SOYOUWANNA FEEL-GOOD MOVIES

We love cheese. No matter how much sex, violence, swearing, and goat shaving we get from modern movies, there's always a place in our hearts for good old-fashioned hokiness. A lot of these movies are ones that we loved as children. It never really bothered us that George was trying to kill himself in It's a Wonderful Life, or that Nazis chased nuns in The Sound of Music - everybody smiled and sang. Read about our five favorite feel-good flicks, kiss a puppy, and give your grandma a hug . . . it's time for some schmaltz.

1. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

You could set your watch to it. From the day after Thanksgiving until well after New Year's Day, It's a Wonderful Life will always be on TV at any hour of the day. It's practically more Christmas-y than Santa Claus. However, what most people don't realize is that it wasn't a huge hit when first released. Much like The Wizard of Oz, It's a Wonderful Life was a box office dud but found its legs during the early 70s on television. The rest is inexorable tradition.

This feel-good schmaltz-fest is clearly the offspring of two men (Frank Capra and Jimmy Stewart) who were anxious to exorcise nightmares of the recent atrocities in World War II and instead celebrate the positive side of humanity. Together, director Capra and star Stewart crafted a paean to common decency, replete with women who deliver their lines breathlessly and men who speak with vaguely British accents. The story recounts George Bailey's struggle with, and eventual triumph over, the difficulties of resurrecting his family's Savings & Loan in his hometown. Of course, there's the requisite evil banker and drunken angel. Whoa, what? Yes, a drunken angel. The angel reminds the suicidal Bailey of all the good things that he has done for his town and reinvigorates him with a will to live. We could all do with such a drunken reminder at Christmas.

This movie has evolved into far more than just another parents' film; it is a bona fide American tradition. Just be sure to avoid the colorized version (unless you like your movie townfolk to have bright orange glowing skin . . .)

Notes:

• Nominated for 5 Academy Awards (including Best Picture, Director, and Actor) . . . it lost all 5
  
• Sesame Street's Ernie and Bert were supposedly named after the Taxi Driver (Ernie) and the Cop (Bert)
• Placed #11 on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies" List

2. MY FAIR LADY (1946)

When it came out in 1964, My Fair Lady was already famous, but for several strange reasons.

Based on George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, My Fair Lady was originally a smash Broadway musical starring Julie Andrews. However, when it came time to cast the movie, Warner Brothers decided that they wanted a big name (Julie had yet to make a movie), so they cast Audrey Hepburn in the role. This caused a great uproar in Hollywood, so much so that Disney immediately offered the title role of Mary Poppins to Julie, and it made her a star. Furthermore, even though Hepburn wanted to sing in the film (and she practiced for a long time), the studio decided that her singing wasn't up to snuff, so they dubbed her singing.

When the film was released, there was a huge uproar about how Hepburn wasn't any good because she took Julie Andrew's role and wouldn't even sing in it. In the end, Hepburn wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award (though the film was nominated for 12 and won 8), while Julie Andrews took the Oscar home for Mary Poppins. So goes life.

But aside from all the controversy, you have a great musical. Hepburn stars as Eliza Doolittle, a Cockney flowergirl. Rex Harrison is Prof. Henry Higgins, a world-renowned linguistics specialist. After Eliza begs him to teach her to speak proper and "like a lay-day," Higgins bets his friend Colonel Pickering that he can pass Eliza off as royalty at a huge ball. Over the course of her education, Higgins and Eliza seem to fall in love with each other, though it's never quite clear.

The fact that their relationship is so complicated is what makes this love story interesting. He's blatantly cruel to her, treating Eliza like an object with no feelings. Higgins is so misogynistic that the only way he can say that he loves Eliza is to sing, "I've grown accustomed to her face." Oooh, romantic. But this decidedly adult romance lends the film the needed weight that so many musicals lack. And the music in My Fair Lady is classic, including the songs "Wouldn't It Be Loverly," "The Rain in Spain," "I Could Have Danced All Night," and "Get Me to the Church On Time."

One particularly famous scene takes place at the horse races. Everyone there is dressed in elaborate European fashion, wearing black, white, and gray. They sing in a slow monotone about how exciting and fantastic the races are. When Eliza enters, wearing a red rose in her hat, she becomes the life of the party.

Notes:

• Nominated for 12 Academy Awards, but Audrey Hepburn was not nominated for Best Actress
• Won 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Actor
• Placed #91 on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies" List

3. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)

Singin' in the Rain is a fascinating film, because it never was supposed to be made in the first place. Rather, MGM saw that movie musicals were more popular than ever, so the studio heads gathered a list of their songs that no one had heard for a while, and hired a couple of screenwriters to tie them together into a storyline.

What MGM didn't realize was that the tight restrictions on writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green (using only a list of songs from the 20s) allowed them to unleash their creativity. What they chose to do was write a movie about the movie industry during the 20s, when studios were just going through the transition from silent films to "talkies." As a result, Singin' in the Rain is a hysterical look at Hollywood going through a panic, trying to figure out what to do with all of its huge film stars that looked great but sounded awful.

Prime example: Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), a silent film star with a voice that would kill a dog. As she and Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly) feverishly try to save their careers by adjusting to sound, Lockwood falls in love with chorus girl Kathy Selden (Debbie Reynolds). Of course, Lockwood eventually gets the girl . . . so he sings in the rain. Of course, it's not quite that simple, but as you watch Gene Kelly do some great dancing with an umbrella during a thunderstorm, you can feel his joy at having found a new love.

But lots of movies have interesting stories. What separates Singin' in the Rain from the rest is the sheer energy of the performances by Kelly, Reynolds, Hagen, and Donald O'Connor. All of the performers have such a good time singing and dancing that it would be impossible not to get caught up in the music and clever dialogue.

Notes:

• Nominated for 2 Academy Awards (Supporting Actress for Hagen, and Score)
• Placed #10 on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies" List

4. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)

History has not been kind to The Sound of Music. It is often considered to be the most treacly, mushy, and all-around cheesy movie ever made. C'mon, when the heroes are NUNS, you know something strange is going on. Yet despite all of this criticism, no one can dispute that The Sound of Music stands next to The Wizard of Oz as one of the most popular movie musicals ever.

It is 1939 and Julie Andrews is Maria, an Austrian nun who seems to be, well, a little different from the other nuns (could it be because she's 40 years younger than everyone else? . . .). So Mother Superior sends Maria away from the abbey to be a governess (that is, a nanny) to the seven children of Captain Von Trapp (Christopher Plummer). O Captain, my Captain! Of course, Maria and the Captain fall in love, though Maria's vow of chastity seems to be a slight problem.

Yeah, yeah, there are a couple subplots: another woman vies for the Captain's affection, the eldest Von Trapp daughter is in love, and the Nazis are out to force the Captain to work for their nefarious cause. Will the Von Trapps make it? Well, this ain't Schindler's List. Children don't die in this movie.

When Music was released, it became a smash, becoming the top-grossing film of all time. There were stories popping up all over the place about how some people saw the film more than 200 times, reciting the words verbatim. It went on to win the Best Picture Oscar.

So what elevates it above just being a normal good movie? Several things. First and foremost, there's the music. The songs are undeniably catchy, and have become part of American vernacular. We often forget that the song "Doe, a deer, a female deer . . ." was in this movie, as were "My Favorite Things," "So Long, Farewell," and "Climb Every Mountain." Second, the movie was actually filmed in Salzburg, Austria, providing a wonderful travelogue of the country. From Julie Andrew's famous opening twirl on a hill, to the children's visit to the big city, it is a viscerally beautiful film to watch. Third (and perhaps most importantly), there is an innocence and optimism surrounding the film that modern movies just don't have anymore. Sure, they fight Nazis. But they also have puppet shows and sing-alongs. For those of you who aren't afraid to not look cool, this movie is definitely worth a look.

Notes:

• Nominated for 10 Academy Awards
• Won 5 Academy Awards: Picture, Director, Editing, Score, Sound
• Until 1978's Grease, the most successful movie musical ever
• Placed #55 on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies" List

5. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

There is very little to say about The Wizard of Oz that hasn't already been said. A cautionary fable of a little girl learning that there's no place like home, it has become a classic, especially because of the extensive play it receives on CBS every year. It's a story about growing up, leaving home, and eventually appreciating what home represents.

But what many people don't realize about The Wizard of Oz is that when author L. Frank Baum created the tale, it was actually a hidden analysis of the Populist agenda in the late 1800s. Here are some of the clues:

• Dorothy's slippers were originally made of silver (they were changed to ruby slippers for the movie to show off the Technicolor). When Dorothy is trotting down the yellow (gold) brick road, it ultimately leads to a false salvation (the Wizard won't help her). In the late 1800s, the Populists argued that a silver standard (coinage based on the silver economy) would benefit the country better than the gold standard.
  
  
• The Scarecrow represents the Midwestern farmer who, if you give him the chance, really is the foundation of the country. The Tin Man represents the working man who is reduced to a heartless machine by society. The Cowardly Lion represents William Jennings Bryan, a pacifist famed for feisty oration. Dorothy represents the "little guy," Oz represents Washington D.C., and the Wizard represents the President (who looks scary, but really can't keep his promises).
  
  
• The Wizard sends Dorothy to defeat the Wicked Witch of the West (the untamed nature of the Western U.S.). In the end, Dorothy learns that she could have returned home whenever she wanted to. In other words, we all have to solve our own problems, instead of turning to the government every time something goes wrong.

A little far-fetched of an analysis? Perhaps. But it's certainly more interesting than your standard movie review. And if you don't buy all of it, then just enjoy The Wizard of Oz for what it also is: a fantastic musical adventure that will turn you back into a 7-year-old.

Notes:

• Nominated for 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
• Won 2 Academy Awards: Best Music and Best Song ("Over the Rainbow").
• Judy Garland was awarded an special Outstanding Juvenile Performance Academy Award.
• L. Frank Baum came up with the name "Oz" by looking at a filing cabinet and noting that the top drawer was labeled A-N, the bottom O-Z.
• Buddy Ebsen was supposed to be the original Tin Man, but he developed a severe allergic reaction to the aluminum makeup. He almost died and was hospitalized for months. He was replaced by Jack Haley.
• The song "Over the Rainbow" was almost cut from the film, because the studio felt that it dragged the pacing down.
• Margaret Hamilton, the Wicked Witch of the West, had to be hospitalized for a month after she got severely burned by pyrotechnics during her disappearance from Munchkinland.
• Placed #6 on the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest Movies" List.