460 - Play It Again #9 - Rio Bravo

I owe credit to Adam Ross. Were it not for his wicked movie blog DVD Panache, I might not have been inspired to run this feature. He has his own seriously awesome feature called Friday Screen Test, which spotlights movie bloggers such as yours truly. Features aside, his blog is a fantastic read, fusing a touch of quirkiness with an abundance of insight. Right now, his blog is on hiatus as Adam has joined the Army to become a broadcast journalist, which is more than a little cool.

Adam's selection is "Rio Bravo," Howard Hawks' 1959 Western starring John Wayne as a sheriff standing off against a gang attempting to bust one of their own out of jail.



There are probably a dozen movies I could have chosen for this question, but "Rio Bravo" is one that consistently finds its way into my DVD player, and my thoughts. With "Rio Bravo," I don't so much watch it any more, as kick my boots up and share a beer and a song with Sheriff John T. Chance, Dude, Colorado, Stumpy and the rest of the gang.



For all my favorite movies, it's always been the most difficult to put into words just why I am always pulled toward "Rio Bravo." It's the only movie I've watched (though "The 'burbs" comes close) where at a few points you stop feeling like a viewer and gradually feel like you're a part of the landscape in the town of Rio Bravo. It doesn't happen right away (though the silent opening is one of the film's best moments), but by the time we've gotten familiar with the layout of Rio Bravo's jail, I feel like tipping my hat to Sheriff Chance.



It's hard to put my finger on exactly how "Rio Bravo" evokes these feelings, but I think it's due to the natural way all the characters interact with each other and the environment. Chance has a set way he always enters the jail -- putting his rifle away and sitting at the desk the exact way each time (and it always appears like he's not even thinking about these actions, it's just reflex by now). Chance and Dude know every nook and cranny of Rio Bravo -- exactly where they should hide and how to creep up on people. And when this little town comes under siege, the keepers of peace don't panic or make rash decisions, there has to be time to think everything through and consider what little leverage they have.



Elements like the above give "Rio Bravo" the kind of authenticity you rarely find in movies, where for moments you forget you're watching actors reciting scripts and moving in front of cameras. Sometimes the screen seems to disappear, and you find yourself reaching for you gun, only to find the remote control. That's why I keep watching "Rio Bravo." - Adam Ross

459 - Play It Again #8 - Drive Me Crazy

A walking non sequitur. That's how I described Eric Mohling once, though the description doesn't do him justice. You never do get a good grip on what he's going to say next, but the frequent outlandishness of his speech actually belies an insightful mind that is constantly discovering meaning even when exploring the seemingly mundane and predictable. A graduate student at the University of Northern Iowa, his fiction is wonderfully enjoyable and unique, mainly consisting of stories about offbeat folks whose days are suffused with a casual melancholy. Eric has seen every Woody Allen film at least once, though his favorite changes every time I ask him.

Eric's selection is "Drive Me Crazy," a 1999 teen comedy about finding love in unexpected places.



Usually, the movies I watch over and over again are of a certain brand, both heartfelt and cool, but not too cool for school: "Jerry Maguire," "Dazed and Confused," "Chasing Amy," "Empire Records," "Kicking and Screaming," "Manhattan," "American Splendor," "Drive Me Crazy."

I’ve seen "Drive Me Crazy" more times than there are episodes of Beverly Hills 90210. I’d don’t really know why; it might have something to do with my dual love of the movie and "Sabrina the Teenage Witch." Melissa Joan Hart is Nicole, a popular girl who strikes a deal with her beatnik neighbor Chase (Adrian Grenier): they will date each other to get the people they really like. She wants the basketball star, he wants the punk chick protester who left him because he lost his edge. They are from different worlds, and hang with each others’ groups, mocking, but learning, realizing great things don’t always look like great things, and vice versa.



It all culminates at the Centennial Dance, when Chase decides he loves Nicole, she feels the same, crazy, and he makes an entrance, sliding down the senior gift, the centennial art piece, a Eiffel Tower looking thing, like he was rollerblading. They dance and she asks him who they are now making jealous, he says “Everyone Nicole, Everyone.” We all like to think everything is possible, that those who are superficial aren’t, that love befalls us when we’re trying to get someone else, and that despite our compromises, love conquers all in the end. This movie proves all this. I watch it over and over again, because I’m still waiting for it to happen to me. It cheers me up. - Eric Mohling

458 - Play It Again #7 - The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou

Tony Girard doesn't forget anything. At least not that I can tell; his mind archives facts and details about as well as any computer I've seen, only the machine didn't have three gin and tonics first. Few people I know can recall a years-old conversation so accurately, or recall micro moments from a film just watched and frame them in the greater context so aptly. The smallest child from a family of quite tall individuals, Tony still hovers well above the average person, a trait he uses to great effect during his recreational hours when he smashes people's heads in with foam swords (think the group in "Role Models" if more of the senior players brutalized the younger participants with their fists). The Cedar Valley's leading War Machine player and a top-notch psychology student at the University of Northern Iowa, he's also good with a pistol and loves short women.

Tony's selection is "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou," Wes Anderson's 2004 comedy about an offbeat oceanographer's quest to avenge a fallen friend.



With most Wes Anderson films (mainly the good ones), the main character is not at his best. They have gone through the high points and are now desperately struggling with what comes next. The case of Steve Zissou from "The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou" is no different. Steve (Bill Murray) maintains the same pomp and swagger that he always had, even though he is well past his prime. Things that would have been dashing and courageous when he was twenty-five years younger now come off as eccentric and creepy.



In the film, he unabashedly breaks into his nemesis' sea lab and orders his men to steal piles of equipment. It would normally come off as an evil act, but Steve's casual attitude makes the scene what it is. The film is an easy one to watch over and over because of the subtle interactions between characters as well as their impeccable timing. The more times you see the tour of the Belefonte, or Pele playing David Bowie songs in Portuguese, the funnier it gets. There is a comforting feeling when I watch the movie, knowing that Team Zissou can pull together and accomplish great things against enormous odds and still come out relatively okay. This rag-tag pack of strays can take a severe beating, but keep on going, no matter what. Their unsinkable mentality kind of rubs off as you quote lines like, "Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go on an overnight drunk, and in 10 days I'm going to set out to find the shark that ate my friend and destroy it. Anyone who wants to tag along is more than welcome."



After watching this film enough times, each tidbit uttered by a character becomes paramount to some part of the story or development of a character. The lines become funnier after you become acutely aware of how it fits in with the rest of the story. Steve tells Bill Ubell (Bud Cort as the bond company stooge) to cover his own ass when they break into the sea lab, and then personally steals Hennessey’s (Jeff Goldblum) espresso machine. Later on in the movie, Hennessey is standing next to Bill and inquires about the espresso machine. To this, Bill simply replies, "Well, uh, we...stole it." The anticipation of these scenes after repeated viewings greatly enhances their impact.

The soundtrack sets a lot of the mood with light and carefree tunes and the occasional Portuguese rendition of a Bowie song. This is only changed for tense or dynamic moments like the Ping Island Rescue, or when Steve single-handedly fights off a boat-load of pirates. Multiple viewings makes you able to identify what part of the movie it is simply by listing to the music track.



Another part that gets better with age is the amount of obviously fake plant and animal life that is abundant in the film. The crayon pony-fish all the way to the jaguar shark itself are strange and almost out of place when you first watch it, but grow with the movie.



Overall, if this film is only watched once, the amount of depth, feeling, and character in the movie is lost on the watcher. The more times it is viewed, the more it unfolds to the viewer as the epic tale of adventure and redemption that it truly is. Sail on, Team Zissou, you kings of the open sea. - Tony Girard