EMMETT Of The Unblinking Eye

TOP 10 GEEZER LOVE MOVIES OF ALL TIME!!!

March 17, 2006

So why are we doing the Top 10 Geezer Love Movies of All Time on St. Patrick's Day?  Well, I've already done the Top 10 Irish Movies of All Time -- and worst of all, I even posted it, so I can't pretend it's never been done.  And there just aren't that many St. Patrick's Day Movies.  Or Snake Movies.  Or Potato Movies.

But there is the luscious scent of elder love in the air.  As you may have heard, Bud the Contractor is getting married on March 25 to a surprisingly lovely lady.  As a result, neither His Hughness nor I will be in studio on Friday the 24th, because we'll be golfing in the desert in celebration of the nuptials.  And since Bud only has a few good years left (if that), what better tribute to his marriage then the Top 10 Geezer Love Movies?  So here they are:

10.	Cousins (1989):  Admittedly, this Ted Danson - Isabella Rossellini starrer isn't a particularly worthwhile remake of the great French film Cousin Cousine, but I love Lloyd Bridges performance as the grandfather who finds love with his son's mother-in-law.  Bridges preparing for his first date with the help of his grandson (Keith Coogan) is classic.
9.	Only the Lonely (1991):  John Candy, as a rotund and lovelorn Chicago cop and Ally Sheedy as his makeup artist to the recently deceased are the nominal stars, but Maureen O'Hara steals the show as his overbearing mother.  And her romance with her neighbor (Anthony Quinn) doesn't hurt either.
8	Cocoon (1985):  Which is more important to the aged:  the promise of eternal life or spending the rest of your life with your wife?  Doesn't seem like a hard call to me, but reasonable minds can differ.  A very good Ron Howard effort.
7	Grumpy (and Grumpier) Old Men:  In the original, Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau battle for the heart and hand of Ann-Margaret; in the sequel, Matthau has to "settle" for Sophia Loren.  Would that we all had that dilemma.
6	The Lion in Winter (1968):  Although Peter O'Toole was only 35 when he portrayed Henry II, Katharine Hepburn was pushing 61 when she won Best Actress for portraying Eleanor of Aquitaine. A grand film.
5	Murphy's Romance (1985):  I love James Garner, and I love this movie, for no discernible reason.  But there's something about his quiet battle for the love of Sally Fields that is just endearing.
4	On Golden Pond (1981):  Thought this would be No. 1, did ya?  Well, any of the top 4 could have been, but this one has Jane Fonda in it.  Automatic demotion after Monster-in-Law -- oh, and that North Vietnam thing.
3	Harold and Maude (1971):  A wonderful, twisted movie.  Bud Cort (23 at the time) stars as the suicidal teen Harold, with Ruth Gordon (then 76) as his love interest.  Just a fine, bizarre movie.
2	The African Queen (1951):  Another Hepburn classic, this time with Humphrey Bogart (who won the Oscar® for Best Actor, while Hepburn only managed a nomination).  The romance between the missionary spinster and the grizzled river pilot is one of the great movie romances.
1	The Notebook (2004):  Okay, I know that it's a shameless tearjerker, guaranteed to bring any woman (and most men) to tears.  But it does it so well, and with James Garner and Gena Rowlands, how can you go wrong?

One Viagra short:

=	Cactus Flower (1969)
=	Now, Voyager (1942)
=	Out to Sea (1997)
=	Robin and Marian (1976) [Should have made the list, but I plumb forgot about it.
=	The Way We Were (1973)
=	The Whales of August (1987)
=	Where's Poppa?(1970)
=	The World's Fastest Indian (2005)