I tried to come up with a wide variety of films, some I like more for the comedy, some more for the romance; some that are mega-cheesy, some more serious, and some just plain ol' bizarre...
Strange Love: Secretary & Buffalo '66
"You adore me, you love me, you cherish me, Jesus Christ you can't live without me."
Buffalo '66: Billy Brown, fresh from a five-year stint in jail, heads home to Buffalo, N.Y., to visit his family. Eager to impress his parents, Billy kidnaps Layla and makes her pose as his wife. I love this film to pieces. It’s so funny and sweet and heartbreaking and human. It is absolutely one of my favorites ever.
What to eat: One scoop of creamed potatoes. A slice of butter. Four peas. And as much ice cream as you'd like to eat.
Heathers: A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics. CLASSIC. That is all.
Reality Bites: Generation X Graduates face life after college with a filmmaker looking for work and love in Houston. My sister made me watch this film more times than I can count when we were growing up, and I wasn't sold on it at first, but it snuck up on me at some point and now I love it. And Hey, That's My Bike is the best band name ever.
What to Eat: Junk food! Go to a convenience store and get all the junk you desire. Potato chips, candy bars, soda pop, slushies--get that weird looking hot dog that's been in the heater all day if you want it--no one's judging you!
Secretary: A young woman, recently released from a mental hospital, gets a job as a secretary to a demanding lawyer, where their employer-employee relationship turns into a sexual, sadomasochistic one. Maybe not one to watch with your mom, but I swear, this film is actually quite sweet in moments, but always strange--and personally, I'll take a strange love story over a run-of-the-mill predictable one anyday.
Buffalo '66: Billy Brown, fresh from a five-year stint in jail, heads home to Buffalo, N.Y., to visit his family. Eager to impress his parents, Billy kidnaps Layla and makes her pose as his wife. I love this film to pieces. It’s so funny and sweet and heartbreaking and human. It is absolutely one of my favorites ever.
What to eat: One scoop of creamed potatoes. A slice of butter. Four peas. And as much ice cream as you'd like to eat.
Wino Forever: Heathers & Reality Bites
"Our love is God. Now let's go get a slushie."
Heathers: A girl who half-heartedly tries to be part of the "in crowd" of her school meets a rebel who teaches her a more devious way to play social politics. CLASSIC. That is all.
Reality Bites: Generation X Graduates face life after college with a filmmaker looking for work and love in Houston. My sister made me watch this film more times than I can count when we were growing up, and I wasn't sold on it at first, but it snuck up on me at some point and now I love it. And Hey, That's My Bike is the best band name ever.
What to Eat: Junk food! Go to a convenience store and get all the junk you desire. Potato chips, candy bars, soda pop, slushies--get that weird looking hot dog that's been in the heater all day if you want it--no one's judging you!
I Like a Bit o' Violence Too: True Romance & Grosse Point Blank
"They all have husbands and wives and children and houses and dogs, and, you know, they've all made themselves a part of something and they can talk about what they do. What am I gonna say? "I killed the president of Paraguay with a fork. How've you been?"
True Romance: An unlikely fairy tale about a loner and the hooker who falls in love with him. When he accidentally grabs her boss's suitcase of coke instead of her clothes, it starts a chain reaction that makes their cross country road trip a little more exciting than they bargained for. Tarantino does romance. 'Nuff said.
Grosse Point Blank: Martin Blank is a professional assassin. He is sent on a mission to a small Detroit suburb, Grosse Pointe, and, by coincidence, his ten-year high school reunion party is taking place there at the same time. Funny, sweet, light viewing. Also, John Cusack looks fab in a black suit and Ray Bans.
What to Eat: Honor the King just like Clarence does and make yourselves a couple of peanut butter and banana sandwiches, and then drink way too much cheap wine just like you would if you had to be at your 10 year high school reunion.
Romance Away from Home: Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights & Only You
"He was eccentric, and not in a good way!"
Historical Tales or, I Love Crying: Onegin & Quills
"If you but knew the flames that burn in me which I attempt to beat down with my reason."
Dirty Dancing: Havana Nights: Follows the blossoming love affair of young couple Katey and Javier against the backdrop of the Cuban Revolution in 1958. I think this film got pretty bad reviews, but who cares--I adore it! I never really liked the original (~ fully prepared to be shouted at in the comments~), but this one appeals to my interests because the 1950s clothing is gorgeous, and so is Diego Luna. Also, if you watch it without thinking its related to the original (which it pretty much isn't), then you'll enjoy it more.
Only You: At eleven years-old, Faith asks a Ouiji Board who she will marry, and it answers "DAMON BRADLEY." Fifteen years later, on the cusp of marriage, she journeys to Italy in hope of finding him. I picked this one up because it's written and directed by Norman Jewison, who also made Moonstruck, another favorite. Marisa Tomeii is great and Robert Downey Jr. is a bit snarky and a bit sweet--just how we like him.
What to Eat: Bite-sized Cuban sandwiches and fresh fruits and bright-colored cocktails to bring Havana to your home. For dessert, Italian goodies (tiramisu, biscotti, cannoli, amaretti cookies) and coffee.
"If you but knew the flames that burn in me which I attempt to beat down with my reason."
Onegin: In the opulent St. Petersburg of the Empire period, Eugene Onegin is a jaded but dashing aristocrat. Soon, Tatiana, a passionate and virtuous girl, falls hopelessly under the spell of the aloof newcomer and professes her love for him. I generally find Liv Tyler to be a bit of a bore, but I thought she was quite sweet in this, and I enjoyed the fact that I couldn't guess where the film was going to end up. And Ralph Fiennes's sideburns are magnificent.
Quills: In a Napoleonic era insane asylum, an inmate, the irrepressible Marquis De Sade, fights a battle of wills against a tyrannically prudish doctor. I remember crying buckets--buckets--the first time I watched this. Of course, it was really late at night, and I was in a crying mood (because that's definitely a thing), and I was home alone, but still. Sad, sad, sad.
What to Eat: Unsalted popcorn that will very soon become salted. With your tears.
Happy viewing!
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