Great Movie Re-Watch

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Kindergarten Cop (1990)

Director:

Ivan Reitman

Writers:

Murray Salem

Herschel Weingrod

Timothy Harris

Starring:

Arnold Schwarzenegger

Penelope Ann Miller

Pamela Reed

Linda Hunt

Richard Tyson

Carroll Baker

Blurb:

A tough cop must pose as a kindergarten teacher in order to locate a dangerous criminal’s ex-wife, who may hold the key to putting him behind bars.

Thoughts:

Kindergarten Cop is too dark to be considered a straight comedy. There are comedic scenes, but there are too many people killed for that category. It’s kind of interesting. It never goes full comedy. There’s always this menacing undertone. Schwarzenegger nails his funny lines, though, definitely a better comedy actor than Stallone.

What really shines in the film are the kids. Whoever wrote the dialogue for them nailed it. The one kid obsessed with death, the other that likes saying penis and vagina, and of course the twins that say something their parents would never want them to share.

There’s technically a romance subplot, but it’s not worth mentioning. The bad guy and his mother are terrifying, not like zombie scary but leaning Umbrage scary. They’re not quite over the top, which adds to the menacing undertone.

I wouldn’t say Kindergarten Cop is a good movie, but it’s definitely entertaining and worth a watch, even if it’s just to experience Schwarzenegger’s one-liners.

Great Movie Re-Watch Update!

What I’m doing: I compiled a list of all of my movies organized by release year. Using that list, I’m re-watching every movie I own.

I’m finally finished with the 80s!!!! Oh my god, that felt like it took forever. There were many movies that I like in the decade and several that I’m ambivalent about. I really should get over the whole watching all of them even if they aren’t mine. (I’m not going to get over that). It took longer to get through this decade because my husband wanted to watch too many of the movies with me. I love watching with him, but he’s not up for a movie every night.

Several of the movies in the 80s were as good as I remember. Romancing the Stone, The Man From Snowy River, and Clue. I was also reminded how much I love Big Trouble in Little China and When Harry Met Sally. On the other side, some movies have not aged particularly well, and I’m unsure if I enjoy them as much as I used to. Namely, Raiders of the Lost Ark and Back to the Future. It’s sad when something you loved as a child isn’t as good as you remember.

I’ve been more critical while watching most of the films in my re-watch. It’s not something I intentionally set out to do. It just happened. I think it’s made my blog posts better, but it’s hurt my enjoyment of the movies. I don’t think I’ll be able to stop at this point, though.

There are a few movies in the 90s that I’m skipping. Under Siege 1 & 2 as well as Starship Troopers. There might be a couple of others, but we’ll see. They’re my husband’s and I really don’t like them.

I have just over sixty movies in the 90s. Considering how long it took me to get through approximately forty from the 80s, I have no idea how long this will take me. Very glad I didn’t set a deadline for this little project.

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure (1989)

Director:

Stephen Herek

Writers:

Chris Matheson

Ed Soloman

Starring:

Keanu Reeves

Alex Winter

George Carlin

Blurb:

Two seemingly dumb teens set off on a quest to prepare the ultimate historical presentation with the help of a time machine.

Thoughts:

I’ve watched Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure relatively recently. Still, I re-watched it. It’s such a feel-good movie that it’s hard to resist. It has a lot of quotable lines. It’s funny. There’s also time travel. It was made for me.

Surprisingly, it was a hit at its release. So many of my movies were slow burns, not finding their audience until years later. It’s nice to know that Bill & Ted have always been enjoyed. Hollywood, why can’t you make more lovable stoners?

Tango & Cash (1989)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

Tango & Cash (1989)

Directors:

Andrey Konchalovskiy

Albert Magnoli

Writers:

Randy Feldman

Jeffrey Boam

Starring:

Sylvester Stallone

Kurt Russell

Terri Hatcher

Jack Palance

Blurb:

Framed by their ruthless arch-nemesis, a mismatched LAPD crime-fighting duo has to put its differences aside to even the score with the evil kingpin who put them behind bars once and for all.

Thoughts:

The title and idea of Tango & Cash are awesome. You’ve got Sylvester Stallone and Kurt Russell as, basically, buddy cops. They’re taking down criminals in their own way until they’re framed by a weird old white dude that has a thing for mice. It’s a great premise, and the first half of the movie is fine. Sadly, the last half doesn’t make sense, and it’s clear that someone else directed it.

Honestly, reading up on the film, it’s a miracle it got made. They went twenty million over budget, and Stallone fired the director and the original director of photography. Supposedly he was also the producer, director, writer, and star all at one time. He wasn’t given credit for it, and the Wikipedia isn’t one I’d trust completely, so take that with a bag of salt. It’s possible he felt inferior because Russell is so clearly the better actor.

I’d say this is around the time Stallone’s career started to take a downturn. He still did some good movies, but they were more hit or miss. He’s a better actor than Schwarzenegger, but he’s got a type he can play, and he should stick with it. Stallone is definitely not a comedian. He should have learned that in Cobra, but he didn’t. His jokes did not land in Tango & Cash, and it made his character seem off. Stallone has the superior butt, but Russell has better comedic timing.

Apparently, Stallone is trying to make a sequel, but I don’t see Russell doing it. I didn’t read anything about them having issues, but I find it hard to believe that Stallone was a joy to work with.

Only one more movie left in the 80s!

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

The Great Movie Re-Watch

When Harry Met Sally… (1989)

Director:

Rob Reiner

Writer:

Nora Ephron

Starring:

Billy Crystal

Meg Ryan

Carrie Fisher

Bruno Kirby

Blurb:

Harry and Sally have known each other for years, and are very good friends, but they fear sex would ruin the friendship.

Thoughts:

When Harry Met Sally… is one of the best romance movies ever made. So many of the movies I’ve watched recently haven’t aged particularly well, but that wasn’t the case with When Harry Met Sally… Yeah, it would have been nice if college Billy Crystal hadn’t been so obsessed with sex, but it was a pretty good representation of a specific section of college man. Maybe not the same group as originally intended, but I’m sure many college guys still believe that men and women can’t be friends.

Watching the evolution of Crystal and Ryan’s relationship is awesome. It could have so easily been too dramatic, it’s the type of story that would work as a straight drama, but the comedy makes it the fantastic movie it is.

Both characters are filled with quirks, but I wondered if Ryan’s character was on the spectrum. Her whole putting the envelopes in the mailbox one at a time and how the sheets had to be a certain way when she slept seemed at least a bit OCD. The way she ordered her food takes picky to the extreme, and yet she had a freaking coconut cake at her wedding. That is one of the meanest things you can do to wedding guests. I will never forget the disappointment I felt as a child after suffering through a horribly long wedding ceremony only to be given yucky coconut cake. It was an unforgivable betrayal.

Crystal plays the same character as he does in most of the movies I’ve watched him in, but he grows. He goes from the college bro who doesn’t believe men and women can be friends to being good friends with a woman. Eventually, yes, their feelings change, but they are friends for a while before that happens. Friends to lovers is one of my favorite tropes. I married my best friend, so I love reading it happen to other people.

When Harry Met Sally… is famous for a particular scene involving Ryan in a delicatessen. I can’t listen to this scene. I don’t consider myself a prude, but it makes me so uncomfortable that I have to either fast-forward or mute it while it’s happening. I try, but it’s too intimate and makes me embarrassed, so I can’t watch.

On the other side of things, when Crystal has his declaration at the end, I’ve got a big stupid grin on my face, and I can’t look away. There’s a reason this film is on all the big lists. Not just romance lists, either. It is all around a great movie.