Writing Wednesday: Movies

 

Writing Wednesday

Movies

 

One of my favorite things to do is watch movies. I probably do that more than I should, but, hey, it keeps me off the streets. I am a fan of older classic movies, and there are times when I have TCM on for a day or two at a time.

Don’t get me wrong, I do like new movies, but the classics have some excellent qualities missing in many of today’s movies. As a book, the most essential part of a movie is to have a compelling story. Without that, there is nothing there. Next, you need to have interesting characters. Again, without those, there is nothing.

I will pick on a specific set of films that really are not all that good, the Transformer movies. They are big on CGI for visual impact, and they even have a good looking woman wearing short shorts, but that is about all. There are other examples, but I think you understand what I mean. Explosions, action, and hot women are not a movie that makes me want to watch it. Sure, that series made a mint at the box office, but it was horrible.

There are great and bad moves in all eras, but the classic ones tend to have better stories and better characters than newer movies. Heck, how many classics have been redone?

There are numerous movies I can talk about, but I’ll pick one that has a great story and characters. Not to mention some killer dialogue. The film is “His Girl Friday.”

The story is simple, the ex-husband is still in love with his ex-wife, wants her back. How they go from that to the end is the fun part. This movie is also a romantic comedy. There are maybe 6 different locations that are in reality during the film, boring: offices, and restaurants, an alley, a police precinct. But, the character top-notch, and the dialogue is spot on. Sure, you have Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell, which helps immensely, but the story is excellent.

There is a scene in the movie where both Grant and Russell are talking on multiple phones in the same room simultaneously, trying to get a story to the newspaper. While doing that, they are correcting what each other is saying. It is gold. I tell you, gold!

I know it is all sort of hard to explain on paper. But, as an aspiring storyteller myself, I would rather be able to concentrate on the story and dialogue between two people that some monster chasing a person through a major US city with explosions happening all around.

But, anyway, I like to watch them help my creativity. Time will tell if they do impact me or not. For now, I can only hope.

Do yourself a favor. Tune in to TCM and catch a few classics. Then you will see what I mean.