Our family loves a movie night. We probably have one at least once a week. Sometimes we all curl up on the giant chair in the living room, and sometimes we venture out to the back porch to watch a flick al fresco. Sometimes my husband sleeps through the whole thing.
I usually pop a big batch of popcorn the old-fashioned way (on the stovetop!) before the show. I like to use coconut oil to pop the kernels in our giant stock pot. It feels somewhat more virtuous than microwave popcorn, and it’s freaking delicious. Plus it pairs great with Sauvingon Blanc. Bonus.
One of the most beautiful things about movie night is that, once everyone is settled with their respective bowls of popcorn and the movie selection has been negotiated, you are virtually guaranteed two blissful hours without sibling squabbles.
Our method of choosing a movie could best be described as a limited democracy. I am the official movie-picker-outer. I put together a selection of 3-5 choices, based on what is available on Netflix and/or Amazon (which is basically everything these days), but also based on what won’t make Dan and me want to bang our heads against the wall. Then the options are debated and voted upon until we reach a familial consensus.
Our movie choices are eclectic, and they are seldom critical smashes. Gene Siskel I am not. For instance, last weekend, we enjoyed a viewing of “The Game Plan,” starring none other than Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson. Our first-grade daughter loves The Rock. I don’t claim to understand her stance, but hearing no objections, we went with it. Turns out, everyone liked the movie. It may have received only 29% on Rotten Tomatoes, but it was a hit with the Van Bommels.
We try to keep things family-friendly and non-traumatic, of course. But we have experienced a few missteps. So, take it from me, if you have dog lovers in your house, avoid Benji like the plague. Actually, avoid any films containing even a hint of dog-related peril. No Lassie. No Homeward Bound. None of the above. Just. Don’t. Do. It. There will be tears. Lots and lots of tears.
We have made some forays into ’80s cinema. Back to the Future proved to be a major win for us. Not only was it a fun flashback for the adults in the family, but the kids really got into it. (“So where is he now?” “Wait, that’s his mom?”) And the best part of Back to the Future is that it’s part of a trilogy. That means, once you overcome the hurdle of achieving an initial consensus, you have at least 3 argument-free movie nights in your future. Sequels are great, but trilogies are gold.
However, just a friendly heads up that the movie rating system was a tad more liberal back in the 1980s. For instance, although Top Gun is rated PG, it probably wasn’t suitable for our 7-year-old son. But back when we drank out of garden hoses and rode in cars without those pesky seatbelts, it was also okay for children to watch someone flipping the bird (“You know…the finger?” “Yes, I know the finger, Goose.”) and joke about having relations on a bathroom counter (“A long cruise, was it, Sailor?”). Now, that is good stuff. Classic stuff, even, but probably not totally appropriate for family viewing. So pretend I didn’t tell you that Top Gun still ranks up there as one of Baylor’s faves. Come to think of it, Back to the Future might have been a bit dicey too. (Remember the bedroom scene between Marty and his 1955 mom? “Why do you keep calling me Calvin?”)
Part of me looks forward to a time when we need not be so careful with our movie choices. A larger, wiser part of me does not. So when in doubt, we usually go for a Disney movie. It’s safe. I’m not talking Snow White or any of its animated cohorts (Although our daughter did go through a significant Frozen period. Shudder.). We gravitate towards Disney’s much more sophisticated live-action teeny-bopper genre, e.g., Zombies, Descendants, High School Musical (another trilogy for the win!), The Princess Diaries. School of Rock and The Sandlot aren’t Disney movies, but they are awesome. Enchanted makes my list. That may or may not have something to do with its inclusion of Patrick Dempsey.
Now, I am not a Lindsay Lohan fan, but I have to admit that girl can crush a family movie. In fact, she stars in two of my favorites – Freaky Friday and The Parent Trap. Freaky Friday has been redone over and over again, most recently this summer. I have seen them all, but Lindsay’s incarnation is my favorite. Similarly, LLo’s reboot of The Parent Trap surpasses the originals. In fact, it’s probably one of my top five movies of all time. Don’t judge.
Even though we don’t usually watch animated films, The Bee Movie is a exception, and a perennial favorite in our house. Who knew Jerry Seinfeld would make such a likeable bee? More than that, though, I think this movie reminds us of a simpler time that (some of us) look back on fondly for the togetherness it engendered. Back when we were building our house and lived in our cabin for six months, we didn’t have Netflix or Amazon. Heck, we didn’t have a washing machine or an oven. Or bedrooms with doors. But we did have a DVD player, and we had The Bee Movie on DVD. So we watched it. A lot.
Now, remember, I’m not claiming to be a movie guru. In fact, when I looked up most of these films on Rotten Tomatoes, there weren’t more than a couple in the bunch that exceeded a 50% rating. This week, though, we are going to go with a critical darling. Baylor’s first football game of the season is coming up on Saturday. So on tap for Friday night is Remember the Titans (…assuming I can get everyone on board. I think I’ll offer up some particularly unattractive choices for Options 2 and 3. Remember – I said this was a limited democracy.).
What works for your family? Do you have any movies we should add to our rotation?
Please Silence Your Cell Phones…
