Thursday, April 20, 2023

Thursday Film Picks- Friends’ Travels

 


The picture, above, is from my dear friend, VJ, who travelled to Malaysia and the foot of the Himalayas as seen above. I had another friend go on a Cruise and another has just left to the Dominican. Me? I to a cruise in my Honda Civic to the local supermarket to get screwed up the ass by the greedy prices set by our Loblaws A-Hole who just gave himself a raise from $7 million to $11 million. Thankfully, the jerk had to step down but probably kept his raise. Meanwhile, butter is around $7.99 which I refuse to pay so I wait for sales. Oh, getting back to travel, I wish I was, but I’m glad my friends could and can so I can live through them. With that in mind, I chose 3 films inspired  by their travels...

Man, I forgot to include the Oscar songs here, from yesterday's post. The one that won the Oscar wad " You'll Never Know"; " That Old Black Magic" was nominated and " One For My Baby" got nadda!

1. LOST HORIZON-1937

I just love this film and I read the book as well but find this film version better than the book. It stars Ronald Colman as British diplomat trying to get out of China along with his brother and a few other characters who board a plane to take off and out of harm’s way. They realize that the plane has been hijacked and it crashes in the very snowy Himalayas where they are met by a group of men who take them on a perilous journey to Shangri-La. This is a magical place where money doesn’t matter nor does age only beauty, art, education and peace. There Colman meets a young schoolteacher and the man who founded this mythical valley. The others also find a purpose except for the dumb ass brother who believes a girl he meets there and falls for. The girl and the brother want to leave and convince Ronald despite every fiver in his being that he belongs in this valley. It is a stunning film, it really feels magical and looking at Ronald Colman helps. I love this film.

2. OUT TO SEA-1997

This stars Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, a great team on and off film, as a widower and his dead wife’s no good brother who end up on a cruise ship. Matthau plays the dead beat brother in law who swindles Lemmon to take a cruise without telling him that they are to be dancers for the lonely old ladies on the cruise. He only finds out after they set sail but must now be dancers or else the evil cruise director will throw them off the ship after charging them for the cruise. Of course, Lemmon meets the lovely Gloria DeHaven and Matthau meets the vixenish Dyan Cannon and her mother both, who think he is a wealthy millionaire. This is not an earth shattering comedy but a nice one that I can always watch and turn off my brain. You can’t help loving these 2 old codgers.

3. THE OTHER WOMAN-2014

I am not a fan of Cameron doze-off, I mean, Diaz, but I do like this comedy more for the performance of  Leslie Mann as the hapless wife married to a narcissistic jerk of a husband. It starts off that successful lawyer, Dozey, um, Diaz, is in love with handsome guy until his wife shows up all crazy and wanting to get even. It becomes quite funny when the 2 gals decide to gang up and follow the numbnut to the Caribbean only to see him with yet another gal, buxom ta-tas Kate Upton. They bring her into the fold and decide to bring the S.O.B down. I laughed quite a bit and was wondering if they had watched the marriage of my best friend and her narcissistic ex husband. I found this funny although Nicki Minaj needs to stick to whatever she …does. 

Which 3 films would you choose when you think of friends’ who have been travelling to places and you are not?

21 comments:

  1. Hi, Birgit!

    Thanks for sharing the stunning pic sent by your traveling friend. I'm sorry you are stuck in your neck of the woods for now, and also sorry you are dealing with ultra high prices on the necessities of life. So are we here in Florida!

    I have not seen any of today's film picks that cover the theme Friends' Travel, but it is ironic that just this week I was checking out pictures of Jane Wyatt taken in the 1930s long before she co-starred in the popular, long-running sitcom Father Knows Best in the role of a middle age wife and mom. Jane was a lovely young actress. "Me Tarzan - You Jane!" On that basis alone, I need to add Lost Horizon to my watch list, and also because it appears to be an exciting fantasy adventure.

    I don't think I will watch the Matthau - Lemmon film because I prefer both actors as young men in their films of the 1960s and 70s. Leslie Mann does indeed look like a scene stealer. Like you, I am not a big Cam Diaz fan, but I would be interested in watching movie #3 - The Other Woman - to enjoy Leslie's performance.

    I see that you have not yet published the comment I submitted on your previous post first thing yesterday morning. Were you unable to find it this time? I certainly hope this comment stays put. I also invite you over to Shady's Place where a special birthday celebration is going on. I hope you can swing by to say a few kind words about our dear old friend Margaret and find content in the post that should be of interested to someone like you, a vintage film buff.

    I wish you a happy Thursday and a safe and happy weekend, dear friend BB!

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    1. I will be visiting your place tomorrow and listen to all the groovy music. I found your comment and added it..I have no clue why that happens.
      Jane Wyatt had a fresh face and one that looked like she could take a lot. I'm surprised you never saw Lost Horizon but hope you like it.
      I love all their movies even the old codger ones.
      Diaz is like a sliver in my toe..annoying as F%#@ but I like this film and what happens. Too bad it didn't happen to my friend's ex.
      Hope your Monday is good. Woof, woof says Harley

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  2. That's a gorgeous photo your friend took! I'm always counting down until my next vacation (June!) I haven't seen any of these, though I'm familiar with the last one. I almost watched it for Nikolaj Coster-Waldau.

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    1. It is a great picture. He's really good at taking photos where ate you Headed? That actor is really easy on the eyes, I must admit.

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  3. I like but don’t love Lost Horizon, I have the novel but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. Ronald Colman is his usual marvelously urbane gentleman, and it is a well-constructed film (unlike the appallingly dreadful musical remake-UGH!) but there is just something that doesn’t fully connect for me. Jane Wyatt is fine in her role but there was always something about her that seemed out of place in features. Not that she was ever bad, but she didn’t have the requisite presence for the big screen. She was however ideal for the more intimate requirements of television, which Father Knows Best showed, where her warm accessibility drew you in. Margo is very lovely and well-cast.

    Out to Sea is hardly the best of the Lemmon/Matthau pairings but it has its moments of charm mostly thanks to the cast.

    I’m not much of a fan of Cameron Diaz either but I was surprisingly pleased with The Other Woman. It was standard stuff but amusingly played though I doubt that I’ll watch it again.

    What a fun sort of do-it-yourself theme! I had to put on my thinking cap since most of my friends aren’t traveling much these days. That Covid reticence is hard to shake off!

    The first thing that popped to mind was that my niece and her husband went to Hawaii on their honeymoon last May. That led me to 1938’s “Hawaii Calls” starring child star Bobby Breen. He’s a stowaway on a ship headed to Hawaii who when snagged must literally sing for his supper then teams up with a buddy to solve the case of some missing naval documents!

    Though she hasn’t been on one in a while I do have a friend who is a cruise nut. So, my next is the 1962 Disney film “Bon Voyage” with Fred MacMurray and Jane Wyman. It’s a slight breezy thing though apparently there was a great deal of tension behind the scenes between Jane and Tommy Kirk who played her son. They hated each other with a passion for some reason.

    My next thought is bending the theme a bit. I have a friend who is a diplomat who by her very job is a traveler and provided me with a wealth of choices with her many journeys throughout the years! I decided to use her last posting as ambassador to Angola as an opportunity to use the one Angolan film I’ve seen titled “Hollow City”. It’s a complex drama of a child refugee exploring the city of Luanda as the nun in whose charge he had been traverses the city searching for him.

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    1. I'm sad that you don't care for Lost Horizon. I find it so enchanting. I do see what you mean about Jane Wyatt. Myrna Loy would have been great.
      Thankfully I have not seen the musical remake.
      I do like The Other Woman and can rewatch it even with Cam Doze off.
      I have not seen any of your films. The first 2 sound like nice little gems. Interesting about Wyman and Kirk..I have to read about that. I am not sure about your last pick.

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  4. My first thought : Thelma and Louise

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    1. They do take a trip alright:)) I'm not sure I would want to fly off a cliff though

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  5. I've seen your first two picks, but not your "other" one. I saw the first two some time ago and don't recall much about them. I know I liked "Lost Horizon" and since I like the actors in "Out to Sea" I probably did enjoy the film but not enough for it to make any big impact on my memory of it.

    My friends don't do that much traveling, but occasionally they might take road trips to places like Florida or somewhere within easy driving. I've done more traveling than most of my friends and these days not so much for me either.

    The first film that comes to my mind is Elizabethtown. Just a kind of normal domestic road trip film that made me think of friends. Another is Easy Rider which reminds me of when some of my friends owned motorcycles and would take trips on them. That mode of travel was out of my league, but I enjoyed hearing their tales about the trips they took.

    The film interpretation of Jack Kerouac's On the Road reminds me of trips my friends (or myself) might have taken in younger days. I can just relate well to being "on the road" since I've been there so much of my life.

    Lee

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    1. Road trips can be fun or exhausting...maybe both. You know, I still have to see Easy Rider. I can't believe my mom saw it...now that's funny. I need to see Elizabethtown too. I bet you don't miss being on the road

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    2. Easy Rider is a real relic from the past. I have it on DVD because I felt it was kind of historically significant. The last time I watched it was a few years ago and I didn't care for it as much as I originally did.

      You lose the bet. I'd love to be on the road again if work was paying my expenses. Traveling and paying for it can get so expensive these days. I do miss being on the road though. But being at home is nice too.

      Lee

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  6. Hi Birgit, I've seen the more modern Lost Horizon, but this original one looks interesting. Have not seen either of your other choices, hope you are well, Kate x

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    1. This is the best version. I hope you see it one day. My pain has been bad but it's the weather.

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  7. I have not seen any of those. I think Out to Sea got made after those two did their Odd Couple reunion and that other one... Yikes, the name escapes me now.

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    1. Grumpy old men! They also fid Grumpier Old Men and this one. I love here guys who were goof friends in real life too.

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  8. I've never heard of any of these, much less seen them. I feel so worthless when it comes to the films you watch. Love your opening about the price of groceries. At least eggs are no longer more expensive than diamonds.

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    1. Don't feel bad and I'm always happy to see you. The grocery prices are disgusting

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  9. Hi Birgit - me too ... I'm staying local - even given up my car and I can manage thankfully without 4 wheels. I recently saw a film on Bhutan - that I must write up about ... but I haven't seen any of these - cheers Hilary

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    1. After a while a car can be a pain. It's costly too. The film you saw sounds intriguing

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  10. I have seen both versions of Lost Horizon (I think the later one starred Olivia Hussey, probably early 70s) and read the book, but not since I was young. I had a bit of a James Hilton thing - I preferred Random Harvest (film and book) to Lost Horizon and dissolved every time. I think I’d be scared to watch it now in case I got too emotional.

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    1. I love Lost Horizon but never saw the remakes. I still have to see Random Harvest. I've never read the book.

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