I decided to challenge myself and really open the doors of my film knowledge and take on “The Scarecrow Video Movie Guide”. It’s 808 pages of movies and movie reviews from some of the most knowledgeable movie people you don’t know. It’s a book put together by a staff that praises, and destroys, some of our favorites and not so favorites. You can read the rest of my series here.
Just a quick refresher: each episode, I’m going to tackle three films from three different categories. Two films will be films I’ve never seen before and one will be one I’ve seen before or own. For the new films, well, new to me, I’m going to review them like a typical FTS review using the TOAST Rating system. But, for the films I’ve seen, I’m going give a quick paragraph or two about why I like or don’t like the film. We’ll try to include the poster and trailer for each film. “….and here. We. Go!”
In this episode of Versus The Scarecrow, we take a look at films that have numbers in the title that just so happen to total the number of this episode. Clever? You bet it is! I’ll be looking at the surprisingly funny 10, the surprisingly depressing Five Easy Pieces, and I reflect on Four Rooms.
10 (1979) Directed by Blake Edwards. Starring: Dudley Moore, Julie Andrews, Bo Derek. IMDB says: “A Hollywood songwriter goes through a mid-life crisis and becomes infatuated with a sexy blond newlywed.”
“Whenever Mrs. Kissel breaks wind, we beat the dog.”
I had zero idea what to expect from this film. Is it a comedy starring Dudley Moore with some drama? Or is it a drama with some light parts provided by Dudley Moore? When I saw it was directed and written by Blake Edwards (Pink Panther Franchise, Breakfast at Tiffany’s) I knew I’d be getting a comedy/drama. But what surprised me was how well blended the film was. There was subtle comedy mixed with some emotional with some vaudeville tossed in, and it was all at the right beats. Nothing was too over the top despite the scenario and nothing felt out of place. I don’t want to say it was perfect, but it was pretty close.
‘10’ is about George Webber (Dudley Moore), a Hollywood songwriter who becomes infatuated with a woman (Bo Derek) he knows nothing about. He bumps into her everywhere. Even when George has a meltdown, and flies to Mexico to escape life for awhile, he finds the mystery woman there. His attraction to her is only strengthened by the relationship problems he’s having with girlfriend Samantha Taylor (Julie Andrews). And whether you know it or not, you’ve seen the films most iconic scene. Anytime a film or television show has a scene with a woman running in slow motion down the beach with a tan/beige colored swimsuit and beads in her hair, they are paying homage to the scene that put Bo Derek into the spotlight. Despite having seen various incarnations, I was still able to appreciate the scene for not only it’s place in the film, but for it’s place in cinema history.
The sets are great and the locations in Hollywood and Mexico really preserved the laidback 70s vibe. To me, the score wasn’t all that noticeable, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The writing was fantastic, complimenting the emotion with humor and wrapping it all up into a nice bow. If you’re in the mood for a classic, I definitely recommend seeing 10. Toss it into your Netflix queue or hit up VOD and enjoy.
