i'm old-fashioned

i have a thing for old movies. well, more a deep-seeded love affair. i am a girl who owns upwards of 200 movies, and i'd wager that at least half of them were made before 1965. tonight's old movie is the original father of the bride.

please ignore the awkwardness of that particular photo. we all know the 50's were an odd time, when it would have been perfectly acceptable for spencer tracy to hand-paddle his lovely daughter, elizabeth taylor. the silly, cheesecake-esque look on her face would've been absolutely in vogue as well. i promise. no monkey business.

i think spencer tracy was the tip-top of screen actors. not just of his generation, but ever. he's hilarious as the bumbling everyman-- father of the bride, woman of the year, adam's rib--and always sincere and touching in his more emotional roles--boys town, guess who's coming to dinner. i just want to squeeze him! his well-documented affair with katharine hepburn is one of my favorite hollywood love stories. sigh. we just don't make 'em like him anymore. maybe tom hanks will evolve into that, if he stops making movies based on dan brown books and reacquaints himself with his sincere and charming goofiness.

up was my absolute favorite movie of last year, and i think part of it has to do with the more than passing resemblance that carl frederickson, crotchety old man prototype, bears to good ol' spence.

well, i loved spence's doppleganger and that montage at the beginning of the film. you know the one. the one that makes everyone--including my 21-year-old, clint-eastwood-loving boyfriend--cry like wee babes. i don't think you get that much honest sentiment in today's films. people are afraid of coming off as too schmaltzy: emotion makes people uncomfortable, especially in an environment where media is meant to distract rather than connect.

maybe that's why i love spencer tracy and old hollywood in general. the movies were intelligent, witty, and maybe a little bit soppy when it came to good old-fashioned sentimentality. there was soft-lighting and romantic dialogue, and there didn't have to be irony. it's wonderful.

if you'll excuse me, i think i'll go watch the movie. if you need me, i'll be the one day-dreaming about what it must be like to look like young elizabeth taylor.