Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Holidays at the "Diner"
From the week before Thanksgiving to the night before New Year's Day, the tried and true parade of Christmas related movies march back and forth across the various tv/cable channels. The usual suspects. No need to go through the list. Even the PBS stations fall into line. And yet each year, one movie seems to always fall by the wayside.
Diner
Luckily, I have an old copy on VHS (it is available on DVD, though). Each year I pull it out of storage, blow off the dust, shove a pencil in one of the gears, turn the pencil 10-12 times to prime the tape (so it doesn't tear), and plop it into the VCR. It's a chore gathering the family members around the warmth of the VHS player, however. They have been indoctrinated by tv programming and disbelieve me when I plead with them to watch this forgotten Holiday gem.
What gives? Why the strong urge of flight from the son & daughter, when they see me reaching for "Diner"?
A modest list of reasons:
1) Mickey Rourke. Most movie fans cannot simultaneously juggle the idea of Mr. Rourke and fun family holiday cheer. Is it the hair? Is it the usual oiliness of his characters? I say, it's basic prejudice.
2) Baltimore Colts. Viewers are asked to suspend their belief that the Colts ever played in Baltimore; most feel it's just a made up football team. Unbelievable! Johnny Unitas is rolling over in his grave.
3) Jews. Because there is a Jewish wedding and three main characters who are Jewish, the idea of "Diner" being labelled a Holiday picture seems impossible. This is the most difficult excuse for me to swallow. If anything, the presence of three Jewish characters in the movie make the whole movie more palatable as a Holiday Fest and more attractive as a broad based audience film. Besides, without these Jewish characters, the movie would not be as funny nor as complete. And aren't Hannukah & Christmas both holidays?
4) Gifts. This is probably the main reason, "Diner" never makes it on tv during the holiday season. Nobody in the movie is out in Baltimore hurriedly buying up dreck for the holidays. This movie is not about obtention of mass quantities. Advertisers don't like that.
5) The Creche scene. Though very, very funny, I'm sure the religious right and their ilk let the networks know that this "desecration" of Christianity does not belong on tv at the same time of the year as the Hallmark Hall of Fame tear-jerkers do.
A Shame.
So, if you're tired of another threatening film about Christmas not coming, or one wherein a Scrooge-like character gets converted to pillaging & purchasing, or the umpteenth bowl game, say the Kohler Bowl, with colleges you never heard of playing, then you owe it to your addled brain to catch "Diner", without commercial interference. Just don't feast on the left side of the menu.
From the week before Thanksgiving to the night before New Year's Day, the tried and true parade of Christmas related movies march back and forth across the various tv/cable channels. The usual suspects. No need to go through the list. Even the PBS stations fall into line. And yet each year, one movie seems to always fall by the wayside.
Diner
Luckily, I have an old copy on VHS (it is available on DVD, though). Each year I pull it out of storage, blow off the dust, shove a pencil in one of the gears, turn the pencil 10-12 times to prime the tape (so it doesn't tear), and plop it into the VCR. It's a chore gathering the family members around the warmth of the VHS player, however. They have been indoctrinated by tv programming and disbelieve me when I plead with them to watch this forgotten Holiday gem.
What gives? Why the strong urge of flight from the son & daughter, when they see me reaching for "Diner"?
A modest list of reasons:
1) Mickey Rourke. Most movie fans cannot simultaneously juggle the idea of Mr. Rourke and fun family holiday cheer. Is it the hair? Is it the usual oiliness of his characters? I say, it's basic prejudice.
2) Baltimore Colts. Viewers are asked to suspend their belief that the Colts ever played in Baltimore; most feel it's just a made up football team. Unbelievable! Johnny Unitas is rolling over in his grave.
3) Jews. Because there is a Jewish wedding and three main characters who are Jewish, the idea of "Diner" being labelled a Holiday picture seems impossible. This is the most difficult excuse for me to swallow. If anything, the presence of three Jewish characters in the movie make the whole movie more palatable as a Holiday Fest and more attractive as a broad based audience film. Besides, without these Jewish characters, the movie would not be as funny nor as complete. And aren't Hannukah & Christmas both holidays?
4) Gifts. This is probably the main reason, "Diner" never makes it on tv during the holiday season. Nobody in the movie is out in Baltimore hurriedly buying up dreck for the holidays. This movie is not about obtention of mass quantities. Advertisers don't like that.
5) The Creche scene. Though very, very funny, I'm sure the religious right and their ilk let the networks know that this "desecration" of Christianity does not belong on tv at the same time of the year as the Hallmark Hall of Fame tear-jerkers do.
A Shame.
So, if you're tired of another threatening film about Christmas not coming, or one wherein a Scrooge-like character gets converted to pillaging & purchasing, or the umpteenth bowl game, say the Kohler Bowl, with colleges you never heard of playing, then you owe it to your addled brain to catch "Diner", without commercial interference. Just don't feast on the left side of the menu.
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<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
"I love the Diner."
"Love the Diner."
"Gotta love the Diner."
"Who doesn't love the Diner?"
-Teta
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"Love the Diner."
"Gotta love the Diner."
"Who doesn't love the Diner?"
-Teta
# opined by 
: 2:30 PM, December 14, 2004
: 2:30 PM, December 14, 2004 
<< Home Verging on Pertinence Just some more disposable thoughts clogging up the hinterlands
