Hello again, Ladies and Gentlenerds! By now, you’ve all diligently viewed the entirety of our oh-so-meticulously compiled lists of lockdown-killing shows. You’ve behaved yourself, stayed at home, spent time with the spouse/rugrats/parents/pets/dust bunnies. You’ve developed new and fascinating ways to prepare Ramen. You were good to go.
And now (at least in Wisconsin), we find out it’s gonna be at least another month.
We at the Pullbox feel your pain…and so we’re back, with more safer-at-home commiserating goodness. This time through, it’s our Silver Screen Edition: one staff member per day will offer up their list of three, somewhat to very under the radar films we’ve enjoyed in forestalling our own boredom.
So without further ado, here’s Intern Extraordinaire Lily, with today’s picks:
I don’t know about you, but I am getting sick of Carol Baskin and Disney+, and need something different to watch. Since everyone is spending a little extra time with their families, movies are a great way to pass the time. Here are a few classics worth re-watching (or watching for the first time) and lesser known gems…
1) Tommy Boy (1995/ PG-13/ Available to rent on Amazon Video) After the death of his father, the owner of Ohio’s Callahan Auto Parts, son Tommy (the late, great, Chris Farley) has to try and save the company before his new step-mother sells it. Now he must work with his dad’s up-tight assistant Richard (David Spade) and go on a cross country trip selling as many brake pads and auto parts as they can before it’s too late. The film recently celebrated its 25th anniversary, and is truly one of my favorite movies of all time. If you were a fan of Saturday Night Live in the ’90’s or just want to binge a classic comedy, I highly recommend Tommy Boy.
2) Airplane! (1980/ PG/ Available to rent on Amazon Video) This spoof/parody movie tells the story of the craziest airplane flight in history. When a jet full of food-poisoned passengers and crew need someone to step up and land the plane, rogue pilot Ted Striker (Robert Hays) must work with his stewardess/ex-girlfriend Elaine Dickinson (Julie Hagerty) to land safely. Leslie Nielsen, Peter Graves, and more star in this outrageous farce, making for one of the great comedies of the (very early) 1980’s. No matter how many times I see it, it never gets old.
3) Richard Jewell (2019/ R/ Available to rent on Amazon Video) This docudrama recounts the true story of hero Richard Jewell, the security guard who discovered the backpack holding an explosive during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, and the aftermath after the FBI named him as their prime suspect. This movie is highly underrated—it was released during the season of blockbusters and was lost in the crowd—but totally deserves attention; this riveting and intriguing movie directed by Clint Eastwood is a must see.
So there you go—get to hunting for some Monday non-tiger-related entertainment, and we’ll be back tomorrow with my (Andy’s) picks! Until then, keep your feet and the ground, and keep reaching for the stars!
