#106. Cry-Baby (1990)

 

 

The great thing about John Waters is that, no matter how mainstream his movies became, that sense of ugly tastelessness remained.

 

Cry-Baby is probably his single most accessible feature. It has catchy '50s music, fun dance numbers, generally agreeable comedy, and a charmingly self-aware performance from Johnny Depp. And yet, while you're watching the movie, you never once forget that it was made by the guy who got Divine to eat dog shit.

 

This reminder is present in the campy visuals, the over-the-top line deliveries, the unusual casting choices, and the intentionally cringy atmosphere. You can decide for yourself whether these are inherently good qualities (I'll admit that they're not always my thing), but I definitely give Waters credit for maintaining that strange and repulsive voice. At the very least, it results in a product that makes Grease look downright restrained.

 

If you've never seen a Waters movie before, this is a pretty safe place to start (and if you end up finding it too weird, stay far away from anything else he ever made). Having said that, though, I don't think I'd place it among his best work. The story's not always super engaging, and it's slightly lacking in the edge that made his better movies feel substantial. 

 

Grade: B

#105. A Thousand Clowns (1965)

 

 

Whenever I start watching a movie about a zany weirdo who struggles to conform, I'm always worried that it's going to result in some kind of trite "we all need to learn to have fun every once in a while" message. But while A Thousand Clowns occasionally possesses that energy, particularly in regards to some of the whimsical editing choices, it actually takes the opposite route, presenting a man who must come to grips with the fact that he needs to find work in order to save his family. And I find that premise far more interesting and compelling.

 

You also wouldn't expect to see Jason Robards in this kind of role (on paper, it seems better suited for someone like Dick Van Dyke), but his glum, expressive face makes the character a lot more sympathetic than he really ought to be. And the relationship he has with his nephew feels charming and legitimate, especially on the few occasions where the mask starts to slip and you can see how much he really cares for him.

 

More than anything, though, there's just a sturdy balance of humour and poignancy here. And even if the presentation's on the dry and stagy side (which stands to reason, considering the movie is, you know, based on a play), the strong dialogue, convincing performances, and unique tone help to bring it all to life. 

 

Grade: A-

 

P.S. I'm kinda surprised that Martin Balsam won an Oscar for this. He's not terrible or anything, but I feel like every other lead makes a bigger impression than he does.

 

#104. The Living Daylights (1987)

 

 

Prior Viewings: 3-4

 

If you asked me, point blank, to pick a favourite movie franchise, I wouldn't have to think twice before answering: it's Bond. James Bond. I adore this ridiculous series, and have for roughly as long as I've been familiar with film as a medium (which is my way of preparing you in advance for a lot of unusually high grades). Like, were I to jot down a list of the hundred movies I watched the most when I was a kid, I'm dead certain that every one of the first twenty 007 entries would qualify. 

 

Well, make that nineteen. For whatever reason, I almost never returned to this one. Probably had something to do with the lame and underdeveloped villains, the downright convoluted (even by these movies' standards) plot, and my fraught feelings on Timothy Dalton. In any case, as recently as two days ago, I would've asserted that The Living Daylights was among my least favourite Bond adventures.

 

Not anymore. This past viewing finally made everything click for me. Yeah, the villains and plot are still pretty blah, but I was really taken with the tonal balance this time. It's just a solid mix of visual spectacle and grounded stakes, made even better by that killer opening, a strong supporting cast, generally solid pacing, and some of the best stuntwork in franchise history.

 

As for Dalton, I continue to find him a little uptight for this particular outing (his frigid presence gels much better with a darker tone, and we'd see in his one and only follow-up), but Maryam d'Abo humanizes him with perhaps the sweetest performance of any Bond Girl. The two are a cute pair.

 

Grade: A-

 

P.S. That Necros dude really needs to expand his musical library.

 

#103. I'm No Angel (1933)

 

 

Even before watching this, my first Mae West movie, I was certainly familiar with her screen persona: the attitude, the sexuality, the confidence, the blonde hair, the insane eyebrows. I wasn't totally sure whether these characteristics could remain charming for an entire feature, but this fear mostly subsided by the time I recognized her astonishing aura and obvious knack for wit. Like all the other gents in this woman's life, she quickly won me over.

 

As for the movie around her, it's definitely on the messy and uneven side (the first quarter's a crime story, the second quarter's a brief circus show, the third quarter's a romantic comedy, and the fourth quarter's a courtroom procedural), but I suppose that unrestrained pulpiness fits right in with her appeal. And even when some elements feel slightly underdeveloped (the romance is the most obvious example; Cary Grant doesn't appear until we're past the halfway point), it's all pretty entertaining, and the sharp dialogue and personable performances ensure that substance is never a concern.

 

My main takeaway, though, is just how daring this material is. When I hear those sexual innuendos and double entendres, I imagine how close they must've come to giving that Hays asshole a coronary, and it brings a smile to my face.

 

Grade: B+

 

#102. Meek's Cutoff (2010)

 

 

Apologies for stating the obvious, but just because a movie's slow, that doesn't automatically make it boring.

 

Take Meek's Cutoff, which is unquestionably the former. Its plot is incredibly sparse, there's very little dialogue (and half of it is so quiet that you can barely make out what's being said), and a good portion of the shots are lengthy wides. If you watch this thing and find little more than a host of beautiful landscape paintings, I totally get where you're coming from. But I actually thought it was quite thrilling.

 

Among other things, Kelly Reichardt really understands anticipation and expectation. She places these vulnerable characters in a dire situation, and uses restraint, as well as our familiarity with the genre, to wring a surprising amount of tension out of this simple premise. It's just a nonstop tale of impending doom, where we can always imagine just how south everything might suddenly go, and you don't realize until the (wonderfully ambiguous) ending that you've been holding your breath the entire time.

 

I'd be curious to see how something like this would hold up on a second viewing, now that I know where it goes. But, even putting aside the suspense, the movie's still a vivid and harrowing depiction of the hardships facing American settlers in the 19th century, and an effective look at the tedium of daily struggle.

 

Grade: A-

 

#101. Times Square (1980)

 

 

I kinda like it when movies are of their time, if for no other reason than because they tend to serve as effective time capsules, and you'd be hard-pressed to find a more 1980 movie than this. Times Square is caught right between the seedy, rebellious angst of the '70s and the poppy sellout excess of the '80s, and the result is something of a sweet-yet-sleazy punk fairy tale, one that showcases the allure of New York City without ever glamorizing it.

 

Granted, it's all pretty trivial and aimless and nonsensical, with large swaths of the runtime consumed by a whole lotta nothing, but I suppose "aimless" and "nonsensical" are quite apt for a story about adolescent frustration. And even if the uglier and messier qualities don't always feel completely intentional, this is one of those cases where the shoddy cheapness still contributes to the overall mood and attitude. I mean, that's essentially the whole appeal of punk in the first place, right?

 

Plus, on the rare occasions where the movie manages to combine its gritty street photography with that fantastic soundtrack and Robin Johnson's superbly believable performance, it reaches near-documentary-levels of authentic.

 

Grade: B

 

#100. Hot Rod (2007)

 

 

I think what we've got here is one of those movies that was "underrated" for so long that it became slightly overrated.

 

When Hot Rod first came out, it was trashed by critics, as SNL alum movies often are. But then, over the following years, it slowly found its audience, and now it feels like the praise has gone a bit overboard - particularly on Reddit. Seriously, go to any thread with a prompt like "What's a hated movie that you love?", and the top answers are almost always Grandma's Boy, Hook, and this.

 

I wouldn't go so far, personally. The tone and storytelling are pretty inconsistent, the Napoleon Dynamite presentation only occasionally works, and I've just never been huge on Lonely Island's brand of quirky and meta comedy. But I won't pretend that I didn't also have fun with it, and audibly laugh at some of the dumb and entirely unnecessary antics (with the two big standouts being Rod falling down that giant hill for close to a minute and the motivational montage suddenly turning into a violent riot).

 

Plus, as ridiculous as this movie often gets, there's also a sincerity to it that provides some emotional grounding. We laugh at Rod more than we laugh with him, but we still want to see the guy succeed, and that kind of rooting interest makes the humour and the characters a lot more likeable as a result.

 

Grade: B

 

And, with that, the first hundred is officially out of the way. Only 9,900 to go!