Thursday Thirteen

This Thursday Thirteen was inspired by Big Mama. She was talking about her favorite movies not long ago. It got me to thinking about mine. I broke it down by the thirteen best movies of my childhood, according to Leigh. This is in no particular order....

1. Footloose- I thought Willard (Chris Penn) was the sweetest thing, wanting to learn to dance all for his woman. At the end, with the prom scene has me off my couch dancing every time.

Wren, "Have you ever heard of the police?"

Willard, "I have seen the police.

Wren, "Where in concert?"

Willard, "No behind you".

2.Grease- The original. I so wanted to be Sandy (both good and bad girl), if not her then Patty Simcox. I loved that movie. Much of my childhood revolved around that movie. I remember Mrs. Morave dropping me, Michelle, and Debby off at the theater. We would watch it twice. We paid once then ducked in our seats for a second viewing, as instructed my Mrs Morave who was a nurse and worked all night and thus would take us to the movie during the day to occupy us. For real, I counted how many times I saw it, at the theater alone...40 something. Yes. I owe the Theater that was once at Brookwood Mall some cash.

3. The Wizard of Oz- This came on annually around Halloween. I couldn't wait. One year I was devastated because it came on Halloween night and I didn't get to watch it. This was before the days of VCR's. If you missed, you had to wait a whole year before it came on again. What did that movie teach me? Really, "There's no place like home!"

4. Stand by Me-The tag lone said it all: For some, it's the last real taste of innocence, and the first real taste of life. But for everyone, it's the time that memories are made of....This was a salty little movie for what was chalked up as a kids movie. But there were some deep lessons to be learned her. Like losing someone young, before their time, to stand up for yourself, and that no one is guaranteed a tomorrow-or even a good life. What a great movie. Has anyone seen Jerry O'Connell these days? He was the kid that was bullied in the movie for his weight. Today he is still a cutey, albeit much thinner, and married to another cutey, super model Rebecca Romaine.

5. Coal Miner's Daughter- This is probably my favorite movie of all time. I can still recite it word for word. And most of you know my obsession with Loretta Lynn, thanks to the Roaming Southerner. Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones were exceptionally great in this cult hit. The movie had the best lines in it of any movie I have ever seen:

"Stop yer grawlin Doo, ya sound like a ole bear a growlin!"

When Loretta comes out of the doctor's office, "Hey baby- you sick? ask Doo "Yeah, I'm sick! I'm gonna have a baby".

“I done wrote me a song, Betty Sue. Your mama’s a dadgum songwriter.”
“Hey Doolittle Lynn. Who’s that sow you got wallowin’ in your jeep?”

I cannot tell you how much I LOVE this movie. But take my word for it, I do!

(Pics thanks to Roaming Southener)

6. The Goonies- A movie about a band of kids from the "Goon Docks" neighborhood of Astoria, Oregon, hoping to save their homes from demolition, go on an adventure to find the buried treasure of One-Eyed Willy, a legendary pirate. I loved this movie because it was creative. It craftily had everything in it a kid would want to see or fantasize about: Pirates, scary monsters, genius inventions, kidnappers, treasures, young love, hide and seek. It was great. And many of the scenes were filmed a place that I have been, Haystack Rock. I went when I lived in Portland, Oregon. I recall sea lions covering that rock. I love the part where Chunk befriends Sloth. How touching!

7. The Outsiders_for a young girl, it was eye candy. It had almost all of the hot up and coming stars. There were fist fights, and attempts to save a girls honor. How romantic. Yes, I did say the Outsiders. For a girl like me, it was all I could ask for and more. Oh, how I cried when "Dally got knocked off my the fuzz".

8. Airplane-It was a spin off movie that was inspired by and includes various lines of dialogue and references to the 1957 Zero Hour. Wikepedia describes the plot: When the crew of a commercial airliner suffer food poisoning after eating their in-flight meals, it falls to Ted Striker (Robert Hays), an ex-fighter pilot, to conquer his fear of flying and land the airplane. Adding to the challenge is the fact that his ex-girlfriend Elaine (Julie Hagerty) is a flight attendant on the aircraft. Nielsen portrays a doctor called to help the sick passengers.

And Talk about some great lines and scenes...

"There is only one river, there is only one sea...and it moves through you and it moves through me, there is only one people......." Can't you see the flight attendant singing that song and pulling the IV out of the little girls vein?

"Surely you can't be serious!" "I am, and don't call me Shirley". "

"Adam, Have you ever sen a grown man naked?"

9. Rocky 1-3- LOOOVVVVEEEDDDD this movie. Great musical scores and who couldn't love at the Sly in this one. "Aide-Ri-Annnn!" Didn't you cry when Mickey died?

10. Jaws- It scared me outta the water as it did most Americans. Even today, when I go in to the ocean, which I love so dearly and passionately, I do confess to hear the Jaws music playing in my head. Clearly I need therapy. But I will bet that today, with the recent shark attacks and media frenzy, it goes through many people's head. Why did Roy Snider have to pass? I know he would know how to control this frenzy.

11. The Breakfast Club- If you missed this movie, clearly you didn't grow up in the 80's. Another classic (as all are on this list). This one was about five teenagers (each representing a different clique in high school) as they spend a Saturday in detention together and come to realize that they are all deeper than their respective stereotypes.

The best part, the letter at the end of the movie:

Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was that we did wrong. What we did WAS wrong. But we think you're crazy to make us write this essay telling you who we think we are. What do you care? You see us as you want to see us... in the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. You see us as a brain, an athlete, a basket case, a princess and a criminal. Correct? That's the way we saw each other at seven o'clock this morning. We were brainwashed.
The end letter is as follows:
Brian Johnson: Dear Mr. Vernon, we accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it was we did wrong, but we think you're crazy to make us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us... In the simplest terms and the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain...
Andrew Clark: ...and an athlete...
Allison Reynolds: ...and a basket case...
Claire Standish: ...a princess...
John Bender: ...and a criminal...
Brian Johnson: Does that answer your question?... Sincerely yours, the Breakfast Club.
Video URL:
http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi1200226585/

12. Urban Cowboy- This was another movie that I could recite word for word. And it was cool, remember those little license plates of love in the back of that truck window. What Sissy and Bud had was real love, forget that she was a horrible housekeeper, that he slept with someone else to make her jealous, that she rode the mechanical bull to make him jealous...Sissy tries to go to bed with Wes, but stops before doing anything....it all came together at the end when they danced in the dance competition and Sissy and Bud made up and that plate went back up in the truck window. Every time I hear Johnny Lee's Lookin' for love and Mickey Gilley's Stand By Me, I can't help but think of Sissy and Bud and their luvvv.

13. Smokey and the Bandit- "Taking cover in the Rocking Chair, got a smokey on my tail"..... CB's were cool then. I remember when my mother got one and my friends and I would most certainly irritate many a trucker with the slang, "Breaker, breaker one nine? Come back?" It was the days when Burt Reynolds was cool-a real man (not weird and had a fake face as he does today), Sally Field was adorable, and Jerry Reed was the best (and still is, Big Daddy and I are H-U-G-E fans!!!)

Honorable Mentions go to: Starwars (it was a toss up to include Smokey or Star Wars. I love them just the same. I was a bigt obsessed with Chewy!), 16 candles (I would pick to tie with Breakfast Club), Back to the Future, Ghost Busters, Mr. Mom, ET, Close Encounters, Pretty in Pink, The Champ, Karate Kid and finally one me and my brother enjoyed acting out in our backyard (to the curiosity of our neighbors) Mommy Dearest.

What were some of your favorites?