Blogversation 2012: Do you have a "go-to" movie?

Throughout this year, several bloggers will engage in a conversation here and on their blogs — asking questions of each other and responding. Others are absolutely welcome to join the conversation, as well. Learn more about the ladies of Blogversation 2012.
Today’s question comes from Kay Hoffman Goluska, who blogs at Pen on Pointe.  She’s @PenOnPointe on Twitter.
Do you have a “go-to” movie or movies, depending on the mood or the degree of emotional adjustment you require?

Kay Hoffman Goluska

Throughout my life I have had many movies that I turned to.  Strangely enough the first movie was “Charlotte’s Web,” where I would sob gut-wrenching-sobs when Charlotte dies.  It got so bad, my Mom would avoid telling me it was on because she felt I was torturing myself.
As a side note, I thought I was over my emotional upheaval from the plot and decided to read the book to my children.  Needless to say, they were consoling their own mother by the end of the book.  Apparently, the story itself moves me.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QH2vwaiEHRY]
I did get more refined tastes as I grew older. During my teen years, my go-to movie was “North by Northwest,” and from there I moved to “Gone With The Wind.” Nothing made me feel better than to see Scarlett picking up her pride, making a dress out of drapes and promising tomorrow was another day.
It was the actress that portrayed Scarlett that led me to name my daughter, Vivian.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9NPI9QeeDDc]
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq749BpsBTU]
I spent several years during college watching depressing shows that I can’t even bear to mention.  I did release a lot of tears, and thereby stress hormones, during that time.  My sister discovered “You’ve Got Mail” and still calls me to this day when Shopgirl rounds the corner and he knows it was her all along.  I could probably quote that movie to you, just by the number of times my sister has watched it.  Needless to say, I have seen it twice.
For the past decade, I would have to say I have had the same go-to movies.  My all-time favorite is “Sense and Sensibility” with Emma Thompson and Hugh Grant.  Ranked right up there is “Notting Hill.”  Those two movies I have probably watched over a dozen times each.  I have failed to mention “Jurassic Park” … only because I don’t seek it out, but find myself compelled to watch it each and every time it is on.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJMnm28vAqQ]
In any event, I am curious over your choices.  Who knows, maybe we might discover we have similar tastes.  At the very least it might give us some ideas for our next movie night!

I'm Colleen Newvine, and I would love to help you navigate your evolution or revolution
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7 Comments

  • Mike_Wish (@mikewish)
    Posted October 12, 2012 8:49 am 0Likes

    I love the movies mentioned above. My go to movies depend on my mood of course.
    Silly Funny – Blazing Saddles, Space Balls, History of the World Part II
    Romantic/Drama/Comedy – Same time next year, Somewhere in Time, Guess who is coming to Dinner? (Original)
    Action – Pulp Fiction, Kill Bill,
    All time Favorite – Willy Wonka (Original!!!) Also love the quotes in Rounders!

  • Margaret Y.
    Posted October 12, 2012 9:46 am 0Likes

    My go-to movie is Stardust. I can’t get enough of the magic, wonder, romance, and a shopboy who isn’t really a shopboy but just working in a shop for the time being.

  • Ruth Gersh
    Posted October 14, 2012 1:55 pm 0Likes

    Casablanca. The scene in the bar when they all start singing La Marseillaise would be enough on its own.

  • Mary Jean
    Posted October 15, 2012 2:00 pm 0Likes

    “Godfather”, parts 1 and 2. Whenever I’m flipping around and one is on, I stop whatever I’m doing and watch. So much story and character and plot is transmitted by a single gesture; I never get tired of it. I always said I wanted my wedding to be like Connie Corleone’s, with tons of food and booze and music and my dad handing out favors in a darkened room in the house. It wasn’t, but I could still dream. I feel a little bad about liking a movie so much that has so little in the way of female roles but, mercy me, I can’t help myself.
    “The Incredibles”. The best Pixar movie, hands down, and a great movie in its own right. Thanks to having kids, I’ve/we’ve watched it no fewer than a dozen times, and each time I notice something I hadn’t noticed before. Awesome animation, script, story, music, superhero gadgetry, characters, pacing, humor. This summer, we rented a minivan that had a DVD player and a screen that dropped down from the roof. We put on “The Incredibles”. Sitting in front, Lou and I couldn’t see it, but we LISTENED to it. And it was awesome, just with sound alone.
    “School of Rock.” From start to finish, I hardly stop chuckling. Everyone needs a movie like this in our lives.
    “The Apostle.” This may not qualify as a go-to, since I’ve only seen it twice, but it’s definitely in my top five. An amazing, amazing movie. Anyone who thinks Farah Fawcett couldn’t act should see this. And what is there to say about Robert Duvall (see “Godfather”, above)? Magnificent.
    I’m also a huge fan of GWTW as well.

  • Jennifer Worick
    Posted October 15, 2012 10:55 pm 0Likes

    The movies I will always stop to watch when they are on TV are Clueless, Die Hard, Terminator and Roadhouse. They are such guilty pleasures and so darn quotable. I think they also take me back to a certain time in my life when I first saw them. That said, the BBC version of Pride & Predujice with Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth has probably gotten the most play. I’ve seen it probably 35 times. I turn it on when I need something on in the background, when I need to watch Colin Firth dive into a pond fully clothed, when I need to hear language sing and eyebrows arch. Every genteel lady should have a copy close to the DVD player.

  • Eleanor
    Posted October 16, 2012 11:56 am 0Likes

    Okay, it’s True Confession Time: My go-to movie for comfort is The Lizzy McGuire Movie, starring Hillary Duff. Hillary plays a character who turns her middle school graduation ceremony into chaos, and then goes on a class trip to Rome hoping to forget about the whole middle school experience. While there, she is mistaken for Isabella, a singing pop sensation, and adventures ensue. LOVE IT! ALWAYS WILL!!!
    True Confession #2: I am partial to teen dance movies that are about reaching for the stars, overcoming difficulties, and going for your big dreams. i recently told my husband “The dialogue doesn’t matter that much in movies; I only care if there is a dance-off.” Some of the flicks that fall into this category are How She Move, Center Stage, Step Up. Okay, you get the picture.
    The theme that runs through my go-to movies are women going up against sexism to go after their dreams. In Secretariat, for example, Penny Chennery enters the male-dominated world of horse racing to raise the winner of The Triple Crown. I will be reaching for that movie for years to come!

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