MARY'S MOVIE CORNER

THIS CHARMING MAN: THE BEST FILMS OF CARY GRANT

Cary Grant, he was a legend from the Golden Age of Hollywood. He was one of the most handsome and stylish actors to ever grace the screen. When the word debonair is defined, Cary Grant should be pictured. He was the embodiment of elegance, whether it be his kind of English, kind of American accent or the dimple on his chin. His over 30-year career produced some of the most iconic films from the early days of Hollywood. For over a year, I have been watching films from Grant’s career. I have watched about 20 films, there are still many on my watch list. These are my favorite Cary Grant films.

CARY GRANT AND ALFRED HITCHCOCK

One of Cary Grant’s best collaborations was with the master of suspense, director, Alfred Hitchcock. They collaborated on four films. While Suspicion (1941) and To Catch a Thief (1955 featuring Grant with Grace Kelly, two of the most beautiful people on the planet in one of the most beautiful settings in the world, the French Riveria) are great films, worthy of a watch, Notorious (1946) and North by Northwest (1959) are Grant’s best films with Hitchcock and two of his best films overall.

In Notorious, TR Devlin (Grant) is a US government agent working to help bring Nazis to justice. He takes on the task of recruiting Alicia Huberman (an outstanding Ingrid Bergman), the daughter of a convicted Nazi war criminal, to as act a spy to help capture Alexander Sebastain (Claude Rains), a Nazi who escaped to Brazil. Devlin and Alicia fall in love as Alicia marries Alexander as part of the assignment. Notorious is an intense thriller and is Grant and Hitchcock at their best. The romance between Devlin and Alicia is tame by today’s standards but Hitchcock pushed the envelope at the time with the slow burn chemistry between them. Being released after World War II, Notorious was a relevant commentary for the time on the aftermath of the war for the Nazis.

In North by Northwest, Roger Thornhill (Grant) is an advertising executive who is mistaken for a government agent and is pursued by a group of spies. Along the way, he falls for a mysterious woman, Eve (Eva Marie Saint) who may have encountered Thornhill for dubious purposes. The chemistry between Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint is smoldering. North by Northwest set the stage for the James Bond and modern action films that followed. This film is the first James Bond film that is not a James Bond film. Who else besides Cary Grant could run from bad guys in a crop duster while wearing a perfectly pressed and tailored suit? The final showdown scene on Mount Rushmore is an epic scene and the prototype for action sequences today.

CARY GRANT AS THE ROMANTIC LEADING MAN

Cary Grant was also the perfect romantic leading men. Cary Grant and Irene Dunne collaborated three times playing a couple in a complicated marriage, whether they were the divorcing couple in the comedy The Awful Truth (1937) or a wife coming back from the dead in My Favorite Wife (1940). Their best was their final collaboration, Penny Serenade (1941). Roger (Grant) and Julie (Dunne) fall in love and marry. Over their marriage, they face many trials from a miscarriage and infertility, adoption, loss of employment, a tragic loss, and consideration of divorce. Penny Serenade was ahead of its time dealing with the impact of issues like infertility on a marriage. Cary Grant criminally never won an Oscar for any of his performances but was nominated twice. His heartfelt speech to the judge at the adoption hearing clearly earned him his first Oscar nomination. Penny Serenade is at times heavy on the melodrama and the ending is too conveniently happy and rushed, though this type of ending was very common for films of this time. However, Penny Serenade’s overarching theme that love can persevere no matter the hardship in a marriage, makes it one of Grant’s best romantic films.

Another great example of Cary Grant as the romantic leading man is the lovely, An Affair to Remember (1957). Grant plays Nickie, a playboy in a high-profile engagement. He meets Terry (Deborah Kerr) on a cruise in Europe. They fall in love, though they are with other people. They agree to meet six months later on top of the Empire State building. The day of their meeting, fate tragically intervenes and prevents the meeting. An Affair to Remember can be heavy on the melodrama at times but it is a quite charming and beautiful love story at its best. It became a prototype for romantic movies to follow, it was heavily referenced in Sleepless in Seattle (1993). It also established Grant as the perfect charming romantic leading man.

CARY GRANT IN COMEDIES

Because of the image that Cary Grant had as the debonair leading man, he didn’t always get the recognition for his comedic talent. He starred in many comedies in his career, the best example being Bringing Up Baby (1938). Grant plays Dr. David Huxley, a paleontologist, who is trying to secure a million-dollar donation for his museum. He is pursued by a flighty heiress, Susan Vance (Katherine Hepburn). “Baby” is Susan’s pet leopard. Like many of the “screwball” comedies of the time, the plot of Bringing Up Baby is ridiculous, and the jokes can be silly. However, it is a laugh out loud comedy. Cary Grant and Katherine Hepburn collaborated four times, all comedies. Their comedic timing played so well off each other, with Grant being the “straight man” to Hepburn’s ditziness.

Another of Grant’s great comedies is Monkey Business (1952). Monkey Business was directed by Howard Hawks, who also directed Bringing Up Baby. Grant plays Barnaby Fulton, a scientist who is working to develop a potion that will make the subject young again. One of Fulton’s test chimpanzees accidentally spills the test potion in the water cooler. When Fulton drinks the water, he starts acting younger. When Barnaby and his wife, Edwina (Ginger Rogers), take the potion in a larger dose, they regress to acting like bratty children including Edwina’s jealousy of Barnaby’s hot secretary (Marilyn Monroe). Monkey Business had the best stars of the time with Grant, Ginger Rogers, and Marilyn Monroe. It can be silly but is laugh out loud funny. It gives a humorous take on the effects of messing with nature instead of the darker science fiction films that address this theme.

DON’T YOU FORGET ABOUT ME: 80’S NOSTALGIA AND THE LEGACY OF THE BRAT PACK

I am a child of the 1980's.  I have a great feeling of nostalgia for the 1980's, in particular for the "Brat Pack" films.  These films were defining and influential for my generation.  Andrew McCarthy was my first celebrity crush.  I love his 2021 memoir, Brat: An 80's Story, where he recounted his memories of being an actor during this time.  Inspired by Brat, McCarthy decided to reunite with his Brat Pack colleagues.  The result is the recent documentary, Brats, which McCarthy directed.

Who Was the Brat Pack?

In 1985, journalist, David Blum, wrote an article for New York magazine, titled "Hollywood's Brat Pack".  In the article, Blum hangs out with and interviews actor, Emilo Estevez and is joined by Rob Lowe and Judd Nelson.  The term Blum used for the group of young actors at this time, the Brat Pack, was a play on "The Rat Pack", a group of actors in the 1960's.

There is debate on who exactly was included in the Brat Pack.  Blum's article mentions several of the young actors of this time including Tom Cruise, Timothy Hutton, Matt Dillon, Sean Penn, and Nicholas Cage.  I never considered these actors to be a part of the Brat Pack.  Just because they were young actors in the 1980's doesn't necessarily mean they were in the Brat Pack.  No actresses were mentioned in Blum's article.  This is my definition of who the Brat Pack was.  First, start with the cast of The Breakfast Club: Emilo Estevez, Judd Nelson, Anthony Michael Hall, Molly Ringwald, and Ally Sheedy.  Then add the cast of St. Elmo's Fire: (excluding Mare Winningham, with exception of St. Elmo's Fire, she really wasn't in any of the "younger" movies of the time) Andrew McCarthy, Rob Lowe, and Demi Moore.  I consider a "Brat Pack" film to be any film that had two or more of these actors.  

Brats, The Documentary

I had high expectations for Brats.  I did enjoy seeing Andrew McCarthy reunite with Emilo Estevez, Rob Lowe, Demi Moore, and Ally Sheedy.  It was lacking for the film that Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald, and Anthony Michael Hall all declined to participate in the film. McCarthy included interviews with people that I didn’t feel were relevant to the Brat Pack.  I didn’t consider Timothy Hutton and Lea Thompson to be in the Brat Pack and I am not sure why author, Bret Easton Ellis, was interviewed in the film.  The editing of the film was sloppy in parts.  The audience should not see the crew filming during the interviews.  

In McCarthy’s book, Brat, he seemed to have accepted his role in the Brat Pack when he wrote:

"While originally cast in disparaging judgment, the Brat Pack label has grown over the years to radiate a warm nostalgia for a time of youth recalled through rose-colored glasses.  

What there is no doubt about is that those 80's movies themselves touched something deep in a generation of moviegoers.

And a term that has carried as many contradictions as the Brat Pack has, and has existed in the extremes of passion over so long a period of time, is ultimately something worth embracing." (pages 212-213).

In Brats, he appeared to be bitter, as though being labeled as part of the Brat Pack had a negative impact on his career.  He interviews journalist David Blum in Brats.  It was truly awkward to watch McCarthy demand that Blum apologize for writing the Brat Pack article (Blum didn’t apologize).  Rob Lowe appears to shrug off the Brat Pack label in his interview in Brats.  I wish McCarthy had done the same and recognized that he got to be a part of some of the most iconic films of the 1980’s. 

The Legacy of the Brat Pack: My Five Favorite Brat Pack Films

One of the biggest influences on the Brat Pack films was writer and director John Hughes.  At a time in the early 1980's, when teenagers were portrayed in films as shallow and oversexed (for example, the Porky’s films), Hughes gave a voice to young people.  The characters in Hughes' films were relatable and their issues felt real to the audience.  Hughes' films were very class conscious.  Hughes' commentary on class was not just an economic class between the wealthy and the poor but the social class in high school, the popular and athletes vs the geeks.  John Hughes' trilogy of Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty in Pink were some of the best of the Brat Pack films.  The Brat Pack films also had outstanding soundtracks, something that was commonplace in the 80's but not really now.

Sixteen Candles (1984)- Sixteen Candles is Molly Ringwald’s first collaboration with John Hughes.  Ringwald plays Samantha, who everyone in her family forgets her sixteenth birthday due to her sister’s upcoming wedding.  Samantha also faces the adolescent hardships of being pursued by “the GeeK” (Anthony Michael Hall) while she is in love with the popular guy, Jake Ryan (Michael Schoeffling).  With Sixteen Candles, Ringwald’s Samantha became the relatable every teenage girl.  Also, I don’t care if it is un-PC by today’s standards, Gedde Watanbe’s portrayal as foreign exchange student, Long Duk Dong, gets some of the film’s best laughs.  Soundtrack highlight:  In the key end sequence with Samantha and Jake, the Thompson Twins' "If You Were Here" was the perfect closing.

The Breakfast Club (1985)- The premise of The Breakfast Club is simple.  On a Saturday, five high school students from different classes spend the day in detention.  The students are Andrew (Emilio Estevez), an athlete, Claire (Molly Ringwald), the popular girl, John Bender (Judd Nelson), the delinquent, Brian (Anthony Michael Hall), the nerd, and Alison (Ally Sheedy), the weirdo.  Through a series of humorous incidents and heartfelt conversation, the five characters realize that though class separates them at school, they really aren’t that different from each other. They all have many of the same hopes and anxieties of youth.  The characters perceptively observe that they don’t want to make the same mistakes as the adults around them and to hold on to their youth.  Alison makes the sad observation of losing youth and innocence, “When you grow up, your heart dies”. The Breakfast Club is one of the best teen movies ever made because of the development of each of the five characters that goes beyond the stereotypes of youth that each represents.   Soundtrack highlight: Simple Minds' "Don't You Forget About Me", one of the most iconic songs from a movie in the 80's

Pretty in Pink (1986)- Pretty in Pink was Molly Ringwald’s final collaboration with John Hughes.  Ringwald plays Andie, a high school senior being raised by her single, unemployed father (Harry Dean Stanton).  She hangs out with her eccentric friend, Duckie (Jon Cryer).  Andie crosses the class line when she starts to date Blaine (Andrew McCarthy), who is popular and from a wealthy family.  She and Blaine receive disapproval from both Duckie, because he is in love with Andie, and Blaine’s snobbish friends led by Steff (James Spader).  Steff brings snobbery to a new, hateful level. The final conflict of the film is whether Andie will end up at prom with Duckie, the obtainable, or Blaine, the fairy tale ideal.  Pretty in Pink works so well because it is not just a film about the prom.  It shows the anxieties of first love.  Like the Breakfast Club, it also has a keen eye for class, both in school and economic.  Soundtrack highlight: The whole soundtrack featuring some of my first glimpses into alternative music with the Psychedelic Furs, New Order, The Smiths, and OMD.  

St. Elmo’s Fire (1985)- St. Elmo’s Fire shifted the Brat Pack films from the teen films to a more grown-up film about young adults. The film follows a group of seven friends after they graduate from Georgetown University and enter the adult world.  Billy (Rob Lowe) is a musician who struggles with the responsibilities of being a husband and father. Jules (Demi Moore) still wants to be the party girl but is being crushed by the weight of financial debt.  Wendy (Mare Winningham) is a shy social worker, who still lives with her parents.  She is searching for independence.  She loves Billy, but the idea of a relationship is doomed because Wendy is too responsible for Billy.  Alec (Judd Nelson) and Leslie (Ally Sheedy) are a dating couple who have moved in together. Alec is ambitious in politics, shifting his loyalties from democrat to republican in the Reagan era of politics.  He is also a philanderer, who mistakenly believes that marriage to Leslie will make him faithful.  Kevin (in my favorite character Andrew McCarthy has played) is an aspiring writer.  He hides his true love for Leslie behind a veil of sarcasm. He is witty with a vulnerability, much like Matthew Perry would later portray in Chandler Bing on Friends.  Kirby (Emilo Estevez) is hopelessly in love with Dale (Andie MacDowell), a woman from college who is now a doctor.  Kirby’s infatuation with Dale is borderline creepy at times.  St. Elmo’s Fire has its moments of melodrama.  However, it works best in its portrayal of the friendships and how those friendships change as they enter adulthood.  The film is an iconic 80’s film and a defining Brat Pack film.  Soundtrack highlight: John Parr’s iconic 80’s anthem, “St. Elmo’s Fire, Man in Motion” and David Foster’s Love Themes.  

About Last Night (1986)- Danny (Rob Lowe) and Debbie (Demi Moore) are singles living in Chicago.  They have a one-night stand after meeting in a bar.  They try to navigate a relationship together and learn that hooking up is much easier than the complexities of having a true romance.  Abound sexy.  This is the only version of this film that matters, I have no interest in the 2014 remake.  Soundtrack highlight: John Waite's "If Anybody Had a Heart" and Bob Seger's "Living Inside My Heart".