Posted on April 21, 2024 at 9:08 pm
Have a blessed Passover! Whether you’re on Zoom or socially distant in person, enjoy the holiday devoted to family, freedom, and courage. Dayanu!
The story of the exodus to freedom is for all ages. Alex Edelman has thoughts. (If you have not watched his special , “Just for Us” on HBO, please check it out.)
For family viewing: try It’s Passover Grover!, The Prince of Egypt, Rugrats Passover, and The Ten Commandments
Posted on December 13, 2023 at 5:09 pm
“The Family Stone” and “Love the Coopers”
These two dysfunctional family perennials sometimes get mixed up because Diane Keaton plays the family mother and grandmother in both of them and both are about families that keep secrets, disappoint each other, get mad about disappointing each other, and get on each other’s nerves. In “The Family Stone,” Sarah Jessica Parker plays a woman who is spending Christmas with her brother’s family. In “Love the Coopers,” Olivia Wilde impulsively asks a solider she meets in the airport (Jake Lacy) to pretend to be her boyfriend. The most entertaining part of that film may be the chance to see very early appearances from big stars Timothee Chalamet and Molly Gordon.
“The Holly and the Ivy”
One of the earliest of the film in this genre is a 1952 British film about a clergyman whose adult children are all hiding secrets from him. The outstanding cast makes this a very touching story.
“The Ref”
The darkest comedy on this list has Denis Leary as a thief who takes a bickering couple (Judy Davis and Kevin Spacey) as hostages. They start to drive him crazy and then things really get out of hand when the family shows up, including Glynis Johns and Christine Baranski.
“Nothing Like the Holidays”
A Puerto Rican family is thrown into a tizzy when they get together at Christmas and the parents (Alfred Molina and Elizabeth Pena) announce they are getting a divorce.
Almost Christmas
A widower gathers his family for Christmas. They drive each other crazy, but — spoiler alert — it all works out. The terrific cast includes Danny Glover, Mo’Nique, Omar Epps, JB Smoove, Romany Malco, and John Michael Higgins.
“This Christmas”
A secret wife. A loan shark’s goons on the trail. A sleepover with Santa. A cheating husband. These are just a few of the issues that arise in a big California family celebrating the holidays. The terrific cast includes Loretta Devine. Regina King, Delroy Lindo, Idris Elba, Lauren London, and Columbus Short.
Also: “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation,” “Home Alone,” “Almost Christmas,” and this year’s “Family Switch”
Posted on November 20, 2023 at 9:07 am
There are some great Thanksgiving movies for adults. And here are some for the whole family to share.
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
Dora’s Thanksgiving Parade
Squanto and the First Thanksgiving
An Old Fashioned Thanksgiving
My favorite Thanksgiving movies are “What’s Cooking?” with four families preparing for the holiday and “Pieces of April,” about a family, including a terminally ill mother, driving to an estranged daughter for Thanksgiving. Both are funny, touching, and wise. Wishing all of you a Thanksgiving filled with gratitude for being together, even the crazy parts.
Posted on September 1, 2023 at 4:00 pm
Sally Field won an Oscar for “Norma Rae,” a real-life story about a courageous woman who helped mill workers form a union. It was inspired by Crystal Lee Sutton, a courageous advocate for workers’ rights.
Doris Day plays a union worker who falls for a new guy in management but doesn’t lose sight of the seven and a half cent raise the workers are bargaining for in the rollicking musical, “The Pajama Game.”
“Made in Dagenham” stars Sally Hawkins and and Rosamund Pike in the true and very heartwarming story of the British women who went on strike when they found that they were being paid far less by Ford Motor Company than the men.
“Pride”
I love this true story, about a group of LGBTQ activists who support the 1984 miners’ strike in Wales.
“10PM-Midnight: Working the Night Shift” is the story of the people who keep things going while the rest of us are asleep.
“Lifelines in the Lockdown” is a CBS News documentary from the early days of the pandemic about essential workers.
John Sayles’ “Matewan” tells the story of mine workers fighting for safer conditions.
“Harlan County USA” is a documentary about a strike by mine workers.
“Bread and Roses” is based on the real-life story of a strike by undocumented janitorial workers, with Adrian Brody as their lawyer.
“Salt of the Earth” was inspired by an actual miners’ strike against the Empire Zinc Co. and the cast includes real-life miners who were involved in the strike
In “The Devil and Miss Jones,” a big boss goes undercover as an employee in his department store and learns some lessons about the workforce. The terrific cast includes Charles Coburn, Spring Byington, and Jean Arthur.
I’m excited at the possibility we might be getting a sequel to the classic “9 to 5,” starring the iconic Jane Fonda, Lili Tomlin, and Dolly Parton. Is there a better bad boss than Dabney Coleman? Or a better song than this film’s title sung by Parton?
Posted on July 4, 2023 at 7:37 am
Independence Day Will Smith, Bill Pullman, and Jeff Goldblum star in one of the all-time great popcorn pleasures. Aliens attack the earth and it takes a quirky engineer, a plucky President, and a heroic military pilot to save the day. What does that have to do with the 4th of July? Listen to the President’s stirring pep talk.
The Patriot There are many films about the Civil War, but not many about the Revolutionary War. Mel Gibson stars in this uneven but stirring film about a farmer pulled into the rebellion.
1776 I love this film, based on the Broadway musical about the signing of the Declaration of Independence, with almost all of the stars from the acclaimed stage production, including William Daniels as the “obnoxious and disliked” John Adams, Ken Howard as a dashing Thomas Jefferson, and Howard Da Silva as Benjamin Franklin.
And don’t forget Schoolhouse Rock!
