depiction of daily life (OMG that pig’s balls as it strolls through the passageway!) and above all the soundtrack. It is so relaxing to get lost in the images and music.
Splitting Image
The 1995 Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen in general, but this one in particular. A few months back I decided to watch all of my Austen adaptations in chronological order, and I ground to a halt eventually and went back to watch this one a second time.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Life of Brian might be a slightly better movie, but Holy Grail is better as comfort food for me. If King Arthur had only fallen into a spaceship at some point, it would be the perfect Python movie.
Yellow Submarine. Trippy graphics and music by the Beatles. Unbeatable. I think the instrumental soundtrack composed by George Martin is wildly underrated.
Sons of the Desert. Almost anything Stan and Ollie did qualifies as comfort food for me, but this one caught them at their very best. At one point Stan is tasked with getting a doctor to examine Ollie. Ollie asks him, “Did you have to get a veterinarian?” Stan replies, “Well, I didn’t think his religion would matter.”
A Mel Brooks marathon would go down nice and easy, too. “What hump?”
piratedan
wow, a shout out!
For moi, I’ll stay predictable and state that while I have a bunch of shows that I adore and watch (and re-watch) for me MST3K still hits my sweet spot. Maybe it’s the really bad movies (which perhaps could be due to a slight masochistic tendency) or the witty reparte of the ongoing commentary, the inventiveness of the host and intermission segments or just how all of those combined just make it feel like you’re on the couch with your best buds, laughing with shared ridiculousness. It’s a very sincere opportunity to escape your day and immerse yourself in the idiocy of a sincerely made bad movie with the understanding that number one, some wrote a script, sold it to a studio and then someone cast the roles, filmed the events and in many cases, wrote music for this all in the hope of a big break, sharing their genius with the world and its all a bunch of crap.
In a way, I find that kind of satisfying when I review my life and my choices and understand that many times, despite your best efforts, sometimes a collective assemblage of people, all working in the same direction can have unintended consequences and finding joy in that, despite it all kind of makes it okay.
The episodes run the gamut of 2nd rate Japanese Kaiju films (most of them starring Gamera, a prehistoric turtle who can fly via jet like propulsion when his arms and legs and head are retracted inside his shell), bad Roger Corman films, rampant teenagers running amok, science fiction monsters ranging from the atrocious Robot Monster (Gorilla suit plus diving bell on its head) to the Creeping Terror, which is kind of a crappy rug monster that was so immobile that the victims had to jump into the mouth of the monster to be consumed.
As for a film, for me its Buckaroo Banzai, because it just jumps into the story and does little to no exposition and the amazing cast takes it all very seriously even tho it’s comic book in storytelling.
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@Splitting Image:
‘Young Frankenstein’ definitely qualifies as a comfort movie.
Raven
The Secret of Roan Inish.
hitchhiker
I watch Spotlight when I need to be reminded that sometimes bad things get exposed, even when people with power are exercising the full force of that power to hide their evil.
It’s just comforting to see those reporters figure out a way to uncover exactly how the Catholic bishops routinely sent pedophile priests from parish to parish. Every time I watch it, I feel again how unlikely it was that their efforts would pay off. The church knows how to manipulate people, governments, and institutions; it’s been practicing constantly for a couple of thousand years at this point.
Also it’s a very brisk little movie, with strong, credible performances & good dialogue. The scroll at the end is especially nice.
piratedan
@Anotherlurker: quality choice, for those of us who grew up with the series that had the coolest cartoon opening music of all time, it’s ability to stand every trope on it’s head and then later on return to it and then velcro it to the wall for future laughs is a real enjoyment that every kid that grew up wishing that they had a Race Bannon as a baabysitter.
hitchhiker
@Spanish Moss: Upvote for the pig’s balls! It’s fun to imagine the director deciding to get that shot.
TheOtherHank
The Shawshank Redemption is one that can watch over and over. “Get busy living or get busy dying.”
Suzanne
So I dumped the ex-Mr. Suzanne right around the time of the buildup to the invasion of Iraq. Ex-Mr.Suzanne was incredibly controlling about music, and insisted that he had to have control over what was playing if he was present. He, at the time, was pretty hostile to any punk music. So Bad Religion and Social Distortion each had new albums that year. I bought them both, and I alternated listening to them during the drive to and from work every day for about a month. Felt terrible about the country (Bad Religion’s “The Empire Strikes First”) and felt terrible about my love life (Social Distortion’s “Sex, Love, and Rock and Roll”).
In a bit of serendipity, I saw those bands co-headline in their most recent tour a few weeks ago.
BellaPea
All of the Bridget Jones movies. And I can’t wait for the new one to come out, even though Mark Darcy will not be in it. Hugh Grant is droll and funny, and love Renee Zellweger as Bridget. Also love the first Sex and the City movie–second one not so much.
SpaceUnit
I’m not a summer person. I struggle to get through it. One movie that helps me get to the other side is Meatballs with Bill Murray. Yes, it’s low-budget and stupid. Yes, there are scenes that definitely don’t hold up in 2024. But it’s wonderfully good natured and fun.
I never went to camp, but summers in my coming-of-age years bore an astounding resemblance to what’s portrayed in that movie.
Dorothy A. Winsor
@scav: I loved Local Hero! The characters are quirky and, as you say, the scenery is gorgeous.
My comfort watches change over time. Right now, I’d watch Ted Lasso over and over if I needed comfort. The characters make mistakes but they’re trying and they grow. And it’s funny.
azelie
@Raven: This was my late husband’s favorite movie. We had early bonding over John Sayles fandom.
For a long time Buffy the Vampire Slayer was a go-to comfort series but I can’t watch it without thinking of Joss Whedon’s creepishness. I think Ted Lasso is probably a candidate for my next comfort series. And I wind up watching Bluey in that way with my tween and I’m not mad about it.
Leto
@Anotherlurker: omg… there’s literally tens of us!!! Love, love, love Venture Bros!
Movies:
Unforgiven
Uncle Buck
Field of Dreams
Unforgiven is the Eastwood film that my dad and I can talk about the most. I like all the Sergio Leon movies, and all of his early anti-hero movies, but I honestly think Unforgiven is just damn near perfect. But it’s one of those movies that I can discuss with my dad about all the little details. Weapons? Landscape? Plotting? Character motivations? We always have something.
Field of Dreams is in a similar vein, but I always get a bit choked up at the end when Costner asks his dad if he wants to have a game of catch. I think a lot of sons would give the world to just have one more X with their dad (or mom). Also countless articles have been written on the father/son dynamic the film explores, so no surprise there.
Uncle Buck is John Hughes and John Candy at their best. Another exploration of relationships, of seeing the path you didn’t travel, and realizing that maybe it’s not too late to start down it. Plus just all the wacky shit Candy does makes me laugh every single time.
One I left out is The Curious Case of Benjamin Button. Avalune knows if this comes on, I’m gone for the next three hours. And I still can’t quite explain exactly why I love it so much, but I do.
zhena gogolia
@Phylllis: Yes, that’s a great one. Alan Rickman is fantastic. Although I think there are hardly any lines straight from the book, somehow Emma Thompson captured the spirit of Austen. Hugh Grant is also at the top of his game. I’ve seen it a million times and will probably see it a million more.
1995 Pride and Prejudice (I don’t think I need to explain)
Christmas in Connecticut (Barbara Stanwyck is divine, supported by a stellar cast)
Any Hitchcock film
I can watch all Inspector Morse episodes hundreds of times (except Day of the Devil)
I’m sure I’ll think of more.
Leto
@comrade scotts agenda of rage: Frau Blucher!
CaseyL
I have more comfort reads than comfort movies, but the ones I keep coming back to are “The Sting,” “Murder on the Orient Express” (the 1972 version), and “The Three Musketeers” (1973 version).
All are characterized by terrific everything: acting, dialog, direction. All had A-List ensembles at the top of their game. All had positive, if not “happy,” endings.
I do indeed notice these are all movies from the early 1970s, when I was a teenager, and some of my great affection for them may be due to how they affected me at that age.
Mousebumples
Movies –
Miracle – it helps me feel patriotic. It got a lot of play when Dubya was president (plus, I’m a big Olympics fan)
Remember the Titans – similar to Miracle, it’s a feel good movie. Denzel is great, and I like the story about overcoming racial prejudices for many on the team. Also super cute (baby face!) Ryan Gosling
The Princess Bride – not the most feminist of movies, but it’s campy, fun, and nostalgia filled
TBone
I think because we lived with my grandparents after divorce and pre-remarriage, I find classic movies of the Golden Era really comforting. It’s such a departure from my normal personality (not reactionary!) that I initially had a hard time wrapping my mind around my fondness for that era. When I was little, we had a party line telephone, a Victory garden, an old style small-screen TV in the living room, milk in glass bottles delivered fresh on the doorstep every morning, etc. in the 1970s!
So I am a sucker for Doris Day (that’s embarrassing but true). And Cary Grant. And so many others.
Please Don’t Eat the Daisies. Love Affair. Anything with Judy Garland.
Breakfast at Tiffany’s.
Little Women (June Allyson and/or Katharine Hepburn versions). All of Kate Hepburn’s movies. Spencer Tracy.
Mr. Hobbs Takes A Vacation
The Courtship of Eddie’s Father (Glenn Ford and Ron Howard).
Friendly Persuasion is a favorite.
On Golden Pond
I could go on all day.
I guess I feel safe when wrapped in the comfort that these wonderful old films and stars offer, like a protected child.
Almost Retired
Casablanca, as obvious and unoriginal as that pick may be. Not only is it a great story (minus a couple cringey lines and special effects), but it was made at a time when the outcome of World War II was largely unclear. The fact that the cast was made up of many refugees from Hitler makes the back story all the more fascinating. I think only two or three of the credited cast were American. Also Ingrid Bergman was SMOKING HOT.
Runner up is Cabaret. Love the music and the vibe.
For comedies, My Favorite Year. Snappy writing, wonderful cast and memorable sight gags.
ETA I can’t think of any other 80 year old movie with so many still-quotable lines than Casablanca.
zhena gogolia
@piratedan: When I was living in various people’s houses and catsitting for them because I didn’t have a place to live for a few months, one of those people had Comedy Central and I was able to watch MST3K every night. It really got me through! And I have to mention this weird show that came on before MST3K, on which Andy Kindler would interview (very minor) celebrities and their pets. It was hilarious!
TBone
@Almost Retired: 💜
zhena gogolia
@BellaPea: MARK DARCY WILL NOT BE IN IT? I thought he was!
I just recently binged all three Bridget Jones. The second is much weaker than the first, but I was surprised to find that Bridget Jones’s Baby is quite good and very funny!
jame
Comfort movies? I like Practical Magic for that. Thor: Ragnarok was it for me and my sister at the cheap movies. I’m the only one who appreciated Strange Magic — I thought the music, the animation, and the story were wonderful! I love The Fifth Element. Local Hero, The Matchmaker, and Waking Ned Devine are always good, too. I used to like Moonstruck a lot, but lately it doesn’t have the same charm for me that Clueless still does. Galaxy Quest, Buckaroo Banzai, and The Princess Bride are all great fun. I really like All That Jazz, too, and who doesn’t love Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and Blazing Saddles?
The television shows we like are all ancient, and on DVD: Blackadder is foremost for sheer wit, but Third Rock from the Sun is close. I enjoy Farscape, and of course Star Trek: The Next Generation. The sexism of Frasier wore out its welcome for me, but it was funny once. Rumpole of the Bailey and Nero Wolfe are shows both my husband and I can enjoy together. And we like I Claudius, and should probably watch it at least once every other year.
Holiday movie favorites are Last Holiday, the remake filmed in New Orleans before the levees broke in 2005, Strange Brew with the Mackenzie brothers, Ernest Saves Christmas (my sister’s fave), and Rise of the Guardians, for all the holidays.
I probably forgot some, but did my best.
mrmoshpotato
@CaseyL:
Do you mean 1974, or is there a version I don’t know about?
zhena gogolia
@TBone: I just watched Love Affair again. Man, is that a perfect movie! (I assume you mean the Irene Dunne-Charles Boyer one.)
NotMax
Movies:
The Stunt Man
Bringing Up Baby
The Third Man
The Gods Must Be Crazy
The Pirates of Penzance
Citizen Kane
The Fifth of July (filmed version of the Lanford Wilson play)
Sweeney Todd (Angela Lansbury verion)
Network
.
TV:
Wild Boys (Aussie)
Wonderfalls
Car 54, Where Are You?
The Goldbergs (1950s series)
Captain Marleau (French)
Homicide Hills (German)
Allmen (Swiss-German)
Babylon 5
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
ReBoot
Little Mosque on the Prairie
Miranda
Charlie Jade
I. Claudius
.
Just because. Obviously, it’s all subjective. (Doubtless the mind will eventually rev up and find dozens more, but I’ll leave it at these.)
TBone
@scav: oh I adore Local Hero! Saw it in theater with mom and dad.
Jackie
@Timill: 😂
I doubt any Yankees (🤮)fans would watch – even for $$$ LOL
Annie
@Almost Retired:
Yes, Yes, to My Favorite Year, can’t think why I forgot about it. It’s lovely and very funny.
Weekend Editor
Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The characters are going through hell, sometimes literally, but they support each other and find ways to create meaning and lives worth living in a senseless universe.
Mousebumples
TV Shows –
I’m also rewatching Parks and Rec and Brooklyn 99 right now. Mostly because my MIL just gave us access to her Peacock account. I’d say Psych is next, but I have those on DVD.
Scout211
I have different movies at different times in my life that have brought me comfort. But the one I’ll share today goes way back to my pre-teen days with my two sisters. The movie that we all loved and watched together every time it was shown on our TV was Westward the Women. (1951) We loved that movie and always watched it together.
Back then westerns were very popular, but this one was a western that was all about the women and how they learned to take care of themselves, fight for their lives and become strong women.
From the Warner Brothers blurb
We loved that movie and often cried through it together.
I guess it was our first taste of the empowerment of women in a man’s world. But at the time, we just watched it together and cheered when the women found their strengths and cried when they suffered tragedies.
Ann Marie
I am a re-reader and re-watcher. I frequently re-read an entire book series (usually detective stories) or re-watch entire TV series. My go-to comfort show is Major Crimes. Mary McDonnell is terrific as the Captain of the division and enjoy all the detectives. The detectives get more screen time than they did under the predecessor series, The Closer. I appreciate Captain Raydor’s essential decency and intelligence. The episodes are usually not bloody, violence is only occasional (a few episodes each season), and stories run from terribly sad to LOL hilarious.
I don’t have comfort movies as such, but I have re-watched Ruthless People and the original version of Day of the Jackal several times. As a old comics geek, I also re-watch some of the (many) movies based on comics, both Marvel and DC.
CaseyL
@mrmoshpotato:
Sorry: I do mean 1974.
Josie
I can’t count the number of times I have watched the original Magnificent Seven and I still am fascinated by it. Such a great ensemble of good actors and a genuinely appealing villain.
“If God had not meant them to be sheared, he would not have made them sheep.” or something to that effect.
Two others are Shawshank Redemption and Blazing Saddles.
citizen dave
Back in my earlier decades I’d say it was Being There, Peter Sellers. It presaged (I looked it up to make sure of the meaning) our current era in a certain way. The difference being the the Chauncy Gardener was not an active bullshitter, he just was pretty well ignorant of anything but gardening, but in that story/era, people took him as a genius. See Ross Perot later in real life.
In the last couple decades I’d have to say, and it’s a weird “comfort” one I guess, but I go back to Taxi Driver. I have a blu-ray of it right now from the library–some great features on it. This edition came out around 2006/7 (30 year anniversary edition I guess).
Ann Marie
@CaseyL:
I love all three of those movies! Time to get out the DVDs.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: hell yes! But I also love the Cary Grant one. Irene Dunn is always smashing.
Another fave: I Remember Mama
Oh, and Life With Father.
William Powell was amazing and funny as hell in everything (esp. Thin Man franchise)! Mister Roberts. Anything with Jack Lemmon.
Cheaper By the Dozen
I really could go on all day, I’m embarrassing myself!
Penny Serenade is so corny and such a tearjerker but I adore it.
Lastly, Our Vines Have Tender Grapes. Edward G. Robinson was a genius. Key Largo.
Raoul Paste
@Splitting Image: Stan and Ollie are so wonderfully funny and innocent They transcend black-and-white. Good choice.
I don’t think The Hitman’s Bodyguard has been mentioned yet. If you don’t mind the language and the violence, it’s a rollicking good time
mrmoshpotato
@CaseyL: Great movie, great acting, great cast, great story.
(And I’m not going crazy. 😁)
TBone
W.C. Fields. No explanation necessary! 😆
raven
@azelie: He could make some films. Men With Guns is a favorite but Matewan is the best.
geg6
I have no clue who Matt Bomer is nor have I ever seen White Collar. From what I can see via Wiki, it’s not my thing. But we all have our weird comfort things.
For myself, House Hunters is comfort tv. It’s only a half hour, I like making fun of some of their “deal breakers” and I like to guess which place they’ll pick. It’s a bit of mindless tv with a simple format. Not taxing in any way.
For films, it’s always a comedy. Laughing is the best medicine for anything, mental or physical. When Harry Met Sally, Blazing Saddles, Young Frankenstein, Monty Python and the Holy Grail or Life of Brian are typical go-tos for me.
Ann Marie
@TBone:
William Powell and Myrna Loy were so much fun in The Thin Man. The sequels were not as good, but still worth watching.
Another group of movies I can watch again and again are the movies with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. In some ways they seem more “modern” than the musicals from the 50’s and 60’s.
UncleEbeneezer
Truman Show
Boogie Nights
Shawshank Redemption
Chaplin
Asteroid City
Moonrise Kingdom
Life Aquatic
Jaws
Close Encounters
Little Children
Phantom Thread
Moonlight
Pearl
X
Halloween
The Shining
Memento
Waking Life
dc
Perry Mason (original series), almost all episodes on Amazon Prime.
TBone
@Ann Marie: 🩷
UncleEbeneezer
West Side Story (original)
Xanadu
All That Jazz
Barbie
Rachel Bakes
@Annie: another good choice. We love that one. We had the opportunity to see a live stage production of it in Hartford and it worked as beautifully as the film.
TBone
Born Yesterday is still so prescient. Best explanation of fascism ever.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Born_Yesterday_(1950_film)
“In 1951, the film was picketed by the Anti-Communist Committee of the Catholic War Veterans because Holliday and Kanin were affiliated with organizations on the U.S. attorney general’s list of subversive groups.”
Craig
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid. Probably my favorite movie. I used to watch it with my Dad when it came on TV when I was a kid. Even though they’re fucked the keep running with such style and the obvious love between Butch and Sundance and Etta is just comforting. The writing from William Goldman is one of the best scripts ever. George Roy Hill’s direction is masterfully Workman like. He’s not flashy, but everything is in the right place at the right time in right proportion. The acting is off course top notch. My favorite is probably Katharine Ross’s monologue as Etta when she tells them ‘I’m 26 and single and a school teacher and that’s the bottom of the pit…’ and she tells them that she’ll go to Bolivia with them, ‘…I’ll do anything you ask of me except one thing, I won’t watch you die. I’ll skip that scene if you don’t mind’. It’s beautiful, and heavy.
Jackie
@TBone: I grew up with Doris Day, too. The first movie I remember watching and loving was Calamity Jane. Doris Day’s name in my young head was Calamity Jane for years 😂 Whenever a different movie starring her came on, it was “Oh, it’s Calamity Jane!” Drove my mom crazy.
I also loved Moonlight Bay with Gordon McRay(?) and the sequels. Teacher’s Pet with Rock Hudson… ♥️
Raised my kiddos on those and all musicals of that era.
bluefoot
@CaseyL: At one point I learned that The Three Musketeers and A Hard Day’s Night were both directed by Richard Lester…which should have been obvious to me having watched both multiple times.
Comfort watches:
The movie Strictly Ballroom is one for me. Fun story, good music, dancing always makes me happy, and a happy ending. What’s not to love? When things are really bad, this is what I turn to.
I also like old school screwball comedies. The Philadelphia Story is probably my favorite.
For television, Leverage seems to be the thing for me lately. I lighthearted, and trying to get justice for people. Kind of what I need right now.
piratedan
@raven: I tend to agree that Matewan was his best, bittersweet but powerful. Talk about some ensemble performances….. and for a time, it’s hard to find a finer villain than Bob Guinton, his turn in Matewan and then later in Shawshank get you that emotional investment that simply drives the narrative.
TBone
@Jackie: 😍👍
Mai Naem mobile
Stalag 17, Best Years of Our Lives, Erin Brockovich, As Good As It Gets, Babe, Working Girl, Lion. Stand and Deliver
Cheryl from Maryland
When my father was in home hospice, and I was with him for the weekend, he asked to me to watch his favorite films with him – Some Like It Hot, The Producers, and Blazing Saddles. It is now harder for me to watch them, but oh such sweet memories.
trollhattan
@Craig: Yep, Butch & Sundance is my pinnacle buddy movie and it never, never gets stale.
“Who are those guys?”
Craig
I also love Breaking Away. It’s such a gorgeous little film, and I’m always a sucker for a scrappy underdog story. When Dave stops speaking with an Italian accent you see the love his parents have for him. Bonus points for Jackie Earl Haley.
Just look at that parking lot
From 1983 the movie Tender Mercies with Robert Duvall & Tess Harper. I reminders me the importance of giving second chances and that if your given that chance , recognize it and do your best not to blow it.
Scout211
@WaterGirl:
Maybe this should have been written in a larger font and in BOLD. LOL
Oh well, it’s Balloon-juice where directions are merely suggestions.
GregMulka
Movies:
The Gentlemen
Young Frankenstein
Monty Python’s Holy Grail
Blazing Saddles
Either Spiderverse movie
The Martian
Hot Fuzz
TV
Ted Lasso
Castlevania
Shoresy
Letterkenny
Star Trek TNG seasons 2.5-7, Deep Space Nine, Lower Decks, Strange New Worlds
*Edited to add Hot Fuzz
CaseyL
@bluefoot: There’s a wonderful exuberance in all of Lester’s movies.
(Some of my comfort movies and TV shows are currently unavailable to me since I got rid of my TV years ago, and my current laptop doesn’t have a DVD slot. Obviously I don’t miss any of it all that much or I’d do something about it!)
zhena gogolia
@TBone: I love the Cary Grant one too. They’re both perfect in their own way. (Although I’ll give Dunne the nod over Kerr.)
TBone
@Mai Naem mobile: Best Years of Our Lives ! Ahmazing film.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: agreed!
But Deborah Kerr is another fave – The Sundowners and Night of the Iguana just to name two where she really shines as an actress.
hueyplong
In no particular order (and there may be 20 more)
Casablanca
Miller’s Crossing
The Wizard of Oz
Out of the Past
Once Upon a Time in the West
Michael Clayton
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Big Short (I’ve seen a lot of internal memos)
My wife’s and my first real date was a movie called Mephisto (Klaus Maria Brandauer). We have an original poster over the tv.
Finally, it made my heart soar like a hawk when raven mentioned Matewan.
NotMax
@CaseyL
Good quality external optical drives are dirt cheap.
Marge
African Queen. I don’t know how many times I’ve seen it, but it never wears out.
CliosFanBoy
I don’t have any comfort TV shows or movies. When I’m in a bad mood or feeling blue, I’ll read. Nothing in particular, I’ll just pick up a book off my nightstand and read. Usually, it’s non-fiction and I focus on what the author is telling me.
There are movies I can watch over and over–The Great Race, The Sting (mentioned above), Godfather I and II, Casino, and maybe a few others. There’s no particular rhyme or reason to them.
zhena gogolia
@TBone: Have you seen her in The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp? Gorgeous.
TBone
@Marge: ❤️
I’m even gonna add Kate and John Wayne in Rooster Cogburn. And John Wayne and Ron Howard and Lauren Bacall in The Shootist.
Craig
One movie that’s not comfort. Dancer in the Dark. One of the best movies I’ll ever see, but I’ll never watch it again. I can’t handle the emotional pummeling. It’s just a deep well of sadness.
TBone
@zhena gogolia: Not in a long time, so I will now look for it on my Google TV! Thanks!
Josie
One that I forgot–O Brother Where Art Thou? The music is just amazing.
SpaceUnit
@Craig:
God help me, but I’ve seen that movie.
NotMax
@Marge
Fascinating little documentary on the real German ship which patrolled that lake.
TBone
@Josie: I dragged my brother to see that in theater. I don’t know if he liked it as much as I did 😂
TBone
@NotMax: you are such a wealth of fascinating information, thank you for always adding your panache!
hueyplong
Guess I overlooked the “please say why” instruction. Won’t do them all, but
Michael Clayton: as a lawyer, easily my favorite lawyer movie. S Pollack’s managing partner is almost too good to be true in terms of believability.
Miller’s Crossing: From the look to the slang to the performances, nearly a perfect movie.
Once Upon a Time In the West: cinematography, Morricone score, Henry Fonda –Tom Joad ffs– murdering a child in his first scene. The only western (other than Unforgiven and Blazing Saddles) I’ll watch.
Mr. Bemused Senior
@Weekend Editor: Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
I had a father/daughter bonding experience, we watched Buffy and Angel all the way through. Alas now it’s bittersweet as @azelie points out.
Bemused Senior and I had a sentimental love of You’ve Got Mail. We both had email long before AOL and lived through the era. Plus great music, great cast and acting, and a happy ending.
Almost Retired
@TBone: you are so right. Best Years of Our Lives is a masterpiece. The story unfolds at a leisurely pace by Hollywood Golden Age standards. It dealt honestly and poignantly with the challenges of returning veteran’s reintegration. Just as real life vets were being returned to civilian life contemporaneously.
It was ahead of its time, and could only have been made in 1946. Thereafter, the national narrative quickly morphed to postwar triumphalism and returning veterans were recast as invulnerable heroes – strong and silent.
Best Years would not have been greenlighted if it had been proposed at the end of the decade IMO.
DarbysMom
Murphy’s Romance, for sure! Pride and Prejudice (1995) with Colin Firth – no more need be said.
Overboard; Steel Magnolias; Doc Hollywood; Rear Window; Anything with Cary Grant; Any MGM musical; Shawshank Redemption; 16 Candles; Fried Green Tomatoes; The Bodyguard; Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan; Sense and Sensibility (Emma Thompson version). Comfort TV: I Love Lucy; Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore on DVD. Yes I is a old.
Have seen them all a million times but they each still take me away from real life.
Craig
@hueyplong: Michael Clayton kind of reminds me of The Verdict. Like everyone writes him off. When he breaks Tilda Swinton in half at the end it’s fucking awesome.
TBone
@Almost Retired: 👍 every time I watch it, I see something new.
Also
From Here to Eternity
The Misfits
Babydoll
All movies I find something new to marvel at every time I see them.
Scout211
That is a movie that my daughter and I watch so many times together. It brought us both comfort and is a special memory for the two of us.
Emily B.
Almost any Buffy episode qualifies as comfort TV for me. The show makes it clear that fighting evil comes at a cost…but yeah, good (usually) wins in the end, and you can face even the biggest bads with some help from your friends. Kind of a Balloon Juice theme, actually…..
hueyplong
@Almost Retired: My favorite part of Best Years is the last scene, the marriage taking place, but you’re watching Dana Andrews and Teresa Wright on the left looking at each other. Gets me every time.
azelie
@piratedan:
@raven:
I have a soft spot for Lone Star, too.
TBone
@Almost Retired: I adore My Favorite Year too! ❤️
hueyplong
@Craig: “I’m Shiva the god of death.”
Shana
There are a lot of molies I will happily watch over snd over but I truly love the original The Women and Auntie Mame.
Salty Sam
For me, it’s “Harold and Maude”. I saw it in the theater when I was just a bit younger than Bud Cort (Harold), and now I’m approaching Ruth Gordon’s (Maude’s) vintage. It never fails to make my mood brighter.
Come to think of it, that movie probably has a big part to play in my late-in-life career choice to become an End-of-life Doula. Maude taught me well!
Pittsburgh Mike
30 Rock — I can watch them in any order at any time. The interplay between Liz Lemon (Tina Fey) and Jack Donaghy (Alec Baldwin) make the show, although I can watch the last episode to see what becomes of Kenneth a million times and still love it.
prostratedragon
I have a big set that I return to often. It’s not only for comfort, or rvem mainly considering some of what’t in it. I’m interested in the way one (thinks that one) becomes aware of new layers of meaning in stories, and the ways that different movies seem to be in conversation with each other.
Sometimes seeing something new suggests a missing link with things one already knows. I saw The Locket with Day, Aherne, and Mitchum the other night, and now will soon get back to Vertigo and Marnie. Can’t you see?
TBone
@Scout211: 💙💙💙
Craig
@hueyplong: oh hell yeah!
BellaPea
@zhena gogolia: Yes, sorry. The fourth movie is based on Helen Fielding’s book; Bridget is in her 50s with two young sons. Hugh Grant is in the movie, however.
NotMax
Okay, one more. The More the Merrier. Jean Arthur and Joel McCrae are *chef’s kiss* together.
bluefoot
@CaseyL: I have an old computer with a DVD slot, and I bought a cheap DVD player last year since I have some movies that I love that aren’t available online.
And yes, exuberance is definitely the right word for describing Lester’s movies.
NotMax
Coding snafu. Fix.
Okay, one more. The More the Merrier. Jean Arthur and Joel McCrae are *chef’s kiss* together.
Almost Retired
@hueyplong: It’s a great scene. The tension in the room when the minister asks Homer to put the ring on Wilma’s finger with his two prosthetic hands. Again that movie was so ahead of its time. The wedding scene is ahead of our time.
CaseyL
Oh, and the reboot/Alt Universe Star Trek (2009). I can and have watched that one over and over.
The Trek universe was moribund in 2009, with the two most recent spin-off movies, Insurrection and Nemesis, tanking. Even I didn’t bother to see either of them.
Then came the reboot – no, wait. First came the trailer for the reboot, and just that was enough to make 99% of the Trekkies in the world sit up like they’d had a triple shot of espresso. So we all turned out the day it opened, and came away completely stunned. That movie reinvigorated the whole franchise.
Even though the following film was an insult, and the one after that only fair-to-middling, they can’t touch my deep love for the 2009 outing.
brendancalling
Original Dr. Who is my comfort show.
geg6
@Craig:
I feel exactly the same way about Zone of Interest, about Rudolph Hoss and his family living life just next to the Auschwitz death camp. Masterfully done but I’ll never watch it again.
hueyplong
@geg6: “Really well done but I’ll never watch it again” should be a topic here on another Sunday. We’ve all got a few of those. Zone of Interest is on my list too, as is The Lighthouse.
zhena gogolia
@BellaPea: Okay, guess I’ll give it a miss!!!
zhena gogolia
@hueyplong: When Did You Last See Your Father? is on that list for me.
lowtechcyclist
Enthusiastically seconded! Roy Scheider is even better in this than he is in Jaws, and that’s saying a lot, because he’s damned good in Jaws. How can you make a comedy around Kübler-Ross’ five stages of death? This is how!
Let’s see, what else? The Philadelphia Story has been mentioned, and how can you make a bad movie with Cary Grant, Katherine Hepburn, and James Stewart in it? It’s funny, and the plot works out in just the right way.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail is the absolute greatest comedy of all time, as far as I’m concerned. It’s hard to believe it’ll be 50 years old next year! Møøse credits, coconuts, African and European swallows, “help, help, I’m being repressed!”, “she turned me into a newt! (A newt?) Got better!” “On second thought let’s not go to Camelot. Silly place.” French taunters, brave Sir Robin, the Castle Anthrax, the Knights of Ni, Tim the Enchanter, the killer rabbit, the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch, the Black Beast of Aargh…so many scenes in this movie are totally amazeballs.
It also exemplifies a distinction between two types of comedy that there really needs to be two different names for. In most comedies, there are a lot of funny scenes, but the plot is still what’s important, and it needs to resolve itself in a way that works. In movies like MP&HG, the plot’s really just an excuse, and it can resolve itself in absurd ways, and you don’t care because the ride was the whole point, screw the destination. (I think MP&HG’s ending is the epitome of this.) The best Marx Brothers movies are like this; Mel Brooks’ Blazing Saddles and The Producers fit this mold, etc. There needs to be a term to apply to movies like these that says it’s one of these, and not one of the regular kind.
Steve in the ATL
@brendancalling: like 1960’s Dr. Who? Typical bass player!
hueyplong
@lowtechcyclist: My father-in-law built a slide for our very young kids and, before I let each of them go down the slide for the first time, each had to answer me “these questions three.” They got them right (my son even knowing to ask “African or European?” and down they went (into the yard of eternal peril)
ETA: we’re a bit geeky about movies.
zhena gogolia
@Steve in the ATL: Love that William Hartnell!
CaseyL
Lotta movies in this thread that I love! It’s fascinating to see what BJers like in their “comfort watches,” and why.
@hueyplong: Yikes. Anything that rips my heart out, or makes me think about Big Issues in a way I can’t readily find anyone to talk to about.
Suzanne
Also, I will note that Spaceballs never fails to cheer me up. I remember turning it on in the office one day when we didn’t have any clients or consultants in the office, and we were all in hysterics.
O. Felix Culpa
Chicken Run, because it’s fun.
TBone
@hueyplong: The Lighthouse freaked me right out! Not comforting 😆
WaterGirl
@Scout211: It does feel like more people are sharing more than just a list, so I’m gonna call that progress!
West of the Rockies
The 2019 More Tales of the City, The Office, The Philadelphia Story (dated as it is) Roman Holiday are all go-to comfort offerings for me.
TBone
@Raven: I’m going to look for this movie, I just read about it. Sounds fascinating!
TBone
@Shana: superb! All women! And nobody does it like Rosalind Russell in Auntie Mame, what a role model 💜
comrade scotts agenda of rage
@CaseyL:
How could I have forgotten that one?
Or that one?
Plus two late John Wayne Westerns: El Dorado and True Grit.
Fargo.
And as mentioned, The Verdict.
UncleEbeneezer
@GregMulka: How does Shoresy compare with Letterkenny? The trailer doesn’t make it look that funny, but neither did the Letterkenny trailer either, iirc. We need to get back on LK as we only watched maybe the first two seasons.
laura
The movie that instantly reconnects me to my humanity is “Babette’s Feast.” I love it because Babette uses a windfall to give the gift of all the sensual and gustatory pleasures of the table to a raggedy ass bunch of scrubs that ever had to be cared for by a community. That they experienced such pleasure was wonderful. That they’d been denied such pleasure is an abomination. Big Ups for this sweet little movie.
JoyceH
For me the best comfort viewing is Gene Kelly movies. Pretty much any of them, but I like the “sailors on shore leave in the big city” ones best.
stinger
Enchanted April, Witness, The Fabulous Baker Boys, Working Girl, and above all, Much Ado About Nothing. The opening ten minutes, with everyone sitting about on the Italian hillside eating peaches and fresh bread and drinking wine while Emma Thompson reads poetry and then the horsemen! And the bathing scene! And the joyous dance at the end, as the camera pulls away. Ah — I may have to go watch it right now! I’m going to add Big Night, which I don’t watch as often, but it’s Stanley Tucci and Tony Shalhoub as brothers trying to keep a restaurant going in the face of stiff competition.
And Tootsie. The basic goodness of people.
UncleEbeneezer
@lowtechcyclist: The only problem with Scheider in All That Jazz was they really shouldn’t have let him sing, lol. Especially when he’s trading verses with Ben Freakin’ Vereen! It’s such a bizarre and crazy film.
We tried to watch Fossey/Verdon figuring we’d love it since we love ATJ but the main characters were just so unlikable that we couldn’t hang.
On a somewhat related line, we just watched Becoming Karl Lagerfeld on Hulu and it was pretty excellent. A lot of the same time period, fashion etc.
TBone
I’m watching William Powell and Hedy Lamar in Crossroads right now (on demand). I love William Powell as much as Jean Harlow did, I think!
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_(1942_film)
I did not like film noir until Eddie Muller taught me how and why to watch it. I found it too unsettling to be of comfort. Now I’m mesmerized by it. TCM has done a real service for us all. No commercial breaks! I told my cable provider that if they wouldn’t provide TCM with my basic cable package, I would quit them. They gave me my TCM without further argument.
tcm.com/articles/Programming%20Article/021846/noir-alley/
UncleEbeneezer
@Craig: Did you see Little Children? Much darker, Todd Fields drama/comedy but Jackie Earl Hailey was really excellent in it. He always had a creepy look so it was kind of a perfect part for him. One of my absolute fave films.
citizen dave
@Scout211: “I am all but begging you, please do not just list the shows you like. Please share something about your “go to” comfort shows, and if you’re up for living on the edge, maybe even share something about yourself.”
Ha! I missed it as well–was skimming. But, to wit, made me think of a comfort item, Tenacious D!. The first two (of the 6) shorts are absolute gold, and this first tune has a slight reference to the WG directions above:
This is a song called The History of Tenacious D
And it’s not just a list of bullshit that we’ve done in the past
It’s a chronicling of our rise—To power!
anitamargarita
Best in Show, LegallyBlonde, Seabiscuit
Tehanu
The BBC 1980 version of Pride and Prejudice, with the incredibly gorgeous David Rintoul as Darcy (and btw the young Tessa Peake-Jones, whom most will know as Mrs. C in Grantchester, as Mary). The music is delightful, the writing by Fay Weldon is a tribute to Austen, and — although I do like Colin Firth (1995 version) and Keira Knightley (2005 version) generally — there’s no BS about parading around in wet shirts or going anywhere outdoors without a hat.
Mr. Bemused Senior
Speaking of joyous dances at the end…
Top Hat. Plus Edward Everett Horton.
“I am no man, I am Beddini!”
UncleEbeneezer
Dark City– probably my fave dystopian/sci-fi film ever. Rufus Sewell, William Hurt, K. Sutherland, Jennifer Connelly a futuristic/noir vibe and surprisingly excellent visual effects that hold up pretty well even today. Similar awakening themes as The Matrix, but I actually prefer Dark City.
NotMax
@TBone
Admit to being fascinated by Eddie’s seemingly infinite supply of loud and/or outre neckties.
;)
After cutting the cable cord, two main reasons I subscribe to Sling Blue: MSNBC and TCM. The latter is part of a package which costs an extra five clams per month, but also besides airing live comes with an ever changing roster of on demand titles.
TBone
@laura: ADORE
stinger
@Tehanu:
Yes! (Please note, the David Rintoul in P&P is not our David Rintoul/Albatrossity — I asked!)
TBone
I almost forgot to list one of my all time favorite movies. Absolutely charming! French with English subtitles.
en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Am%C3%A9lie
Amelie starring Audrey Tautou.
Paris
Love
Humor
Wit
Mystery
Mischief!
NotMax
@UncleEbeneezer
Dark City? Spooky little boy.
Spookier than Victor in the (later) original series The Returned. And Victor is no slouch in the spooky department
;)
NotMax
@TBone
“I don’t mind a man showing five aces. But when I know what cards I dealt….”
(Paraphrasing from Swiss cheese memory.)
GregMulka
@UncleEbeneezer:
It’s different funny. Remarkable how different it is from Letterkenny. Probably has more heart. And the hatred the have for the american side of the Sault is spot on.
Martin
@TBone: I can cook an egg with a spoon.
Phein64
Whenever I feel bad about my life or its short remainder, I watch Harvey. James Stewart as Elwood P. Dowd.
“In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.
I wish I had listened all those years ago when I thought being smart was the epitome of humankind, only to realize I was completely wrong. If I wasn’t an atheist, I would thank dog for grandchildren, who have given me a second chance.
Oh, and we’ve gone through two DVD copies of The Secrets of Roan Inish (well, maybe one of the kids took one), and three copies of Tarsem’s The Fall, because we needed its beauty. A lot.
RevRick
I tried to think of any TV show or movie that would be a go-to for comfort for me, and I keep drawing a blank. I think there’s a couple of reasons for that. For one, they’re visual media and I suppose I am more aurally inclined (the preacher loves sounds, quelle surprise!) For another, church anchors my comfort ( from the Latin con forte = strength together ) , so I immediately think of hymns (we sang my favorite today, “We Would Be Building “) . It’s an active, collective experience, and for me that’s important to my sense of comfort.
It’s not as if I don’t enjoy watching TV, and the ones I like most have ensemble casts who engage me, like Suits, or Burn Notice, or Big Bang Theory .
Martin
I don’t find comfort in nostalgia. In fact, I find it pretty disquieting. So I tend to gravitate toward media that helps me make better sense of the current moment, rather than retreat from it. EEAAO is my current return-to movie.
Waymond as the tritagonist anchors the entire movie. He’s the stable, consistent element in everyones lives, pulling his family back when they start to spin out of control, while being the very opposite of toxic masculinity:
Joy losing herself to a world that sets such high expectations and is so regularly critical of her authentic self, Evelyn regretting the alternate paths that her life could have taken, preventing her from enjoying her current one. I don’t think anything has captured the current moment as well since Inside.
Cowgirl in the Sandi
His Girl Friday
Cary Grant. Roslyn Russell
Great rapid fire dialog and Hildy’s hat
David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch
comfort films: Marathon Man, Cape Fear, Silence of the Lambs
Trivia Man
@SamInWa: there is an entire subreddit of people who do this. Futuramasleepers I think
Trivia Man
@scav: and a brilliant mark knopfler soundtrack that stands on its own merits
Craig
@Cowgirl in the Sandi: so good. That’s how you do dialogue. I love that movie.
Craig
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: whoa. Cold comfort
Mr. Bemused Senior
@David 🌈 ☘The Establishment☘🌈 Koch: so you are just trying to lull us with those rainbows and clover leaves eh?
prostratedragon
@RevRick: With movies/tv I know well, I find I can enjoy them when I mainly pay attention to the sounds, even more than the soundtrack, as long as I have my good headphones on. They can add nuance to the overt dialog and the images. Occasionally doing the opposite — mute the sound — can also be interesting.
...now I try to be amused
Before Sunrise. Falling in love happens in the course of a long conversation. I always get a big goofy grin on my face when I watch it.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers (Richard Lester, 1970s). Screenplay by George MacDonald Fraser, author of the Flashman Papers.
Little Big Man. A film with everything: tragedy, comedy, adventure, great characters and great performances. I like to think that Old Lodge Skins never died.
The Assassination Bureau (Limited). Diana Rigg and Oliver Reed, oh yes.
katdip
For my wife and me, there’s comfort in Princess Bride, Amelie, Room with a View (so romantic and Maggie Smith is phenomenal), and we love all the Thin Man movies – can’t go wrong with classy people, cocktails, mysteries, with a dog!
On my own I lean toward slapstick and sci-fi: Animal House, Blues Brothers (Ray Charles!), the originals Bladerunner (though the rapey scene with Rachel is now off-putting), Young Frankenstein, Monty Pytho episodes. I’m also a sucker for Philadelphia Story or Woman of the Year.
kalakal
Very late to the party Agree with so many above
As well as Local Hero ( everyone’s 2nd favourite movie as it was once described)
I’d add Bill Forsyth’s other films eg Gregory’s Girl, Comfort & Joy
Practically anything with Cary Grant, espescially Charade, Arsenic & Old Lace
The Errol Flynn classics – Robin of Sherwood, Captain Blood and so of course My Favourite Year
The Pink Panther Movies
Kind Hearts and Coronets, The Ladykillers
The Addams Family films
From TV Fawlty Towers, Yes Minister/Prime Minister, Poirot, Jeeves & Wooster, Barney Miller, WKRP
M. Bouffant
@dc: Yes indeed. About the only black & white hr.-long drama series still shown on non-nostalgia channels. As an Angeleno I like spotting locations. And even ‘though I’ve seen every episode at least twice, I almost never remember who the murderer is.
O. Felix Culpa
@Scout211: Or maybe it’s not school and we get to choose how we participate. :)
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Timill:
As someone born above Coogan’s Bluff when the Yankees were a legitimately bad team, I’d find watching those four games about as comforting as watching a Saw marathon with my eyelids held open Clockwork Orange style. While being fed feet-first into a meat grinder at an inch a minute. I didn’t hate Red Sox Nation until I saw the fans’ reaction to those four games.
For comfort movies: The Shawshank Redemption and The Muppet Movie.
Food for thought: The Muppet Movie is essentially Moby-Dick told from the point of view of the white whale. Who happens to be a green frog.
Deborah
Strictly Ballroom
Billy Elliott
TBone
@Deborah: I saw Billy Elliott for the first time on TCM very recently. It is FABULOUS 🤩
WaterGirl
@Phein64:
I love that!
Ella in New Mexico
Schitts Creek
Supernatural
Columbo
les
Well, late as usual to a late evening thread-There’s much comfort up there, fer sher. I’d add-
Enemy of the State. Gene Hackman, being totally excellent per usual; and accompanied by a most clever cat. Villainous villains, and Jack Black being surprised at being one. Will Smith, the intended (and uncooperative) victim. Much suspense, many explosions, close escapes. Did I mention the cat?
WaterGirl
@les: I loved that movie. Now I’m going to have to watch it again because I don’t remember a cat.