Monday, October 17, 2016

Like This? Try These! #1

I'm starting a new series today, 100% inspired by Jessica Prescott.  She's decided she's willing to try watching "old movies," but she doesn't know what she might like.  And that made me think that, hey, she might not be the only blogging friend I have who's interested in broadening their movie-watching horizons.  Plus, I love comparing things.

And so, I proudly present the first edition of "Like This?  Try These!"  For each post (and I make no claims of planning to post them on any kind of dependable schedule), I'll pair one modern or famous movie with several classic or lesser-known movies that remind me of it in some way.  And I'll elaborate on them a bit.  Sound fun?  I hope so!



If you like Tangled (2010), with its spunky heroine forming an unlikely alliance with someone of dubious intent, and the two of them having various adventures, then you might like any of these:

+ Roman Holiday (1953) -- Princess Ann (Audrey Hepburn) makes a royal visit to Rome.  She's tired of boring royal receptions and visits with dignitaries.  She longs to find out what life is like for regular folks that aren't princesses!  And she finds out, with the help of a newspaperman named Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck).  He at first plans to secretly write an expose of what sorts of mischief the princess got into while running around Rome incognito, but then... well, let's say Flynn Ryder doesn't have the monopoly on changes of heart.  (This one is family friendly! Unless your family doesn't approve of characters drinking wine and champagne, getting into mild and humorous fistfights, and I think we see a freshly bathed woman wearing nothing but a towel at one point.  Still, I consider it clean.)

Cat Ballou (1965) -- A young woman (Jane Fonda) whose father has been murdered by wild west baddies seeks to revenge his death, so she enlists the help of ne'er-do-well gunfighter Kid Shelleen (Lee Marvin).  Quite a bit of western silliness ensues, but also a pretty heartwarming story of two outcasts helping each other out.  (This one has some mild profanity, western-style violence, drunkenness, and a bit of low-level innuendo.)

+ Romancing the Stone (1984) -- Famous romance novelist Joan Wilder (Kathleen Turner) sets out to rescue her kidnapped sister from the clutches of Colombian criminals who want to exchange said sister for a treasure map.  Joan teams up with snarky adventurer Jack Colton (Michael Douglas), who agrees to help her if he can share in the treasure, that sort of thing.  (This one has quite a bit of profanity, an implied sexual encounter, some violence, and innuendo here and there.)


So... have you seen any of these?  Do you have other recommendations of similar movies about adventurous heroines and their unlikely helpers?  What do you think of this idea?  And do you have any movies you'd like to see me try to match up for another edition of this series?

21 comments:

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    1. You're in luck! Looks like you can watch it all here on YouTube at the moment.

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    2. I finally got to watch it last night! It was GREAT!!

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    3. MC -- hooray!!! I'm so glad :-) It really is great.

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  2. Hey, whad'ya know . . . I started something!! Cool! :-) (And I do think this will be a great series, because you're very good at comparing things and you like doing it, so.)

    "Roman Holiday" sounds awesome, and I know many of my friends have loved it, so I'll check it out! It'll be cool to see how similar/different it is from "Tangled," etc.

    "Any movies you'd like to see me match up--" *thinks hard*

    Say, could you do a comparison post about the "Toy Story" movies? You know, movies about friendship, growing up, nostalgia, that sort of thing. (I loooooooooooooooooooooove "Toy Story." Case you couldn't tell.)

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    1. Jessica, yup! I think this will be fun. I've already got ideas for 5 more posts. And now... Toy Story, huh? Hmmmm. That's a good challenge!!! I love Toy Story too :-D

      In case you didn't see it, I put a link in my comment above to where you can watch Roman Holiday on YouTube right now.

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  3. I must try Roman Holiday! Between Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, it has to be good. :)

    You should definitely do more of these! I'm kind of curious what you'd recommend to Les Mis(2012) fans.

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    1. Meredith, another good suggestion! I'll work on that one too. And yes, you MUST try Roman Holiday. It is enchanting. You can watch it on YouTube right now!

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  4. How to Steal a Million.

    HILARIOUS. Plus, Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. Puts a different spin on an "adventure story with a scoundrel." ;)

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    1. Charity, I thought of that one. I was thinking I'd use it for a collection of heist films instead.

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  5. Does that work in reverse? I mean if I've seen and liked "Cat Ballou (yes to both), "Romancing the Stone" (again, yes to both, will I like "Tangled"? (Haven't seen Roman Holiday, yet.)

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    1. Quiggy, yes! I would think it would work in reverse too, though be aware that Romancing the Stone and Cat Ballou have more action than the other two.

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  6. Ok, waaayyyy too many people haven't seen Roman Holiday. WATCH IT NOW!!!!!

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  7. Great post series idea!! I haven't seen Cat Ballou, I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Roman Holiday and Romancing the Stone are great! I never thought of them being similar to Tangled, but they really are!

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    1. Thanks, Sarah! I'm having a lot of fun with this :-D Next installment will be up shortly!

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  8. Cool! Such a neat idea.

    I've seen Tangled and Roman Holiday, of course, but not the other two. But Cat Ballou is definitely going on my to-watch list because, you know, Lee Marvin. :) Can't wait to see what other suggestions you come up with for other movies.

    ~Eva

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    1. Eva, you will laugh so hard over Lee Marvin in Cat Ballou! He won an Oscar for it, and he actually has a double role, and yeah, he's 100% the best part of that highly entertaining film.

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  9. Ah, Romancing the Stone. Such a hilarious, cheesy movie that watches just like a romance book. Silly but with some sweetness! Haven't watched it in an age, but I do remember enjoying it.

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    1. Kara, yes, it really does read like a romance novel, or at least, like the romantic novels I've read (I've never read an actual "romance novel" like a Harlequin Romance or the types that Joan Wilder in the movie writes).

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