EW's "The New Classics" Part Three

Hey everybody! We're halfway done! I'm getting the impression (from the egregious lack of commenting from ANYONE, save Heather, finally!) that you're not too keen on the "let's talk about yet another list in mind-numbing detail" idea. Did I read you right? Well, take heart, dear readers! There's only two installments left and you've already read about 6% of this one! Good on you!

Once again, here's the link to EW's comments about this section, and this is what we're gonna try with this one: I'm gonna do all the heavy lifting (read the analysis or don't, I won't really ever know) but look at the list and comment with one film you think is a definite classic, and one film you think everyone will have forgotten about in 2028. Think you can do that for me so I don't run crying to my room over the compete abandonment of my blog? Can you give a girl a break? Pleeeeeease??? :)

50. The Piano (1993)
49. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
48. Scarface (1983)
47. Men in Black (1997)
46. Children of Men (2006)
45. Rain Man (1988)
44. The Player (1992)
43. Gladiator (2000)
42. Clueless (1995)
41. Dazed and Confused (1993)
40. Speed (1994)
39. The Sixth Sense (1999)
38. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
37. Pretty Woman (1990)
36. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
35. The Incredibles (2004)
34. Fargo (1996)
33. The Breakfast Club (1985)
32. Fight Club (1999)
31. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
30. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
29. The Bourne Supremacy (2004)
28. Wings of Desire (1988)
27. Aliens (1986)
26. Hoop Dreams (1994)

At first glance, Scarface and Aliens jump out as tried and true classics. As I said in the AFI blog, Scarface redefined a previous classic (the original 1932 Scarface), making it slicker, more luxurious and lot more violent. It was a master in style from director Brian DePalma. And Aliens is the epitome of a successful, suspenseful, rewarding, edge-of-your-seat popcorn flick. It also helps that "Say hello to my little friend!" and "Get away from her, you bitch!" have both become such iconic pop culture phrases. In addition to these titles, When Harry Met Sally..., The Breakfast Club, and Pretty Woman have pretty much proven their classic status by now, even if none of them can claim overwhelmingly long-lasting critical success. Pretty Woman is the ultimate fairytale and the film responsible for making us all fall in love with Julia Roberts, The Breakfast Club helped develop the serious teen flick and it's influence is still felt today, and When Harry Met Sally... is a cornerstone film in the romantic comedy genre, fueling the age-old question "Can men and women be friends?"

I didn't much bat my eyes at Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Dazed and Confused, Speed or Fargo either. CTHD was definitely a pop culture milestone (the first foreign film to pass $100 million) and it's particular brand of dreamy action sequences was so new and different. However, it has been followed (perhaps even preceded) by a series of similar films (Hero, House of Flying Daggers) and it's hard to tell whether one of them won't be preferred in the future. Dazed and Confused is largely regarded as "Altman-light" due to it's sprawling cast, intersecting characters, and time constraints (Dazed all takes place in the course of a single day). However it's enduring popularity amongst high school and college students makes up for it's seeming lack of substance. Speed has long established it's dominance in the action genre, even despite a less-than-stellar 5th act, and Fargo, long considered a little Coen Brothers gem, has had it's status cemented with their recent Oscar success.

A few of the films I felt will be remembered more for the lead performances than for the film itself. The Piano won Holly Hunter an Oscar for her mute depiction of a woman's struggle for independence, but the film itself is rather uneven and strange. It's one of those films that critics love because they can see more deeply into what the film is attempting to accomplish, but it left me cold. Other than it's Best Director nomination for Jane Campion (only the second woman ever nominated for director) the film doesn't seem to have left much of a mark. The same can't be said for Rain Man, a film everyone has seen and can quote with much familiarity. It's a good film, and the performance of Dustin Hoffman is certainly iconic, but it seems to lose a little more respect every year when the Best and Worst Oscars are discussed. As for Gladiator, I'll try to keep my infamous prejudice aside, but I just don't think it's that great. It's good, it's enjoyable, and it certainly caused a stir, but the only thing it really deserves credit for is further establishing to the world the genius of Russell Crowe. He owns the film, and thanks to the film's success, he's been set up as one of the best actors of his generation, deservingly so. I suppose this film will be likened to older classics Spartucus and Ben-Hur, but at least Ben-Hur had that amazing chariot race; I don't think Gladiator has a single scene of such power, as good as it is. Brokeback Mountain, on the other hand, is a delicately balanced and lonely film, and made history as one of the first homosexual films treated as an epic romance and featuring well-known Hollywood beefcakes kissing. And as much as I love it and hope it remains thought of as a classic, I wouldn't be surprised if down the road the film is mainly remembered as the astounding swan song performance of Heath Ledger. As I've said before, it's just too soon to tell.

Looking over the list, only one title jumped out at me and said, "I don't belong here!" and it was Men in Black. It's funny, it has a clever premise, Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones have good chemistry, and thanks to it's success, Smith is now "Mr. July" and summer movies are all the loud, franchised, big-budgeted rage. But it's not THAT great. Neither is Clueless, really. It's also clever and so much fun, but it's constant '90's references, not to mention insane fashion, are really going to appear dated, of they don't already. It'll be like the Valley Girl of our generation: cute, beloved, but not a classic. Two action sequels appeared on this list (The Bourne Supremacy and Spiderman 2) which intrigued me. I think it's too early to single out Supremacy as the lone classic of the Bourne franchise as last summer's Ultimatum is considered the best by many. Spiderman 2 is one of the best superhero movies ever made, but even I thought it seemed widely overpraised then, and I don't see it retaining classic status now, especially if this summer's The Dark Knight is as good as everyone's claiming. But it's very good and in this superhero infatuated state, it's hard to tell what will stand out from the rubble after the mania has worn itself out.

Children of Men doesn't seem like a classic at this stage, but I could easily believe it becoming the Blade Runner of this generation with it's depiction of a bleak, dystopian future. Hoop Dreams, The Player, and Wings of Desire (a 1988 foreign film which I believe was the original premise for City of Angels) are all critic's darlings, but will require massive word of mouth to be talked of outside prestigious film publications in the future. If M. Night Shyamalan continues his descent into crappy filmmaking, The Sixth Sense will be thought of as a total fluke, possibly dismissed. As good as it is, I think some of his other films are just as accomplished, and if Shyamalan can pull it together and redeem himself in the critical eye, I see no reason why some of his other films won't be seen as classics someday. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind should retain it's status based on the sheer original audacity of it's plot (and part of Kate Winslet's considerable body of work). The Incredibles doesn't seem as sure to me, if only because no one seems able to reach a consensus on which Pixar films are the classics (other than it's first, Toy Story, appearing later on this list); is it Finding Nemo? The action adventure James Bond spoof, The Incredibles? Will Monsters Inc. regain it's fame? Will new sensation Wall-E become the gold standard? It's impossible to conjecture, although I would be thrilled if The Incredibles remained a classic: it's incredible.

As for Fight Club, I see the same debate every year: Fight Club or Seven? There seems to be agreement that one of David Fincher's films should be considered his masterpiece. The problem is, no one agrees on which film is the best, or even if either film is good. Fight Club is criticized for it's blatant violence and fascism, while Seven is chastised for it's fascination with a serial killer that seems to romanticize his methods. I read an excellent essay at Scanners, defending the attitudes and metaphors employed by Fight Club - read it if you're a fan who needs some amo. While I think both of these are great films, I will say that I prefer the physical brutality of Fight Club, which in no way compares to the moral and emotional violence I experienced in watching Seven; I have seldom felt so repelled, sickened and dirty after a viewing.

Anyone notice my tendency to think there can be only one classic film per director, or specific genre, or company? Is Pixar only allowed one classic? Why can't Crouching Tiger, and the entire array of copycats it either spawned or made prominent, be classics, or defining genre? I don't know. It's that need to spread the wealth around, not favor one filmmaker over another, to continually rate and rank. No justification for it, really. I will try to stop.

And please, comment on something I wrote or brought up here. I would really appreciate it. :)