"Summer Days Drifting Away": Movies That Capture That End of Summer Feeling

 By Michael Lyons

 Wasn't it just Memorial Day?  Now, we find ourselves bringing our pumpkin spice coffee to the beach, which can only mean one thing: summer is coming to an end.

And although this summer was, once again, filled with the challenges of the world that made it less than perfect, it is still somewhat sad to watch the carefree days of poolside bar-b-ques (even socially distanced ones) fade away for another year.

There's an indefinable sense of sadness that comes with summer's end, and there have been several movies that have perfectly captured this.

 

Stand By Me (1986)

A classic. Director Rob Reiner's adaptation of the Stephen King novella, The Body, tells the story of four adolescent friends (Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell, all turning in stunning performances), who go on a camping trip in the woods to try and find the body of a missing boy.

Celebrating 35 years this summer, Stand By Me becomes even more beloved and poignant as time goes by, with its powerful themes of friendship, facing one's mortality, and making the most of life.

Taking place over Labor Day weekend, 1959, the film also perfectly captures the sense of melancholy that comes (particularly in childhood) with the end of summer

 

Dirty Dancing (1987)

Yes, this iconic film, starring Jennifer Grey and Patrick Swayze, as, respectively, a young guest who falls in love with a dance instructor at a resort in the Catskills, NY, mainly occurs during the peak days of summer of 1963.

But, the film's finale, an end-of-season talent show, captures the vitality and innocence of a generation about to be thrust headfirst into turbulent times (as November of '63 would see the assassination of President Kennedy) and sets all of this against the backdrop of summer's swan song.

 

American Grafitti (1973)

George Lucas's film not only launched his career but it has also become a part of Americana, as it set the standard for nostalgic, coming of age stories.

It's the last day of summer vacation, 1962, for a group of high school graduates in California who are about to set off on different paths in life.  With an all-star cast that includes Ron Howard, Richard Dreyfuss, Cindy Williams, Harrison Ford, Charles Martin Smith, Candy Clark, and Suzanne Somers, among many, American Grafitti captures the feeling of an end-of-innocence, with a fantastic doo-wop soundtrack.

 

Labor Day (2013) 

An escaped convict (Josh Brolin) takes a mother (Kate Winslet) and her son (Gattlin Griffith) hostage in their home over Labor Day Weekend, 1987 in writer/director Jason Reitman's drama, which is slowly (as times sleepily) paced, but noteworthy for its end of summer backdrop.

 

Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)

Yes, the third Bruce Willis/John McClane action powerhouse (co-starring Samuel L. Jackson) was a summer blockbuster. Still, the film’s setting in New York City, during a September heatwave, provides a nice, unique setting (notice the "Back to School" signs during the film's explosive opening).

 

Weekend at Bernie's (1989)

Two insurance company employees (Andrew McCarthy and Jonathan Silverman) are invited to the Hamptons' home of their boss, Bernie (Terry Kiser), only to discover that he's been killed...and wind up dragging the body around to convince others he's still alive.

This cult comedy has gained notoriety and popularity through the years, primarily for its dark, can't believe-your-laughing-at-it moments.  And, the weekend that this all takes place at Bernie's?  That's right, Labor Day Weekend!  Just like Bernie himself, some just don't want to let summer die.

 

Picnic (1955)

William Holden is a down-on-his-luck drifter who comes to a small town in Kansas over Labor Day Weekend, falling in love with one of the most popular girls in town (Kim Novak) and unsettling the lives of a number of the other residents.

The film, set in 24 hours, features beautiful scenes of the town's Labor Day picnic, including a fun beauty pageant ritual that looks ahead to Halloween and fall.

Directed by Joshua Logan, who had also helmed the Pulitzer Prize-winning play on which the film is based, Picnic is a perfect example of classic Hollywood filmmaking and a glimpse into the comforting American summers of another era.

 

And so, now we pack away the lawn chairs and get ready to rake the leaves.  But before we do, a festival of one or all of these films would be the ideal (and eclectic) way to bid farewell to those "lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer."

 

 

 

Moonstruck: The 40th Anniversary of "An American Werewolf in London"

 

By Michael Lyons

 

Hollywood didn't know what to make of An American Werewolf in London.  Writer-director John Landis penned the script in 1969 and held on to it.  He then had box-office success with National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) and The Blues Brothers (1980) and finally unearthed his Werewolf, hoping to get it made.

It was a tough sell.   Many in the industry felt that the script had too much comedy to be a horror film and too much horror to be a comedy.  Luckily it was eventually given the green light and has become a favorite of many, who appreciate the fact that it's a comedic horror film and a horrific comedy.

An American Werewolf in London is very funny...it's also terrifying...and it's also unlike any other film.  Released forty years ago this month, its appreciation as a groundbreaking movie in several genres has only grown through the years.

The film tells the story of two young, college-age Americans, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dunne), backpacking in England.  They cross the barren moors and stop into a local pub, "The Slaughtered Lamb," seeking shelter from a rainstorm.

Here, they meet the suspicious, hostile townspeople, who cautiously warn the two to stay on the road.  When David and Jack leave, they wander onto the moors and are attacked by a giant wolf.

Yes, as it turns out, it was a werewolf, and David was bitten.  As he recovers in London, grappling with what has happened, he slowly finds that he is transforming into a werewolf himself, soon terrifying the citizens of London.

Landis takes what seems like a basic horror movie script and adds some unexpected elements.  The biggest of these is the humor.  A scene in which David wakes up naked in the zoo after his first transformation plays out with great slapstick comedy, as he attempts to cover up with balloons to get home.

An American Werewolf in London is also full of darker humor, particularly when David continually receives visits from the undead ("Have you ever talked to a corpse?  it's boring!").

Coupled with this are some truly scary, jolt-out-of-your-seat moments, especially a dream sequence, in which David envisions his entire family under attack by hideous, nightmarish creatures.

There's also a very contemporary tone that makes An American Werewolf in London something unique.  This is true, not just in how it melds two genres together, but also in how it uses music, such as "Blue Moon" by Bobby Vinton, "Moondance" by Van Morrison, and "Bad Moon Rising" by Creedence Clearwater Revival.

The last song is played over the soundtrack just before David transforms into a werewolf, a scene that would become a flashpoint for make-up effects in movies.  Designed by the legendary Rick Baker, the creature effects in An American Werewolf in London are still astonishing.  Long before computer-generated imagery, Baker used traditional make-up, costumes, animatronics, and puppets in startling, tactile, and terrifying scenes.

Baker rightly won the first Academy Award for Best Make-Up for his work on An American Werewolf in London (he would win the award a record seven times).

Released on August 21, 1981, An American Werewolf in London was a modest success, earning $62 million worldwide at the box office. Critics were lukewarm in their reviews. 

Now celebrating its 40th anniversary, it's been in the four decades since that appreciation for the film has grown.  By 1997, there was a sequel, An American Werewolf in Paris (with a different director and cast), which didn't fare well but showed audiences were eager for more of the story.

The film also influenced a generation of filmmakers, including Edgar Wright, who created Shaun of the Dead.

Although many were unsure of what to make of An American Werewolf in London before, during, and after its production, like so many movies, it was seemingly ahead of its time in its ability to deliver on so many levels.  

You could say that An American Werewolf in London was a... transformational...experience.

Sources:

IMDb

Wikipedia

 

 

 

Oddly Heroic: Film's Forgotten Offbeat Superheroes

 By Michael Lyons

A crazed psychiatrist, a mercenary armed with high-tech weapons, a thief who wields boomerangs, a half-man/half-shark...

...and these are the good guys!

The superhero stars of writer-director James Gunn's movie, The Suicide Squad, debuting this weekend in theaters and on HBO Max, is not what immediately springs to mind when one thinks of cape-wearing, "do-gooding," battling evil superhero.

Based on the DC Comic of the same name (which had been adapted once before in 2016) The Suicide Squad centers on a group of inmates the government recruits to save the world and soon become the strangest anti-heroes ever seen.

The Suicide Squad also continues a long-standing trend of movies about unlikely superheroes.  Many of these films have slipped between the cracks of our pop-culture consciousness...until now.

What follows is just some of these seldom-seen strange, "super" stars.

 

Condorman (1981)

A comic book artist (played by Michael Crawford - yes, the Michael Crawford, who would later star as The Phantom of the Opera on Broadway) finds himself dressing up and becoming the superhero he has created for his comic books.

Released by Disney, this superhero tribute/send-up was a critical and box-office disappointment that's gained more notoriety through the years as a forgotten footnote of a curiosity in the studio's timeline.

 

Mystery Men (1999)

Based on a series of comics, this film centered on "B" list superheroes, with somewhat limited powers, such as Mr. Furious, who uses his rage, the Blue Raja, who wields cutlery, The Bowler, known for tossing her bowling ball at criminals and The Shoveler, who...well..shovels.

With a staggering, all-star cast that includes Ben Stiller, Hank Azaria, William H. Macy, Janeane Garofalo, Paul Reubens, and Geoffrey Rush, Mystery Men is very offbeat, walking a delicate line between parody and tribute.

 

The Meteor Man (1993)

 Writer, director, and star Robert Townsend brought us this genial comedy about a schoolteacher (Townsend) who finds himself imbued with powers after being struck by a meteor.  Donning a super-suit, he becomes the titular hero, saving his community from a drug lord.

Like all of Townsend's work, The Meteor Man is filled with heart, humor, and a nice message about sharing one's strengths with others.

 

Hero at Large (1980)

In his first starring film role, John Ritter, during the height of his Three's Company fame, plays a struggling actor in New York City, who inadvertently thwarts a robbery while wearing a "Captain Avenger" costume for a film's promotion.

He becomes a real-life hero for the city but soon learns lessons about the price of fame, particularly when you aren't true to yourself or others.

 

The posters for Hero at Large declared: "Help is on the way!"  True of all of these characters.  Like The Suicide Squad, however, they may not be the help we want, but they're the help we've got...and they'll do their best to be super!