Some Like It Remade

In the mid 1950s, Billy Wilder wanted to remake the 1935 French film Fanfare d'amour> but the screenplay of that film could not be found so Wilder and company procured the rights to remake the 1951 German remake of the French film titled Fanfaren der Liebe. In 1959, the American remake of the German remake of the French original was released and is recognized as one of the funniest and most perfect (despite its last line) movies of all time. In 1972 Sugar, the American musical remake of the American remake of the German remake of the French original, premiered on Broadway and ran for over a year before closing - thus ending the remake saga of Some Like It Hot.

---

Housebound (2014)

It's not often that I want to watch a movie again right after I've seen it for the first time but that's exactly what I did with Housebound, the fantastically funny horror film from New Zealand written and directed by Gerard Johnstone. Morgana O'Reilly and Rima Te Wiata are spot on as a mother and daughter forced to spend eight months together in their haunted, childhood home. In spite of (or because of) the story cues from ABC Movie Of The Week, it is an almost perfect movie.

---

Zoolander (2001)

I thought Zoolander (in essence, a comic take on The Manchurian Candidate) was an Adam Sandler movie so I never saw it. When I was informed that it was Ben Stiller and not the aforementioned, I found it immediately, watched it, and loved it! All white guys look alike.

---

Ted (2012)

If you can imagine a comedy in which overused 80s references masquerade as jokes, a romance in which Mila Kunis and Mark Wahlberg have no chemistry and a script which doesn't recognize that its story has two magical wishes (not one), you can imagine Ted, Seth McFarlane's attempt at something. If you can imagine characters having less substance than a teddy bear filled with cotton, Ryan Reynolds and Patrick Warburton as a gay couple and Norah Jones fucking, you can imagine Ted, Seth McFarlane's attempt at something. If you can imagine all this, you've got the most notable aspects of Ted, Seth McFarlane's attempt at ... oh, a first movie.

---

The Thick Of It (2005) & Veep (2012)

The Thick Of It (season 1), a television series involving British politics, gave birth to Veep, a television series involving American politics - both created by the seemingly indestructible Armando Iannucci. With Veep (season 1/2) there is the joy of seeing Julia Louis-Dreyfus playing another semi-distasteful, pseudo-likable, nuanced, cringe-inducing character (this time the Vice President of the United States) while The Thick Of It gives a less cringe-inducing (and more milquetoast) Chris Langham (as the Minister of Social Affairs) and throws in a learning curve in British politics as well (for this American anyway). Both series are very funny with great supporting casts, vivid characters, incredible NSFW epithets and storyline similarities but I did find myself laughing harder and louder while watching Veep - which must be the Louis-Dreyfus curve.

---

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell (1968)

Gina Lollobridgida and the extremely colorful art direction are the only reasons to see Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell, a none-too-funny comedy about an Italian woman who doesn't know which of the three American soldiers that she shtupped during World War Two is the father of her now sixteen year old daughter (Janet Margolin). The supporting cast (including Shelley Winters, Telly Savalas, Peter Lawford, Lee Grant and Phil Silvers) play the non-existent jokes much too broadly - both of which (cast and jokes) can be blamed only on director and co-writer Melvin Frank. Fortunately, Frank also hired Lollobridgida who is stunning and likable despite the sour script (which was used thirty years later as the basis for the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia.)

---

The More the Merrier (1943)

You can't go wrong with a picture starring Jean Arthur but The More The Merrier adds the handsomely hunky Joel McCrea and the obligingly ornery Charles Coburn to create an adult (pre-Three's Company) comedy about roommates and love. The classic George Stevens directed the picture (about a housing shortage in World War II era Washington, DC) which, despite its age, still works. Watch for the rooftop scene and the scene where Jean and Joel walk home from their first date - if only they made movies this naively erotic and oddly romantic today!

---

...My Little Chickadee (1940)

Not as classic as I would've hoped, My Little Chickadee is almost two movies in one: Mae West tames her men while handling a six-shooter, and W.C. Fields drinks his hootch while playing cards. The two Hollywood icons are fine but the script doesn't necessarily use their specialties to best effect. Still and all, if you're interested in Hollywood history, this is a piece worth seeing once.

...Dirty Love (2005)

I've always liked Jenny McCarthy's raunchy humor and, even though Dirty Love is way over the top in terms of it (some might fast forward past the scene in which Jenny buys some much needed tampons), I still respect the gal and her cojones. It's not a bad movie but it's not very good either unless, like me, you are a Jenny fan. Carmen Electra's acting as Jenny's friend is surprisingly the best part of this movie.

...Peggy Sue Got Married (1986)

Peggy Sue Got Married could've been better had the writing of the script been tighter. Peggy Sue Got Married could've been better had director Francis Coppola replaced Nicholas Cage because of his ridiculous decision to imitate Gumby. Peggy Sue Got Married would have been worse had Kathleen Turner not played the titular character; but that doesn't mean this is a good movie - it's just a good performance.