123. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

"After all, a lot of people are going to think we're a shocking pair."

Plot: When a young, white woman comes home from a trip to Hawaii with a surprise fiance, her parents are shocked to discover that he is a black man.

My mom practically forced me to watch this film for the first time a few months ago. I enjoyed it well enough when I saw it, but I think the fact that I was watching it against my will tainted it for me. I really enjoyed it this time around.

What I appreciate most about this film is that, even in its sappier moments, it always seems to ring true. When I watch it, I see my own mother and father in Christina and Matt Drayton. And I love that we see the maturity in John's 37-year-old character and the naivete in 23-year-old Joanna.

I love movies that make you feel, shall we say, claustrophobic? Just a bunch of people thrown into a room and reacting off of each other. With the exception of a few shots in the airport, two minutes in an art gallery, and quick run to a drive-in, the whole film takes place in the Drayton's home. This movie is nothing but a slew of conversations in the house and on the terrace, but it never gets dull. All of the characters are fleshed out so well in the series of discussions that I truly felt like I knew them all by the end of it. And one of my favorite touches: different interactions lead to different revelations, especially when it comes to Matt, who is stiff and formal with John, frank with his wife, and quiet and pensive with John's mother.

I guess I should be touching on the fact that this film was way ahead of its time by supporting interracial marriage back in the late sixties. But you guys already knew that, and I'm sure that's why it made it onto AFI's 1998 list (It didn't make the cut for the 2007 list). I, of course, applaud the screenwriter and director for their open-mindedness. I also give them a tip of the hat for doing so without any pretension or preachy-ness. Well played, gentlemen, well played.

It also goes without saying that Tracy, Hepburn, and Poitier were fantastic (as always).

Honestly, I can't really think of much else to say for this one other than I truly enjoyed it and highly recommend it.

Rating: 4.5 stars out of 5

2 down, 121 to go...

1. Citizen Kane

"I always gagged on that silver spoon."

Plot: When a media proprietor by the name of Charles Foster Kane mutters the word "Rosebud" on his deathbed, a reporter investigates the mogul's life to discover the meaning of the mysterious word. Spoiler Alert: It's a sled.

You're probably wondering why we started this adventure with AFI's #1 Film. Well, Citizen Kane is considered by many critics to be the best film ever made. But when I asked most of my friends and family what they thought, the response was overwhelmingly, "Eh... it's okay." I remained optimistic, but, rather than risk ending on a mediocre note, we decided to knock this one out first and end our countdown with #2 Casablanca (which we both love). Sadly, after finally seeing Citizen Kane, I think our decision was a good one.

Let me start with what I loved: The cinematography. If you've seen the film, you probably saw that coming. Welles used innovative camera angles and movement that rivaled Hitchcock's for their beauty and genius. From still diagonal shots from above/below and extreme closeups that seem to invade the viewer's personal space to moving shots such as a camera seemingly passing through a window, all of these techniques are still effective to this day. In addition, the high contrast and heavily backlit cinematography have become industry standards for any modern film that takes place in the '30s or '40s. I, like every other critic in the world, can only praise the visuals of the film.

The narrative style of jumping back and forth through time with flashbacks was also way ahead of it's time (no pun intended), and I applaud Welles for that as well.

But for all the beauty of it, I just can't find much substance.

Citizen Kane is one of those films that seems to get so caught up in symbolism that it detracts from the plot. As soon as we saw the shot of the "No Trespassing" sign on the fence outside of his dark, Gothic home I had a bad feeling that the sign would come to mean something. And it did. As did the sled and countless other symbols and metaphors. Okay, we get it. The film has layers. But is it that great of a movie? After all, don't we pay obscene prices for popcorn and soda and late-night showings to see something entertaining? Though I found the movie somewhat intriguing, I never really got drawn into it. I found the characters undeveloped and couldn't make myself care about any of them. Not a one. And, to be quite frank, I found the first 30-45min kind of boring. And I loved Terrence Malick's The New World, so that's saying something.

I hate to keep comparing Welles to Hitchcock, but their styles are so similar that it's hard not to. And, with Rebecca having come out only one year before Kane, it's hard not to compare the two. Both are set in a dark mansion inhabited by tormented men reflecting on some part of their past. But while Rebecca's Max gains our sympathy by fighting off the spirit of his first wife to move on with his next, Kane just seems to get what's coming to him. After spending his life accumulating wealth and trying to control those around him, he is left alone pining for his loved ones. Boo hoo. Maybe if you weren't such an ass, they'd still be there.

Don't get me wrong. I didn't hate the film. I liked it, and I'm glad I saw it. But is it the #1 movie of all time? No. Not at all.

Rating: 3 stars out of 5

1 down, 122 to go...

P.S. Speaking of Rebecca, why didn't it make AFI's list???

The List...

Here is the complete movie list. Every film will be checked off as we watch it, so feel free to come back to this page to see our progress.

[X] 123. Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner*

[X] 122. Toy Story**

[X] 121. Yankee Doodle Dandy

[X] 120. Blade Runner**

[ ] 119. A Place in the Sun*

[ ] 118. Do the Right Thing**

[ ] 117. My Fair Lady*

[ ] 116. The Jazz Singer*

[ ] 115. The Last Picture Show**

[ ] 114. Pulp Fiction

[ ] 113. Patton*

[ ] 112. Frankenstein*

[ ] 111. Mutiny on the Bounty*

[ ] 110. Goodfellas

[ ] 109. Bringing Up Baby

[ ] 108. Fargo*

[ ] 107. Giant*

[ ] 106. Sophie’s Choice**

[ ] 105. Swing Time**

[ ] 104. The Sixth Sense**

[ ] 103. Dances with Wolves*

[ ] 102. 12 Angry Men**

[ ] 101. Wuthering Heights*

[ ] 100. Easy Rider

[ ] 99. The Apartment

[ ] 98. Ben-Hur

[ ] 97. A Night at the Opera**

[ ] 96. Platoon

[ ] 95. An American in Paris*

[ ] 94. Titanic**

[ ] 93. The Manchurian Candidate*

[ ] 92. Unforgiven

[ ] 91. Close Encounters of the Third Kind*

[ ] 90. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans**

[ ] 89. The French Connection

[ ] 88. Stagecoach*

[ ] 87. Spartacus**

[ ] 86. The Wild Bunch

[ ] 85. Modern Times

[ ] 84. Rebel Without a Cause*

[ ] 83. Fantasia*

[ ] 82. The Third Man*

[ ] 81. All Quiet on the Western Front*

[ ] 80. All the President’s Men**

[ ] 79. Amadeus*

[ ] 78. From Here to Eternity*

[ ] 77. In the Heat of the Night**

[ ] 76. Forrest Gump

[ ] 75. The Shawshank Redemption**

[ ] 74. Duck Soup**

[ ] 73. The Birth of a Nation*

[ ] 72. Saving Private Ryan**

[ ] 71. American Graffiti

[ ] 70. The Silence of the Lambs

[ ] 69. Doctor Zhivago*

[ ] 68. Rocky

[ ] 67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

[ ] 66. The Gold Rush

[ ] 65. The Deer Hunter

[ ] 64. Tootsie

[ ] 63. Network

[ ] 62. Cabaret**

[ ] 61. Raiders of the Lost Ark

[ ] 60. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

[ ] 59. Sullivan’s Travels**

[ ] 58. Nashville**

[ ] 57. A Clockwork Orange

[ ] 56. Shane

[ ] 55. MASH

[ ] 54. The Searchers

[ ] 53. Jaws

[ ] 52. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring**

[ ] 51. Intolerance**

[ ] 50. Taxi Driver

[ ] 49. The Philadelphia Story

[ ] 48. North by Northwest

[ ] 47. The Sound of Music

[ ] 46. A Steetcar Named Desire

[ ] 45. West Side Story

[ ] 44. Rear Window

[ ] 43. City Lights

[ ] 42. King Kong

[ ] 41. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

[ ] 40. It Happened One Night

[ ] 39. Midnight Cowboy

[ ] 38. The Best Years of Our Lives

[ ] 37. Vertigo

[ ] 36. Bonnie and Clyde

[ ] 35. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

[ ] 34. Double Indemnity

[ ] 33. Annie Hall

[ ] 32. Dr. Strangelove

[ ] 31. The African Queen

[ ] 30. The Godfather Part II

[ ] 29. High Noon

[ ] 28. To Kill a Mockingbird

[ ] 27. Apocalypse Now

[ ] 26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

[ ] 25. The Maltese Falcon

[ ] 24. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

[ ] 23. E.T.

[ ] 22. The Bridge on the River Kwai

[ ] 21. The Grapes of Wrath

[ ] 20. All About Eve

[ ] 19. Chinatown

[ ] 18. The General**

[ ] 17. 2001: A Space Odyssey

[ ] 16. Some Like It Hot

[ ] 15. Star Wars Episode IV

[ ] 14. Psycho

[ ] 13. It’s a Wonderful Life

[ ] 12. Sunset Boulevard

[ ] 11. Raging Bull

[ ] 10. Wizard of Oz

[ ] 09. On the Waterfront

[ ] 08. Schindler’s List

[ ] 07. The Graduate

[ ] 06. Singin’ in the Rain

[ ] 05. Lawrence of Arabia

[ ] 04. Gone with the Wind

[ ] 03. The Godfather

[ ] 02. Casablanca

[X] 01. Citizen Kane

*Present in 1998 countdown but eliminated from 2007 countdown

**New additions to 2007 countdown

The Challenge...

My roommate and I have decided to dedicate the next [insert long period of time here] to watching AFI's Top 100 Movies. The trick is, AFI did two of these countdowns, the second adding 23 new films by giving 23 others the boot. We have created a single list of 123 films by averaging the ranks of the films on each countdown.

The rules:
1. Overall, the list will be tackled in traditional countdown order with only the occasional exception.
2. No distractions during the movies. That means no computer, no drawing, nothing. The films being viewed will get our undivided attention in ONE sitting. No stop-and-go.
3. At least one movie must be viewed per week.
4. EVERY movie gets a review, even if we don't find it worthy of one.
5. Each movie must be viewed in its entirety, even if we don't want to finish it.

That just about sums it up. I hope that you will join us on our little adventure. Lindsay's reviews can be read here.

Let the games begin :-)