The Godfather: Tales of a Mafia Family

I love a movie with a good history. I will literally spend hours at a time on Wikipedia reading about legendary movies, the awards it's won, and the actors who've starred in it. Then whenever a movie I know about is brought up in conversation, I can go on and on about it and annoy everyone with my vast movie knowledge. That's what I do.

So a month or so back, when I was thinking of books to take up my time during the summer, The Godfather seemed like an easy choice. I already knew it was famous for winning several Academy awards, and who doesn't want to read a book about the mafia? I sure did, so I checked it out.

After a few weeks on the waiting list at the library I finally held all 443 pages of Mario Puzo's critically-acclaimed masterpiece in my hands. I read it when I could, while babysitting or during boring lectures in class. At times I was absolutely engrossed in the book; other times...not so much. Puzo lost me in the long chapters about the Godfather's past (necessary to the plot or not, it was boring. Maybe that's why they didn't include it in the movie) and Michael's first few months in Italy.

But if I could say three words about this book, I wouldn't be able to because I'm pretty sure I can't swear in this blog. I'll give you two: it's amazing. Most of it completely blew me away. Who knew that lying, manipulating, killing mafia-men could be so likable? All I want to do is have dinner with them and be recruited into the family business (and no, I don't mean the olive oil one). Of course, my non-Sicilian heritage might cause a problem.

The movie, though, well that's a slightly different story. Marlon Brando's Vito (the Don) Corleone couldn't instil fear in a mouse, although he won the award for Best Actor the same night his movie won the top prize. I can almost see why he became the second man in history to refuse the award for Best Actor (another piece of information that I found on my endless journey to find a life on the internet). Maybe the book was just too fresh in my mind to be interested in the movie. For me, the book is much better and, while time consuming, definitely worth it.

My Cary Elwes Childhood Part II: Glory

I was in seventh grade when I first watched the 1989 film, Glory. My pretty unorthodox Social Studies teacher, Mr. Schile, decided to show his classes the R-rated movie as a part of a huge Civil War unit we had been working on. As any normal kid would be, I was stoked that we would be taking up a few class days to watch a movie, no matter what it was.

I loved that class. Maybe it was because I was given the role of General Robert E. Lee in a simulation we did during the unit (and led the South to victory over the North, might I add); maybe it was because of the stories we heard of our teacher’s past (punched by a woman while working as a cop, almost kicked out of college while on a trip to California where he accidentally visited a gay bar with his friend); maybe it was the delicious brownies he made or the hours we spent trying to throw a hacky sack into the garbage bin. Or maybe it was just because I love history.

The latter would most likely be why I fell in love with this movie when Mr. Schile decided that violence and the F-word were appropriate for a classroom of twelve-year-olds.

In short, Glory is about the first all-black regiment and the soldiers’ battle between races during the Civil War. I squealed when I saw Cary Elwes come onto the screen (it shouldn't surprise you now that I'm kind of a huge fan of his). Starring a plethora of other amazing actors (Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman), you get to see the trials and tribulations these men go through as they fight for the North while also fighting to prove themselves; to break the barriers between the races their country has been struggling with for so long.

While the idea, a war movie following a group struggling to prove themselves, isn’t new or even surprising, Glory brings a fresh perspective and I love it. I love Colonel Shaw’s (Broderick) struggle to succeed in commanding his ranks while keeping ties with his friend and second-in-command, Major Cabot Forbes (Elwes), and the very loyal Thomas Searles. I love the sassy Trip (Washington), the quiet Rawlins (Freeman), and the stuttering Sharts. I love how, even though it's historical, even though it's violent, even though it's melancholy, it's still a movie that I go back to and watch again and again.

And maybe it shouldn't have been such a big part of my childhood considering it's graphic content (I'm pretty sure a soldier's head gets blown off in the first scene), but that's just what being a kid entails. Sometimes you have to grow up before you're ready, and I grew up with Glory; I grew up with The Princess Bride. Sure, there are other movies that had an impact on me when I was younger, and maybe I'll write about those later, but none had such a big impact on me as these two did.

My Cary Elwes Childhood Part I: The Princess Bride

Throughout the 1980s, Cary Elwes was considered one of Hollywood's leading men. He starred in memorable roles such as the dashing thieve in The Princess Bride and a Civil War major in Glory. And now, while he isn't considered as golden as he used to be (and he just starred in the movie with the worst opening of a film in more than two thousand theaters ever, The Oogieloves in the Big Balloon Adventure ), he's still a great actor and will, for me, be remembered for those two roles in the 80s that made him Hollywood eye candy and were also a big part of my childhood: The Princess Bride and Glory.

The eels swim towards Buttercup, the masked man scales a giant cliff, the ROUS attack Westley in the Fire Swamp, and then he's hooked up to the water machine. These are all scenes in The Princess Bride that make my skin crawl and have me squirming in my seat even to this day; even after watching it at least ten times. From this, who would know that this 1987 movie's a comedy?

Handsome Westley (Elwes), with his Zorro-esque mask, ponytail, and completely masculine 'stache, holds never-ending love for the cookie-cutter Buttercup. But, alas, the childhood-loves lose each other growing up, find each other, lose each other again, then find each other only after Buttercup's engaged to the Prince (way to go, Buttercup).

The minions of the evil Vizzini (taken captive by the poison, iocane powder), Inigo (Patinkin) and Fezzini (Andre the Giant), help Westley on his quest to get the soon-to-be princess Buttercup out of her engagement and back in his arms.

Through all of this, author of the 1973 novel, William Goldman, manages to write in laughs and the most quotable quotes. Even if you haven't seen the movie, you've heard a line or two from it, whether it's Inigo's infamous, “My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die.” or Westley's secret to how he defeated Vizzini, “I spent the last few years building up an immunity to iocane powder.” They bring the comical aspect to the movie.

And while there aren't any “cool” graphics or insane plot twists (hold for the six-fingered man) in The Princess Bride, you can't deny that it's phenomenal. It's one of the few non-Disney love stories that I can stand, let alone love. I've been watching it since I was born, practically; it's a favorite of my family's. I'll show it to my children and they'll fall in love with the movie and the characters as I have. Then they'll have their own Cary Elwes childhood.

Hairspray: Our Common Ground

When the remake of Hairspray came out in 2007, all eleven-year-old me could think was, “Finally, a movie I can relate to.”

Wait. Let me rephrase that.

No, I wasn’t born and raised in Baltimore in the 50s and 60s where, at the time, it was a city segregated by race and class. I’m not a chubby, flirty girl who bursts out in song whenever the opportunity arises; I’ve never been on TV. Frankly, the only thing I have in common with Tracy Turnblad is the excessive use of hair spray.

Our hair could support a small family of gophers, if needed, and we both pride ourselves on that (well, just the fact that it's big. I don't go around saying, "Yup. My hair is so awesomely big, rodents could live in it."). Our mane is what defines a big part of us. In the movie, Tracy’s dad sells tons of merchandise in his joke shop off of her famous ‘do. Me? Not so much. But maybe one day…

Other than that, though, it's like we're from different planets. Tracy is a song-and-dance girl (I guess you have to be when you're the star of a musical). I, on the other hand, only spontaneously burst out into song in the confines of my own house; usually in a duet with my sister. We'll sing Disney classics or Michael Buble, and when I don't know the words she hits me. I'm sure Tracy Turnblad never forgot the words to a song and got slapped for it.

She's much more interested in music and being famous than anything else, especially school. Tracy's attention can't be kept in class; she ditches school and gets sent to detention multiple times. Just another thing we differ in. While I don't exactly always listen during classes, and definitely count down the seconds until the bell rings at the end of the day, I'm actually pretty interested in some subjects. I've never ditched class to audition for a TV show and, surprise surprise, I've never been in detention (except for that one time in seventh grade, but that was totally the art teacher's fault).

So our only common ground comes in a pressurized can.

Nonetheless, Tracy is a relatable character. Everyone comes to a point in their life where they have to make an unpopular decision. For her it was defying the lines that separated races; for most of us, it’s stuff like not letting your daughter spend the night at a friend’s house or changing your wifi password so your neighbor can’t use it. Stuff like that (we can’t all be world changers).

Tracy has her best friend, Penny, by her side the entire way, even against Penny’s mom’s wishes. She has her slightly over-protective, loving parents that I could easily mistake for my own (except for, you know, my mom’s not John Travolta in women’s clothes).

So no, eleven-year-old me wasn’t wrong. She ignored the time and place and, frankly, the whole plot of the movie-musical but focused on the less noticeable things about Tracy and her life. If you take away the songs, the dancing, the cameras, and completely change the setting, it’s like we’re the same person.

The same, hair spray-addicted, person.

Pocahontas: An Incredible Lie

Growing up in a Disney house, one of my favorite movies was Pocahontas. What was there not to love about the Romeo and Juliet-esque relationship between the nature girl, sweet as honey, daughter of Chief Powhatan and the caring, strong as stone, British settler John Smith?

I think I was in fourth grade when I first saw an actual portrait of John Smith. A chubby, bald, bearded man stared back at me as I sat in my seat in Mrs. Kasparek’s class, incredulous (now I’m not one to judge on looks, but that was just ridiculous). Where was the blonde, flowing hair? The strong jaw? The chiseled physique of the Mel Gibson-voiced hunk?

I remembered back to when I first saw Pocahontas II: Journey to a New World. Why on Earth did she marry John Rolfe instead of her love, Smith? Surely there was some mistake…

Well, there was. Disney John Smith was a lie, and Real John Smith was a liar. Many historians believe the whole Pocahontas-saved-my-life story from the settler was fabricated to increase his popularity. After all, he brought it up around twenty years after the apparent life saving.

So that explains why John Rolfe won-over Pocahontas and had child with her before she died in her early twenties of unknown causes.

So unromantic.

But still, there’s something about the story, the songs, the characters in the (completely fictional) Pocahontas. I still love the movie; I just watch it in a different light now. It’s just like finding out Darth Vader is Luke’s father. Now whenever you watch Star Wars, you look at the Dark Lord of the Sith and can only think of the fact that he’s Luke’s dad.

No matter, I still ship Disney John Smith and Pocahontas. I still awe at the little raccoon, Meeko, and, despite my better judgment, I still try to sing both parts of “Savages”. I still love the incredible lie that is Disney’s Pocahontas.

Star Wars: I Had Hope

I have a confession to make. I’ve seen tons of movies. Ones most kids my age haven’t heard of. I’ve seen a British movie about three friends who fall in love with the same girl without knowing it; I’ve seen a French movie about a teacher trying to help his troubled students; the Spanish version and it’s sequel of the horror film, Quarantine. I’ve even seen a movie where Barbie wins the lottery and is sent to a princess charm school. With all of these under my belt you would think that I’ve also seen all the classics, but I haven’t. My confession being: I haven’t seen any of the Star Wars.

Watching A New Hope now, I can understand why it’s held in a high place in movie history. The graphics, for the 1970s, are revolutionary. You have to ignore the obviously green-screened backgrounds and the awful costumes and look deeper. The plot holds the audience captive like Darth Vader does to Princess Leia. I’m won over by Harrison Ford’s Han Solo (or as my mom likes to call him, “Han So-hot”).

But…I don’t quite know what’s missing from this movie. Maybe it’s because I’m trying to do other homework or because I’m on Facebook, but now, like how Leia was taken by Han and Luke, I’ve been taken by my internet connection and school work. The movie has allowed for me to escape.

Maybe I need to be more focused (as a teenage girl, I don’t hold the attention span to stare at a screen for one hundred and twenty-two minutes). Maybe it’s because I’m a generation off for this movie. Or maybe I just know the events too well. I know the major rises and falls of the characters and the relationships between them.

And now, as the first of the six movies reaches its end, I realize that the only reason I stayed till the end was because of the movie’s notoriety, and for the grade.

But still, when people will ask me if I liked it, I’ll say yes. Even if my attention was lost during it, the movie was revolutionary in every way, and that I can respect.

Movies.
For millions of dollars and thousands of hours, audiences are transported from their bland, cookie-cutter lives into worlds where anything can happen. A god is banished to Earth; a mermaid receives legs for her best asset: her voice; a rat controls a man by his hair and helps him become a great chef.
The most important events in history are told in different ways to people who couldn't be there. We held our breath during the Mexican standoff of Blondie, Angel Eyes, and Tuco; we held back tears as Colonel Robert Shaw led his men into battle at Fort Wagner and ultimately failed and let our tears flow when Scarlett learned that Rhett didn't "give a damn".
People spend two hours sitting in a crowded, cold, musty theater for these reasons. They love the thrill and undying love, and even the heartache that the characters experience. In 2011 movie-goers in the United States and Canada spent $10.2 billion on box office releases; the highest grossing of these being Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.
Each year a new milestone is reached in the movie industry because of one reason: people keep going. Without movies people are forced to come to terms with their ordinary lives where it's not possible that you'd be accepted into a wizarding school when you're eleven or go to classes with a family of stupid vampires that sparkle in the sunlight.
This blog is dedicated to all movies: the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.