They Might Be Giants

Directed by: Anthony Harvey

Written by: James Goldman










"They Might Be Giants" belongs to a special genre of film, in that it is neither terribly good nor terribly bad nor terribly memorable, but is mostly entertaining while being viewed.

I stumbled upon it, mainly by name, floating around my streaming options.  As a fan of George C. Scott (generally speaking), I figured it may be worth a shot.

Justin Playfair (Scott) has lost his marbles and is absolutely convinced that he is the one and only Sherlock Holmes.  When his brother (Gilford) tries to get him committed, he runs across a doctor named Watson (Woodward), and from then on the game is afoot!  But is Playfair crazy?  Or has he actually stumbled across a more sinister conspiracy that only he and his band of misfits can unravel?

This movie doesn't have a lot of heft.  It's cute.  It's charming.  But for the life of me, it's hard to remember.  There was a message, I'm sure, but I'm not totally sure I grasped it.  Still, for the length of the movie, I was totally caught up in it.  I couldn't stop watching.

There are lots of ethereal and ephemeral movies like this - the kind you watch once and never see again even though you kind of enjoyed it, only crossing your mind briefly, vaguely, whenever one of the actors is mentioned.  I'd name them, but if I could remember the names then they wouldn't actually belong to this category.

I wouldn't advise anyone to see this movie, but I wouldn't protest if someone else wanted to put it on.  It carries with it the magic of the movie experience, but so do all movies.

Harold and Maude - Revisited

I jump at any chance to see this movie.  It's definitely a contender on my "all time favorite" list (which doesn't actually exist).

This time, I caught a screening at my local theater's "Classic Film Wednesday" series.  There's definitely a special charm to seeing it on the silver screen.

Charm.  That's the key-word that came to mind after seeing it this time around.  "Harold and Maude" has a lot of charm.  And it's important, because that charm draws the audience in to what would ordinarily be an absurd situation.  An adolescent millionaire obsessed with faking his own death?  An old woman who refuses to recognize boundaries and property, but never seems to get into any major trouble?  Total nonsense that goes completely unquestioned because the characters have charmed us into believing in them.

The amount of music struck me this time.  Cat Steven's backing tracks have always been a key element in the film.  But this is the first time that I noticed that basically every transition - especially early in the film - is a musical transition.  It helps to set "Harold and Maude" apart most typical films.

Go see it.  Right now.

Harold and Maude

Directed by: Hal Ashby

Written by: Colin Higgins

Simply put, "Harold and Maude" is one of my all-time favorite movies. No matter how many times I've seen it - on DVD, in the theater, or, most recently, projected against the side of a building - I always feel I'm getting to enjoy it for the first time.

Harold (Cort) is a wealthy young man with an unhealthy obsession with death, and he gets his kicks by shocking his mother (Pickles) with increasingly elaborate fake suicides. While visiting a funeral, he meets Maude (Gordon), an old woman with a lust for life. Harold becomes inseparable from Maude and begins learning to appreciate the many things that life offers.

I love this movie, and I could easily go on and on about it. But I'll try to limit myself to a few things I noticed on my most recent viewing.

Part of what makes this movie so great is the use of subtleties. Harold's appearance rarely changes, except at key moments (and a few times for humor, in the scenes with the therapist). A few quick lines and a brief shot of her arm - it can't be more than two seconds - allows the audience to absorb that Maude may have been a Holocaust survivor. These things are small and seemingly insignificant, but all the small things build up to make the whole film greater.

At this most recent screening, I gained a new appreciation for the character of Harold's mother. She only has a few scenes, but she literally steals each and every one.

I can't write - or even think - about this movie without mentioning the montage used at the emotional climax. Usually, I'm an anti-montage person. My position is based on my feeling that no montage can ever be more effective than the montage in "Harold and Maude." It is an emotionally wrenching scene, and no matter how many times I see it is nearly brings me to tears. Every clip and cut is perfectly balanced by Cat Stevens's "Trouble."

You must see this movie, if you haven't seen it yet. And even if you have, it's probably time to see it again.