Movie rec request

[sasha_feather]

Hello friends! I thought I'd crowd source a request for films for a movie night with some friends. Our criteria are:

--Shorter movies; about 1.5 hours is ideal (this is a major sticking point and I'm not sure how to find shorter films)
--In English
--Live Action (not animated)
--No horror, major violence, or super-downer films
--Bonus points for women
--Drama, comedy, documentary, preferred

Comments

[lilysea]

But I'm a Cheerleader (1999) 1h 25min. Lesbian rom-com set in a "convert kids straight" camp, happy ending.

The Addams Family (1991) 1h 39min

Addams Family Values (1993) 1h 34min

Banksy Does New York 2014 - documentary - 80mins

[sasha_feather]

Thank you!!

[bibliofile]

Speaking of Banksy, there's Exit Through the Gift Shop, which is sort of documentary and possibly part fiction? (87 minutes)

Twenty feet from stardom (2013, 91 minutes) -- about backup singers. Haven't seen it, but I guarantee that the soundtrack is fabulous.

What about concert movies? Stop Making Sense (1984, 88 minutes, Talking Heads); one of the best movies I've ever seen. Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars (1973, 90 minutes, David Bowie); haven't seen it, though.

[spends an hour browsing through IMDb]


For reference, IMDB has an advanced search feature that includes lots of options, including running time: http://www.imdb.com/search/title

Thank you!

[sasha_feather]

Wow I didn't know about that advanced search feature!

I loved 20 Feet from Stardom and really recommend it. It was terrific.

[jesse_the_k]

YAYAYAYAYAY for that advanced search feature. My life will never be the same :,)

Also 20 ft from stardom makes me cry just remembering it.

[bibliofile]

Everything should have an advanced search feature! Yay.

[heliopausa]

Strictly Ballroom (1992) - fun, joke-y, dancing, romance. 94 minutes.

Best in Show (2000) - mockumentary comedy about dog shows. 90 minutes.

Muriel's Wedding (1994) - comedy-drama, strong on women. 101 minutes.

[sasha_feather]

Thank you!

[bibliofile]

OMG Best in Show is hilarious! I gave it to my aunt and uncle, and none of us can ever think about dog shows in quite the same way now.

giant list follows

[brainwane]

My spouse and I watch a few movies a month and he reviews them in the film category on his blog (including notes about racism, women characters, links to watch the very old movies for free online, etc.). All of these are in English, although a few are silent movies. All of them are under two hours and most of them are around 90-100 minutes (I've noted the ones that are more like 110 minutes).

* The General (1926), only 67 min
* Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
* Ball of Fire (1941), 111 minutes -- possibly the only movie I've ever seen that I specifically want to show to people interested in Wikipedia
* Clueless (1995)
* The Cheap Detective (1978)
* How to Marry a Millionaire (1953)
* A New Leaf (1971) [has some dark humor but you don't need to worry about it being a downer]
* The Girl Can't Help It (1956)
* Bowfinger (1999) [I remember not being super happy with the racial and sexual politics of this one but I still like it]
* The Italian Job (1969)
* The Big Kahuna (1999) [has NO women, FYI - more like a quiet play about three guys talking about work and life]
* The Ref (1994)
* The Jerk (1979)
* Seven Chances (1925), only 56 minutes
* Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (1957)
* Groundhog Day (1993)
* The Awful Truth (1937) -- I do not remember seeing this movie (maybe I didn't? and Leonard saw it without me? but he liked it)
* The Kids Are All Right (2010), 106 minutes -- has some tough stuff in it but is not a downer

Out of all of these I think Ball of Fire is the one that speaks to me the most, and Clueless is the one most likely to appeal to the people I imagine your friends to be (kind, can follow fast-paced dialogue and 80s/90s references, perhaps less into movies that are over 30 years old, not necessarily academically inclined, like seeing women characters foregrounded).

I only went back a few years in his reviews so there are probably more to be found in that blog category, but I figure this is long enough!

Re: giant list follows

[sasha_feather]

This is amazing! Thank you so much! Perhaps I should have said that this movie / dinner club is actually friends who are a generation older than me, but I don't think that matters really; your descriptors still apply to us. There are quite a few here that I have not seen!

[longwhitecoats]

A few of my favorites!

Run Lola Run (Lola Rennt), 1998. 1h 20m. A movie about postwar Berlin, free will, and running. Violence tw: a major character gets shot in the abdomen. Accessibility: movie is in German but I believe it's available with English dubs, if that works for you? There are a few brief (<30sec) animated sequences. One of my favorite movies ever ever. I named my old car after the main character.

Clue, 1985. 1h 34m. Based on the board game, but mostly a very silly movie. Does include a lot of (fairly bloodless) murder and dark humor about murder.

His Girl Friday, 1940. 1h 32m. It's been a while since I've seen this so I'm not sure how to give content notes or what you'd make of the main relationship, but I loved this movie when I was a kid.

Topper, 1937. 1h 37m. Another favorite from my childhood which I haven't seen in years. It's about two ghosts who haunt an old friend of theirs.

What's Up, Doc?, 1972. 1h 34m. This is a remake of Bringing Up Baby and is legitimately one of my favorite movies of all time. It makes fun of academia in a way I really appreciate. It's the definition of a screwball comedy & includes an amazing car chase scene. Warning: some of the initial comedy rests on one main character persistently & nonconsensually showing up in the other's life (as is the case in the original); the movie narrative doesn't play this as stalking but it might be upsetting for someone who has that as a trigger. Also contains a brief scene of a man trying to "seduce" a woman by being grabby which to me reads as rape culture-y.

Hudson Hawk, 1991. 1h 40m. I think I might be the only person who ever saw this movie?? It's not even a cult classic, but it should've been. Bruce Willis plays a singing cat burglar. I ADORE THIS MOVIE BEYOND ALL REASON. Warning: includes a scene of Bruce Willis non-consensually groping a woman which I do not like and find upsetting; also contains two pretty violent but short fight scenes and is otherwise a fairly bloodless action movie (explosions, off-screen deaths &c).

[sasha_feather]

Thank you! These look awesome. Most of them I haven't seen!

[were_duck]

Have you seen Twenty Feet from Stardom? Great documentary about Black backup singers from the 60's on. IMDB says it's 91 minutes long.

[sasha_feather]

Yes i LOVED it; it is amazing!!