10. GROUNDHOG DAY: Easy. I always gotta stop and see what part of the movie it’s at when I see it’s on tv. Whether it’s bumping into Ned Ryerson for the 20th time, hanging out at the bowling alley talking about the one day he wished he could live over and over again, or his constant mental-note taking while in pursuit of Andie Macdowell’s heart. Classic.
9. CLERKS: I first saw this movie in 7th grade at my buddy’s house. We both hated it. Clearly we weren’t old enough to get the humor at that time. Upon watching it later in life I was hooked. I Love the black and white, the tempo, and the nasty humor. Plus, if you’ve ever worked in the service industry, you can totally sympathize with the main character.
8. MALLRATS: Same sort of movie. Directed by the same guy in fact. “That kid, is back, ON THE ESCALATOR AGAIN!!!”
7. THE BIG LEBOWSKI: I first saw this movie in college and what a great time to be introduced to it. When it’s on now I’ll stop what I’m doing and watch. It’s, at times, an ‘out there’ sort of movie, but the dynamic and chemistry between Jeff Bridges and John Goodman, and the constant tug of war in their friendship makes it easy to always watch again.
6. ANY MOB MOVIE: I could fill 6-1 of this list with movies like Casino, the Departed, Goodfellas, Donnie Brasko, Godfather’s 1 and 2, Heat, Scarface, etc. So I’m just giving them all one spot. I love rewatching movies that have these types of themes. I’ve probably seen Casino 50 times.
5. SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION: Probably one of the best movies in cinema history. I don’t particularly like watching it start to finish anymore because it gets so depressing, but I’ll always see what scene its at when I know its on. SPOILER ALERT: I’m glad the boys were able to sail off into the sunset.
4. CHRISTMAS VACATION: It usually only comes around this time of year, but I’ll always stop on it. I try to watch Christmas Vacation from start to finish at least once every December. Preferably streaming on one of the movie channels so the true essence of the few times Clark W. Griswold curses can be captured. So many memorable quotes. “But he worked really hard Grandpa.” So do washing machines. “Oh, the silent majesty of a winter’s morn…the clean, cool chill of the holiday air…and an asshole, in his bathrobe, emptying a chemical toilet into my sewer…” Merry Christmas…shitter was full.
3. MY COUSIN VINNY: Joe Pesci and Marisa Tomei’s chemistry make this movie easy to watch over and over again.
2. THE GOONIES: If you can’t draw back to your childhood with the corniness of this movie, and wax nostalgic a little bit, something is wrong with you. It’s got everything a kid’s adventure movie can have, including a deleted octopus scene I wasn’t told about until college. (I was amazed to scour the internet and actually find it.) It even features Cindy Lauper music. Who could forget the classic motivational speech from Mikey to everyone while they were in the underground ‘wishing-well’ about pressing on. And who could forget Chunk. Or Corey Feldman.
1. BULL DURHAM: Subtle comedy about something you like, know, and appreciate more than most other people on the planet…That’s what Bull Durham is all about to me. If you don’t enjoy baseball you don’t enjoy this movie. Yet, at the same time, Bull Durham is really not a baseball movie at all. But you’d never know that given the accurate subtle nuances written into all the baseball scenes. So accurate in fact that years ago Baseball Tonight (MLB highlight show on ESPN) did parodies of the movie’s scenes to advertise their program.
