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Date Movies

Date Movie: "The Graduate"

Jun 2nd, 2007 | Date Movies, Drama

The GraduateThe Graduate (1967 – DRAMA – Dustin Hoffman & Anne Bancroft): Listed at #7 on AFI’s prestigious Top 100 films of all time, The Graduate depicts the life of Benjamin Braddock (Hoffman), a twenty-something college graduate who has affair with the wife of his father’s business partner – Mrs. Robinson (Bancroft). The affair eventually ends and we soon learn that Benjamin has fallen in love with Mrs. Robinson’s daughter – Elaine. Will Benjamin and Elaine live happily ever after or will his volatile affair with Mrs. Robinson come back to haunt him?

Date Movie: "The Birdcage"

May 29th, 2007 | Comedy, Date Movies

The BirdcageThe Birdcage (1996 – COMEDY – Robin Williams & Nathan Lane): Robin Williams and Nathan Lane are absolutely hilarious as a gay South Miami Beach couple.

Armand Goldman (Williams) is the proud owner of The Birdcage, a drag club on the Miami Beach strip, while his eccentric partner Albert (Lane) is the star of the show. When their son Val (Williams’ son from a previous heterosexual relationship 20 years earlier) brings news of an engagement to the daughter of an ultra-conservative Senator, they're absolutely thrilled. But there’s a catch…the Senator (Gene Hackman) and his family are coming over for dinner and they’re under the impression that Armand is the Cultural Ambassador to Greece. What lengths will Armand and Albert go to convince the Senator that they have the quintessential American family? It’ll take the performance of a lifetime.

Date Movie: "The Shawshank Redemption"

May 19th, 2007 | Date Movies, Drama

The Shawshank RedemptionThe Shawshank Redemption (1994 – DRAMA – Tim Robbins & Morgan Freeman): After being convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover, Andy Dufresne is sentenced to life in prison at Shawshank, a maximum security prison in Maine during the 1940’s. A successful banker on the outside, Andy must learn how to cope with the daily struggles of prison life while trying to keep his hopes alive. The Shawshank Redemption does a fantastic job of emphasizing the importance of having dreams – regardless of how bad things may seem. You can lose a lot of yourself prison – freedom, companionship, self-esteem…but the one thing that nobody can take away from you is hope.

In the end, it really comes down to whether you’re going to get busy living, or get busy dying.

Date Movie: "Coming To America"

May 13th, 2007 | Comedy, Date Movies

Coming to AmericaComing To America (COMEDY – 1988 – Eddie Murphy and Arsenio Hall): On his 21st birthday, Prince Akeem (Murphy) of Zamunda was set to marry a woman that he had never met…a bride that was groomed from birth to fulfill his every need. Breaking from a tradition of arranged marriages, Akeem set out to find a woman that would love him for who he was, and not for what he was born into.

So where does one go to find his Queen? Queens, New York of course.

Coming To America is a great romantic comedy and easily one of Eddie Murphy’s best films.

Date Movie: "Sleepless In Seattle"

May 6th, 2007 | Date Movies, Romance

Sleepless in SeattleSleepless In Seattle (Romance – 1993 – Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan): After losing his wife to cancer, Tom Hank’s character moves to Seattle with his 8 year old son to start his life over. Late one evening, his son calls a national radio station and persuades his dad into talking on the air. Serendipitously, Meg Ryan’s character is listening in that evening and is touched by his story. Afterwards, Tom Hanks begins to receive letters from women all over the country who want to meet him. As you may have already guessed, one of the letters he receives is from Meg Ryan. Will they end up meeting and living happily ever after?

Sleepless In Seattle is a date movie classic, but if you're not into the romantic comedy genre, you may have a little difficulty sitting through this one.

Date Movie: "Back To The Future"

Apr 21st, 2007 | Comedy, Date Movies

Back to the FutureBack to the Future (COMEDY – 1985 – Michael J. Fox): Marty McFly (Fox), a quintessential teenager of the Eighties, accidentally travels back in time to the 1950’s in a plutonium-powered DeLorean conceived by Dr Emmet Brown, the eccentric town scientist played by Christopher Lloyd. But things are never that simple.

When Marty inadvertently interferes with events that could erase his existence (think Mom and Pop), it’s up to him to set things straight and get back to the future.

Although people can have varying tastes when it comes to the movies they enjoy, this one really is for everyone. In fact, I don’t think I have ever met a person in my life that did not enjoy “Back to the Future” after watching it. Did you notice how I said “after watching it”?

It’s actually a really funny story. I once dated a girl (she’ll remain nameless) who refused to watch any movies that were made before the year 2000. I came over her house one evening with the film and tried to convince her to give it shot. Do you remember those crazy people (sorry for the non-PC term) that mom always told you to stay away from…? Well this was one of them. She took the entire “Back to the Future” Trilogy (unfortunately for me, I brought the entire box set) and in a crazy rage, threw it at my head. Needless to say, I went home after that with a bump on my forehead. I would have thrown it back at her head but I didn’t want to damage the set. I don’t really remember the point I was trying to make, it just seemed like an interesting story to share.

Enjoy the movie and let me know what you think.

Date Movie: "Big"

Apr 7th, 2007 | Comedy, Date Movies

BigBig (COMEDY – 1988 – Starring Tom Hanks & Elizabeth Perkins): Remember when you were a kid and you wished that you could be grown up? After not being allowed to ride the rollercoaster at the fairground, 12 year old Josh Baskin makes a wish to an old fortune machine that he could be “big”. The next morning Josh wakes up as a 30 year old man (played by Tom Hanks) but inside he is still that same 12 year old boy. After freaking his mother out, Josh heads over to New York with his best friend and begins to experience life the life he wished for. Will Josh want to remain “big” or will he want to go back to normal?

Date Movie: "Jerry Maguire"

Mar 30th, 2007 | Date Movies, Romance

My take on Tom Cruise (warning…opinion ahead!)

Regardless of how you feel about Tom Cruise (i.e. his beliefs, couch jumping, etc.), one can’t deny that he really is a remarkable actor. After the Mission Impossible Trilogy (some purists will argue that there was only one true trilogy, but never mind that) and lackluster films like War of the Worlds and Eyes Wide Shut, I sometimes forget what Tom Cruise is really capable of. Cruise is an extremely versatile actor and should really be remembered for his performances in films such as Risky Business, Rain Man, Born on the Fourth of July, and my favorite – Magnolia. Those are all great films, but since we’re discussing date movies, let’s get to Jerry Maguire.

Jerry MaguireJerry Maguire (ROMANCE – 1996 – Starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding Jr., and Renee Zellweger): In Jerry Maguire, Tom Cruise plays a successful sports agent who begins to question the morality of his work. After a dramatic scene at the office, he’s left with an egomaniacal athlete (played by Cuba Gooding Jr. who went on to win an Academy Award), a single mother (Renee Zellweger), and a goldfish. It’s a great story about starting over, staying true to yourself, and most importantly – taking a chance on others. The film has some good comedy and the romance is not too corny…so it should appeal to most tastes.

On a side note, even though date flicks are usually associated with the romantic genre, I’ll be sure to feature some other themes in the next few weeks.

Date Movie: "City of Angels"

Mar 18th, 2007 | Date Movies, Romance

City of AngelsCity of Angels (ROMANCE – 1998 – Starring Nicolas Cage & Meg Ryan): It’s a story of an angel who forgoes his immortality and place in heaven to be with the woman he loves on earth. It’s a love story, but more specifically, it makes one question how much he/she would sacrifice for the sake of love. It’s a little bit of a tear jerker so make sure you have the Kleenex handy!

Date Movie: “Say Anything”

Mar 11th, 2007 | Date Movies, Romance

When I stared writing this blog back in June, I set aside a little section called “Date Movies” where I began to list some great movies that you could check out with your date or significant other (in fact, it was the first blog post I ever wrote). Needless to say, I have neglected this portion of the blog…even though I promised to feature a different movie each week. So without further ado, I will start of with one of my favorite romantic films, Say Anything.

Say AnythingSay Anything (ROMANCE – 1989 – Starring John Cusack and Ione Skye): Written and Directed by Cameron Crowe, Say Anything is a feel-good romantic comedy about first love. Lloyd (John Cusack) is an optimistic High School graduate whose only certainty in life is that he wants to be with Diane (Ione Skye), a straight-A student whose future is all planned out by her over-protective father (played by John Mahoney). Is their love strong enough to withstand their differences and Diane’s disapproving father?


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