If you haven’t already seen the movie Pitch Perfect, I have only one question for you: WHYYYYYYYYYYY???
Are you so cool that you can’t take two hours out of your life to watch this adorably awesome film about dueling college acapella groups? You are, aren’t you? I bet you’re the kind of person who spends their Friday nights sipping fancy cocktails at parties thrown in swanky art galleries rather than dancing around your living room singing along to Ace of Base’s ‘The Sign’, aren’t you?
If so, well…okay, good for you, I guess. I cannot deny that that art and fancy cocktails do have their appeal. But so does this movie! First of all, Skylar Astin is super duper as Jesse, the “nice guy” love interest to Anna Kendrick’s character, Beca. And then there’s Rebel Wilson’s ‘Fat Amy’:
My favourite though is Benji, Jesse’s incredibly awkward roommate:
Sob! Poor Benji! Fortunately, Benji gets his moment of redemption during the Treblemakers final performance:
They are performing their take on B.o.B.’s song ‘Magic’:
Which version do you prefer? B.o.B. and Rivers, or the Treblemakers? Me, I like them both. But I think the Trebles win for of the feel-good factor!
I went to see a movie last week called In A World. You might not have heard of it – I’m not sure it made a huge splash at the box office. But it was awesome; one of those totally feel good movies that stays with you after you leave the theatre and makes you want to go see it again right away. Here’s the trailer:
The gist of the story is that Lake Bell (who also wrote and directed the movie – what up Lake Bell!) plays an endearing slacker and aspiring voiceover artist. She’s grown up in the shadow of her old man who’s one of the top voiceover dudes in the world, and who has always told her that the voiceover industry is for the men only and that she should stick to being an accent coach. No fun, Buzzkill Dad! Go back to Russia! Buzzkill Dad kicks our girl out of the house so that his much-younger ladyfriend can move in, so Lake goes to stay with her sister and sister’s husband, the always awesome Rob Corddry (seriously, did you guys see him in Hot Tub Time Machine? If not, please stop reading this and go watch it immediately). Lake’s big break comes when a huge movie studio that’s releasing an epic trilogy – sorry, quadrilogy – called the Amazon Games (a sly takeoff on the Hunger Games, starring Cameron Diaz) decides to resurrect the iconic “In A World…” movie trailer opener, and they hold a competition to see who will be their voiceover dude…or lady! That’s right, Lake Bell is in the running – and her main competition for the job comes in the form of a slickster douchebag named Gustav Warner, and…her own father! Yup – in a fit of jealousy Buzzkill Dad has thrown his name into the ring. Buzzkill Dad, why you gotta be like that?!
So how does it all end? Well, you’re just gonna have to watch it to find out! The movie also features an excellent supporting cast, a very cute romantic subplot, and a great soundtrack, including one of my favourite songs of all time, which was also used to absolute perfection in the movie Real Genius. Obviously nothing can top the Tears for Fears + Real Genius combo, but this comes pretty close. But don’t take my world for it – check it out yo’self!
And because we can all benefit from the occasional hit of ‘Everybody Wants to Rule the World’…enjoy!
If you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you know that I am a pretty huge fan of ’80s movies in general, and John Hughes flicks in particular. 1986’s ‘Pretty in Pink’ is one of my all-time favourites — I previously wrote about it here and here.
So you can imagine my excitement when my good pal Laird Sapir told me that she was planning a post about a face-off between teen movie uber-villains Hardy Jenns (‘Some Kind of Wonderful’) and Steff McKee (‘Pretty in Pink’) and asked me to argue on Steff’s behalf.
You can read my treatise on Steff’s sleazy awesomeness, and Laird’s excellent rebuttal in favour of Hardy, here: Blazers & Bad Attitudes. Be sure to vote for your favourite rich preppie douchebag!
Aw, you guys. Seeing Pretty in Pink on the big screen was just as good as I had hoped it would be. Even though I’ve watched it a million times on DVD (not to mention every time it’s on TV), there’s just something about being there in the theatre getting the full moviegoing experience that makes it really special.
This time around, I kept thinking about the fact that Robert Downey Jr. auditioned for the role of Duckie Dale and came very close to winning the part. If RDJ had been cast, I think it would have been an entirely different movie. I mean, Jon Cryer did an excellent job and imbued the character with a certain exasperating-yet-endearing charm, but there were no sparks between him and Molly Ringwald. If you watch the movie picturing RDJ in the role, you can definitely imagine Andie ending up with Duckie instead of Blane.
This works for me. You?
Anyway, here are my thoughts on seeing the movie again in the theatre, 25 years after the first time…
Today is a beautiful day. It’s sunny out and (relatively) warm, it’s Friday, and I am in a great mood. But more important than all of those things put together is the fact that tonight, I am going to see…oh, only one of the best movies of all time on the big screen.
Whether or not you are a fan of John Hughes, you have to admit that his films were a huge part of 80s pop culture, helping to cement the careers of a handful of young actors (Molly Ringwald, Anthony Michael Hall, Judd Nelson, Andrew McCarthy, Eric Stoltz, Ally Sheedy, to name a few), and were seminal in the establishment of the teen movie as a genre. Which, as far as I’m concerned, was one of the most important developments of the 20th century. Sure, there were a few other “big” things that happened (women achieving the right to vote, desegregation, man walking on the moon, the invention of the internet by Al Gore, etc) but I’d say that the creation of the modern teen movie ranks pretty high up there.
Although The Breakfast Club is probably considered his masterpiece, Pretty in Pink is my favorite John Hughes movie (with Some Kind of Wonderful coming in a close second). Pretty in Pink has everything — great music, unbelievably awesome 80s fashion, a classic love triangle, new-wave hairdos…all set amidst the backdrop of the ’80s high school class divide (rich kids vs. poor kids, preps vs. outcasts) — obviously a recurring theme in Hughes’ work. Throw in a young James Spader in a crumpled linen suit in what is surely the most amazing portrayal of a rich sleazebag ever to hit the big screen, and what’s not to love?
I mean, look at this guy.
The disdainful smirk, the unbuttoned shirt, the feathered hair… goddamit, everything about this look is complete & utter perfection.
There’s one scene in the movie in which Blane (Andrew McCarthy) takes Andie (Molly Ringwald) to a party, and they stumble upon Steff (James Spader) and his rich bitch girlfriend Benny hooking up in one of the upstairs bedrooms, and oh my god Steff and Benny behave like such awesomely horrible rich douchebags to her that it makes me want to punch myself in the face from pure joy.
I need these two in my life so they can sit around all day making disparaging remarks about my outfits. Somebody please make this happen.
Anyway, I can feel this quickly devolving into a rant about why Steff is the best character in the movie so I’ll stop here for now, but there are many other amazing parts of this movie that we need to discuss (Duckie’s fashion stylings! Harry Dean Stanton! Annie Potts as Andie’s record store boss!) I’ll be posting this weekend about my thoughts on seeing Pretty in Pink again on the big screen, 25 years after I first saw it in theatres (I was 10). Will it live up to expectations? Will it be as good as it was all those years ago?*
*Spoiler alert: of course it will. Obviously I own the DVD and watch it every few months.
Most importantly, we will examine the music that appears throughout the movie and determine whether Hughes hit the mark with the songs he chose for the soundtrack.
I’m taking a walk down memory lane tonight, my friends. If all goes according to plan, at around 10:30 pm I will be sitting in a dark movie theatre sobbing with happiness as this song plays during the movie’s epic final prom scene:
“We’ve always had time on our sides
Now it’s fading fast
Every second, every moment
We’ve got to, we’ve gotta make it last…”
Dearest, dearest readers. Here at Let Them Eat Vinyl, we are ever devoted to bringing you the latest in music and pop culture news. There is no mountain too high, no valley too low, no rock left unturned in our quest to inform, amuse, and delight you.
The latest adventure in the name of our noble cause came in the form of an expedition to the local multiplex on a sunny Monday afternoon. What, pray tell, was our destination? A last-minute viewing of an Oscar contender in advance of this weekend’s ceremonies, perhaps? Nay. Instead, we were en route to witness the Odyssean tale of a young boy’s meteoric rise to the top, armed with nothing but a voice, a dream, and a blow dryer.
That boy, of course, is Justin Bieber. “How has one so young become such a global star, so quickly?” we wondered to ourselves. “What power and influence now lie at his fingertips?” and, of course, “What is the purpose of that haircut?”
Let Them Eat Vinyl 