As accurately predicted this past week was much too full of other forms of time wasting for me to view any movies. I feel slightly dirty for this. Let it not be said that I don't prioritize my time. I even managed to get some studying done. Goodness!
There's one movie I saw, though I've seen it many many many many many times before. Many.
The last time was probably when I was twelve.
Okay this is totally a case of looking through rose tinted glasses. It's impossible for me to be objective here. I've already made pretty clear that I've seen this movie dozens of times growing up. Thinking about it now I'm not sure that it was Robin Williams, Dustin Hoffman, or the story that so enthralled me. It was most likely the Lost Boys. Every scene with the orphans is a picture perfect example of what you wanted to do as a kid but never could. This is what is appealing about Never Never Land and the entire Peter Pan story, but Hook shows the kids skateboarding while playing basketball, getting into food fights with what looks like rainbow-food-colored mash potatoes, and utterly destroying pirates with eggs, marbles, paint guns, and other myriad inspired childlike contraptions. If you're ten years old you're going to love this. Now I have to be the grumpy grown up and comment on everything in the movie that doesn't hold up with my nostalgia. I remember Captain Hook himself being much more terrifying. Dustin Hoffman has grown on me as an actor as I've matured, even as I've realized that most of his roles are fairly standard fluff. He just completely lives inside his characters. It's interesting that he's next to Robin Williams as Peter Pan here since they're similar actors yet Williams is always seen as the oddball goof and Hoffman is considered a serious performer. This view might just be my own skewed angle on the way things are, but it's worth noting because I honestly didn't even realize before this viewing that it was Hoffman playing the titular role here (I also forgot that this was a Steven Spielberg joint). I always remember being bored at points when I was a kid (it's a long movie), but now I pick up on a lot of puns and references I never understood as a youngster. Yet the movie also seems like it might be muddling for a new viewer. If I hadn't known each scene and line before it occurred I'm not sure that I would have enjoyed the pacing. I'm nitpicking, though. I'm going to stop being a critic since I've demonstrated that I'm grasping to find fault with this because of my disclosed bias. I watched Hook with friends that seemed to share my love for the film, and this is really the best way to see old favorites. The movie isn't in my top ten favorites but I'll certainly have more fond memories watching this than any other movie. Bangorang!
I've noticed these getting longer. I'm either making up for not watching as many films this time around, getting a big head as no one's knocked me down yet, or just enjoying this much more than I thought I would when I started. Probably a bit of each. I'll work on being concise. And on watching something new next week.
Until then, friends: to the second star to the right and straight on 'til morning (I can't believe I associated this solely with Star Trek before last night).
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ahh, finally a moment to read your blog. i like. and i agree that hook (and pan in general) get more poignant as you age.
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