Guilty Pleasures Revealed!
This week, I conclude my three part series revealing six more films I consider my own "guilty pleasures" ... films I love to watch, sometimes for unknowable reasons, especially considering that putting a critical eye on them would reveal huge deficits in directing, writing, acting, or something else. But nevertheless, I find myself enjoying watching them, and since they would usually be films that I would be ashamed to admit to others that I actually liked, I call them "guilty pleasures" ... so here I present six more that I find myself drawn to for some strange reason or another.
THE OUT-OF-TOWNERS (1970)
The Steve Martin/Goldie Hawn remake from a couple of years ago was deplorable and not even funny, but the original, starring Jack Lemmon and Sandy Dennis, not only contains some incredibly funny moments, but also has a wonderful, paranoia style appropriate for the films of the early 70's. Jack Lemmon is wonderful as a man desperately trying to get to New York for an important job interview, and all the elements work against him in getting him there. He falls into one bad situation after another, and absolutely nothing goes his way. Lemmon was always so good in portraying the EveryMan, and he did so very well here, and the antics in the film remain so enjoyable to watch.
THE CANNONBALL RUN (1981)
Absolutely loved it as a kid, still find it funny today. This film came out when Burt Reynolds was one of the biggest film stars in the world, and it's even more fun than the Smokey and the Bandit films. Director Hal Needham decided to put together a film comedy based on a real life race that he used to take part in, and assembled a huge cast of popular comics and stars from the time into a madcap race across the country. Burt Reynolds and Dom DeLuise, always so hilarious when they're together, did very well in the lead. Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. were hilarious disguising themselves as priests driving a Ferrari. And was anybody funnier than Jack Elam as the doctor they enlist to ride in the ambulance? From his first scary appearance to the chords of some haunting music, every time he spoke, I laughed. Not only that, but seeing the film today reminds me of how I felt so cool going to see this film in the theater way back then, feeling I was real cool to see a PG rated movie like that one without my parents, the first time I went to see a movie with my friends.
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