Saturday, March 2, 2013

Your nightmare film

Not what you're thinking, probably.  It crossed my mind today that there is a film that I absolutely adore, that I can watch over and over, that I can appreciate for all sorts of aesthetic reasons.  It's one of my very favorite films ever.  And at the same time, I live in quiet terror that someday I will end up living out the basic narrative of that film.  (NB: it is not a horror film.)

Readers, please tell us: what film fills this role for you?  (Bonus points if you can guess correctly which beloved film is my own personal nightmare.)

13 comments:

  1. I have never thought about this before, but now that I have thought about it, I think mine might be Educating Rita. No idea what yours is.

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    1. Interesting choice! I'd never have thought of that one, but I can see how it would scare some people.

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  2. Mine: Grosse Pointe Blank. Where I'm the assassin.

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  3. Will you tell us what the film is, Dr. Koshary? Mine: any film where the person lives to be really old and outlives her money and gets dementia. No, I won't watch those movies. Let the Oscar voters knock themselves out giving awards to those; that's what they're for.

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  4. And, on a lighter note: any film where a person has to ride a roller coaster--talk about terror!

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  5. OK, I think other people's nightmare scenarios are more authentically nightmarish than mine (ironically, given my genetic heritage, I am far more likely to end up really old and demented than alcoholic). In my defense, I have very few Favorite Films Ever, and most of them are cheerful, so there wasn't much to choose from...

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  6. Hm, I don't think I'll ever become a dread pirate... or a pirate...and I don't think I'll ever have my fate altered by a tail-coat. Oh, and I am definitely never going to get caught up in the world of male modeling. So, no, I guess I don't have that movie. (Though my partner might also say Grosse Pointe Blank!)

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    1. Although it would be genuinely hysterical to hear that someone who reads this blog fears living out Derek Zoolander's life.

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    2. Just say no to gasoline fights.

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  7. Any of the Christopher Guest movies are personal nightmare movies. I LOVE them, but if I end up being like any of those characters, please shoot me. Wait.... I might actually be one of them. Never mind. Don't shoot me. I think my fav is probably "Best in Show," although "Waiting for Guffman" is also awesome. I think I know some of those people in the theatre program!

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    1. Ah, I really get this one! Due to my career choices, I no longer fear becoming one of the characters in A Mighty Wind, but I sure had a few thoughts about that in my early twenties, when that film cut pretty close to the bone for some of my friends.

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  8. Fun to hear these thoughts from you all! As a matter of fact, my personal filmic horror is to live out the dating life of Alvy Singer in Annie Hall. It's my very favorite romantic comedy, but it also scares the bejeezus out of me. And I still sniffle at the final scene.

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