Meet Me in St. Louis - Page 2

MMISL was already a period piece in the forties. It would be like making SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER now , through 2011 eyes-not in 1977 and recollecting every detail of nearly forty years ago. I've watched many movies that were set in the 70s-my time , just as Bensons LOUIS was her time- and felt disappointed by it not evoking a time and place that would transport me back. My nieces and nephews -who think THAT 70S SHOW depicts my generation - would get greater pleasure of seeing DAZED AND CONFUSED then I did. I'm too close . While I appreciate the clothing and hairstyles and settings-its really the attitudes of the characters-or in the case of THAT 70S and DAZED -caricatures -that I have problems with. Its farce -not real and when they try to do 70s set dramas they are not the people I knew.

It seems that nostalgia is done better in a 20 year cycle. THE ICE STORM from 1997 is one of the best 70s set movies ever in evoking a time , place and feel. The writers and actors were much closer to the decade and could pick up the nuances of the time because they were fresher .

MEET ME IN ST LOUIS suffers from this timespan. Our memories fade like the colors of a mood ring the older we get. We lose something in translation . I learned long ago that movies were not history lessons-they are entertainment. While theres noone longer alive who saw ST LOUIS in the forties and lived the era it portrayed-it would be interesting to hear what they thought. As a viewer now I cannot connect with LOUIS (except the name!)-but I can enjoy its setpieces and the Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas scene gets me everytime. Margaret OBrien could be grating but I also think the kid in EXTREMELY LOUD AND INCREDIBLY CLOSE is also. Blame should go to the directors that allowed them to go too far-not the actors.

I have to say, I grew up not far from Wisconsin at the same time "That 70's Show" is set and to me, and friends my age, it is pretty much spot on. The attitudes, slang, clothes, the parents, the basement-no caricature at all given that it's a sit-com. Maybe it depends on where you grew up. I didn't recognize much from "Dazed and Confused" as being similar to my experience, other than partying out at the woods. It seemed rooted in a very 1950s mentality to me. I do share your enthusiasm for "The Ice Storm" as a true time capsule of the 70s.

I think "That 70's Show" is brilliant. It could easily have been as frivolous as "Happy Days" , but instead spoofs that family comedy of the 70s that depicted the 50s. I conotate "Happy Days" more a a 70s sitcom than as a nostalgic piece whereas "That 70's" is effortless in letting you know its a period piece. "Happy Days" may have been its template - sweet, ditzy mother ; cantankerous blue collar Dad ; sensitive son with a sister; a breakout sex symbol-male ; 2 tagalong best friends -but in emulating that other 70s show-it tears it apart -affectionately- as well.

I believe it truly comes down to where you lived . I have yet to see an urban set or big city themed 70s set show to compare. SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER is a true depiction of what that was like -but it was of its time and place.


Movies have always come down to personal preference -I have yet to name a movie that I thought was universally loathed -that someone , somewhere said they loved. Movies and actors are like real people -they are often labeled and discriminated against because of popular consensus. Time changes all of that. I, too, have been trying to catch up with the classics pre 1970. None have yet to pack an emotional wallop with me other than MARTY and A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE -because they are human stories. I could not get through GONE WITH THE WIND and thought BEN HUR to be the most overated movie ever. Instead I am captivated by Jerry Lewis movies and understand his French following. I was never an action movie guy -I considered myself a cinephile -and yet after watching the absorbing Jean Claude Van Damme reality show that Showtime aired in its entirety - I decided to check out his movies.They are very well crafted and as a persona Van Damme had a great gift that was sadly never realized. He acts from his heart - and that could be not said about many these days. Quentin Tarantino should rediscover this guy and give him a role he can sink his teeth into -I think he'll shock many.

You are aware that there was a 1979 TV series called Makin' It staring David Naughton that was based on Saturday Night Fever.

 

Back to Meet Me In St. Louis Pilot.  Celeste Holm was married in real life to Wesley Addy, who played the father, Mr. Smith.  In a previous post by Will K, mentioned the actor that played the boy next door looked slutty, well that actor, Michael Blodgett was famous for appearing in Beyond The Valley Of Dolls.  I guess others saw how slutty he looked.  Watching the pilot was like watching paint dry or watching the pilot for State Fair, which is on that DVD.  They really wasted the talents of Miss Holm, Mr. Addy and of course the great Reta Shaw. 

 

The rumor has it that CBS passed on the pilot because the head of programing said he did not want any show on his network that had an ice wagon rattling down the street.  But of course he was happy with Beverly Hillbillies, Green Acres, and Petticoat Junction. I think they passed on it because it was just plain boring. 
 

Yes I was aware. I should have been more clear is saying there have been no contemporary films or series that look back at urban youth of the 70s in either a comedic or dramatic way realistically.

Makin It was officially taken from FEVER?

Interesting about the aborted LOUIS series. I do not know if it would have taken off in the 60s. The Waltons did very well for itself in the 70s- but others set in the past-aka the SEVEN BRIDES FOR SEVEN BROTHERS tv spinoff-failed miserably.

Reta Shaw would have been the bright spot in it as she was in the extremely slight Ghost and Mrs. Muir series. I just was bored to death with that show.