10 Favorite Movie Characters

A couple of days ago, I whined and manipulated until I got was graciously given a tag to do the Top 10 Favorite Movie Characters meme that's been burning up the interweb of late. The resulting list wasn't as hard to come up with as I originally feared but, to be honest, all I did was go through my DVD collection and just picked 25 characters that jumped out at me and narrowed it down from there. Not much agonizing over here. What I was most fascinated about by my final list was how it was a fairly nice round-up of my two favorite characters: the larger-than-life female and the damaged boy. Hmm....

Let's get started with this before we analyze that to death.

Apologies to the Runners-Up (in no particular order for a solid 25): The Tramp (City Lights), William Canfield, Jr. (Steamboat Bill, Jr.), Lina Lamont (Singin' in the Rain), Effie White (Dreamgirls), Maggie "The Cat" (Cat on a Hot Tin Roof), Erin Brockovich (Erin Brockovich), Go-Go (Kill Bill Volume 1), Sharpay Evans (High School Musical 2), Miriam Aarons (The Women), Bonnie Parker (Bonnie and Clyde), Norman Bates (Psycho), Mr. Aoki (Shall We Dansu?), Grandma with Crazy Pink Hair (Castle in the Sky), Regina George (Mean Girls)

Susan Vance in Bringing Up Baby
Quite possibly the greatest concoction ever to emerge from a screwball comedy. And you have to admire the lengths she goes to get the man she loves; that's what I call dedication.

Scarlett O'Hara in Gone With the Wind
She's a survivor, yo. I really wish I had her determination and drive to get everything she wants out of life, even if she has to lie, steal, cheat or kill to get it.

Margo Channing in All About Eve
This is going to be me in 20 years: the grand, aging diva always ready for every party with a martini in one hand and an arsenal of bitchy one-liners for unsuspecting guests.

Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard
She is big, and that's the way I love her.

Antoine Doinel in Stolen Kisses
Most people would pick Antoine Doinel in his teenage years in The 400 Blows, but I like to imagine my Antoine as the happy-go-lucky young adult in Stolen Kisses. It probably doesn't hurt that his character in this film is roughly the same age I am now and can relate to him on a whole new level than before.

Barbara Jean in Nashville
One of the saddest characters I have ever seen in any film. After all of her scenes, I just feel so bad for her I find it hard to concentrate on any other character with the same amount of attention.

Conrad Jarret in Ordinary People
Every time I watch this movie, and it's probably more often than any sane person needs to, I just want to reach out and comfort this poor guy.

Posh Spice in Spice World
Not only do her line readings ring with hilarity, but this character is quite obviously the starting off point for the "Victoria Beckham" character we all love so dearly (or at least I do).

Velma Kelly in Chicago
Fierce, monstrously talented and, in fact, can do it alone- what's not to love?

Robert Ford in The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
Strangely relatable and, yet again, another character I feel infinitely sad for everytime they appear on screen and feel this uncontrollable urge to just give them a hug.

Weekend Rental Picks

A weekly series in which I try to help emerging cinephiles reduce their anxiety by pointing them in the right direction at their local Blockbuster.

Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
With the election still on everyone's mind, Altman's multi-character drama set in the country music capital is a great film to keep you in the political mood. Don't worry, the film's not overtly, jam-it-down-your-throat political; it merely uses the presidential campaign of a third party nominee named Hal Phillip Walker merely as a starting point to get the characters involved with each other and, eventually, unites them all. No matter who you are, you will find a character (or two) you can relate with and/or find really fascinating (My favortites? Ronee Blakely's damaged country Queen, Barbara Jean and Henry Gibson's paternal King of Nashville, Haven Hamilton).

The Gold Diggers of 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933)
And while the economy is going to shit, enjoy this gem of a Warner Brothers musical which tackles the Great Depression head on with fabulous costumes, bitchy actresses, fantastic songs and breathtaking Busby Berkley choreography. A lot of people prefer 42nd Street, but I don't think that film can begin compare with The Gold Diggers of 1933, which hides a tough interior underneath all of the frivolities of a 30's musical.

The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
Didn't think the Soviets could make a moving romance? I didn't, well, at least until I saw The Cranes Are Flying a few months ago. I was absolutely transfixed by everything concerning this film: the deep focus photography is to die for, the acting is fantastic and the romance actually moves and doesn't just feel like an after thought. Now, if only Hollywood would take lessons from this film on how to make a proper romance and not stick us with crap like The Notebook.

Future Rants From the Number One Diva (And No Jill, Not You)

Hello dear readers! Sorry for the sporadic postings in the last week. It's been hard to find the time to write out the in-depth posts I want to. First of all, I've been catching up on older movies that I had taped while I was at school (expect some short and long rants about those). Second, yesterday I had an interview at Target and I was an offered a job there! I was so excited. Check me out as the new floor person/cashier! Third, I've been trying to read the newest Sophie Kinsella book in the "Shopaholic" series entitled Shopaholic and Baby as quickly as possible because I only have a week to finish it (long story) before I have to return it to the library. So, here are a few things you can expect in the coming weeks from me:

>After my interview yesterday, I picked up my copy of Dreamgirls (the 2-disc "Showstopper Edition" of course) and quickly watched it again last night. After seeing it again, I can't believe that it took such a beating from the critics and that fucking Babel was nominated over it at the Oscars (sorry, I can't let go). I'm planning a post about my second viewing of Dreamgirls and expect a lot of "oohs and aahs" (which Effie White don't so) about the film.

>I recently caught up on Ugly Betty and I realized just how amazing the supporting women of the show are. The ones I'm going to write about are flawless in their roles and elevate the show beyond it's "primetime soap" status.

>Ronee Blakely gave one of the greatest female performances of the 1970's in Robert Altman's Nashville as ill-fated country queen Barbara Jean, but after receiving an Oscar nomination, she vanished from existence and never rose to those heights again. Read as I chronicle this performance and the reasons she should be working again.

>Thanks to everyone who read/commented on my Oscar Bitch Fight of 1939. Expect my next one (about the men of 1939) in the near future.