Double Feature # 4 - Skyscrapers and Everything!

We're back!! I apologize for the absence, I was busy graduating from college. FOREVER! I'm very happy about that. My plans for a post-graduation post went something like this:

"Oh boy! Time to get back to writing this blog that I started! I should really write a double feature about graduating from college!"

(Checks)

"I HAVE NOTHING ABOUT GRADUATING FROM COLLEGE!!"

Seriously! Not even The Graduate! I have seen it, mind you. Great film. It just "Currently does not own real estate on my shelf".

So what to do? Well, I'm very happy to report, that, in celebration of my liberation from the educational system, I am taking my first vacation in 4 years, and heading to New York City!

Now, there are a LOT of movies set in the Big Apple, many of which are in my collection. However, two movies very dear to my heart won out the honor of being in the New York themed Double Feature. First:

1. The Muppets Take Manhattan

 1984. Directed by Frank Oz. 94 Minutes.

Who doesn't freaking love The Muppets!? This is the first time they've appeared on this blog, and it won't be the last. Of the original Jim Henson full-length features, this is the one I actually had the least exposure to prior to my adult life. That might have been a blessing. Compared to the general zaniness of The Muppet Movie and The Great Muppet Caper, this movie seems to have a bit more of an adult plot and story. Not adult content, mind you (though Janet from the band does get a pretty great line in that vein), but a slightly more mature plot-line. The Muppet Movie is a road-trip, The Great Muppet Caper is a mystery/heist film, but this movie is more about heart. It also features some great songs. Although none are quite at the "Rainbow Connection" level, many are my favorites of the whole Muppet canon, like "Together Again" and "Right Where I Belong". There are some great moments here, among them my favorites of the rat cooking scene (decades before Ratatouille!) and everything involving the frog marketing team Kermit gets stuck with. All in all, a fantastic film, and a great portrait of the city.

However!

The Muppets Take Manhattan is not the film that solidified New York as a magical place to my young growing mind. That honor goes to our next film:

2. Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

1992. Directed by Chris Columbus.

This movie was HUGE for 7-year-old Scotty Mo. I even had that awesome Talkboy that was marketed along with the film. The talkboy also had a tape full of dialogue from the movie, so i find it even more quotable than the original (Which I will feature on the blog as well, and please don't be mad about posting them out of order!) These movies, as horribly violent as they are, are super fun to me. Home Alone 2 is a pratically a commercial for coming to New York and living it up. I myself plan on getting my picture taken in Central Park in a way so you can see the Plaza Hotel in the background. I don't plan on staying at the Plaza (or in a run-down duplex in renovation), and I PROBABLY won't make friends with a homeless pigeon lady (improbable, not impossible, mind you) but as of now, without ever having actually been, I expect NYC to be EXACTLY like this film. (I am also prepared to be SLIGHTLY disappointed on that front).

So, do these movies make a good double feature? Maybe not in May. I tend to place the Home Alone movies (1&2, anything after is dead to me) as holiday movies. However, as movies about New York, especially from a DVD collection that's at least 50% based on childhood nostalgia, they go together nicely. If you're planning on psyching yourself (or your kids) up for a trip to NYC, you could do pretty well with this.

Question for readers: What's YOUR favorite NYC film?

Favorite Moments:
1. "So I told him 'listen buddy, I don't take my clothes off for anybody, even if it IS artistic'."

2. "That was the sound of a tool chest...falling down the stairs..."

Suggested Snack:
Muppets Take Manhattan-style Clam Chowder, as part of $967 of room service.