Sunday, April 14, 2013

The Great (film) Debates vol. 77

With everyone's taxes no doubt finished, it's time to party! So...

What movie party should we attend?



Panelist: Tennessee Jed

I might go to a musical concert film festival: Black and White Nights (Roy Orbison and friends) coupled with Richard Thompson at Celtic Connection in Glasgow, Scotland. If it had to be films, I probably would watch The Benny Goodman Story (Steve Allen) and The Glenn Miller Story (Jimmy Stewart.)

Panelist: ScottDS

The masked orgy in Eyes Wide Shut. Just kidding!!! While it wasn't in the question, my mind immediately went to teen movies and, in particular, the John Hughes classic Sixteen Candles. Just a lot of fun, plus with Anthony Michael Hall and his pals hanging around (not to mention the Donger!), I wouldn't be the geekiest one there.

Panelist: T-Rav

Now that the Chris Nolan trilogy of Batman films has wrapped, I wouldn’t mind going to a party with all three shown back to back. Kind of a long film party, but as long as we’re talking hypothetically.

Panelist: BevfromNYC

What about the New Years Eve parties in Boogie Nights? That might be fun if you like being around porn stars. Okay, there was that one party where the guy killed himself and his wife, but other than that, there were lots of drugs and booze. What could be more fun?

Panelist: AndrewPrice

Film parties always look better than the real thing, be it a party with hot Ewok babes or the eternal damnation of partying at the Overlook hotel. But for a simple good time, I'm going with the party in Animal House.

Comments? Thoughts?

41 comments:

Floyd R. Turbo said...

The party at R.F.'s house in Singin' in the Rain would be fun... new talkie movie and the girls popping out of the cake.

AndrewPrice said...

Personally, I think Scott's "just kidding" choice would probably be the most interesting.

AndrewPrice said...

Floyd, I've always wanted to see someone jump out of a cake.

Tennessee Jed said...

Ha! think I misread this question! Boogie Nights would be a good one, but don't discount any of the Tudor Court parties from the Elizabeth films or SHO series.

Andrew - get your Toga on!

Bev - what's not to like about porn stars! (hah)

AndrewPrice said...

Jed, Yeah, attending those would be a horrible idea! You've get your head chopped off!

Toga! Toga! Toga! Toga!


As for misreading the question, I don't think so, your answer fits.

T-Rav said...

Ummmm....wow. Clearly this has the potential to be a dark thread. So, I think I'm gonna go with my Nolanverse party over Boogie Nights or Eyes Wide Shut.

AndrewPrice said...

T-Rav, The best parties are the edgy parties. LOL!

T-Rav said...

Unfortunately, Andrew, I have a sneaking suspicion you really would try to get into the Overlook shindig for an hour or two, just because. I know how much you love your edginess. :-)

AndrewPrice said...

Yeah, that's probably true. Sure, it's the supernatural version of a mousetrap, but I would definitely check out the Overlook party if I got the chance. Or course, I would hope to leave before everything goes wrong, but it would still be worth having a peek.

Commander Max said...

Bachelor Party, no matter what movie Hanks is in, his character from that film always comes to mind.

Weird Science, because Paxten will never get past Chet. I guess that's what made Aliens more fun. Game over Man!

This is the best I can do since I'm not into parties. But the movies were sure fun.

Such as-
Porkys
Revenge of the Nerds
Fast Times
Back to School
Stripes
Caddyshack
Meatballs
Ferris Bueller's Day Off

K said...

Parties I wouldn't want to attend:

1.Vincent Price's party in "Masque of the Red Death".
2. Hitler's birthday party in "The Bunker".
3. The Necktie party in "Hang em High".
4. The party in Black Adder II "Beer" episode featuring refreshments such as Dr McGloo's Amber Enema or Blackadder's Bowel Basher.

Andrew: Hot Ewok babes?

You're not really Ace of Spades by any chance?

Dave Olson said...

Risky Business is to the "Party at the Parents' House" genre as Star Wars is to...well, pretty much every movie since 1977. House Party, Weird Science, even Bachelor Party and to a lesser extent Adventures in Babysitting can trace their pedigree to this Tom Cruise classic. And who wouldn't want to go to a party when you're guaranteed to get some action from one of Rebecca DeMornay's friends?

PikeBishop said...

Without a doubt, Rodney Dangerfield's party at the dorms featuring Oingo Boingo.

T-Rav said...

One of the things that's kinda fun about The Big Bang Theory is their characters sometimes go to movie marathons, like Star Trek, all umpteen versions of Blade Runner, etc. I would go to something like that.

Anonymous said...

I remember the controversy over Eyes Wide Shut's sex scenes (which is really just a handful of shots as Tom Cruise walks around this weird place) back in 1999 but compared to some of the stuff on HBO and Showtime today, it's very tame by comparison!

The bachelor party in Bachelor Party is a good choice, especially with that coke-snorting mule. (I still laugh at the hotel manager's scream when he sees the mule in the elevator.)

As for a Boogie Nights party, I'll go if Rollergirl is there. ;-)

tryanmax said...

I'd go to the party in Can't Hardly Wait provided I don't end up locked in the bathroom. Actually, there are worse things that could happen at a party than being locked in a room with Lauren Ambrose. But with my luck, I'd end up trapped with Seth Green. Oh well.

AndrewPrice said...

Max, I thought about Bachelor Party as well.

AndrewPrice said...

K, Yeah, those would be some bad parties.

Nope, not Ace of Spaces. As for the Ewoks, I was kidding... really don't like the Ewoks at all. But sadly, I'm sure some people are into that sort of thing.

AndrewPrice said...

Dave, That was a heck of a party in Risky Business. Unfortunately, the price ended up being pretty high. Plus, you have to go to Princeton afterwards. :(

AndrewPrice said...

T-Rav, That's fun to do, especially when they do it at a theater.

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, I remember there was a huge uproar over Eyes Wide Shut, but you're right, you can see something similar on lots of HBO shows today.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, I enjoyed this movie as teen films go. It was entertaining.

Anonymous said...

Andrew and tryanmax -

Can't Hardly Wait didn't make as much money as, say, the American Pie movies, but at the same time it seems to have developed a cool little cult following in a way that the other films haven't. I think it at least partly has to do with all the familiar faces, actors like Seth Green and Lauren Ambrose who have their own niche appeal.

And it's also a cool, fun movie, less interested in "gags" and more interested in being an 80s-style homage.

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, Honestly, I like it better than the American Pie films. I'm not a fan of those.

Anonymous said...

Speaking of teen/party movies, there was a fun movie that was released in 2011 and was in theaters for about two seconds. It starred Topher Grace (from That 70s Show) and was called Take Me Home Tonight.

It took place in the 80s and did a great job of paying homage to those movies. Hopefully it'll find a bigger audience one day.

T-Rav said...

I only saw the second American Pie movie. It wasn't too bad; there weren't that many really risqué scenes and it had a nice arc; but what I know of the franchise as a whole suggests it went downhill with each movie. The more recent knock-off versions have been just stupid.

Backthrow said...

I guess I'd like to go to one in HOW TO STUFF A WILD GHOST IN THE INVISIBLE BIKINI MUSCLE BEACH BLANKET BINGO PAJAMA SKI PARTY (196-something).

Think of it-- you'd get to hang around with a good-looking, good-natured, fun-loving crowd (Frankie & Annette, Jody McCrae, Meredith MacRae, Candy Johnson, John Ashley, that gal from STAR TREK 'Patterns of Force', etc).

You'd get to meet Don Rickles, Buster Keaton, Morey Amsterdam, Vincent Price, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre, Basil Rathbone, Elsa Lanchester, Buddy Hackett, Luciana Paluzzi, Linda Evans, Yvonne Craig, Irene Tsu, Bob Cummings, Dorothy Malone, Marta Kristen, Jesse White, etc.

You'd get to listen to live music acts like Dick Dale, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, The Hondells, Donna Loren, Leslie Gore, The Kingsmen, Nancy Sinatra and The Bobby Fuller Four.

Pretty much nothing would happen all day/night *but* partying, except for naps and occasional surfing/skiing/racing/skydiving. And the only danger would come from Harvey Lembeck as 'Eric Von Zipper'... meaning, no danger at all.

AndrewPrice said...

T-Rav, My problems start with the cast. I can't stand Eugene Levy or the mother. And from there, the whole thing struck me as just nonsense. And while I have nothing against nonsense in a brainless comedy in a general sense, it at least needs to feel like it would happen in the real world or the film needs to be way over the top. American Pie just didn't feel that way to me. It felt like a movie trying to pretend it was playing it real, but then used set ups that didn't make sense.

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, I've never seen it.

AndrewPrice said...

Backthrow, I enjoy movies like that. I used to like the Elvis beach movies too. :)

tryanmax said...

I'd go to an Elvis beach party. Will we be doing the Wah-Watusi?

Anonymous said...

T-Rav -

I actually like the second one the best. The first one was funny (I was 16!) but it also hit a bit too close to home for obvious reasons I won't explain. :-)

The second one was basically, "Plot? Who cares? Let's have fun and hijinks - lesbian hijinks!"

The third (with the wedding) wasn't very good. Seann William Scott was totally out of character for the first act of the film, like the director told him to crank it up to 11. And they made the mistake of casting, as Alyson Hannigan's dad, Fred Willard... as a straight man, i.e. in a role that doesn't play to his strengths. This film also has one gag that really grosses me out.

The fourth film (with the reunion) wasn't terrible but I admit nostalgia played a big part in my enjoyment of it. But since every other comedy is "Apatow" or "Apatow-lite," it was nice to see a comedy that tacked in a different direction.

I have no interest in the direct-to-video movies.

AndrewPrice said...

tryanmax, Or the Bat-tutsi.

T-Rav said...

Andrew, fair enough. I ain't about to defend any of them.

Scott, all I can say is that after a certain incident in a certain theater, I have trouble reading the words "Fred Willard" and "straight man" in the same sentence.

AndrewPrice said...

T-Rav, It's just not my thing. Scott clearly disagrees.

I don't like Fred Willard either.

Mycroft said...

Real Genius - hands down.
Either the pool party with the student beauticians or the dorm party with the ice skating.

AndrewPrice said...

Mycroft, That was a great party until the ice vanished. I love the giant popcorn ball at the end too. :)

rlaWTX said...

I like T-Rav's movie marathon party idea...
But parties are not my thing (social anxiety) unless I know everyone, so having something else to concentrate on and start the discussion sounds great.

Now, if I were not me, some of those others mentioned would be awesome. (except the Ewok babe one, I like Ewoks, but that's just a little creepy.) (and the comment later made me think of that CSI episode with the "furries" - even creepier)

AndrewPrice said...

rlaWTX, I don't normally watch CSI, but I saw that episode too and I thought it was hilarious! LOL!

Anonymous said...

tryanmax I would have also enjoyed the party at 'Can't Hardly Wait', though if I was the same age as the kids I would have been one of the
nerds and not invited to the party... And it is better than the American Pie movies, hands down.

I think I would enjoy the party at 'Dazed And Confused', it looked pretty cool as long as I wasn't be stalked by a 'super dominant male in a '50s greaser uniform'...

Scott.

AndrewPrice said...

Scott, LOL! Yeah, you wouldn't want that!

As for nerds, these days, I'm told that nerds are cool, but I have no proof.

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