Just One of the Guys

Hey guys, I don't know how the Oscars missed this one. The 80s are a goldmine of classic switcheroo films, such as Just One of the Guys.



"He dresses like Elvis Costello and looks like the Karate Kid."

And let us not forget the 1993 sequel, Just One of the Girls.

Is This Tight Recommendation: Frost/Nixon

Though a little slow, I recommend Frost/Nixon as your holiday movie choice. Michael Sheen as David Frost stole my heart.


Plus you get all these guys.


Is there anyone who doesn't like Sam Rockwell? Speak now so that I can defriend you on Facebook. lololol, but seriously. Plus, you get the K Bac. What more could you possibly want?

tight person of the day: the old lady from defending your life

I have a movie in my top ten and it's called Defending Your Life. It's written and directed by Albert Brooks. Many people have never even heard of this movie, but I love it. I have forced many friends to watch it. Put it on your Netflix queue! Do it for me. I will thank you in happy thoughts while I drink my 32 ounces of coffee a day. Anyway, in the movie, there is an old lady that absolutely steals this scene. When Chaps and I lived together, we had many good LOLs over this lady. She emailed me this clip today and it made me really happy so I wanted to post it here to share with you.

AIDS?! (That will make sense in a minute.)

I did a little research and this baller old lady is named Maxine Elliott Hicks. She was born in 1904! She passed on the great gig in the sky in the year 2000, but I want to pour out a major one for this lady. When you are making movies in 1924 and then playing bit parts in movies until you die and just are generally tight, I have to hand it to you. TGIF!

movies i would drop anything to watch #5: the last waltz

You all knew this was bound to happen. I have been obsessed with this rock movie from the very moment I saw it. I mean, it shouldn't be shocking as The Band is in my top five. For about two years, I forced everyone around me to watch this movie. Chaps got on board, but I remember popping it in many times during a previous relash and he kept folding laundry while it was on. That should've been a sign. ANYWAY, coming home from NYC recently this was on the Vh1 Classic channel and I screamed thank gawd for JetBlue. Now I can say I watched this movie IN THE SKY. This movie is amazing. Once I read Levon's book, I had a slightly different perspective on the whole thing, but still.

It's about THE BAND and their final concert, directed by Eyebrows Scorsese. Lots of guests came out to help them "take it home." Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, Eric Clapton, The Hawk, Neil Young, Dr. John, Muddy Waters, and of course Robert Zimmerman himself. However, sometimes I have to admit I skip through the Neil Diamond segment even though I have serious love for Neil Diamond. It doesn't feel entirely right to me. Once again, after reading Levon's book, that part made a bit more sense. The version of "The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down" is one of the best things captured on film. And all those badasses on stage singing "I Shall Be Released." Are we kidding with that?

All I really know is how thankful I am that this was filmed and made for audiences. This movie fills me with a calmness and happiness I truly can't describe. I love it to to bits and I love watching these amazing musicians who left it all on the stage. There should be way more footage of Richard Manuel, though. What a badass. P.S. Allen Toussaint arranged the horns for this concert, so guess what...THEY SOUND SUCKY. Just kidding. He's a baller.

Here my favorite songs from the movie, mp3 style, followed by a clip from the movie of the song so we can all join hands and take a sip from the fountain of excitement.

The Band - The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down (The Last Waltz)

The Band - It Makes No Difference (The Last Waltz)

The Band - I Shall Be Released (The Last Waltz)

movies i will drop anything to watch #4: Austin Powers - International Man of Mystery

The very first Austin Powers, before Mini Me and Goldmember were introduced, totally ruled my life when it came out. I will never forget seeing it for the first time. How good is this movie? I will watch the first Austin Powers any day, even I'm starving or have a lot of laundry to do. I mean, Mike Myers really does it for me. I truly believe that the character of Dr. Evil is one of the tightest characters ever created. Austin Powers is a frozen James Bond-esque secret agent from 1967 who is unfrozen in the 1997. This transition caused lot of laughs for me at the time, and even now that I get the refs a bit more. Austin Powers trying to pump up a Nike sneaker and trying to play a CD on the record player gets me every time. His insane amount of chest hair is comedy gold a-plenty. I think we all know the plot to this movie, and if you don't, I'm sorry for you. My point here isn't to write a lengthy summation, I mostly just want to point out what a badass Austin Powers is and how good this movie is, and also how good the franchise was before some knuckleheads let Beyonce Knowles star in one. But, I guess no one called me. So, here's to a great movie that has spawned countless horrible Halloween costumes.

singin' in the rain clips

I love Singin' in the Rain. It's in my top five. I was going to post all about the movie, but I kept finding YouTube clips I wanted to post instead. Here are some of my favorites from the movie.

"Good Morning" (not the Kanye song HAHA)

I would give anything to be Debbie Reynolds in this clip. How insanely choreographed is this dancing? It's so tight. I love it. Also, it's just a really classic song that makes me feel good.

"Beautiful Girl"

I love the fact that a fashion show was worked into this movie. I love the guy's narration so much. The way he practically screams "DYE IT." In fact, this might be one of my favorite sequences only because it's like a dog whistle to me. I will drop whatever I'm doing to watch this, such a dog will respond to a whistle sound that our ears cannot interpret. Some of those girls are really struggling to stay frozen which gets my goat.

"You Were Meant For Me"

This is a really great love song. I like the way they use the props so dramatically. I think Gene Kelly was a pretty big a-hole in real life, but in this song I really love him. This song needs to be played at any proposal, wedding dance, or first kiss. If is isn't, I'll be pissed.

movies i will drop anything to watch #1: Never Been Kissed

I f-ing love this movie. I saw it in theaters when I was 14 and I cried my eyes out. Probably because it gave me false hope because when I was 14 I had severe fashion and eyewear choice issues. Drew Barrymore as Josie Grossie is one of my favorite characters ever. She lives a super sad existence as the tormented high school teen who has oily skin and a book nerd problem. She also definitely gets tricked into going to her senior prom with the most popular dude in school, who proceeds to throw an egg at her face. She then hides from her mom in the bushes out of shame. And no, I'm not looking on wikipedia.org for this information right now. This is from pure memory.

So then she goes back to high school as an adult to write for this newspaper in Chicago to do an "undercover" report about what the teens are doing these days. Also, this is a dumb assignment/storyline and John C. Reilly knows it. She has to undergo a "high school" makeover to fit in with the mean girls. So of course she goes blonde!!!11!! My only beef with her makeover is that horrible Wet n Wild lip gloss she slathers on. I mean, I know she was a nerd and junk but even her brother ROB should've known that that was a bad look.

Oh, boy. So of course at the high school she meets Mr. Coulson, who has a girlfriend and an appetite for literature loving teens. At the time I thought this guy was such a badass but now I realize how this character is actually incredibly creepy. First of all, Josie is supposed to be sixteen. And he falls for her. And the lip gloss. So not cool. But, he is cute, and he loves books and life and painting walls with teens. Oh yeah, and opening up to his high school English students about his failed relationship while on a Ferris wheel. Super tight! She also gets to be popular for a while.

I couldn't find the picture I wanted of Josie in her new prom dress. But she finally gets to go with the new most popular guy in school, GUY, a creepy guitar player who likes to crunch on girls. Long story long, Josie's undercover assignment goes bust when she realizes she really does love Mr. Coulson and will have to 'fess up. She wants to tell him so badly, especially when he awkwardly dances with her (keep in mind, he still thinks she's 16.) Josie fesses up to the crowd that she's in fact 25 YEARS OLD and everyone has their Academy Award moment of shock. Josie leaves the prom/school in a fog of shame but knows she must make it right.

She writes her undercover assignment article but also confesses her love for Mr. Coulson and is pretty much straight up about her lies and filthy schemes within the school. She pledges to stand on the pitcher's mound for the high school baseball team's game and wait for Mr. Coulson to come give her her first real kiss. HELLO! The excitement builds. How can you not root for Josie, who now looks really pretty in a pink dress from Arizona Clothing Company (see above). This was the blonde hair I was shooting for at the beginning of the movie. Too bad. The clock ticks down and of course, he's not there. The crowd looks tense.

Finally, he shows. Of course I got a pit in my stomach at the time because I was on a personal level with Josie at this point, and I was pretty sure she didn't know how to use tongue. He kisses her, and they say some sweet nothings to each other and then everyone in the stands starts making out, which I still don't understand to this day. All in all, a great movie that helped me realize my life long dream of marrying my high school English teacher and pretending to be 16. I'm close to age 25 so I might have my own version of Never Been Kissed to share in another year or so.