Sunday Stealing

Sunday Stealing: The Movie Nut's Meme 

WELCOME TO MY WHEELHOUSE! Movies are one of my favorite things.

What was you first movie-going experience without your parents? A re-release of the original Disney Parent Trap. I was with my oldest friend. Her mom was in the hospital and her dad dropped us off at the movie while he went to visit her. 4th grade, perhaps?

Do you still buy DVDs or Blu Rays (or do you just stream them)? I haven't bought a DVD in a while, but I don't stream, either. (Buffering makes me crazy!) I DVR things.

What is your guilty pleasure movie? What about it works for you? Oh! Valley of the Dolls. I adore it because it's clearly an expensive movie, but it's sooooooo tacky. I love it so very much. In fact, I may watch this trailer again, just to hear Patty Duke scream, "NEELY O'HARA!" and to see her snatch Susan Hayward's wig.

You have compiled a list of your top 100 movies. Which movies do you like, but would not make the list? You're asking me for my 101st and 102nd favorite movie? I've never tabulated it that way.

Which movie(s) do you compulsively watch over and over again? What makes it so great? The Way We Were. (If you didn't see that answer coming, you don't visit this blog often.). Babs makes it great. As does the message that to thine own self we must be true.

Classic(s) you're embarrassed to admit you haven't seen yet? Vertigo. I'm told it's Hitchcock's masterpiece and I am a huge fan of the Master of Suspense. Yet somehow I keep missing it. I think maybe because I don't like Kim Novak.

Do you have any movie posters hanging on your wall? If yes, which ones and why? Not currently. But I do have old Hollywood glamour shots dotting my hallway and a poster of Marilyn Monroe on my bedroom wall.

Tell us about a movie that you are passionate about. Psycho. It's so well made. It's so daring, especially for the time it was made. Every time I see it, I discover something else and am impressed anew.

What is a movie you vow to never watch? Why? Any movie that puts money into Mel Gibson's pocket. I won't support anti-Semitic, racist misogynists. (I'm funny that way.)

Tell us about a movie that literally left you speechless. The most recent one was Gravity. I don't like the idea of infinity and weightlessness and floating uncontrollably. Just thinking about that movie is making me uncomfortable again. Which, I think, means it a very good movie.

What’s a movie that you always recommend? Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Behold the two coolest men ever.

Who is an actor you always watch, no matter how crappy the movie? I like movie stars, so this list is long. Judy Garland and Katharine Hepburn top the list. Of the current crop, I like Rachel McAdams. From The Family Stone to Spotlight, she's always so authentic.

Who is an actor you don't get the appeal for? Why don’t you like them? John Wayne. Because I find he lacks basic humanity.

Who is an actor, living or dead, you'd love to meet? Why do they intrigue you? Katherine Hepburn. I adore her. She blazed her own trail and left her mark. There's been no one else like her.

Sexiest actor/actress you've seen. (Picture required!)

OK, you are casting a movie, pick four or five actors you’d hire to be in it and why we’d love them together. Let's remake Holiday, with Emma Stone as Linda (the good sister) and Rachel McAdams as Julia (the bad sister), Michael Douglas (as their mean dad) and Matt Damon as Johnny (the free spirit they both love).

Who are your favorite actor pairing of all time? William Powell and Myrna Loy

Have you ever watched movies from a decade that was before you were born? If so, which decade is your favorite? I love movies and don't care when they were made! I suppose I'll go with My Man Godfrey. I'm old, but 1936 is still definitely before my time.

If you were to be in a movie would you rather play the hero, villain or anti-hero? Why?  I want to be in a 1950s Technicolor soap opera. It'll be set in a big office building. I want to play the secretary of a powerful businessman. I wear a hat and gloves to work every day, part of a wardrobe I couldn't possibly afford on my salary. I don't have a big part, but I make memorable wisecracks whenever I enter or leave the room.

I apologize for being glad

My niece broke up with her boyfriend. It would be more accurate to say he dumped her to get back with his ex. She was blindsided by this, and is heartbroken.

I, on the other hand, am glad.

I didn't like him. I found him to be a pretentious prick. I was also afraid they were going to get married. It worried me not so much because I was afraid they wouldn't be happy, but because I couldn't stand the thought of another weekend in the bosom of my family any time in the near future.

So, dear reader, do you hate me yet? Have I revealed myself to be a completely selfish monster?

OK, now that revealing the horror that is me is out of the way ... I'm also glad they broke up because this will be the first time my niece has been on her own. She went from her bedroom in her parents' home, to the dorm, to a shared apartment with her first boyfriend and now this romantic roommate situation.

For one who appears as independent and tough as she is, this seeming reluctance to be on her own bothers me. While I'm sorry she's hurting -- and I'm trying to think of a good way to reach out -- I'm also hopeful that she will learn a lot about herself, and her own resilience, as she copes with this heartache.

A Most Memorable Taste

BLM -- Chicago Tribune photo

I try to get to Taste of Chicago at least once every year. It's fun. The location is wonderful, right off the Lake and decorated by Buckingham Fountain. The food is delicious. What's not to love?

This year was especially memorable. My dining buddy was my nephew, who was proudly wearing one of his wardrobe of Bernie Sanders shirts. I love how informed he is, how passionate he is. He had intended to spend this time off school to work on Bernie's Presidential campaign and alas, that's not going to happen. But here's the thing: just like I'm a lifelong Kennedy girl (meaning I believe it's my responsibility to get involved, and to do what it takes to get the right things done), I predict that this Sanders campaign will leave its enduring mark on my nephew.

Because he's at such an impressionable age at such a turbulent time in our country's history, I was glad the day unfolded the way it did. A very large and vocal Black Lives Matter protest moved across the city, trying to make themselves heard by disrupting commerce on a busy summer Saturday. They hit major tourist sites, namely Millennium Park and The Taste of Chicago.

They marched. They chanted. They "died" (laying on the hot asphalt with their eyes closed). The CPD accompanied them, protecting them and us, without disrespecting anyone.

So we twice found ourselves in the thick of a protest on a hot summer day. He was transfixed. I tried to keep him moving -- even though I wanted to stand in place and observe and I suspect if it was up to him, we would have joined in -- because I am pretty sure that's what my sister/his mother would have wanted me to do.

I asked him how he felt about all this. Was he nervous? Scared? He responded by applauding.

I agree. What we saw today was a peaceful protest. America at its best. After the ugliness of the last week, it was heartening.

The protesters weren't thugs. The cops weren't Nazis. There was a dignity to both sides, and a sense of inevitability to the whole thing. We have a problem in this city, in the country, and we're never going to solve it without honest conversation. And we can't have this dialog if we keep denying that the problem exists. Dragging it out into the sun -- literally -- on this busy Saturday afternoon is a good start.