Monday, October 10, 2005
Movies You Have To Watch Twice To Appreciate
This post was inspired by a discussion on Joe's Blog.
Some movies just aren't as good the first time around, in my opinion. You have to know the general plot before you can really appreciate the good things about it. Other movies are good the first time and are completely different the second time once you know the outcome. In the second category we'll put The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense type of movies. I'm not really concerned about those, because they're obviously different on second viewing. I mean movies that I didn't necessarily enjoy the first time, but have grown to appreciate.
Pulp Fiction - It is safe to say that I hated this movie the first time I saw it. I did not like it at all, and I knew exactly why I didn't like it immediately. I didn't know when it was going to end, and all I wanted was to know the resolution. The flip flopping in time makes it impossible to know when it will end and I spent the last 45 minutes of the movie just wishing it was the last scene. I wasn't concentrating on the story so much as the ending.
When people asked me about it I would say that I hated the movie, but that I loved this part and this part and this part and I realized that I probably liked it more than I thought. The second time around when I knew what was going to happen I got to calm down and appreciate the characters and writing.
The Big Lebowski - The issue with this one the first time around is that I felt like I didn't understand the deeper meaning. I thought it was funny, but I couldn't definitively say that I liked it. After I had seen it again I came to understand that there isn't really anything to get. There's not necessarily a deeper meaning, nor is there really a need for the plot to be cohesive. The movie is just about all the characters being weird. There are no two more disparate characters than The Dude and Walter and the fact that they are best friends is just funny.
Donnie Darko - This one I enjoyed the first time, but felt like it was just way over my head, to the point where I felt like I was enjoying it for the wrong reason since I thought I had misinterpreted it. Again, the plot contrivances are really kindof secondary here. I think with this movie especially you can disagree with that last statement and be in the right, but I feel like the movie operates outside of its own convolution. If you really try and put it together and if you look through the special features on the DVD and listen to the director commentary, all of which I did, then even then it still doesn't all fit together as well as you would like it to.
Incidentally, there is a Roger Ebert essay out there relating to Donnie Darko with an interesting Freudian interpretation that is worth reading if you liked the movie. If I can find it, then I'll link to it later.
Napoleon Dynamite - This weekend I say Evan, Max, MMG, and a whole bunch of other fools too. I mention those three by name because they all told me they were mad at me in particular for recommending Napoleon Dynamite. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've seen this movie 15 times. I loved it the first time, but can see why one might not. This movie is sortof the opposite of The Big Lebowski in that the plot seems like it should be secondary, but it's not. The plot actually holds together really well and is particularly nuanced. You could miss that and still enjoy it, but if you notice things like Napoleon wearing parachute pants after going to the Rex Kwon Do demonstration and him asking Pedro if he had his back, then you will appreciate it more I think.
But how could you not like that movie even after the line about having computer hacking skills, numchuck skills, and bowhunting skills?
American Beauty - This actually isn't true. I certainly appreciated this movie the first time I saw it, I just wanted to relay a story.
I had a fringe friend, or friend of a friend, who was known by us as Fun Bobby, because he was fun to hang out with. He was also known as 15 Watt Bobby because he was really dumb. Anyway, we were all sitting around talking about movies one day and he goes, "Hey, you know I really liked American Beauty." All of us agreed and we talked about how we all liked it a lot. Then fun Bobby goes "You know what, though? I saw it twice and it was totally different the second time. You know what I realized that you might not have noticed? That dude was gay. You know, Ricky's father. He was gay." That statement was followed by a blank-stare-a-thon from me and Dave and Chris and Luke.
Some movies just aren't as good the first time around, in my opinion. You have to know the general plot before you can really appreciate the good things about it. Other movies are good the first time and are completely different the second time once you know the outcome. In the second category we'll put The Usual Suspects and The Sixth Sense type of movies. I'm not really concerned about those, because they're obviously different on second viewing. I mean movies that I didn't necessarily enjoy the first time, but have grown to appreciate.
Pulp Fiction - It is safe to say that I hated this movie the first time I saw it. I did not like it at all, and I knew exactly why I didn't like it immediately. I didn't know when it was going to end, and all I wanted was to know the resolution. The flip flopping in time makes it impossible to know when it will end and I spent the last 45 minutes of the movie just wishing it was the last scene. I wasn't concentrating on the story so much as the ending.
When people asked me about it I would say that I hated the movie, but that I loved this part and this part and this part and I realized that I probably liked it more than I thought. The second time around when I knew what was going to happen I got to calm down and appreciate the characters and writing.
The Big Lebowski - The issue with this one the first time around is that I felt like I didn't understand the deeper meaning. I thought it was funny, but I couldn't definitively say that I liked it. After I had seen it again I came to understand that there isn't really anything to get. There's not necessarily a deeper meaning, nor is there really a need for the plot to be cohesive. The movie is just about all the characters being weird. There are no two more disparate characters than The Dude and Walter and the fact that they are best friends is just funny.
Donnie Darko - This one I enjoyed the first time, but felt like it was just way over my head, to the point where I felt like I was enjoying it for the wrong reason since I thought I had misinterpreted it. Again, the plot contrivances are really kindof secondary here. I think with this movie especially you can disagree with that last statement and be in the right, but I feel like the movie operates outside of its own convolution. If you really try and put it together and if you look through the special features on the DVD and listen to the director commentary, all of which I did, then even then it still doesn't all fit together as well as you would like it to.
Incidentally, there is a Roger Ebert essay out there relating to Donnie Darko with an interesting Freudian interpretation that is worth reading if you liked the movie. If I can find it, then I'll link to it later.
Napoleon Dynamite - This weekend I say Evan, Max, MMG, and a whole bunch of other fools too. I mention those three by name because they all told me they were mad at me in particular for recommending Napoleon Dynamite. I'm not exaggerating when I say I've seen this movie 15 times. I loved it the first time, but can see why one might not. This movie is sortof the opposite of The Big Lebowski in that the plot seems like it should be secondary, but it's not. The plot actually holds together really well and is particularly nuanced. You could miss that and still enjoy it, but if you notice things like Napoleon wearing parachute pants after going to the Rex Kwon Do demonstration and him asking Pedro if he had his back, then you will appreciate it more I think.
But how could you not like that movie even after the line about having computer hacking skills, numchuck skills, and bowhunting skills?
American Beauty - This actually isn't true. I certainly appreciated this movie the first time I saw it, I just wanted to relay a story.
I had a fringe friend, or friend of a friend, who was known by us as Fun Bobby, because he was fun to hang out with. He was also known as 15 Watt Bobby because he was really dumb. Anyway, we were all sitting around talking about movies one day and he goes, "Hey, you know I really liked American Beauty." All of us agreed and we talked about how we all liked it a lot. Then fun Bobby goes "You know what, though? I saw it twice and it was totally different the second time. You know what I realized that you might not have noticed? That dude was gay. You know, Ricky's father. He was gay." That statement was followed by a blank-stare-a-thon from me and Dave and Chris and Luke.
# posted by ChuckJerry : 10/10/2005 05:43:00 PM
