Saturday 9

Saturday 9: That Funny Feeling (1965)

Unfamiliar with this week's tune? Hear it here.

 

1) In this song, Bobby Darin admits he cares more for the girl than he should. What's something you have recently overdone (eaten too many potato chips, stayed up too late, etc.)?

I just discovered these pretzel bites. I love them. I really love them.
 

2) Bobby wrote this as the theme song for a movie he starred in with his wife, Sandra Dee. That Funny Feeling (the movie) turned a profit at the box office and "That Funny Feeling" (the record) made the Billboard Top 40. Can you think of another movie and song that were both popular? "So it's the laughter we will remember whenever we remember ..."

 

 

3) While Bobby had a successful movie career and earned an Oscar nomination, he didn't get the part he wanted most: Tony in West Side Story. While he could sing and dance very well, producers didn't think Bobby looked like a romantic leading man. What actor or actress makes your heart skip a beat? 

Josh Duhamel. He appeared in 5 seasons of NBC's Las Vegas and recently starred in the Netflix miniseries Ransom Canyon. I'm eagerly awaiting Season 2 because I like his face.

 

 

4) Elvis enjoyed watching Bobby perform, but understood that if he sat in the audience he would be a distraction. So Elvis always watched Bobby from the wings. Think about the last thing you saw in a theater (concert, movie, play). Were you distracted by another audience member? Was anyone crinkling paper, checking their phone, whispering, etc.? My movie theater has these fabulous recliners. If I'm there for an action movie, like One Battle After Another, I don't notice my fellow theatergoers adjusting their seats. But for something quieter, like the Downton Abbey movie, I could hear the footrests extending all around me.

 

5) When the editor of a teen magazine asked if he could cook, Bobby not only said yes, he offered up his manicotti recipe. What's your favorite pasta dish? (To eat, not necessarily to whip up in your kitchen.) I used to love the manicotti at La Cantina, a tiny restaurant tucked away in the basement of the larger, more famous Italian Village. It closed during covid and never reopened. Now the space is a hipster bar. I fear I will never have fabulous manicotti so cheesy and divine again.

 

6) In addition to cooking, Bobby's friends recall he loved talking about classic cars and baseball. Which of those three would you be most comfortable discussing? Baseball. I don't cook and I can't drive, but I love the Chicago Cubs.

 

7) In 1965, when Americans were listening to "That Funny Feeling," aspirin was the top over-the-counter pain reliever. You could get a bottle of 200 tablets for just $1. Is there aspirin in your medicine chest right now? Nope. I don't keep meds in the medicine chest. But I don't have any aspirin in the basket on my kitchen counter, either, and that's where I do keep my meds.

 
8) Also in 1965, I Dream of Jeannie premiered. The sitcom about a beautiful genie living in the suburbs was developed to compete with Bewitched, about a beautiful witch living in the suburbs. Which show do like better?

 

9) Random question: After a friend leaves your home, you spot a small, bound book on the floor next to your sofa. You flip through it and see that her journal fell out of her purse. It's mostly shopping lists and appointments but also includes personal observations, Once you realize what it is, do you close it and keep it closed until you can return it to her? Or do you continue reading? I hate to admit this, but I'd continue reading.