I watched Sixteen Candles again this morning. This is one of those films that I can watch over and over, and each time find something new. There are only a few movies that come to mind that stand up to repeated viewing as well as this one. I don't think it's the performance of Molly Ringwald. Some of her scenes seem forced. I think it's the characters around her that make the movie. Gedde Watanabe as Long Duk Dong steals every scene he's in. And Anthony Michael Hall had the role of his career as Farmer Ted. His dialogue and delivery, particularly in the auto shop scene with Ringwald, and the kitchen scene with "Jake", make him wise beyond his years. He might not have the experience, but this guy's been reading his Playboys, and studying his Sean Connery James Bond films. He comes off like Linus in Peanuts, only less religious, and tinier.

And then in the scenes with his fellow Geeks, Cliff and Bryce (early John Cusack), he's like Moe Howard.

The other movies that I can watch over and over?
Ferris Beuler's Day Off (more John Hughes)
Young Frankenstein
Caddyshack
Citizen Kane
Almost Famous
Raising Arizona
Miller's Crossing
The Hudsucker Proxy
Barbarians at the Gate
Kevin Smith's first five films
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
All That Jazz
Eight Men Out
The Usual Suspects
GoodFellas
Pulp Fiction
Reservoir Dogs
Bound
Judas Kiss (for great performances by Til Schweiger and Carla Gugino)
Risky Business (Tom Cruise's last really great movie, but this makes my list as
the film that introduced Joey Pantoliano to the world, as "Guido, The Killer Pimp.
...and it had an understated performance by Bronson Pinchot, which we
came to appreciate later as a true rarity.)

......another thing about Sixteen Candles....Grandma and Grandpa Baker remind me of my own parents. Especially Grandma. I swear they modelled this prude after my Mom. (wink)


Right Now I'm listening to Iggy Pop's Brick by Brick, mainly because I remembered that one of the songs mentioned Superman. (I got involved in a discussion of comic-book songs yesterday on www.slushfactory.com ) The song I was trying to remember was My Baby Wants to Rock and Roll.

Today, If I can stay off the boards long enough, I'm going to start pencilling out my next Jack Chick parody. I go to the MOCCA Comics Arts Festival in NYC in two weeks, and I need to have something NEW to Show. It's my compulsion, trying to have a new mini-comic for each show.

I'm also going to be dubbing a mixtape I got from Kathy Moseley, who does the zine Semi-Bold. She did a cool tape, all these punk and new-wave songs about names. fun listening.

This post has gone on long enough, so I will now leave you with this apropos line from the aformentioned Sixteen Candles:

"It's really human of you to listen to all my bullshit."