Salon asks for the Best Family Films
Posted on June 2, 2008 at 8:16 am
I like Salon movie critic Andrew O’Hehir very much. He covers the less mainstream films, independent, foreign, and festival fare and I always enjoy his take on what he sees. He is on vacation this week and in something of a turnabout he has asked Salon readers for their suggestions for DVDs for his family to share. A lot of great choices are on the list already, from known classics like “My Neighbor Totoro,” “The Secret of Roan Inish,” “Yellow Submarine,” “Fantasia,” “The Court Jester,” “The Princess Bride,” “Time Bandits,’ and “The Music Man” to some more unusual choices like “Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein,” “The Sven Faces of Dr. Lao,” “The 5000 Fingers of Dr. T” (the only movie ever written by Dr. Seuss), and “The Point.” Take a look at the list to get some great ideas for summer family viewing and add your own favorites!
If Dad is in his 50’s, he’ll enjoy some of the television shows from his childhood collected in 
. It includes “Kukla, Fran And Ollie,” “Howdy Doody,” “Flash Gordon,” “Lassie,” “Annie Oakley,” “Ding Dong School,” “Time For Beany,” “The Paul Winchell Show,” “The Roy Rogers Show,” “Captain Z-RO,” “The Rootie Kazootie Club,” “Winky Dink And You,” “Super Circus,” “Andy’s Gang,” “The Cisco Kid,” “Sky King,” “The Magic Clown,” “Kids And Company,” “Juvenile Jury,” “The Pinky Lee Show,” and “Sheena, Queen Of The Jungle.” At least a couple of them are guaranteed to bring back memories. 
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(all with some mature material).
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or, if the kids are older, something more up-to-date like the 
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, the PBS series, is a great choice. Or, try 
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, the story of the legendary “Rumble in the Jungle” fight between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman. 
And if Dad is a music fan, he might like 
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was on display at his father’s hardware store there for 25 years. While he did not always play the good guy, he is best remembered for the way he exemplified the American ideal of decency, integrity, and unpretentious authenticity. And he was a genuine hero, enlisting in the Air Force (the skinny actor had to gain five pounds to meet the minimum weight requirement) and serving on active duty. He became a colonel and earned the Air Medal, the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Croix de Guerre and seven battle stars. In 1959, serving in the Air Force Reserve, he became a brigadier general.
In this gentle comedy Stewart plays Elwood P. Dowd, who explains his philosophy of life: “Years ago my mother used to say to me… She’d say ‘In this world Elwood, you must be oh-so smart or oh-so pleasant.’ Well, for years I was smart…. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.” Dowd has an invisible friend, an enormous rabbit-looking creature named Harvey, and Stewart’s interactions with Harvey (who is never shown) are so charming and convincing you may think you see him, too. You will certainly want to.
Stewart’s favorite of his own films (and also the favorite of director Frank Capra) is this Christmas classic about a man who thinks he has nothing until he finds out what the world would have been like if he had never existed.
Stewart and Capra again — this time Stewart plays an idealistic young man who is appointed to fill out a term in the U.S. Senate by corrupt politicians. 
Not as well remembered as some of Stewart’s classics, but this is one of my own favorites because it is the quintessential story of a multi-generational family vacation at the beach. Impossible relatives, sulky teenagers, and an even sulkier hot water heater in the rental house, this is an affectionate salute to the American family at play.
This fact-based murder trial has Stewart as a former prosecutor turned defense attorney, defending a solider who killed a man for allegedly raping his wife. Brilliant performances by the whole cast, including Ben Gazarra, Lee Remick, Eve Arden, and Arthur O’Connell, but especially real-life American hero Joseph Welch as the canny judge. Fans of “Law and Order” will love this one.
The other Stewart pairing with Kim Novak, Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” may be better remembered, but I think Stewart’s performance in this romantic comedy is often overlooked. Stewart is a publisher who falls for a sultry witch. Watch his eyes when he drinks the potion to break the love spell.
“You’ve Got Mail” was based on this charming romantic comedy about co-workers who think they are enemies because they do not realize that they have fallen in love with each other by letter. 
Stewart plays a young deputy sheriff who does everything he can to avoid using a gun in this classic Western.