This week’s meet cute is a short but very sweet one. It’s from While You Were Sleeping from 1995. This is when Lucy Moderatz (Sandra Bullock) meets Jack Callaghan (Bill Pullman), after she has been sort of adopted into the Callaghan family because, due to certain circumstances, they think Lucy is engaged to Jack’s brother. Lucy doesn’t have the heart to tell them that she isn’t…
These were breakthrough roles for Bullock and Pullman and while they have both done good things since, this remains one of the absolute hghlights of their careers and for me it remains one of my absolute favourite romanic comedies.
It’s been a minute since I’ve watched it the whole way through. I think it may be time again.
In recent weeks I’ve been catching up on several Sidney Poitier films. I had seen a few of them before but most have have been so long ago, I can hardly remember them. One of them was A Patch of Blue from 1965.
I once saw this film late at night on TV some 30 years ago and remember liking it back then. I recently watched it again and it struck me as still being good. So, here the meet cute in the park between blind young woman Selina D’Arcey (Elizabeth Hartman), who has been neglected all her life, and the very kind, educated young man Gordon Ralfe (Sidney Poitier), who changes her life.
A few hours ago I saw on the news that Chaim Topol has passed away and, although I don’t know that much about the man, I found myself wiping away a little tear.
He is most remembered for his wonderful portrayal of Tevye the milkman and father of five daughters in Fiddler on the Roof and that is also what I will remember him for. His soulful performance remains touching, funny and also heartbreaking. I re-watched Fiddler not all too long ago and it still holds up.
Topol brought light. Zichrono Livracha – May his memory be a blessing.
This meet cute Monday is dedicated to the delicious romantic comedy Pillow Talk from 1959. Doris Day earned her only Oscar nomination for this film. The film centers around interior decorator Jan Morrow (Doris Day) and playboy song writer Brad Allen (Rock Hudson). They have never met in person but due to a glitch with the phone company they share a telephone line (or ‘party line’ as they call it), which brings with it a lot of annoyance. Especially Jan can not stand Brad, who occupies the line serenading to his many girlfriends. One serendipitous evening, however, they do meet in person. Overhearing a conversation, Brad recognizes her by name and is intrigued by her. So, to gain her favour, and have a little fun at her expense, he pretends to be a Texan visiting New York City…
This movie is the first of three movies that Doris Day and Rock Hudson made together and, for me, also their best one. Their chemistry on screen was legendary and they always remained fond of each other.
Some 10 years or so ago I even got to watch this movie on a big screen at a cinema and loved that experience. It’s not often we get to see these old films on big screens here. This one certainly is a fun re-watch, whether on the big or small screen.
This week’s meet cute is between Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds (in her first leading role) in Singin’ in the Rain from 1952, a musical about Hollywood in 1927 when talking pictures were introduced and started taking over from silent movies.
The movie is still a delightful watch, with several really great musical numbers that I sometimes find myself singing in my real life as well. For instance, occasionally, on a good morning or when I’ve stayed up till the wee hours of morning, I’ll sing to myself: “Good morning, good mooorning! We’ve talked the whole night though. Good morning, good morning, to you!”. I love the elocution lesson tongue twister song “Moses Supposes“. I still watch in astonishment as Donald O’Connor does his slapstick act during the song “Make ’em Laugh” and of course there is that forever classic Gene Kelly scene where he’s dancin’ and “Singin’ in the Rain“.
In this adorbale meet cute scene I’m sharing, silent movie star Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) is escaping a horde of fans and literally lands in the car of Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds).
If you haven’t seen this film yet, find it and watch it. Not only for the music and Gene Kelly and the sheer joy of it, but also for an illustration (in a beautiful Hollywood veneer) of what the transition from silent to talking movies meant for actors (with or without the right voice) and the whole technical challenges that came with it. It’s also a great pick-me-up movie when you’re in need of a little cheer.
The Book of Esther 