Friday, September 3, 2010

The Best Friends I Never Had...

I've always been cinema obsessed. Ever since I was a wee kiddie, I knew what it meant to get lost in a great flick. I would imagine what it would be like to be a certain character, to live a different reality, to experience adventures alongside my favourite actors.

Today I'd like to indtroduce you all to the best friends I never had...

Now & Then (1995)

Now here is a classic tale of friendship. When the movie starts we meet the ladies as grown-ups. We learn right away that these women are lifelong friends. We then travel back through time and get to know these women when they were in their early teens. Christina Ricci, Thora Birch, Gaby Hoffman and Ashleigh Aston Moore were Roberta, Tina, Samantha and Chrissy. These gals were livin' it up in the summer of 1970.

My favie shenanigans: The cemetary seance to contact Dear Johnny, Roberta and Scott Wormer's little romance (Devon Sawa played Scott.. made me tingly), Teeny and Sam's heart-to-heart in the treehouse, and the thieving of the Wormer boys' clothes while skinny dipping.

Top it off with a rockin' 60s soundtrack and you've got yourself a feel good friendship flick!

Favie quote: "The treehouse was supposed to bring us more independence. But what the summer actually brought, was independence from each other."



Strike (1998)

I saw this gem in theaters. I went with two of my best girlfriends at the time. We were 15 and boy crazy. Hence, this was the perfect movie for us.

Kirsten Dunst, Gaby Hoffmann, Monica Keena and Heather Matarazzo are  Verena von Stefan, Odette, Tinka Parker, and Theresa 'Tweety' Goldberg. Meet the Daughters of the American Ravioli, a group of boarding school girls who secretly meet to discuss boys over cold (stolen) ravioli.

Odette (Hoffman) is an outspoken, ballsy gal who plots to sneak in her boyfriend (Matthew Lawrence.. yummm) into the private school. The entire story really gets going when the all-girls school decides to go co-ed. The girls are split in their feelings about this change. Lots of boys pop up along the way, including one of my young crushes Vincent Kartheiser. Oh boy, I liked him more than a friend.

Favie shenanigans: The DAR meetings, Verona's 'Spritz the Pitz' speech, the big co-ed dance, and any scene with Lynn Redgrave as Miss McVane.

Set in the early 60s, this flick also boasts a killer soundtrack!

Favie quote: "Up your ziggy with a wa-wa brush."



The Goonies (1985)

Everyone knows The Goonies. And if you don't, what in the HELL is wrong with you? Have you been living under a rock?! It's the ultimate tale of adventure! And treasure! And of course, friendship!

Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton and Jonathan Ke Quan are Mikey, Brandon, Chunk, Mouth, Andy, Stef and Data. It's a mish-mash of sorts. Not your typical group of friends. But boy oh boy do they make a phenomenal gang.

You all know the plot, so I'm moving on to my favie shenanigans: the attic hunting (where the adventure begins), the organ trap, Sloth and Chunk's interactions, and the final showdown with the Fratelli's on One-Eyed Willie's ship.

Favie quote: "Don't you realize? The next time you see sky, it'll be over another town. The next time you take a test, it'll be in some other school. Our parents, they want the best of stuff for us. But right now, they got to do what's right for them. Because it's their time. Their time! Up there! Down here, it's our time. It's our time down here."



The Sandlot (1993)

This is one of my all-time favie flicks. And it happens to fit into my 'lil theme I got goin' here. Haven't seen it? Well, you should. It's an amazing story about baseball, childhood, and... friendship!

Meet Smalls, Benjamin, Ham, Squints, Yeah-Yeah, Kenny, Grover, Repeat, and Timmy. The Sandlot is their hangout. Baseball is their passion. Smalls moves to town and is desperate to make friends. More of an 'indoor' kid, Smalls struggles to fit in with the baseball lovin' crew in the neighby. But he slowly makes his way in and after getting to know the game, offers up his stepdad's special baseball for an afternoon game.

What Smalls doesn't realize is that the ball was autographed by Babe Ruth. The ball ends up in Mr. Mertle's (James Earl Jones) backyard. That ain't the worst part. Mr. Mertle has a dog the boys have dubbed 'The Beast'. Reteiving the ball becomes the biggest 'pickle' any of the boys has ever been in. Cue shenanigans...

My favie shenanigans: Smalls' first time playing catch, the treehouse camp-out, Benny's dream where he is visited by Babe Ruth, Squint's first kiss and The Beast's chase scene.

Favie quote: "We all lived in the neighborhood for a couple more years-mostly through junior high school-and every summer was great. But none of them ever came close to that first one. When one guy would move away, we never replaced him on the team with anyone else. We just kept the game going like he was still there."


Stand by Me (1986)

Finally, I'd like to talk about a little movie I grew up watching... a movie a lot of people grew up watching. This movie, for me, is one of the best stories about friendship and coming of age. It's classic.

Wil Wheaton, River Phoenix, Corey Feldman, and Jerry O'Connell are Gordie Lachance, Chris Chambers, Teddy Duchamp, and Vern Tessio, four small town kids out to find the missing Ray Brower. They pack their things and travel by foot on their journey to find the missing local. The dialogue is amazing, the acting is incredible (child actors ain't what they used to be!) and the story is powerful.

Favie shenanigans: the game of chicken on the railroad tracks, the campfire scene, the leech fiasco, and of course, the grossest pie eating contest of all time!

Favie quote: "I never had any friends later on like the ones I had when I was twelve. Jesus, does anyone?"


Honourable Mentions:
A League of Their Own (1992)
Sisterhood of the Travelling Pants (2005)

4 comments:

Jen said...

As I was going through this list, I was hoping you would say Stand by me. I love that movie. I need to re-watch Now and Then too.

Ms.Grump said...

"Scott, if you tell anyone about this...I will beat the shit out of you." LOVE!

CMrok93 said...

Good list! I would also think of characters from Kevin Smith movies too, they just seem fun, and can have a great time anywhere.

Chantale said...

CMrok93 - I definitely would have included some of the Kevin Smith characters, but I didn't discover the View Askewniverse until I was in my late teens.

The 'friends' I chose for this post are special because I feel like I grew up with them. I mean that in the most non-delusional, mentally healthy way :)