(There are a lot of movie mentions on my blog this week. It wasn’t on purpose, but hope you enjoy)
Growing up in a world with landlines was an alternate reality.
Remember pay phones? Memorizing phone numbers? Checking the answering machine? Getting a roll of film developed? Never ever having privacy? I remember stretching the house phone cord as long as I could for privacy to talk to that boy, while my brothers made kissy faces at me. The thought of it makes me laugh now.
So many things today’s generation will never experience.
Meeting in the bowling alley parking lot at 9:00 p.m. on a Saturday night, because that was the only way we could be sure to know where our whole gang was.
Having no idea what movies were playing, so you chose when you got there.
Waiting. Always waiting. Waiting to be picked up for a date, and looking out the window for the headlights. Waiting for your parents to pick you up at school, practice, the movies, because there was no way to contact them. Waiting outside the school for your friend to get out of class so you could catch a ride home.
And always getting lost, because you couldn’t read a map.
The greatest irony in life is that change is the most consistent thing we have. You can count on it.
I like watching old movies, and trying to catch anachronisms. You know, like seeing a character in “Gladiator” wearing a watch. But I gotta tell you, I was today years old when it occurred to me that while landline phones in movies have become anachronisms, they actually played a role in advancing the plot.
In old movies, if the character is stuck on the phone, he’s physically stuck, like he’s tied to a stake in the ground. In old movies, the businessman couldn’t put the client on speaker so he could look up that account or grab a drink. He couldn’t talk on Bluetooth, or walk out to speak to his secretary. A young girl couldn’t talk to her bestie while driving to the mall or walking to meet her. Two lovers actually had to talk in their homes.
I love the old movie “When a Stranger Calls,” based on the premise that the babysitter is getting prank phone calls from inside the house. The remake with Camilla Belle was interesting, because with a cell phone, now the babysitter is no longer stuck in the house, but wandering the grounds. And while it makes the movie more exciting, I still like the old version better. What could be scarier than Carol Kane’s face as she stares in horror at that landline?
Let’s do some more.
My favorite scene in the movie “Jaws” is when Chief Brody is trying to get his deputy’s attention from inside the harbormaster’s office because he can’t put the phone down, so he throws small stones at the window to get the deputy to turn and face him; when he does turn, Brody waves him violently into the office.
I thought that if “Jaws” was re-made today (don’t you dare, Hollywood!), and the characters had cell phones, the scene would be lost. There would be no frustration, no pebbles, no violent wave.
“Goodbye Girl”: Marsha Mason talking to Richard Dreyfuss on the phone, looking out the window to watch him standing in the pouring rain in a phone booth. This is when she knows he loves her and is coming back. Cinematically beautiful.
“Terms of Endearment”: Emma talking to Sam on the wall phone in her bathroom, as she stretches the phone cord and shuts the door to get a little private time. During this scene the viewer is treated to a sweet moment when her son Teddy comes in the bathroom to pee, and she tells him not to flush. “But you told me to always flush!” She whispers, “Not this time!”
“As Good as It Gets”: The seamlessly perfect Helen Hunt talking to Jack Nicholson at the end of the movie- she wants to apologize to him for her behavior, and both of them on their phones in their private bedrooms is intimate. And the plunk of that phone getting set down on its cradle is so satisfying.
“Broadcast News”: Holly Hunt whispering to William Hurt on the phone in Albert Brooks’ kitchen, and Brooks says, “Can’t you pretend this is just a little bit awkward? You getting ready for this date?” The scene I’ve embedded is one of my favorite speeches of any movie of ALL TIME. ALL FREAKING TIME. I’ve always been a bit gaga about journalism.
“Say Anything”: Toss-up between the phone booth scene, where he utters the famous lines to his sister after Diane Court breaks up with him: “She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen,” and the scene when he has no privacy to speak to Diane Court, so he is nervous and pacing, and using the phone as a prop.
“Falling in Love”: Meryl Streep and Robert DeNiro are so known for their complicated roles and foreign accents, that people forget this beautiful, simple, sweet movie of two married people who tried to keep from falling in love, but could not. Heart-wrenching. At the end of the movie, DeNiro’s character Frank calls Meryl’s character Molly at her home because he is going away and he wants to say goodbye to her. She has to veil the conversation from her husband, but at the end, leaves the house anyway to see Frank. I couldn’t find the exact scene but here is the final scene where they both say “Fuck it,” decide they have one freaking life, and they’re going to be with the one person who makes them happy. Meryl Streep just couldn’t get anymore beautiful than she is, and I could watch this train scene a gazillion times.
“Breakfast Club”: The whole movie. Because if there had been cell phones, there would have been no conversation, except for comparing videos and memes.