The First One...

As is my custom, I was scanning the hyperlinks on IMDB this morning, when I stumbled across one that said: 7 Actors Discuss the First Films That Influenced Them from NYTimes.com. "Oooooooh!" I said to myself, in the manner of Toy Story's little green aliens, and clicked the link. What followed was a 9-minute film of Cate Blanchett, Brad Pitt, Helen Mirren, Abbie Cornish, Ken Watanabe, Penelope Cruz and Leonardo Dicaprio all discussing the movies that most influenced their lives.

This got me thinking...is there one movie that really changed my life? If so, what is it?

That's a tough question. Frankly, I don't remember the first movie I ever saw, either in a theatre or on VHS. For some reason, that one event doesn't stand out...wonder why?

So I started exploring the recesses of my mind, pushing aside the cobwebs of age, and soon the movies from my childhood began flooding back to my conscious. The Goonies, always among my top picks, is one of the greatest movies of my generation. The Princess Bride had the unprecedented ability to affect me differently as a child and as an adult.I watched A New Hope and Return of the Jedi so many times that I broke the tapes. Three Men and a Baby...I think I actually broke the video store's copy of that. My personal Jim Henson favorites: Muppets Take Manhattan and The Dark Crystal. The equally dark Neverending Story and Return to Oz. I even had a few classics that I loved growing up: Little Women (with Liz Taylor), The Wizard of Oz and The Music Man (with Robert Preston), all personal favorites when I visited with my grandmother.

However, as I thought of these titles, none really jumped out at me as the catalyst of my movie obsession. Sure, I loved them and watched them obsessively, but did any of them fuel me to a level of devotion that would inspire me to write this blog? No, I don't think so. So what did it? What film put me over the edge of "casual movie-goer"? As I watched Jake Paltrow's short film, listening to each actor describe their favorite audience-member moments, one movie kept popping into my head. It wasn't an instance from my childhood. It wasn't a movie someone insisted I watch. It wasn't even at a movie theatre. But seeing this movie opened my eyes to hundreds, even thousands, of movies I wasn't willing to take a chance on before.

Picture if you will...The tiny village of Steinbach, Germany, 1996. I, nearing that all important 18th birthday, was on a study abroad. Most of the channels on TV were obviously in German, but I did have two English options: Sky News (booooring) and the European version of TNT. This TNT was not all westerns like it was at home. No, this TNT spent half its day as Cartoon Network and the other half of its day as TCM. It was early into my month-long trip to Deutschland that I saw...Singin' in the Rain.

Of course I'd heard of Singin' in the Rain. Basically every list of the "greatest movies ever made" includes it. We sang the title song in Girl Scouts. I don't remember exactly what I was expecting...probably that it was going to be a drama, probably that I was going to roll my eyes a lot. But it was either that or the news...so naturally, I chose the movie.

From the opening credits to The End, I was mesmerized. The movie was absolutely incredible. It was funny, a real surprise to me. It laughed at Hollywood during the late '20s to early '30s, when silent pictures faded and talkies took the reigns. The love story was not overly "cheesy" (a problem I generally have with musicals), but rather sweet and added to the appeal of the story. It's a true movie-lovers movie but doesn't exclude the rest of its audience. The music was timeless and the phenomenal dancing by Gene Kelly, Donald O'Conner and Debbie Reynolds has never been equaled.

Musicals aren't for everyone but you may find Singin' in the Rain the exception. Marvelous story. Superb characters. Awe-inspiring dancing.

TCM's ad said it best:
"There's no such thing as classic movies. Just great films you've never seen before."