At the movies last weekend I saw lots of coming attractions. Why is it that whenever I go to a movie I suddenly want to see every other film but the one I am seeing? Why are the trailers so enticing? Why are they my favorite part of seeing movies in the theater?
Anyway, I saw the trailer for HAVANA NIGHTS - the "Dirty Dancing" for this generation of filmgoers. I must say that I hold a certain fondness for the original DIRTY DANCING having seen it at least half a dozen times in the theater (I swear it was the first film I went to multiple times). That film was just one of those things that happen at the right time. I was a sophomore in college when the film came out and it was "the chick flick" of the 80's. If you think about it, it was quite racy for the clean-cut Reagon 80's.
And who could resist the story of a geeky "good girl" being seduced by the bad boy ways of Johnny Castle? It was a real "female fantasy" and there were and still are so few of those in the film world, that clunky plot points aside, we embraced the film.
In real life, us girls knew that the only guys that looked and danced like Patrick Swayze weren't interested in girls. You just couldn't find guys like that at college frat parties. Also nobody else could ever say the line "Nobody puts baby in the corner" and get away with it the way Patrick Swayze did.
So would I see Havana Nights? Sure, why not. I wouldn't go in expecting to see the magic of the first and I would accept it for what it is -- pure escapism and female fantasy. I might even call up "the girls" (the same girls who went with me in college the first time we saw Dirty Dancing) and see about doing a "girls night out."
So, yeah, it looks like a fun movie. The other coming attractions I saw included Lindsey Lohan in Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen. I'd love to see this with my daughter. I love that my daughter is at an age where we can go and enjoy movies together. Lindsey Lohan was excellent in Freaky Friday and she is making some really cool movies for girls. It's nice to see that Hollywood is paying attention to the pre-teen female audience, even if it still ignores us thirtysomethings.
They of course showed the trailer for Hidalgo which looks epic and amazing in a Legends of the Fall sort of sexy, epic way. Viggo baby, you definitely can draw the female fans into a "horse movie". And if I can't find any companions to see it with me, this is the type of film I will sneak off to alone and see. Viggo is for me.
Johnny is also just for me. Johnny Depp that is. I saw the preview for Secret Window, with Johnny Depp and John Turturro. The creepy, suspense drama is based on a Stephen King story and so of course features Johnny as a "writer" who is somehow haunted by his latest literary creation. It looks awesome. I love being scared by a good thriller. And Johnny doesn't generally disappoint me (although there was Don Juan Demarco). I saw the commercial the other day for the film and mentioned to my husband that I was going to go see it. "I would see that too," he said. "OK we can go together," I said. Thank you Johnny for making a non-chick-flick so I can enjoy you in the presence of my husband who wouldn't be caught awake during a chick flick.
Finally, we also saw the trailer for Scooby Doo 2. This is a film I will take the entire family to. Even my son wants to go and he has very particular tastes (which I think he gets from his father). The last film was fun, and I think this one will also be fun. Besides, my brother worked on the animation so it will of course "look good". So as you can see my "MUST SEE MOVIE LIST" is quite substantial.
I know we often complain about all the cr*p coming out of Hollywood, but yet as a movie lover, I'm pretty open to seeing just about anything as long as it entertains and surprises me. I think I'm more open to seeing family films now that I am a parent myself. Back at NYU I would criticize any director who pandered to the family film crowd. Now I worship the creative writers and innovative directors who put some originality and spice into films that I can see with my kids. I mean, I love Pulp Fiction, but I also love films that I can take my kids to. You probably won't catch me running out to see the next Vin Diesel film anytime soon.
But who knows, by the time my son is 10 years old, I'll probably even be giving "testorone films" a more generous look, because I will be looking for stories that capture the imagination of my son. And so once again, my children will be exposing me to new and different ideas -- ideas that I would have ignored before I became a parent.
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