Movie #75 - The Birdcage

The Birdcage
MGM
1996 - Rated R - 1 hr 57 min
Director: Mike Nichols
Starring: Robin Williams, Gene Hackman, Nathan Lane, Diane Wiest, Hank Azaria, Calista Flockhart, Christine Baranski

First of all, the fact that this movie is rated R is definitely a sign of the times... I guarantee you if a movie came out today about "A gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiance's right-wing moralistic parents" I don't think it would be rated R unless there was nudity and copious F-bombs. There are neither, so I'm guessing the gay thing earned it the R. How lame of you, 1990's FCC.

On to bigger and better things, for example, how much I love this frickin' movie. It still makes me laugh, thanks to the amazing cast. And although it's kind of annoying that this nice couple's idiot son wants them to be untrue to themselves to impress some jerk, if you forget about that and just enjoy the hillarity that ensues, you're golden.

It's hard to decide whether Nathan Lane or Hank Azaria is the best thing about this movies. From the spot-on melodramatics that Lane provides to the "combination of Lucy and Ricky" that makes Azaria so memorable, I'm truly torn. Fortunately, I don't have to decide because I can get them both. I will also add, though, that this movie is an interesting one, since Robin Williams plays the "straightman" (I know, I know. He's gay, but he's the straightman. Are we clear?) It was probably one of his first roles not being the loony one.

It was nice to laugh with this movie today... I consider it one of my favorites.

Movie #74 - Billy Madison

Billy Madison
Universal Pictures
1995 - Rated PG-13 - 1 hr 29 min
Director: Tamra Davis
Starring: Adam Sandler, Bridgette Wilson, Norm MacDonald

"Shampoo is better!"
"Conditioner is better!"

Ah, the age-old debate. Hard to believe this movie is 15 years old this year. Yikes. When did we get old enough to know movies this old?

Anyway, Billy Madison is one of those movies you don't watch for content. The premise is completely unrealistic, the characters walk that fine line between adorable and annoying, and it kinda looks like a way for ex-SNL cast members to get a paycheck. And yet, somehow, I still had to laugh. It's just funny, alright... nothing beats kids wise beyond their years with an (extremely) immature adult in their midst.

Really, it's just plain fun. Don't think too hard about it. Don't worry that sitting in on a class for 2 weeks isn't the equivalent of "passing" that grade. Billy Madison doesn't do much thinking, so neither should you.

The Third Shelf

Here I am, Shelf Three! Have you been waiting for me?


On tap, we've got a wide spectrum of genres, some sequels thrown in, and a few childhood animated flicks for good measure. I'll also be hitting some holiday movies in the middle there.

I've placed 50 movies on Shelf Three to be watched in alphabetical order (you know the drill). I will have until December 11 to watch them all, because November is dedicated to National Novel Writing Month. That's 50 movies in six weeks. A slower pace, but that's going to happen from time to time.

I'll pick up the slack over Christmas break!


Anyway, here's what's waiting patiently for me on Shelf Three:

1. Billy Madison
2. The Birdcage
3. Black Beauty
4. Black Snake Moan
5. Blade
6. Blade II
7. Blade Trinity
8. Blade Runner
9. Blades of Glory
10. Blazing Saddles
11. Blood Diamond
12. The Blues Brothers
13. Boiler Room
14. The Boondock Saints
15. The Boondock Saints II
16. The Bourne Identity
17. The Bourne Supremacy
18. The Bourne Ultimatum
19. The Breakup
20. Brick
21. Bridget Jones's Diary
22. Bridge Jones: The Edge of Reason
23. Bring It On
24. Brotherhood of the Wolf
25. The Brothers Grimm
26. Bruce Almighty
27. Bubble Boy
28. Casablanca
29. Casino Royale
30. Catch Me If You Can
31. Charlotte's Web
32. Chicago
33. Children of Men
34. Chocolat
35. A Christmas Carol
36. The Christmas Toy
37. The Chronicles of Narnia
38. The Chronicles of Riddick
39. Cinderella
40. Clash of the Titans
41. Clerks
42. Clerks 2
43. Closer
44. Cloverfield
45. Clue
46. Clueless
47. Collateral
48. Con-Air
49. Confetti
50. Confidence

Wish me luck!

Recap: The Second Shelf

Here we are again, another shelf down and another one staring me in the face. But anyway, I'm down a total of 73 movies now, which means I'm going to break 100 on the next shelf! How exciting!


This shelf had a couple of new additions as well, Avatar and 15 Minutes, so in total I watch 47 movies, instead of the originally planned 45. Mike just can't stop adding movies to his collection.... ugh. But no matter, at least they were good movies!



Shelf Two was riddled with Tim Burton movies and a ton of sequels. We had Bad Boys, Austin Powers, Batman, and Back to the Future. Not counting repeat appearances in those franchises, there were still plenty of repeats on the cast lists of these movies. These actors popped up a few times:

• Christopher Walken
• Ewan McGregor
• James McAvoy
• John Malkovich
• Steve Buschemi
• Uma Thurman
• Nicole Kidman
• Elizabeth Hurley
• Jeff Daniels
• Michael Caine
• Sigourney Weaver
• Giovanni Ribisi
• Michael Keaton
• John Travolta
• James Hong
• Catherine O'Hara - who had the most appearances on this shelf (in unrelated films)

Shelf Two took a total of 84 hours and 9 minutes to watch, with the longest movie, Australia, clocking in at 2 hours and 45 minutes (that's still 2 minutes shorter than Alexander!) and the shortest movie, The AristoCats, a mere 1 hour and 19 minutes (which was not as short as Alice in Wonderland) so the Shelf One records still hold.

After Shelf One and Two, I have spent 130 hours and 22 minutes watching movies. To some that might seem like heaven, to me it's become very pleasant background noise. Although I do find I need to take a break once in a while, for the most part, I don't mind popping on a movie while I fold laundry or write a couple of articles. One thing is for sure, though, I'll be slowing down the pace during the month of November so I can work on some other projects. Don't worry, reviews will still get posted and movies will get watched, just maybe not at this break-neck pace I've sustained for almost two months.

And in case you're wondering, I'm somewhere around 11.5% of the way through the wall right now. Holy crap...