Labor Day 2016: Movies About Work

Posted on September 2, 2016 at 8:00 am

Happy Labor Day and many thanks to everyone who works. Some of my favorite movies about the workplace:

The Pajama Game He (John Riatt — Bonnie’s father) is the new boss at the pajama factory. She (Doris Day) represents the union. Can this relationship work? This tuneful treat features classics like “Hey There” and “Steam Heat.”

Norma Rae Sally Field won an Oscar for her performance in this fact-based story about the fight for the rights of textile workers.

9 to 5 Lily Tomlin, Jane Fonda, and Dolly Parton star in this story of three women in an office run by an lazy, corrupt, and sexist boss.

Office Space This cult classic about disaffected office workers has some sharp Dilbert-style observations about organizational inefficiency and unfairness.

Working Girl Melanie Griffith and Harrison Ford star in this story of a secretary with ambition and her arrogant, selfish boss. Carly Simon won an Oscar for the theme song, “Let the River Run.”

The Apartment This Best Picture Oscar winner stars Jack Lemmon as an insurance company worker with a chance to advance his career by making his apartment available to executives for their assignations.

Made in Dagenham Sally Hawkins and Miranda Richardson star in this fact-based story of women fighting for equal pay at a Ford plant in England.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying Anyone who has worked in an office will tell you that this raucous musical satire of office life is far less exaggerated than it seems.

The Solid Gold Cadillac This witty 1956 comedy about corporate corruption and overpaid executives starring the brilliant Judy Holliday is still valid — if you add three zeroes to all the numbers.

The Closet This French comedy is about a nebbishy numbers guy who is laid off from his job. He lets the bosses think he is gay so that they will be afraid of a discrimination complaint and the attention it brings him teaches him some important lessons.

List: Siblings Who Make Movies

Posted on August 22, 2016 at 2:28 pm

I loved the 80’s-throwback Netflix series “Stranger Things,” created by twin brothers Matt and Ross Duffer. And it made me think about the many other siblings working together to make movies.

The Russo brothers Joe and Anthony Russo directed the last two “Captain America” movies and are going to direct the next Avengers film. They also worked on one of my favorite television series, “Happy Endings,” and on cult favorite “Arrested Development.”

Lana Wachowski and Lilly Wachowski are known for their striking visuals and mind-bending storylines in “The Matrix” trilogy, “Cloud Atlas,” and the underrated “Speed Racer,” and “Jupiter Ascending.”

Joel and Ethan Coen are known for critically acclaimed for films like “Fargo,” “Inside Llewyn Davis,” “True Grit,” “No Country for Old Men,” “Barton Fink,” and “Raising Arizona.”

Mark and Jay Duplass began with “mumblecore” indies like “The Puffy Chair” and “Jeff Who Lives at Home.” They both act, write, and direct. Jay appears in “Transparent” and Mark in “Togetherness.”

As Team Todd, producers Suzanne and Jennifer Todd are behind the franchise powerhouse “Austin Powers” and critic darling indies like “Celeste and Jesse Forever.”

Jenniphr and Greer Goodman worked together on “The Tao of Steve,” Jenniphr directing and Greer co-writing and starring. Their sister Dana also has a small role. I love that movie, and I hope to see more of their work some day soon.

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Behind the Scenes Lists

The American Bar Association’s Six Types of Movie Lawyers

Posted on August 18, 2016 at 3:19 pm

The American Bar Association’s ABA Journal magazine has an article about movie lawyers that is not the usual top 50 list. Thane Rosenbaum writes about the six types of movie lawyers: crusading, heroic, obtuse, disillusioned, vengeful, and buffoons. Of course, some of the best movies have lawyer characters who fall into more than one of these categories. “To Kill a Mockingbird” has the greatest of all movie lawyers, Atticus Finch, who is heroic and crusading. “Anatomy of a Murder,” based on a novel by a lawyer/judge and starring a real-life judge as the movie’s jurist, had a lawyer who was disillusioned and heroic, and so did “The Verdict” and “Michael Clayton.” “My Cousin Vinny’s” title character was a buffoon and sometimes obtuse, but a hero, too.

I’m a lawyer from a family of lawyers, and I love movies about the law, including the ones listed above (I have to point out that “The Verdict” is completely inaccurate and even “Anatomy of a Murder” has one huge mistake). I especially like movies about real-life lawyers like “Gideon’s Trumpet,” “Amistad,” “Erin Brockovich,” and the upcoming “Loving.”

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Courtroom Lists

More Movie Dragons

Posted on August 9, 2016 at 3:37 pm

In honor of this week’s release of Disney’s remake of the 1977 film, “Pete’s Dragon,” here are some other classic movie dragons.

1. How to Train Your Dragon This was the first of the terrific series which has produced two films (a third coming in 2018) and a television series. It is the story of a Viking boy who learns that dragons are not as scary as the people in his village believe. The variety of dragon species is endlessly entertaining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lvrAY5pqBBc

2. Pete’s Dragon Disney’s live action/animated musical about a boy and his dragon friend features 60’s pop star Helen Reddy and Jim Dale, best known today as the narrator of the Harry Potter audiobooks.

3. Dragonslayer Peter MacNichol plays a young apprentice to a wizard who is sent to kill the dragon that has been devouring girls from a nearby community. The setting is at the end of the era of fantasy, as Christianity takes hold.

4. The Reluctant Dragon Humorist Robert Benchley visits the Disney animation studios to persuade them to make a cartoon from his story of a dragon who would rather write poetry than fight.

5. Mulan Eddie Murphy provides the voice for a small dragon named Mushu in this classic Disney story based on the legend of a girl who disguised herself as a male soldier to save her people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7AT4FuGxTMg

6. Shrek In this delightfully skewed fairy tale, not only is the ogre the hero, but the dragon falls in love.

7. Sleeping Beauty When the evil fairy has to fight the gallant prince, to keep him from waking the princess, she transforms herself into a fire-breathing dragon and they have an epic battle.

8. Spirited Away Hayao Miyazaki’s story about a girl who finds an enchanted land where she meets a dragon and recognizes that he is really a boy who has been transformed.

9. Dragonheart Sean Connery provides the voice of the last dragon, who must work with a knight (Dennis Quaid) to defeat an evil king.

10.Enchanted Susan Sarandon plays the evil queen who transforms herself into a dragon.

And here’s a list from Leigh Singer. How many can you name?

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Family Movies About the Olympics

Posted on August 2, 2016 at 8:00 am

Hurray! The summer Olympics start this week. Here are some movies to help kids get ready.

The First Olympics: Athens 1896, one of my very favorite sports movies ever, is a made-for-TV miniseries about the first modern-day Olympics. We take the Olympics as a given now, but there were 1500 years between the time of the ancient games and the establishment of the modern Olympics with countries from all over the world putting aside their political differences for athletic competition in the spirit of good sportsmanship and teamwork. Showing the origins of everything from the starting position for sprinters to the impulsive selection of the Star Spangled Banner as the U.S. national anthem, the story is filled with drama, wit, and unforgettable characters, sumptuously filmed and beautifully performed by a sensational cast that includes then-unknown David Caruso of “CSI,” one-time Bond Girl Honor Blackman, David Ogden Stiers, Angela Lansbury, and Louis Jourdan. It was a Writer’s Guild and Casting Society award winner when it was first released. It is a great introduction to the Olympics, a thrilling and inspiring story, and outstanding family entertainment.

Chariots of Fire This Best Picture Oscar winner is a classic, focusing on two runners in the first Olympics following WWI, both men of deep faith and integrity. For more about the real life of Eric Liddell, see this.

Stick It This underrated gem is a stylish, smart, and all-around terrific story about gymnastics and when and when not to follow the rules.

American Girl: McKenna Shoots for the Stars One of my favorite entries in one of my favorite series — I love the way this film deals frankly with issues like disabilities (learning and physical), competition, and friendship.

Prefontaine “Modern Family’s” Ed O’Neill and Jared Leto star in the story of the Olympic runner.

Race Jesse Owens thrilled the world and defied Hitler in the 1934 Olympics. This is an outstanding film, exciting, thoughtful, and beautifully performed.

“16 Days of Glory” Bud Greenspan is the master of the Olympics documentary and this one about the 1984 summer Olympics includes all-time all-stars Mary Lou Retton and Greg Louganis.