EW's "The New Classics" Part Two

Don't worry, hopefully none of the next three posts on this topic will be as long as the first. But I had to establish a few of the ideas to keep in mind when debating this list and wanted to get them out of the way. Here's a link to EW's comments about this section, and without any further ado, let's get to #51-75:

75. Out of Africa (1985)
74. Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
73. Office Space (1999)
72. Thelma & Louise (1991)
71. Unforgiven (1992)
70. Broadcast News (1987)
69. All About My Mother (1999)
68. Witness (1985)
67. Donnie Brasco (1997)
66. Natural Born Killers (1994)
65. Dirty Dancing (1987)
64. No Country For Old Men (2007)
63. Big (1988)
62. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
61. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
60. Scream (1996)
59. L.A. Confidential (1997)
58. Ghostbusters (1984)
57. There's Something About Mary (1998)
56. The Lives of Others (2006)
55. Risky Business (1983)
54. Fatal Attraction (1987)
53. The Truman Show (1998)
52. The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad (1988)
51. There Will Be Blood (2007)


First up, the bona-fide classics. I'm fairly certain that Clint Eastwood's heavy themed revamp of the Western, Unforgiven, will continue to stand the test of time, as well as Peter Weir's masterpiece (featuring Harrison Ford's only Oscar nominated role) Witness, and the more recent '50's crime-thriller throwback, L.A. Confidential. All have aged gracefully, continued to gain faithful fans, and succeeded in retaining mostly positive critical opinion. (For a great dissection of the themes of Unforgiven, read here.) I also feel fairly confident that the feminist road trip Thelma & Louise, and Sydney Pollack's romantic epic Out of Africa will continue to age well. It is possible that the feminism in T & L will appear too heavy handed in the distant future (who knows?) or that, as films about race, or films told from the point of view of other races, continue to get greater distribution, the "other" through the eyes of a privileged white person Africa will seem outdated, but again, hard to tell. You can't really beat the score or the performance of Meryl Streep. As of right now, it seems credible that recent instant-classics There Will Be Blood and No Country For Old Men will retain that status. Most of the critical acclaim was so overwhelmingly positive and confident of greatness, it should shield these films from doubt. But again, they are just so new, it's hard to tell what changed lens critics may view them through in 20 years.

I admit that I have a hard time with comedies. They are really the hardest genre in which to achieve success, but we so seldom take them seriously as "art." In that vein, Big and Ghostbusters have definitely earned classic status, even if I have a hard thinking of Ghostbusters as a "great" film. There are several other comedies in this section, a few I find myself really doubting. To be fair, I have never seen Beverly Hills Cop. I know it features an R-rated, pre-ridiculous Eddie Murphy, and I'm glad to have some variety. It boasts an 83% on Rotten Tomatoes, but was panned by Roger Ebert, so I'm not sure what to make of it's inclusion here. Anyone out there seen it? Is it a "classic"?

I find it fairly laughable that The Naked Gun: From the Files of Police Squad is even on the list, let alone #52, but just because a movie is spoof doesn't mean it's not great. We still talk about Airplane, the original spoof-master, so why not Naked Gun? It's much harder to seriously consider in today's age of Scary Movie 1-infinity, or the rash of Insert-Chosen-Genre-Here Movie (Date Movie, Epic Movie, Meet the Spartans, geesh!), but that doesn't mean it's in the same class as these bargain basement wannabes. There's Something About Mary was definitely the gross-out comedy of 1998, but do we still talk about it? The spunk in Cameron Diaz's hair has kind of lost it's original inspired appeal, and while Office Space is one of the top cult classics, rising from a dismal theater run to a film most have seen and enjoyed, does that mean our kids will find it relevant and funny in 2030? To be fair, kids today don't find current classics like Some Like It Hot or Casablanca relevant, so perhaps that's not the best rejoinder.

Now we have to discuss the difference between "iconic" and "classic." I won't deny the appeal and recognizability of Tom Cruise dancing in his underwear in Risky Business, or Baby and Johnny's exhilarating final dance in Dirty Dancing, or Glenn Close boiling a pet rabbit in Fatal Attraction, or even the crazy, violent mash-up of vivid criminals and great music in Natural Born Killers, but does that make them classics, or merely memorable? Except the emerging fame of Tom Cruise, does Risky Business have much to offer beyond '80's greed and hookers? Doesn't the vilification of Glenn Close seem kind of misogynistic today? Though visually daring with a frenetic storytelling, Natural Born Killers kind of glorifies violence and a lot of critics have had serious problems with it. (It currently sits at only 50% on Rotten Tomatoes.) As for Dirty Dancing...I do kind of love it, but I can recognize that just because I love it doesn't mean it's deserving of classic status. As critic Phil Villareal so astutely stated, "Nowhere near as good as it's reputation. A cheesy mess, supported only by it's nostalgia." I think that's pretty accurate. So while I did initially note the distinction between "great" and "classic," I guess I'm falling on the classic should = good side of the debate.

As for the rest, The Lives of Others and All About My Mother both won the Best Foreign Film Oscar, and I have no complaints about their inclusion, although, as with all, their longevity remains to be seen. Don't know much about Drugstore Cowboy other than it's a film about drug addiction, and I thought Requiem For a Dream carried the great "don't do drugs!" banner, but Cowboy is independent Gus Van Sant, so it could be worthy. Scream ushered in the current horror-film revival, and has a unique self-awareness that should make it continue to stand out and count, and The Truman Show presaged the present era of reality television gluttony with a standout performance from Jim Carrey. As for Donnie Brasco, while it does bridge the gangster gap from Goodfellas to 'The Sopranos" and feature great performances from Depp and Pacino, I think it's a case of critics wanting a film to be more classic and iconic than it actually is. A great movie, yes; a classic, I doubt it.

Again, would love to hear your thoughts and opinions on any of these films. Dissension welcome!