Lloyd's List for A Lift

A week or so ago, I did an Instagram post on Four Weddings and a Funeral, starring Hugh Grant, saying :

“…it was a total delight. No violence, murder, torture or evil, but a slyly funny British romantic comedy with a cast of adeptly funny characters, starring Grant in his breakout role. It’s witty and poignant (the funeral eulogy brought tears to my eyes — maybe partially because the recently departed guy reminded me of my late friend Doug in his joy of life). With all that’s going on in the world right now, especially in the USA, this comic masterpiece is a welcome relief.

The music is great too and in the closing credits, which ties everything together, the song ‘Chapel of Love’ is a playful cover by Elton John of the ‘60s hit by The Dixie Cups.”

The post had 29,000 views. I asked for recommendations and got 119 comments, most with recommended feel-good films.

What I like about this list is that it’s from people like you and me, not professional reviewers. Come to think of it, in the same way the Whole Earth Catalog reviews were by like-minded people, rather than commercial or professional interests. This was maybe the key feature of the WEC, it was so refreshing and unique to have hands-on, non-professional book and tool reviews in the ‘60s.

I like this list better than all the lists I see in the NYT of recent movies and TV series. It’s just right for me at this time in my life.

Late flash: last night I watched my first on the list, Moonstruck (hadn’t seen it before — in fact, haven’t seen most of these) and was struck by not only the acting (Cher and Nicolas Cage), but the kindnesses, the actors’ interactions that were comical and sly and lovable. Made me smile and feel good.

Note: Wikipedia does very complete film reviews. I always type in the name of the film plus “wiki” in my browser to check them out. I make a point of reading the “reception” section to see what Rotten Tomatoes and film reviewers (especially Roger Ebert) have to say.

• 10 Things I Hate About You
• 40-Year-Old Virgin
• About a Boy
• About Time
• Ball of Fire 1941, (written by Billy Wilder, starring Gary Cooper, Barbara Stanwyck)

• Ballad of Wallace Island. The
• Being There
• Big Chill, The
• Big Lebowski, The

Boat That Rocked, The
Booksmart
Bridesmaids
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

• Chef
• Citizen Vigilante
• Cold Comfort Farm
• Crossing Delancey
• Dan in Real Life
• Daytrippers, The
• Death at a Funeral (British Version)
• Defending Your Life
• Delicatessen
• Dustin
• Father of the Bride (Steve Martin Version)

• Four Weddings and a Funeral

• Foul Play
• Four Lions
• French Kiss
• Good Morning
• Greenfingers
• Groundhog Day
• Hamish Macbeth
• Hopscotch
• I Love You, Man

• Idiocracy
• Intolerable Cruelty
• Julie & Julia
• Little Miss Sunshine
• Little Women
• Local Hero
• Moonstruck

• Muriel’s Wedding
• My Cousin Vinny
• Nine to Five

• Northern Exposure
• Notting Hill
• Nuts in May
• O Brother, Where Art Thou?

• On Golden Pond
• Peggy Sue Got Married
• Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

• Postcards from the Edge
• Raising Arizona

• Rango
• Room with a View, A
• Sheep Detective, The
• So I Married an Axe Murderer
• Steel Magnolias
• Strictly Ballroom
• Tootsie

• Toy Story
• Trading Places
• Waking Ned Devine
• When Harry Met Sally

• Withnail and I
• Worst Person in the World, The
• You’ve Got Mail
• Young Frankenstein

I added Young Frankenstein to the list. It’s the funniest move I’ve ever seen, and the black and white photography is stunning. Much of the lab equipment used as props was from the 1931 film Frankenstein. The lighting! — the actors are luminous.

The dialogue is brilliant. there are a slew of famous one-liners: “It’s pronounced Fronkensteen..” / “He vass my boyfriend!” */ “Tell me darling, just exactly what is it that you do do?” / “Put…the candle…back!.” / “What knockers! — Sank you Doctor.” / "Would you like to have a roll in za hay?" / “What hump?”

A masterpiece.

*Each time Cloris Leachman did this line, Gene Wilder would collapse laughing, and she had to do it over and over.

I used Perplexity AI (which, in researching, has changed my life! ) to alphabetize the list, and it asked if I wanted categorization by mood (rather than by genre):

Easy watches, warm tone, low stakes

• About a Boy

• About Time

• Chef

• Dan in Real Life

• Father of the Bride (Steve Martin Version)

• French Kiss

• Good Morning

• Greenfingers

• Julie & Julia

• Little Women

• Moonstruck

• My Cousin Vinny

• Notting Hill

• On Golden Pond

• Peggy Sue Got Married

• Room with a View, A

• You’ve Got Mail

Jokes first, often absurd or high-energy

• 40-Year-Old Virgin

• Booksmart

• Bridesmaids

• Foul Play

• Four Lions

• I Love You, Man

• Idiocracy

• Intolerable Cruelty

• Pee-wee’s Big Adventure

• Raising Arizona

• So I Married an Axe Murderer

• Tootsie

• Trading Places

• Young Frankenstein

Eccentric characters, odd rhythms, cult vibe

• Being There

• Big Lebowski, The

• Delicatessen

• Hopscotch

• Local Hero

• Muriel’s Wedding

• Nuts in May

• O Brother, Where Art Thou?

• Postcards from the Edge

• Strictly Ballroom

• Withnail and I

Love-driven stories, emotional payoff

• 10 Things I Hate About You

• Crossing Delancey

• Death at a Funeral (British Version)

• Little Miss Sunshine

• Notting Hill

• When Harry Met Sally

• You’ve Got Mail

Dry humor, dialogue-driven, often satirical

• Ball of Fire

• Big Chill, The

• Citizen Vigilante

• Defending Your Life

• Dustin

• Daytrippers, The

• Intolerable Cruelty

• Metropolitan-style tone not present but similar vibe cluster here

• Sheep Detective, The

• Worst Person in the World, The

Group dynamics, small communities, shared lives

• Big Chill, The

• Daytrippers, The

• Hamish Macbeth

• Northern Exposure

• Steel Magnolias

Humor mixed with melancholy or edge

• Four Lions

• Muriel’s Wedding

• Postcards from the Edge

• Withnail and I

• Worst Person in the World, The

Movement, escapism, or stylized fun

• Boat That Rocked, The

• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

• Rango

• Toy Story

• Waking Ned Devine