Independence Day at the Movies

 JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: Happy Independence Day, my fellow Americans. It's a little difficult you know what to write about today, and not just because we already covered favorite summer specialties. Instead of pontificating, I'm going to suggest   movies that encompass the thrills, chills, music and mayhem that make up our country

 

Jaws: It's been 50 years since this adaptation of Peter Benchley's thriller came out, and it's as compelling as ever. Roy Scheider, Richard Dreyfuss and Robert Shaw have to rescue Amity, NY's 4th of July holiday from a terrifying and iconic killer.

 

Born on the Fourth of July - Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning anti-war story proves Tom Cruise can really act, not just do stunts. 

  

Independence Day - my family's must-watch movie for today! If you like major American landmarks blown up by evil aliens, this one's for you.

 

A Day in the Life of America. A masterful documentary of July 4th, 2017, shot by 92 film crews scattered across the US and Puerto Rico. 

 

Yankee Doodle Dandy: the all singing, all dancing, all delightful biopic of "the man who owned Broadway," George M. Cohan.

 

Mr Smith Goes to Washington - nothing specifically takes place on July 4th, but it's a great evocation of the ideals that founded this country.

 

And finally, a classic it-can-happen-here novel turned into a miniseries, The Plot Against America.

 

How about you, dear readers? What do you suggest for the perfect Independence Day flick? 

Summer Watching!

DEBORAH CROMBIE: Since we've all topped up our TBR piles with Lucy's What We're Reading post last week, I thought it was time we had a look at what's on the goggle box (as they say in the UK.) When we're worn out from gardening and barbecuing–or we just need some lazy air-conditioned evenings, it's nice to have a pocketful of suggestions. Here's what's been keeping us glued to the screen lately.

On our recent REDS & READERS Happy Hour,  I mentioned DEPT Q, the series adapted from the Danish author Jussi Adler-Olsen's first novel featuring the irascible Copenhagen detective Carl Morck, THE KEEPER OF LOST CAUSES. The story has been moved to Edinburgh and stars one of my very favorite (as in huge crush) English actors, Matthew Goode, as Morck, with an otherwise Scottish and brilliant cast.  It's fairly gritty, but the writing is terrific and Goode and all the cast give fabulous performances.

Since then we've watched THE RESIDENCE, a charming (billed as mystery/comedy/drama) series about a world famous detective (Uzo Aduba as Cordelia Cupp) brought in to investigate a murder in the White House. Aduba shines as Cupp, an avid birder, and the sets and models are amazing. 

We've also watched a couple of documentary series, Stanley Tucci's new TUCCI IN ITALY, and the new season of CHEF'S TABLE, which is called LEGENDS and features cooking legends Jamie Oliver, Jose Andres, Thomas Keller, and Alice Waters.

Oh, and boo, we're very sad the latest season of GRAHAM NORTON'S BEST BITS has finished.

Fellow REDS, what are your TV tips?

HALLIE EPHRON: There’s so much good stuff available right now. I loved THE RESIDENCE. Looking forward to the next season but it’ll be a while.

And also just started watching DEATH VALLEY with the wonderful Timothy Spall on Britbox. And I just started “PATIENCE which is on PBS (though the solution of the first episode is patently ridiculous).

All of them are recycling the trope of the wacky (damaged? Handicapped? Over the hill?) detective with a much younger, down-to-earth sidekick available for copious eye-rolls.

JENN McKINLAY: Loved YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS with Jon Hamm. Excellent storytelling and characters. Highly recommend. Another hit was FOUR SEASONS (an 8 episode show based on the movie of the same name) starring Tina Fey and Steve Carell - it far exceeded my expectations! Currently, we’re watching POKER FACE starring Natasha Lynne, who I adore. So many good shows for the summer! Next up for us is DEPT Q! 

DEBS: Rick watched YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS without me and really liked it. Maybe I'll make him watch it again!

LUCY BURDETTE: Oh dear, I’m in such a fussy phase. We watched one episode of FOUR SEASONS before deciding not to continue. John and I also watched one hour of BLUE LIGHTS and DEPARTMENT Q. Both too dark for me, though he continued. I’m eagerly anticipating the next season of THE BEAR as well as THE THURSDAY MURDER CLUB, but I’ll see if John will try THE RESIDENCE with me. I also heard that Jeremy Allen White will be playing Bruce Springstein in an upcoming biopic, but that’s not until October! Can’t wait for that!

RHYS BOWEN:  I have absolutely adored LUDWIG ( and not because one of the characters was called my name. So clever and well acted). I find I spend most of my TV watching on Britbox these days, often revisiting favorite mystery series; SHAKESPEARE AND HATHAWAY, ROSEMARY AND THYME. Apart from those I’ve enjoyed David Suchet tracing Agatha Christie’s journeys. 

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Well of course we binged THE BETTER SISTER–gotta support our writer pals, and I adore Alafair Burke. I was intrigued by SIRENS, and love the milieu, but my skeptical editor brain kicked in.

And yes, Jenn, I was incredibly surprised by how much I  enjoyed YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS, the Jon Hamm series. It really was terrific, and much more layered that one would think. I know I am going to hate-watch THE GILDED AGE, it drives me crazy with how thin I think it is but it is somehow irresistible–it might be the dresses. And oh, we enjoyed I, JACK WRIGHT on Acorn or wherever. It was quirky and unusual.

I tried DEATH VALLEY, and THE RESIDENCE, I really did, but they are not for me. LUDWIG, on the other hand, was standing-ovation good.

JULIA SPENCER-FLEMING: I think I’ve mentioned this one before, but I’m very much enjoying MURDERBOT on Apple+. It’s another straight from the book show, and I know we all like those. DEPT Q is up next after everyone’s raves. I’d love suggestions for some good summer-novel-type shows like THE PERFECT COUPLE with rich folks in beautiful locations behaving badly. I also tried SIRENS, and it didn’t catch me. 

Oh, and I’m doing another themed movie week, with 1970s horror/thriller movies. I was inspired by the 50th anniversary of JAWS, and then went on to see two I can’t believe I’ve never actually watched - the 1978 version of THE INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS and Stanley Kubrick’s THE SHINING. Both amazingly stylistic films, with such clear visions by the directors. They really don’t make ‘em like that any more.

DEBS: Julia, we watched JAWS over the weekend, the Spielberg remastered version. I HAD NEVER SEEN JAWS! I've also never seen THE SHINING. Or THE GODFATHER... Although tops on my to-watch list is the series THE OFFER, starring Matthew Goode as Bob Evans and about the making of the film. Unfortunately this series, which got rave reviews, is on Paramount+ which we don't have. MURDERBOT is up there on the to-watch list as well.

DEBS: What have we missed, dear readers? Tell us how you're whiling away you summer hours!

Making a Splash?

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: I was thinking about how this year I might have to buy a new bathing suit. Argh. After I made all of the predictable excuses: it's too early, it's too late. Nothing ever fits, the lights in the dressing room make me look green… Anyway, after all that whining, I thought: wait, let me look at my old bathing suits and see if perhaps I can use one of those.

Funnily enough--I guess it's funny---I found some bathing suits in a drawer that still had their tags on them. I had purchased them, apparently thinking they were reasonably okay, and never worn them.

Why is that you ask? Because: I never go swimming. I have to say, I live in Boston, which is near (duh) the ocean. We have millions of friends on the Cape. And in Maine.  We go to the Caribbean from time to time, and… We have a swimming pool in our backyard.

It is the family joke that I never go in the water.

I remember growing up I loved swimming. First we played in the sprinkler. Apparently, as you can see from this photo from...1954-ish? I was already into swim suit coverups.

Later it was our summer social life, going to the pool. Hanging with everyone. Listening to Surfer Girl and Da Do Ron Ron  and  Sum-Sum-Summertime on our transistor radios, and doing whatever else we did, which I don't remember. I think it was dodging the splashes of the guys trying to splash us while pretending to ignore us while showing off by doing cannonballs. And--can openers, right? That was holding just one leg.

I also remember one summer when, inspired by Esther Williams, I think we tried synchronized swimming. For about a minute.  I could dive off he high dive. No prob.

But no more. Why do I not go swimming? Everyone thinks I either can't swim, wrong, or afraid of the water, wrong, or don't like swimming, wrong again. The reason I haven't been swimming in years is a strange one… It's because I can't see.  To be able to see, I either have to wear my contacts, which is not a good thing in water. Or I have to wear my glasses. Worse. So what I would do was just avoid it.

But since I had cataract surgery I can really see. And as the guys came to open the pool last weekend, I thought wow! I could actually go in this year. So we shall... see. I still don't have a good bathing suit.

How about you all? Are you swimmers ? Or are you more watchers. Are you mermaids? Or shorebirds?

INGRID THOFT: I’m definitely a mermaid or a selkie.  From Irish, Scottish, and Icelandic folklore, selkies are creatures who are seals in the water, but shed their skin to be human on land.  I love swimming, preferably in the ocean with critters.  Snorkeling and scuba diving are two of favorite activities because I can observe, and sometimes, interact with the sea life.  I dove with a potato cod fish the size of a small car on the Great Barrier Reef, who wanted to tag along, even when I was headed on my way!  Although the ocean is my first choice, I’ll dive into pools, ponds, and lakes with equal enjoyment.  I also love taking baths, so I guess that water just suits me.

HANK: Ingrid, you are my role model for swimming. I cannot believe your adventures!

HALLIE EPHRON: I love snorkeling, too! You don't have to be a strong swimmer, you just have to be able to relax in the water and let your flippers keep you afloat.

HANK: Gah. I can't do that.

HALLIE: When I was little I loved to run through the sprinklers in our backyard.  (ed. note: Here's Hallie, probably the same era a few years later) Then I graduated to the ocean. I learned to body surf and was there trying to catch the waves, and then getting tossed upside own and ground into the sand. And coming up and going right back out again.

Now I rarely go in the water, but when we were in Puerto Rico I did take my granddaughter into the pool several times. More standing and weightlifting in the water wearing a hat and sunglasses than actual swimming.

JENN MCKINLAY: I love the water. Pools are fun to splash in but I prefer the ocean -- surfing, paddle boarding, boogie boarding, snorkeling, all of it. I am in. However, I only enjoy it if the water is clear. I grew up on Long Island Sound (not clear, brown, very brown) and I was eight when JAWS came out. My brother -- my Irish twin as he's only eleven months older -- used to sneak up on me while I was swimming and grab my leg and tug me under. Scared the snot out of me every time. Argh!!! Even though I didn't see the movie until I was much older, I can still hear the terrifying music and I don't enjoy water that is over my head if I can't see the bottom. Yes, I'm afraid of sharks because of a movie. Ridiculous, I know.

HANK: Well, yeah. There's a whole generation of people who are permanently traumatized. DA-dum DA-dum.  (sorry :-) )

LUCY BURDETTE: My mother was completely ocean-crazy so we spent all of our summers either at the Jersey shore or in Hatteras NC. We kids were in the water for hours and hours. I also had swimming lessons and am a strong swimmer. I took the water safety instructor class, but didn't pass the part where you had to swim a 200 pound person to the shore. And I used to swim for exercise, including long swims in the Long Island Sound with John. (Jenn, the water is much much nicer these days.) However, that ended after several jelly fish stings. And now I hardly go into the water. Why? The chlorine smell doesn't appeal to me in pools...jellyfish in the sound...too much sun... But in the end, here's what I think: I'm a Capricorn and Capricorns are of the earth, not the water. That said, I'm going to go in more this summer, I swear!

RHYS: I was born a mermaid! I am told that the first time I was taken to the beach I started walking toward the water and kept on going. They pulled me out when I was up to my neck! Unfortunately I grew up in a country of non-heated pools and cold ocean. But since I've lived in California I have swum every day. I just relax when I am in the water, especially warm water. I'm a passionate snorkeler. I have four kids who were all competitive swimmers and now grand kids who are top water-polo players. 

 DEBORAH CROMBIE: I love the water, and love being by the ocean more than just about anything (other than London or the English countryside.) I grew up in the country club and community pools--that's what you did in Texas in the summer, swim, swim, swim, every day. But I have never been a strong swimmer, and when I was about fifteen I got caught in the undertow off the beach in Acapulco. I would have drowned if some other swimmers hadn't seen me go under and rescued me. Since then I have never been comfortable in deep water. I love snorkeling, but only if I can touch bottom! So this makes me pretty much a watery wimp.

Yeesh.

Hank, I totally get it about not being able to see. I was in the same boat (excuse the pun) and it hadn't occurred to me that since my cataract surgery I'd be able to see while swimming. Maybe I'll drag out that cute swimsuit I bought last year and never wore!

PS Does anyone else say "bathing suit?" Hubby always makes fun of me when I do....

HANK: I always say bathing suit! Is it supposed to be swimsuit? I never call it that. So how about you, Reds? Water or not? Do you swim with the (do not use the S word)  or happily sit by the pool/lake/ocean?  And do you have this year's--Ahhhhhh--bathing suit?

We want . . . a shrubbery

HALLIE EPHRON: In moments of duress (as in when one of us, I'm not saying who, has done something like forgotten where she parked the car), you might find me looking at my husband and saying, "Don't panic!" He'll look back at me and raise the ante with a louder: "DON'T PANIC!" And then in unison we will clutch our (respective) heads and shriek "AAAHHH!" Hopefully no one is watching.

Okay, raise your hand if you recognize the source of this snippet of movie dialogue that breaks the tension and shortcuts the finger-pointing . . .

Give up? Okay, It's from "Chicken Run" a wonderful Claymation movie from the folks who bring us Wallace and Grommitt.

Here are a few other family favorites that get hauled out on appropriate occasions:

- "They're he-re..." (Poltergeist)
- "InconCEIVable!" (The Princess Bride)
- "Do or do not. There is no 'try.' (Empire Strikes Back)
- "Snap out of it!" (Moonstruck)
- "We want . . . a shrubbery." (Monty Python)
- "Walk this way." (Young Frankenstein)

Do your family ritual include similarly silly phrases pulled out of the odd movie, TV show, or book? Share!

LUCY BURDETTE: Oh that's completely hysterical Hallie! How I wish I could see the two of you in the parking lot!

Here's the one our whole family would recognize instantly--it comes up the instant we have a concern about how much something costs.

"There's GOT to be a way to earn twenty-thousand dollars!" (The Brady Bunch movie)

And from EB White, reading The Trumpet of the Swan, when someone strikes as unusually large: "He's no canary."

Gosh, they don't sound so funny standing on their own, but we crack up every time--and it brings us right back to the first time we heard the line.

HALLIE: "He's no canary." I love it. How did I miss reading The Trumpet of the Swan. I love White's Stuart Little and Charlotte's Web.

"Some pig!"

JAN BROGAN: What a great topic, Hallie. And I love, "he's no canary." Of course, there's the ubiquitous "I'll have what she's having" from When Harry Met Sally, which we often say with a sly smile in a restaurant. And lately, since we've been so completely engrossed in Downton Abbey reruns awaiting the new episode (only two days away) we've been asking each other if we're going to "dress for dinner?"

But the term we use most is "protector hood." Somewhere in some movie, or some TV show, someone used this phrase to describe those moments when what you are watching or experiencing is so embarrassingly bad, you just want to hide under a blanket or "protector hood." My husband and I use that term frequently, as in "this is just protector hood material." And sometimes we even apply it to politics!

HANK PHILLIPPI RYAN: Along those lines, there was a moment when I knew Jonathan and I were made for each other.

It was very very early on in our "relationship." We had driven from Boston to New York, to visit his mother, I think. and in the days before GPS, we got completely lost.

We wound up somewhere in Brooklyn, some skeevy creepy part, not the fun hip part. Lost as pie.

We were under a graffiti-emblazoned overpass, deserted, at twilight, and it was terrifying.

"Four little words," I said to Jonathan. Thinking that he'd have no idea what I was talking about, and I;d have the fun of explaining.

Jonathan didn't miss a beat. "Bonfire of the Vanities," he said.

Yup. Exactly what I'd been thinking.

RHYS BOWEN: My kids and grandchildren are all Monty Python fans and my grandsons spent all of Christmas quoting lines from The Holy Grail--including "We demand... a shrubbery." And for years my kids have insulted each other with "Your father was a hamster and your mother smelled of elderberries."

But the real family catch-phrase comes from British comedienne Catherine Tate and it's a cockney girl who says "I'm not bovvered. I'm above it."

ROSEMARY HARRIS: So funny...those lines are everywhere.

When we're leaving the house it might be "Leave the gun, take the cannoli" (The Godfather). Used a lot as we are in and out of the car constantly.

Others include -
"You're not too smart, I like that in a man." (Body Heat)
"Are you talkin' to me?" (Taxi Driver)
"You think I'm funny? I amuse you?" (Good Fellas)
"He was my BOYFRIEND!" (Young Frankenstein)
"As you wish!" (Princess Bride)

Clearly these lines are useful for all occasions.

And how could I forget - "We're gonna need a bigger boat." (Jaws) Used for everything that may be too small.

DEBORAH CROMBIE: We've used many of the above. But we're bigger on movie and TV theme songs. Something scary? Jaws. Something creepy? Theme from the X-Files. Something other-wordly? Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

And Rick loves to test me on the first couple of bars of old TV themes to see how fast I can identify them. But his favorite is the them from Rawhide, with re-worked lyrics, as the dogs' favorite play-time song. "Rolling, rolling, rolling, get them doggies rolling, rawhide!"

Glad to know everyone else is as silly as we are . . .

HALLIE: Oooh, Rawhide. Was Clint Eastwood adorable as Rowdy? Which suggests yet another blog for another day.

We'd love to hear what snippets of dialogue or theme songs have taken root in your life.