Wahhhh-HOOO!!!

Randy Newman’s classic song, My Life Is Good includes the run about his good friend Bruce Springsteen:  “He said, Randy… I’m tired… How’d you like to be the boss for a while?  Well, yeeeeaaahhh!” 

I got enough e-mail yesterday on great table scenes that I could easily fill a week’s worth of columns.  So you guys get to be the boss of THB today. 

The thing that’s so great about these e-mails is that reading through them is like sitting in the dark in a great revival house, great scene after great scene, with a friend who loves each and every film.  I apologize to the many of you who didn’t get into the mix.  Some of the choices, particularly Scorsese films, The Godfather, Hannah and Her Sisters and - surprisingly to me - Moonstruck were just too voluminous. 

Tomorrow, I’ll go Full Frontal, explain why the arguments that over Unforgettable will be pushed even further by Signs, and it’s getting to be time to look at the fall movie schedule. 

Let Thursday At The Movies begin!!!

From SmuG:  “I don't know that the scene would stack up against the all-time "Table Scenes," but I'll never forget the restaurant scene between Richard Farnsworth and Robert Redford in "The Natural."  Redford's character, Roy Hobbs, has been called up to the big leagues and Farnsworth's character, Red, an assistant coach, has offered to take him to dinner. They're eating at a little Italian restaurant and Red explains the lay of the land to Hobbs.  Plenty of exposition, but Levinson plays the scene subtly and brilliantly, introducing Kim Basinger's and Michael Madsen's characters (they sit at the next table), while we learn all about the New York Knights.  Farnsworth just OWNS the scene, slurping pasta and uttering one of the great movies lines. After asking Redford how he likes the food, Redford replies that it is good.  Farnsworth gently smiles and says, "you can't spell it, but it eats good." 

Not showy or plot-turning, just a terrific little scene.”

FERGUSON NIMOY goes long on one of the most often mentioned by readers:  How about the table scene from Jaws, where the three guys are sitting on the boat talking about the "U.S.S. Indiana"?  To me, that's the most powerful scene in the movie, and one of the greatest scenes in movie history, period. The description of  the sailors, waiting, not knowing if they would survive or become shark food, the way he tells the story...amazing.  Compare this Spielbergian masterpiece to what Shaymalan tries to do in his movies....Spielberg does more to create suspense using a rubber shark than any filmmaker has accomplished today with all the CGI effects in the world. Its a shame really, that due to the advances in special effects, directors are no longer forced to be as creative in the way they tell the story.  I think Shaymalan is certainly a throwback to the classic style of filmmaking, and perhaps that is why many are finding him so refreshing.”

From SES HER: "Scene from Tootsie with Sydney Pollack having lunch at the Russian Tea Room (may it RIP) meeting Dustin Hoffman in his Dorothy get-up for the first time.   From Tootsie to Juwanna Mann---oh how the mighty ideas have fallen.”

From UP Double D:  “There are two great table scenes in one very great movie, The Sting. The first is right after all the cons are assembled to size up their opponent, assigning roles and duties that will carry for the rest of the film. Where Ray Walston gives the dish on Robert Shaw and the way he says, "...and he cheats. Pretty good at it too." Is just splendid. If you count the poker scene on the train a table scene, where Paul Newman surprises everyone by laying down the four Jacks (and not letting us in on it), that is damn good direction and camera work for such a small space.

Or....

Since everyone is just talking about Soderbergh the last couple of days. The scene in Out of Sight, where Ms. Lopez sits by herself and George Clooney comes in to join her. Oh yeah, and Travolta and Jackson in the restaurant towards the end of Pulp Fiction. Or Travolta and Uma Thurman chatting at dinner in Pulp Fiction. Or Tim Roth and Amanda Plummer chatting at breakfast in Pulp Fiction. Or Ving Rhames giving Bruce Willis the pitch to take a dive in his next fight in Pulp Fiction.”

DAVID REPLIES:  I would love to have some of these close by to look at right now.  George Roy Hill does great work inside that train and even more impressively, in the fake race joint, where you always know where are the players are in relation to one another.   Ironically, Tarantino keeps the space very separate in the dinner scenes, so you don’t know that Roth/Plummer will eventually conflict with Jackson/Travolta.  Out of Sight’s scene between Clooney and Lopez really works because of how well Soderbergh establishes the guys at the bar.  Soderbergh’s use of space throughout that particular movie, in the trunk especially, is wonderful.  And Erin Brockovich has one of cinema’s most beautiful uses of an open exterior, when the husband throws a rock towards the plant just after dusk.

From ED THE CROC LOVER:  “Like the movie or hate it, that first table scene from "Greedy" was one of the funniest scenes in any movie that year.

Kirk Douglas: "You lost your job?"
Bob Balaban: "Well, I was just uh--"
Phil Hartman: "Stealing company secrets and selling them to competitors. Pass the butter please."

...or it goes something like that. Either way it still makes me laugh after  all these years....Of course, that opening scene in Fargo ain't too bad either. Maybe I should have gone with that one. Oh well, maybe next time.”

From CHA-CHING-SKI: “Well, I always thought that the scene in Reserv... Oh... well, OK. My second choice then: Shot the Moon. You, being an Alan Parker fan, will certainly remember. Others might not. A very un-Parker-like movie, certainly not from today's perspective (back then he was actually capable of making anything, you were really surprised every single time his movie was coming out). An intimate conversation between Albert Finney and Diane Keaton. A couple of minutes, all in one take. No frills, no fancy circling camera movements.  Just a bare shot with every subtle reaction visible. But that's a director's genius decision, right there. Don't make me laugh Mr. Winick.

DAVID REPLIES:  A scene about two people who really love each other and who know they can’t be together, but who really don’t want to forget.  The scene is as ripe as any table scene you’ll ever see.

THE OLE DOUBLE T can’t eat just one:  “Here are the table scenes that stand out in my mind...

Jaws: Comparing scars and remembering The Indianapolis.

The Godfather: Michael's meeting with Sollozzo and McCluskey.

Alien: Kane's final meal.

Goodfellas: The "What makes me funny?" scene and Henry's meeting with Jimmy in the diner near the end (Bonus points for the Vertigo shot on that one).

Diner: Take your pick, but the Roast Beef Sandwich sequence is a particular favorite.

When Harry Met Sally: The Big O.

Internal Affairs: Before resorting to multiple cameras, Figgis showed that what goes on under the table is often more revealing than what's being said above.

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (Animated): Because the Grinch, yes the Grinch, gets to carve the Roast Beast.”

DAVID REPLIES:  Scorsese is one of the best ever in keeping you in the scene, which is one of the reasons why I think Bringing Out The Dead, which was constantly shocking your sense of comfort was so irritating to some critics.  In Casino, you know the casino floor like it was your own house.  In Raging Bull, you can practically look around that pool and see the other girls that the Mrs. LaMotta to-be outshines.

From THE NEW MILL STREAM:  “The most interesting table scene I remember is from Buffalo '66, directed by Vincent Gallo and shot by Lance Acord.  The scene has Gallo as a recently released con, playing off the kidnapped Chritina Ricci to his parents (Ben Gazarra and Anjelica Huston) as his girlfriend.

What was jarring about the scene was that it is a series of 3 shots, with the camera alternatively in the place of each of the 3 characters.  When watching the film, I felt like each of the characters, isolated and alienated from the other 3.  At the same time, Acord's use of a wide angle lens distorts the table, and makes the scene feel much more claustrophobic.  Acord's camerawork meshed well with Charlie Kaufman's script in Being John Malkovich as well.  Let's hope they work together well again in Adaptation.”

NOT AN ANGEL writes:  “The table scene Better Off Dead has to be considered a classic.  Where John Cusack is about to kill himself by burning.  He sits at the table in this weird robe thing as a fancy dinner is being thrown for the neighbors.  Everyone ignores the fact that he is dressed like he is and then Ricky’s Mom is blown up with the fuel he has brought to the table.  Classic.”

From THE SACK:  “Here's a few great scenes and why I love them:

- Citizen Kane - Kane and his first wife - in the span of three minutes we see a marriage deteriorate from happiness to bitterness.

- The Godfather Part I - although a bigger fan of Part II, the table scene between Pacino as Corleone and Solozzo and the Police Captain does a masterful job of raising tension.  When he waits to kill them and the subway car passes, increasing the noise level, it's almost unbearable.

- Moonstruck - The breakfast table finale, every loose end of the movie is tied up neatly at this table in about ten minutes.

- Casablanca - Although there are countless table scenes in the film, the one in which Rick and Ilsa first see each other and Rick is "forced" to sit down awkwardly with her is a classic.”

From AN ENGLISHMAN IN NEW-TAH:  “Hannah and Her Sisters - The camera never changes speed as it spins around the table but the camera is always focused on the right person.  Woody later attempted this in Shadows & Fog and it didn't work.

The Cook the Thief His Wife & Her Lover - I hated this movie, but I appreciated the table scene where Michael Gambon is the only one speaking while the focus is always on the glances and thoughts of Helen Mirren and Alan Howard.

The Breakfast Club - Except there was no table.  It was the five of them sitting in a circle.

Beetlejuice - Who could forget that table scene?  Daaaaayo!”

DAVID REPLIES:  The Cook/Thief comment reminds me about one of the greatest scenes ever, which happens to be around a table… Ned Beatty and Peter Finch in Network… “Because you are on television, dummy.”

From RESEARCH & DEVELOPMENT:  “How about the Swingers table scene where they discuss, among other flicks, Reservoir Dogs?  Seriously, though, I love the table scene in The Sixth Sense (Shyamalan!) between young Haley Joel Osment and Toni Collette.  I just love the way the camera pans slowly back and forth as he tells his mom about her dead mother moving the bumble bee pin around the house.”

MY PAL AL is also on Hannah:  “The table scene(s) I remember most were all those holiday get-togethers in Woody Allen's "Hannah and her Sisters."  If I remember correctly, there was very little editing, usually just one long shot; the camera felt like a participant.  And I think there was voiceover narration coinciding with the actual scene dialogue.  I don't have it here to review, but that's the first movie that came to mind.”

From TS NOT ELLIOT:  “This is probably not at all the style of things you're referring to (the angles, the reactions, etc.), but for some reason, the first movie that popped into my head when you mentioned table scenes was "Rushmore."  Why is that?

And you gotta love "Big Night"'s table for obvious reasons...”

DAVID RESPONDS:  Rushmore’s dinner scene is exactly what I’m talking about.  Wes Anderson does a wonderful job of keeping us with all four characters, just on the edge of what might happen next.  You get a full range from Murray’s performance.  You get Luke Wilson, not quite sure he belongs there, but still cocky enough to show up in scrubs.  You get Olivia Williams feeling every bit the woman in the middle of three men who want her.  And Jason Schwartzmann rides the emotional rollercoaster and wields mammoth power with a slight slam of the table.

And it was one of the most remarkable parts of Big Night that the directors never confused the audience in their big meal montages.

From THE QUEEN OF CLING:  “The table scene that comes immediately to mind is the lunch in Hannah and Her Sisters, where Woody Allen's camera whirls and waltzes around the three sisters, all of whom are trying desperately to conceal their secrets and resentments (and, in Barbara Hershey's character's case, the guilty knowledge that she's sleeping with Hannah's husband).

And now for something completely different, I also love the ones in Don Siegel's The Beguiled, with the sinister battle of wits between Clint Eastwood's injured Union soldier and Geraldine Page's scheming steel magnolia of a schoolmarm, naive and fragile Elizabeth Hartman in the middle and all those nubile young girls watching and waiting ... (I remember reading somewhere - probably my film prof's Siegel bio - that Siegel and Surtees cut the table in half so they could do a sideways tracking shot down the table ...)

Others that spring to mind immediately: Bunuel's sacrilegious Last Supper parody in Viridiana, Mr. Creosote exploding in Monty Python and the Meaning of Life, the food fight in Animal House ...”

The Lovely & Talented Former SoCar Miller writes:  “Yo, I dig today's assignment, Teach.

In reviewing what I feel to be some of film's most memorable table scenes, I have concluded that aside from the requisite master shot, a necessary element to a good table scene is tension. Distinctly opposite factions desperately trying to remain civil – or perhaps imminent danger - make for good, low tech film.

Witness the scene in Meet the Parents where Greg first has dinner with his potential in-laws ... BS-ing that horrible prayer, insulting and then desecrating Pam's grandmother's remains, discussing cat-milking in lurid detail. Then the next morning, wearing his father-in-law-to-be's pajamas - the nurse facing a table full of high-profile doctors.

One of the funniest things I had seen in a movie – at least at the time of its release - was the scene in The Great Muppet Caper in which that stodgy old British couple is eating dinner at opposite ends of that LONG table, barely able to hear each other speak, while in the meantime, Miss Piggy is shimmying up the side of their townhouse and subsequently sneaking about on her hands and knees. ''But that's really more of a supper club.'' Funny stuff!

The movie, Moonstruck, has many memorable scenes that take place at tables, but probably my favorite is the one at the end where everyone is waiting in the kitchen for Johnny Cammareri to show up, so Loretta can tell him she doesn't want to marry him. (tension) Olympia Dukakis says to Vincent Gardenia, ''I want you to stop seeing her.''

At this, Gardenia (Cosmo) stands up in most paternal fashion, slams his hands down on the table, then slowly lowers himself back into his chair and says, ''Okay.'' Great scene. (I LOVE Moonstruck. Brandon HATES Moonstruck. But that's another story.)

One of my all-time favorite table scenes has got to be the one in The Ref, where the overbearing matriarch is at table with her two sons, their two strong-willed wives, two grandchildren, and one jewel thief masquerading as a marriage counselor. The Judy Davis character has prepared this traditional Scandinavian Christmas feast, and has them all wearing these Santa Lucia wreathes on their heads while she tells that awful, bloody story of Santa Lucia. Very good set-up - and decent pay-off in my opinion.

And speaking of tense family dinners where Christine Baranski is (or should be) present - how about the scene in The Birdcage where the Senator and his wife are meeting their daughter's fiancé and his (gay) parents. Dianne Wiest is precious as she remarks on the darling Greek men on the China ''leapfrogging'', while Hank Azaria as Agador agonizes over having prepared soup with whole eggs in it as the main course. ''It's a hearty soup!'' Classic!

Another important element is good food. If you leave a movie craving a particular kind of food, chances are, the movie had a good table scene. :)

And I guess that's about all I have to say about that.”

This came from NOT MATTHEW MODINE:  “1.  A Clockwork Orange -- when Alex is being interviewed by the socialists at the "Home" where he is being kept and cared for; he explains his love for Beethoven and nauseous reaction to music and violence (punctuated the whole way through by note-perfect dialogue from Kubrick-via-Burgess as well as McDowell's flawless performance) and the scene ends with Alex plunging his face into a plate full of spaghetti.

2.  Requiem For a Dream -- when Harry comes to visit his mother to tell her he got her a new TV, and she is more concerned with her diet and the red dress; Harry discovers that Sara is hooked on pills, and Sara responds by delivering a brutal monologue about loneliness and aging: if there's ever been a more powerful, tear-jerking performance from an actress than Burstyn in this scene, I've never seen it.”

E ME:  Signs, Signs, everywhere is Signs… who’s really going to get you out to the theaters this weekend… Mel or M?