Two Down 98 More To Go:
Before I go into why I chose Woody Allen's Manhattan Murder Mystery as my first movie in this project I'd like to take a moment to talk about why I decided to start this blog in the first place. I write this in the hours before the Lost series finale (I'm sure one day I'll look back on this post and think, "Man, that was ages ago and boy were we wrong about that smoke monster."). I started watching Lost in the sixth season with only recaps and Dave's Lost knowledge (and incredible patience) to guide the way. I finally decided to watch not out of curiosity, but because it was a huge pop culture event that I wanted to be a part of and because it would give Dave and me a scheduled time every week in our busy lives that we knew we would see (or at least really try) to see each other. It was our first relationship ritual. I am not sad that Lost is going to be over, but I am sad that our first ritual is coming to an end. Which is part of how this whole idea was born. I wanted a new relationship ritual.
When you first start dating it's about courting. The movies you watch together are dates and excuses to spend time the new object of your affection and hold their hand in the dark. It's something to talk about over dinner afterwards in between the telling of your life story thus far. The way you watch movies once you're in a relationship, however, those are your intimate moments as you mold into a real couple. As time progresses in the early stages of a relationship you have conversations about the films you've loved. Only to be met with, "You've never seen _____! Well, I'm going to make you watch that some time." Learning the movies that make up the fabic of someone you're dating is as important as that first mixCD. Even if you don't love every track, it's more about learning to appreciate the other person's tastes and seeing how a track fits into their lives. Dave might very well hate every movie I show him, but as long as he sits through it and tries to understand why I enjoy it, that's the give and take every relationship needs to survive.
I think it's more important to note that an undertaking like this for a person like me is a big deal. It's the kind of thing I would think up and wish to do, but never actually complete because I would get distracted by the next flashy idea that pops into my head. I told my friend Katie shortly after my first post of this experiment Dave and I had embarked on and she gave me the same observation I'm sure anyone reading this would think, "100 movies is a lot. Are you sure you guys will make it to 100? What if you get in a fight over movie #12 and then you break up." She's not wrong. It is scary. It's sort of like the time I knew Dave really saw a "future" for our relationship because he told me he wanted to watch all five seasons of The Wire with me. It's committment. Could there be a more enjoyable test of it? And as for a fight over movie #12, movie #47, or movie #99. Sure it could happen. And if a movie caused us to break up then we aren't the strong couple we thought we were anyway. But I think if that happens, we could just look back at all the other movies we survived together and realize that we still have it in us to keep going.
Which brings me to our first "fight" film #2: Manhattan Murder Mystery, 1993, Woody Allen
Dave and I stumbled into 1993 bender. (Jurassic Park, MMM, and we've been cheating What's Eating Gilbert Grape on Netflix Instant when we have the time).
SIGNIFICANCE TO ERIKA: I was 11 when I saw this movie in theaters with my parents for the first time. It was my first Woody Allen film and one of the first real "grown up" movies I went to with my parents on a Friday night when I had no plans. This movie memory stuck out for me because I was definitely the youngest person in the theater by at least 60 years (it was a theater in Delray Beach, Florida, retirement capital of the world) and I was able to get a lot of the jokes. The movie didn't bore me. In fact, despite the fact that I hadn't seen a movie billboard or radio ad and none of my friends had heard of it I actually liked it. This was a revelation for me. That good movies existed on the peripheral and I was smarter than most films gave 11-year-old me credit for. This movie also stars Alan Alda who I've always wanted as a second dad. It reminds me of my time spent in NYC and has made me realize I'd like to live in NY for a while one day when I'm an empty nester.
Netflix's Description of MMM:
When an elderly neighbor in good health unexpectedly dies, a married Manhattanite (Diane Keaton) is convinced the woman's death was no accident and ropes a few of her friends (Alan Alda and Anjelica Huston) into playing whodunit, despite protests from her skeptical husband (Woody Allen, who also directs). He doesn't believe it was murder, but he joins the investigation soon enough -- just to keep his marriage alive.DAVE'S POST SCREENING REVIEW:
"I liked it". I asked him if he would recommend it to a friend, "No, I don't think so."
OUR FIRST NETFLIX "FIGHT": Dave and I ended up getting into a disagreement not about the film or Woody Allen, but about Zach Braff who makes his first screen debut in this movie. This lead to a disagreement over Garden State. I have a serious distaste for it, Dave only a slight distaste for it that has developed over time. Dave believes that another amazing movie lives somewhere deep inside of Zach, but he's too afraid of failing to actually try to make it. Not that this couldn't be true, I personally didn't care because I've always gotten the impression that Zach is kind of an a-hole. I then went on to say that I thought I heard somewhere that he had bad breath and that I believe it. Dave got upset. "Why would you say that about someone you don't know?" I didn't understand why talking about a guy's dental hygiene would upset Dave so much. Dave is what you would call and all-around nice guy. I'm not. I'm judgmental (at times) and I could be more sensitive to other's feelings even if they are celebrities. Dave finally revealed that he had heard that Zach was a jerk too. Which only frustrated me more that Dave tried to defend him. But you know what? That's what I love about Dave: he forces me to see the world differently. He makes me want to do the right thing even if it seems no one else would notice that I didn't. He's good. He makes me want to be that good. And I like to think I help him realize it's okay to make fun of jerks sometimes (just not to their faces).
Up next week: Black Book (Dave's Choice)
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