I don’t claim to be a big movie afficionado. I like certain types, most of which don’t really get made these days, so it’s been a while since I’ve been excited by a movie or rushed to see one in the theater or buy one on DVD. (Of course, it doesn’t help that I don’t like loud noises or flashes in otherwise dark places. Theaters give me a mild feeling of sensory overload, but that’s another thing entirely.) But a friend of mine (a particularly cute one at that) recommended one that I kinda knew I should have seen way back when it came out — and I’d heard it was good before, but I just never got around to seeing it — The Wedding Singer. I know what you’re thinking — “Dude, that’s lame. That movie’s been out for ten years! Ten! What’s wrong with you?” But I told you, I can’t seem to get too excited about movies, at least not since I was a kid, and not unless it’s a movie of a certain age. And as I was enjoying this movie, it once again became clear to me why.
The Wedding Singer’s a nice little movie. Nothing bombastic, nothing earth-shattering. Kinda funny, most of the time, really funny some of the time. Fairly ordinary. Thoroughly enjoyable, though. Why? Mostly because of those adjectives in my last few sentences. In the day it was made, and certainly in the time immediately before and ever since, there’s been a push to the edge in movie making? What edge, you say? Technology? Wild, uninhibited storylines? All of the above. A push to have a flashier movie than what came out last summer. A movie to push your buttons, a movie to make you think deeply, a movie with effects so mind-blowing that you feel as if you’re right in the middle of it all.
But that’s not what I want in a movie.
Well, I know that I’m strange compared to the baseline moviegoer when it comes to taste in films, and I also think that a lot of late 20-somethings and early 30-somethings who are getting tired of the superhero movie and the umpteenth Matrix clone are affected by the movies that came out when we were kids, back in the ’80s, which may well be the last period where moviemakers actually have to come up with coherent storylines and have plausible performances by their actors in order to sell a movie, ‘cuz technology couldn’t cover up mistakes like it can these days. Aside from the fact that I’m one of those longtime comic readers who’s not in a rush to go out and see how the most recent moviemaker either completely butchered or masterfully handled characters you loved as a kid (there seems to be no in-between here), there are just a few basic things I like in movies.
1. A simple, cohesive, well-executed storyline. I like thought-provoking films as much as the next hedonist, but I don’t like films that only provoke thoughts of “Wha? How’d we get here from there?” and “Jeez, that came outta left field.” As is often the case in engineering, the simplest way to completely and effectively tell your story is often the best.
2. Good music — whether it’s at the center of the story or on the periphery — is essential. The soundtrack can’t be an afterthought, and that’s not just for musicals. Some of the best mood music is the type you don’t notice until you actually go back and watch the movie with the express purpose of listening for its excellence. Why? Because the best mood music puts you into the emotions of the scene and supports your focus on whatever visual activity is happening in front of your eyes. If it doesn’t do that, it’s no good. Not even in a musical is the music the star — the acting must always be the star of the show; the music can be the best supporting actor, but not the best actor.
3. Context is everything. Kind of gets back to cohesiveness, which is a big part of #1, but also covers other areas. It seems that directors and producers, in a drive to sell their movies to as many people possible, try to stick as many adult themes into movies as they possibly can, even (or maybe especially) when they’re doing adaptations of stories where none exist. If a story’s about one soldier’s experience in an elite squad fighting in Vietnam, for example, why has some love interest been tossed in there? What does that add to the story? A lot of cussing does not a comedy movie make. Cussing in context is understandable, even if I don’t like it; cussing for the sake of cussing is gratuitous. A little context, people!
A lot of movies used to get made while sticking to those principles. Can a movie be good if it doesn’t hit all three? Yeah, there are things that can make up for almost any moviemaking mistake — good acting, for instance. A really, really good writer can still make an overly-complex story work out in the end sometimes. But the margin for error is small in those cases — those involved have to pull everything off in order for the movie to work. But if everything works out and is in correct proportions, you can end up with a nice little movie.
It seems that nice little movies don’t sell as well. A shame, that, but if a small percentage of new movies — really, 10% would be fine — would qualify, the industry would likely earn a dedicated customer, if only for a few films. Me.