' ' Cinema Romantico: Boy, This Movie Would Be Better With A Drink

Friday, May 21, 2010

Boy, This Movie Would Be Better With A Drink

My astute friend Dave passed along to me an article from the esteemed New York Times in which Wendell Jamieson opined on the virtues of pairing the proper drink with a DVD. A sample:

"There (Robert Mitchum) was early in one of my all-time favorite films, 'Out of the Past,' sipping bourbon in a little bar in Acapulco (or a Hollywood version thereof), waiting for the girl, thinking about how the day went away like a pack of cigarettes you smoked. But, baby, I didn’t care. I was thinking, man, that bourbon looks good.

So I paused Mitchum midsentence, went over to the liquor cabinet and then the freezer, and poured myself a Knob Creek on the rocks. And then another.

By the end of the film, whose labyrinthine, double-upon-triple-cross plot had baffled me with each previous viewing, I was even more hopelessly lost than usual. But so what?"


I could take this moment to re-advise Hollywood needs to get on the ball and put into production ASAP an "Out of the Past" remake with my official Cinematic Crush Sienna Miller in the Jane Greer role but that just seems like overkill. (Also, Hollywood isn't that smart. They would prefer to make the true story about the mythical Robin Hood. But I digress.) Instead I feel it necessary to follow Mr. Jamieson's lead. When it comes to movies and drinks, well, to quote "The Big Lebowski's" Karl Hungus: I am an expert.

"Casablanca." Paired with champagne. I mean, like, duh.

"Miami Vice." Paired with a mojito. I mean, like, double duh. (Also, during the film at least five times you have to say, in a Colin Farrell-esque gritty American accent, "I'm a fiend for mojitos.")

"Elizabehtown." To truly accentuate the southern flavor of this primarily Kentucky-based opus one might be quick to jump the gun and proclaim a mint julep as a suitable companion. Maybe it's because the mint julep takes so much effort or maybe it's because I'm off mint juleps after attending a Kentucky Derby party on the side of a Hawaiian volcano and sampling a mint julep I watched a gentleman concoct right in front of me in which he made like John C. Reilly in "Boogie Nights" pouring the bourbon - "Two-four-hmmmmm-whatever" - before adding a sprinkling of bottled water to the mix and then fixing me a glass which caused me to become intoxicated in 3.4 seconds. No, all you really need is a Maker's Mark (which presents itself on a tee shirt Kirsten Dunst wears in the film) neat. Specifically, neat, not the rocks, because "Elizabethtown" permeates warmth and drinking this bluegrass state bourbon sans ice will re-create that feeling in your stomach.

"Serendipity." A Jean Harlow. This "classic" romantic comedy is a bit too melliflouous for a gin/vodka martini so a rum martini will do just fine. It will also happily prevent you from wondering aloud where the hell John Cusack got that marker from in the middle of Central Park.

"Gone Baby Gone." The cheapest tall boy at the corner store.

"Lost In Translation." Brandy & ginger ale. Whimsical yet poignant this is the perfect cocktail to nurse on those secluded evenings when you most need this film. (Note: If no brandy is in the house a 4-pack of the Sofia mini blanc de blanc will do just fine.)

"The Life Aquatic." Campari on the rocks. I don't care if you don't like it. Drink it!!!

"His Girl Friday." A Manhattan. Preferably, two to three Manhattans, because the only way to ensure your mind reaches the same state as the dizzying, Olympic gymnastic-like conversations between Cary & Rosalind is to get soused via rye whiskey.

"To Have and Have Not." The Hemingway. When viewing this stone cold Bogie/Bacall classic what better to highlight the incomparable byplay between its two stars than with the drink named for the author who wrote the story upon which it was based?

"Last of the Mohicans." Over the years I have learned anything can pair with Michael Mann's masterpiece. Sierra Nevada, canned Busch Light, 18 year Glenfiddich, Bartles & Jaymes Raspberry Pomegranate, even SoCo and A&W root beer for times when you have nothing else readily available. Insert your favorite here. It all works.

So....what do you drink with your favorite films?

5 comments:

Wretched Genius said...

Sadly, I don't really have any drink/movie pairings. It's not something I've thought about before.

Having said that, I do associate the movie Resident Evil with an ice cold bottle of Budweiser. Back in my Cobblestone days, we were having the sneak of this movie, and so I brought in a 12 pack of Bud, put the bottles in one of the ice buckets, filled it up, and brought it into the movie with me. And, as luck would have it, that was also the night when the girl I had spent the last year pining for decided to take me up on my offer of coming along to a sneak. So I spent that movie in my own private theater, drinking cold beer while technically at work, with the girl of my at-the-time dreams leaned against me the whole time. And when we walked outside in the rain afterwords, we had our first real kiss (not counting some of the occasional drunk ones that had happened before). And after she drove away, I leaned against my car, still in the rain, and had one last beer, just enjoying the moment.

That movie also has almost no rewatch value. So it's not an association I get to relive very often.


Unrelated: if you ever have to (and I use the word" have" because no one ever "chooses" to) watch Meet the Feebles, do not have even a single drop to drink. Being drunk will only make things worse, and the nightmares may never fade.

My Other Brother Daryl said...

"Starship Troopers" and a bottle of Captain Morgan. Watch the Zygema Beach conversation between Johnny and his parents 40 times in a row, speaking along with them. Cry. Sleep. Repeat, if possible.

Or Oban Scotch and selected tracking shots from "Boogie Nights," "Goodfellas," and "Mystic Pizza."

Wretched Genius said...

Dear Blogger.com,

Please add a feature which will allow me to edit the comments I have posted, so that I'm not always filling Nick's comment section with misspellings. He is a wonderful writer who deserves better comments than the impatient, not-at-all proofread ramblings of a guy whose avatar is an inbred, mutant Baby Ruth enthusiast wearing a pirate hat. I assure you that I know the difference between "leaned" and "leaning," and also the correct spelling of "afterward." Now if you would just enable me to correct these mistakes...

Nick Prigge said...

Grammar errors, no grammar errors, that was such a beautiful story, Brad. It almost makes me want to watch Resident Evil with an ice cold Budweiser. Almost.

And I can't believe I forgot scotch & "selected scenes from 'Boogie Nights.'"

Rory Larry said...

Scotch and anything. Is pretty much an unbeatable situation.

"he mint julep takes so much effort", since when did simple syrup, bourbon and a mint leaf qualify as effort?