Dramas

The Ice Storm

January 27, 2014July 27, 2022 LizLockeLeave a comment

1997. TM and Copyright (c) 20th Century Fox Film Corp.

After seeing American Hustle recently, I got nostalgic for another film set in the 1970’s that made me a lover of mod furniture and sweater ponchos. This week, I’m watching The Ice Storm (DVD / Download), based on the wonderful novel by Rick Moody. This is one of the rare instances where I actually like the film adaptation of a novel, something director Ang Lee seems to have a knack for. The costumes and production design have a lot to do with why I love this film, not to mention the copious amounts of vodka being consumed, but the acting is stellar as well. I don’t think I’d want to take up permanent residence in the 70’s, however this movie does make me want to visit it for a few days.

The Ice Storm tells the story of two families in Connecticut whose lives intersect over a Thanksgiving weekend. Not only do the adults trade spouses as easily as they would recipes, but their children develop relationships with one another as well. The cast features acting heavyweights such as Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver and Joan Allen, along with teenage versions of Katie Holmes, Tobey Maguire, Elijah Wood, and Christina Ricci. There is a great deal of tension built up throughout the movie, sexual and otherwise, which seems to find its outlet when an ice storm freezes every molecule around them. Finally, they are stuck with having to confront their dysfunction. Of course the film features a lot of 70’s-era gags (Waterbeds! Nixon! Key parties!) but the relationships and character struggles could exist during any time period. It’s definitely a great film to curl up with and sink your teeth into on a cold day.

In regards to my cocktail pairing, no drink says 1970’s quite like the Harvey Wallbanger. It may have dated itself into obscurity, but my father has been trying to make these cool again for several years, and I support him fully in this endeavor. I really don’t care for screwdrivers at all, but float a little Galliano on top and we’re in business. Plus, I don’t even have to change the name to make it appropriate for the film. Well, maybe Harvey “Carbanger,” but that just seems silly.

Harvey Wallbanger

1.5 oz Vodka

4 oz Orange Juice

.75 oz Galliano L’Autentico

Combine the vodka and orange juice in a glass over ice. Float the Galliano on top.

Feel free to break out the Jim Croce records and any polyester you may still own and make this a real party. I love watching how dysfunctional these families are because it makes me feel so much better about my own life. I don’t have to worry about having a weird daughter whose idea of foreplay is wearing a Nixon mask, or a cheating husband who wears ascots and corduroy blazers (let’s face it- the real crime here is the ascot). No, the only fearful thing I see in this movie is the ice storm itself, which sadly found me last week even down in sunny Texas. So drink up, bundle up, and be grateful that even if you live in an icy climate like the one in the movie, at least you’re smart enough to stay indoors. Cheers!

Classic Films

Pillow Talk

January 20, 2014February 1, 2014 LizLocke3 Comments

This is one of those weeks where the drink I want to make is the main influence for my movie selection. Today, I really wanted to use the new Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka that I bought myself as a Christmas present, plus I had a great mock-tail recipe I wanted to convert into a cocktail. Because the drink is pink-hued and sweetened with honey, I immediately thought of Pillow Talk. This is one of my all-time favorite films, and it made me a lifelong lover of all things Doris Day. I love her Manhattan apartment with its pink walls and pink countertops, her fun little hats, and the way she’s a smart, sophisticated, career-oriented woman during a time period when that was not really the norm. Doris Day did a number of working-gal romantic comedies during the late 1950’s-early 1960’s, but this one is by far the best.

In Pillow Talk, Doris Day plays Jan Morrow, an interior decorator who shares a party line with Rock Hudson’s character Brad Allen. For those youngsters who aren’t familiar, a party line was a phone line you shared with a total stranger. Brad Allen is a playboy musician who spends most of his time romancing women over the phone, and Jan can’t get any business calls through. They argue with each other over the phone, but then by chance Brad sees Jan in real life, falls head over heels, and disguises himself as Rex Stetson, the Texas-twang-voiced cowboy with a penchant for dip recipes and calling women “ma’am”. Jan falls for him, not knowing his true identity, and well, you can probably figure out the rest. I love Day’s intelligent pluckiness, and the chemistry between her and Rock Hudson is electric. Tony Randall also turns in a hilarious performance as Jan’s lovesick client (a pre-Niles Crane study in effeminate straight male characters) and let’s not forget Thelma Ritter as Jan’s boozy maid Alma.

For my drink, I’ll be using Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka, which is a great mixer, or just fine on its own with a little lime over ice. I came across a wonderful non-alcoholic mixed drink on TheKitchn blog which I posted on the Cinema Sips Facebook page a week ago, and it got such a good response that I felt inspired to use it here. I’m keeping most of the recipe the same, but tossing in a shot of grapefruit vodka to up the ante. Note, this recipe produces enough syrup for several servings of this drink, so either invite friends to drink with you, or refrigerate the leftovers. In celebration of Rex Stetson’s charming colloquial sayings, I call this one the Honey Lamb.

Honey Lamb

Zest of 1 large pink grapefruit

1 cup freshly-squeezed pink grapefruit juice

¾ cup mild-flavored honey

1/4 cup chopped fresh ginger

Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka

Carbonated water (I used grapefruit-flavored water)

Combine the grapefruit zest, juice, honey, and ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat. Boil for 2 minutes, stirring to dissolve the honey.

Remove from heat and let cool. Strain the syrup through a sieve into a clean container and discard the solids.

Put 2 tablespoons of the grapefruit syrup into a collins glass filled with ice. Add a shot of grapefruit vodka. Top with carbonated water and stir lightly.

Feel free to invite some of your non-imbibing friends to your viewing party and just leave out the vodka. I promise, even people that aren’t really into classic cinema will love this film. Doris Day’s fashions alone are enough to make me swoon, and that’s even before dreamy Rock Hudson makes his appearance on screen. Just for fun, I suggest taking a drink every time he plays the “You Are My Inspiration” song. Warning- if your drink does contain vodka, you may want to take a lesson from Alma and stay out of fast-moving elevators tomorrow. Cheers!

(Note: The cute straws in my drinks can be found here)

Classic Films

Some Like it Hot

January 14, 2014January 23, 2014 LizLocke3 Comments

What do you get when you cross two burly jazz musicians in drag, a blonde ukulele-playing starlet, a hot water bottle full of whiskey, and a room full of tommy-gun toting gangsters? A heck of a good time, that’s what. This week’s film selection is the 1959 Billy Wilder classic Some Like it Hot. Set against the backdrop of the roaring 20’s, this film features Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis as two Chicago jazz musicians down on their luck and on the run from the mob. They hear of a female band in need of new members, so these two bosom buddies trade in their overcoats for dresses and wigs, and hop a train to Florida. On board, they meet Marilyn Monroe’s character Sugar Kane, and the rest of Sweet Sue’s Society Syncopators. These ladies like to party, and pretty soon the drunken shenanigans are off and running.

Probably my favorite scene in the film is one that lends itself well to this week’s cocktail selection. During the train ride down to Florida, Sugar Kane gets the party started in Jack Lemmon (aka Daphne)’s bunk. He provides the whiskey, she chips some ice off an ENORMOUS block (did all trains carry polar ice down to Florida back then?), and pretty soon the rest of the Syncopators have gathered in his bunk with a bottle of Vermouth and a pretty ingenious hot water bottle/cocktail shaker-thing. Manhattans are served in Dixie cups, and someone manages to produce some Saltine crackers (I don’t think I want to know from where). It becomes kind of a naughty sorority party, with Jack Lemmon in the center as the ugliest sorority sister I have ever seen. Zowie!

While I’m watching this scene, of course all I want is a Manhattan so I can join in the party too. While I’ve typically posted cutesy variations on classic cocktails thus far, this week I’m going with something more traditional since this is such a classic comedic film. This week’s cocktail: The Classic Manhattan.

Classic Manhattan

2 oz Bourbon Whiskey

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

2 dashes Angostura bitters

1 maraschino cherry

Combine the rye, vermouth, and bitters in a mixing glass, fill with ice, and stir until cold. Strain into a chilled glass, garnish with the cherry or orange twist.

If you’re like me, one of these is all you need for sipping during the movie. But of course it’s more fun to invite some friends over, make a big batch, and laugh at Tony Curtis’ faux-Cary Grant accent midway through the film together. This is truly a film that encourages celebrating music, friendship, cocktails and womanhood. And if you’re not a woman, well, nobody’s perfect. Cheers!

Dramas

The Talented Mr. Ripley

January 6, 2014January 23, 2014 LizLocke1 Comment

As much of the country is in the death grip of winter cold this week, I felt inspired to watch a movie that features sailboat cruises on the Mediterranean, leisurely cocktail hours, fabulous 1950’s fashions, and a suntanned and shirtless Jude Law. Based on the thrilling novel by Patricia Highsmith and produced during Miramax’s heyday of the late 1990’s, The Talented Mr. Ripley is one delicious Italian travel postcard. It tells the story of Dickie Greenleaf (played by the magnetically charismatic Jude Law), a trust fund ex-pat who spends his days lounging on the Italian Riviera with his girlfriend Marge (played by an enviably tanned and beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow). Matt Damon plays the title character Tom Ripley, who travels to Italy at the behest of Dickie’s father in order to lure Dickie back to the US, but instead he ends up befriending him, falling in love with him, and then becoming dangerously obsessed with him.

If you haven’t seen this film before, or if it’s been awhile, I strongly urge you to check it out. Watching it makes you realize why Law, Paltrow, and Damon became the huge stars that they did, and in addition, the fabulous Cate Blanchett turns in a performance as a wealthy American socialite that shows us why she was born to play Kathrine Hepburn in The Aviator. This movie always makes me want to travel back to Italy, and spend my time lounging the days away while moving at a much slower pace than I would ever allow myself to do at home. I want to get tanned, drink martinis, write on a vintage typewriter, travel to underground jazz clubs in Rome, and eat fresh pasta (while still fitting into 1950’s couture dresses). A person can dream can’t they?

For this week’s cocktail pairing, I’m keeping it pretty simple. This is a drink I often serve at parties because it’s easy to make and strong enough that I don’t have to spend all night behind the bar doing refills. When watching The Talented Mr. Ripley, I suggest pairing it with a Limoncello Martini:

Margie’s Limoncello Martini

1 oz Gin

1 oz Limoncello (perhaps you’ve picked up a bottle during your own Italian vacation?)

1 lemon twist

Combine the gin and limoncello with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until very cold (COLD being the key here), and strain into a chilled glass. Garnish with the lemon twist.

This drink is perfect for the film because it evokes Italian sunsets and is meant to be sipped slowly. Martini-making abilities are a prized commodity with this set of characters, so I feel as though I’d fit in nicely with the 1950’s ex-pats. With a chilled Limoncello Martini in my hand, and two hours spent doing nothing but enjoying this film, I feel like I’m getting there. So set your martini glass outside a minute in these freezing temps to chill, put on The Talented Mr. Ripley, and pretend that the noise you just heard rattling your window is a warm Mediterranean breeze (not a frigid Arctic blast). Cheers!

Classic Films

The Apartment

December 31, 2013February 1, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

Happy New Year from Cinema Sips! What a fabulous excuse to drink a cocktail. Tonight, I’m screening one of my favorite films, Billy Wilder’s The Apartment. This picture takes place over the holiday season in Mad Men-era New York City, and ends with a climactic New Years Eve. What better way to ring in 2014 than with a sparkling cocktail and the sparkling chemistry between Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine in this wonderful classic film. Additionally, the cocktails are certainly flowing in this movie, so I can think of no better film to end 2013 on than this one.

The Apartment tells the story of Jack Lemmon’s character C.C. Baxter, a lowly employee of a large life insurance firm. In order to work his way up in the firm, he lends his apartment out to company executives and their mistresses. Things turn sour when he realizes that one of those mistresses is the woman he’s already fallen for, adorable white-gloved elevator operator Shirley MacLaine. Although there is a lot of humor in this film, there is quite a lot of darkness too. MacLaine does a wonderful job of playing the wounded “other woman”, who is both funny and devastatingly sad at the same time. Jack Lemmon is charming with his bowler hats and tennis racket-strained spaghetti, yet his character also harbors a dark suicidal past. Billy Wilder’s script is perfect as usual, filled with witty banter and charming outdated phrases. Oh to be Shirley MacLaine with her cute little white gloves and her frozen daiquiris in a basement tiki bar- I love it all.

For my cocktail tonight, I’m referencing the multitude of martinis that are drunk during the course of this film, as well as the champagne that makes the final scene so climactic. I’m adding a splash of Cassis liquor to make it a bit more festive and sweeter, and just a hint of lemon to bring out the fruitiness of the champagne. This drink is similar to a Kir Royale, only with an addition of vodka and lemon. In this film, the most shocking thing of all is not that C.C. Baxter lets numerous men and women have trysts in his bed, but rather that he lives in an absolutely HUGE apartment in New York City, for which he pays a mere $85 a month. To that end, I’m serving up the Low Rent Royale Martini tonight.

1 ½ oz vodka

½ oz Cassis liqueur

Champagne or dry sparkling wine

Lemon twist

Shake vodka and cassis liqueur together over ice, and strain into a chilled glass. Top with Champagne and lemon twist.

I hope you enjoy this sparkling cocktail as much as I do, and with any luck The Apartment will make you laugh while simultaneously tugging at your heart strings. Whether you already have your someone special to kiss at midnight, or you’re still looking for that person, this film makes me hopeful that good things are ahead. At least drinks-wise anyway. Happy New Year, and cheers!

Holiday Films

A Christmas Story

December 23, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

My final film of this 2013 holiday season is an absolute classic. I’ve gotten several requests for a cocktail pairing for this movie, so I’m pleased to finally feature A Christmas Story. This got watched more than any other holiday movie in my house growing up, particularly after TBS started airing it non-stop for 24 hours. It was comforting to know that no matter what time of the day or night on December 24th, if we turned on the television, Ralphie would be there in his horn rimmed glasses and Dennis-the-Menace haircut kvetching about Ovaltine and a Red Ryder BB Gun. This year marks the 30^th anniversary of the release of this film, so it’s fitting that we celebrate it with a cocktail!

A Christmas Story takes place around 1939 in a small town in Indiana. It tells the story of Ralphie and his quest for the ultimate Christmas gift- a Red Ryder BB Gun. What I love about this film is that it’s really perfect for all age groups. I loved it as a child because it was great to see someone my age on the screen facing real problems (bullies, grades, annoying siblings, etc.) but as an adult I feel like I’m just now discovering the amazing language used by the film’s narrator. For example, when Ralphie’s father wins a “major award” in the form of a glowing leg lamp, the narrator comments on the “soft glow of electric sex gleaming in the window”. Pure poetry. There are so many memorable scenes in this film that have become ingrained in my Christmas memories. It just wouldn’t be the holiday if I didn’t see Ralphie in his pink bunny costume, or the department store Santa’s big black boot coming down over his face, or his brother Randy struggling for mobility in a snowsuit. It’s all just classic.

Because A Christmas Story takes place in an obviously FREEZING locale, I’m inspired to make a warm drink this week. I’m lucky that I no longer have to endure cold holidays in Pennsylvania, but I really sympathize with those who do. The snow pants, the cold runny noses, the feeling that your feet will never be warm again- this movie brings it all back for me. For my pairing, I’m making a traditional Mulled Wine. This is great in a large crockpot or pan on the stovetop, perfect for your holiday gatherings. I was going to call it something cheeky referencing “Soap Poisoning” but that didn’t sound super-appetizing. So let’s keep it simple this week.

Mulled Wine

1 bottle red wine

2 cups pomegranate juice

¼ cup honey

1 cinnamon stick

1tsp clove

Orange peel (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a slow cooker or pan on your stovetop. Stir occasionally as the honey melts and the liquid warms throughout. Serve hot in mugs or insulated cups, garnish with orange peel and/or cinnamon stick.

Drink this and merrily watch as Ralphie battles Scut Farkus, the Bumpuss Hounds, and Black Bart. The scene at the end where his parents finally relax with a glass of wine in front of the twinkling lights of the tree warms my heart every time. No matter how jaded I become about the Christmas holiday, this movie reminds me that there are some really simple things about this time of year that will always be magical. Hearing my mother say, “Oh, we still haven’t watched Ralphie- let’s turn it on!” is one of those things. Merry Christmas, and cheers!

Holiday Films

Love Actually

December 16, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLocke1 Comment

Moving on from the hijinks of the Griswolds, this week’s holiday movie is my personal favorite, Love Actually. It’s the movie I always watch while wrapping gifts, and if it takes me longer than the film’s running time, I know I’m being very generous with the presents this year. To me, it’s not Christmas yet until I’ve seen Bill Nighy butcher the song ‘Love is All Around’, or Hugh Grant shaking his hips to the Pointer Sisters’ ‘Jump For My Love’. There are so many great things about this movie that it’s impossible to list them all. I love every single one of the actors and actresses, the stories are both hilarious and heartbreaking, and it truly illustrates the many kinds of love that a person will experience in their lifetime.

Love Actually crisscrosses back and forth among the stories of over a dozen or so Londoners during the month of December. We see unrequited love, forbidden love, love’s betrayal, new love, the love between siblings, between a father and a son, and between longtime friends. A lot for one movie! Director Richard Curtis manages to make it all come together seamlessly, and he’s done an absolutely brilliant job of casting. Remember when I said I wanted to cut Cameron Diaz out of The Holiday? Well, there are no Cameron Diaz’s in this movie. It’s difficult to pinpoint which of the stories are my favorite, but the girlie girl in me has to go with Colin Firth falling in love with his Portuguese cleaning lady, even though neither of them speak the same language. He learns Portuguese so he can talk to her, while she learns English so she can talk to him- talk about a meet cute!

For my cocktail this week, I’m utilizing a liqueur that I didn’t have in my bar already, but I thought it was a worthwhile purchase for the holidays- Sloe Gin. This is a traditional British liqueur that is made with sloe berries that grow wild throughout England. The berries are soaked in high-proof gin, along with a little bit of sugar, resulting in a tart liqueur. I’m told that it does make a difference which brand you buy, as the less expensive varieties have a tendency to taste like cough syrup. I suggest Plymouth, if you can find it. I’m mixing it with a few other simple ingredients to make a Sloe Dance, in reference to Laura Linney’s sweetly hopeful dance scene with her hot Brazilian co-worker midway through the movie.

Sloe Dance

2oz sloe gin

1oz lemon juice

½ oz simple syrup

Club Soda

Mix together sloe gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake until cold, then strain into a glass. Top with club soda, and enjoy!

This drink is sweet and bitter at the same time, which could also be said about love. Emma Thompson proves this toward the end of the movie when she realizes her husband bought a gold locket for another woman. Her private tears as she listens to the smoke-addled voice of Joni Mitchell just breaks my heart every time. I think that’s what makes this movie so great- it doesn’t sugar-coat things. Yes, there are wonderful, uplifting, magical love stories, but there are also sad love stories too. Love Actually really reminds me to appreciate the many kinds of love I have in my life, because at Christmas it really is all around. Cheers!

Holiday Films

National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation

December 10, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

It wouldn’t be Christmas without a viewing of my favorite childhood holiday movie- National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation. I can think of no other film that totally captures the joy and the stress of family holiday get-togethers quite like this movie. National Lampoon movies have always been pretty low-brow, but out of all of them I think Christmas Vacation is by far the best. Chevy Chase as Clark W. Griswold is the everyman in all of us- the person who has such high hopes for a wonderful, sentimental holiday surrounded by friends and family and hot cocoa, only to see those hopes dashed by uninvited guests, financial woes, and tangled piles of non-working Christmas lights. He tries so hard to make it all perfect, not realizing that a perfect holiday is impossible when in-laws are involved.

Christmas Vacation was always an annual movie in my house, along with A Christmas Story. In fact, I liked Christmas Vacation so much that I can remember watching it several times during July! We didn’t have huge holiday gatherings like the one in this movie, but there were still a lot of things that rang true for me. Just the opening scene of a station wagon traveling on a dirty, slushy, salt-covered highway is enough to make me shudder in memory of my childhood in western Pennsylvania, where the winter weather never fluctuates much from “grey”. Then there’s the bickering amongst siblings, the grandparents stressing out the parents, overheated department stores, and hours spent checking twinkle light strands for the ONE bulb that isn’t working. When Clark fantasizes about an afternoon by the pool as Hawaiian Christmas music plays in the background, I think we can all relate to that need to escape by the time Dec. 25^th rolls around.

For my pairing this week, I decided to play on Clark’s fantasy of a sunny Christmas, while mixing in a dash of Cousin Eddie’s preferred beverage- eggnog. I’m not a huge fan of eggnog, but when mixed with enough other things, it becomes tolerable. I particularly like this recipe because it reminds me of a tropical drink- sort of a vacation in a glass.

Mele Kalikimaka Eggnog

2oz eggnog

1.5 oz pineapple juice

1 oz spiced rum

Combine eggnog, pineapple juice and rum in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake and strain into a chilled martini glass.

*Note- If you want to make this for a crowd, these quantities can all be upped pretty easily for punch-bowl serving. Also, if you like coconut, feel free to use Malibu rum for an even more tropical flavor.

This Christmas, before you get yourself all stressed out trying to make things perfect, sit back with a glass of this eggnog, watch Christmas Vacation, and remember that things could always be worse. You could have a redneck cousin emptying his RV’s sewage line onto your street, a squirrel loose in your house, a turkey drier than Texas in August, and the SWAT team arriving at your door on Christmas Eve. What this movie shows us is that Christmas is really all about family- the good, the bad, and the Cousin Eddie’s. Cheers!

Holiday Films

The Holiday

December 3, 2013December 31, 2017 LizLocke1 Comment

Columbia Pictures 2006 — Image credit: Columbia Pictures, The Holiday, 2006

Welcome to Cinema Sips: Holiday Version! During each week of December, I’ll be featuring a holiday-themed movie and festive accompanying cocktail. Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, this should be an enjoyable time because there are some truly great holiday movies out there, and who doesn’t like an excuse to eat and drink more than usual? For my first choice, I went with a no-brainer: The Holiday. I think this is a great film to ease into the Christmas spirit because it’s not overtly about Christmas. It does take place during the end of December, but there aren’t any of mentions of Santa and his elves. Rather, this movie gets me excited for the main reason I enjoy Christmas- VACATION TIME!

The Holiday is really two movies in one. It follows Kate Winslet’s lovesick character Iris and Cameron Diaz’s jaded character Amanda as they trade houses with one another for the Christmas holidays. Iris journeys to Amanda’s gorgeous mansion in Los Angeles, and Amanda travels to Iris’ charming cottage in Surrey, England. I should have prefaced all of this by pointing out that this is a Nancy Meyers film, which means that the interior design of each of these homes is to-die-for. Iris and Amanda each find romance on their vacations with Jack Black and Jude Law, respectively, and they learn how to be happy again in their lives. It’s a truly enjoyable film, and really the only weak link in the bunch is Cameron Diaz. I would fast-forward through her scenes, if not for Jude Law (aka Mr. Napkin-Head), his adorable British children, and the gorgeous shots of Iris’ cottage that I want to go live in right now. For me, the heart of the movie rests with Kate Winslet, her hilarious and charming relationship with Jack Black, and the scroo-di-li-doo next door Arthur (played by Eli Wallach). When screenwriter Arthur tells her, “You, I can tell, are a leading lady, but for some reason you are behaving like the best friend,” it is so profound, and I want to scream at the television- Yes! Now get Cameron Diaz out of there and re-make this movie as Iris’ Holiday!

For my cocktail pairing, I’m using a delightful find from my local liquor store, Smirnoff Peppermint Twist vodka. It’s so good, you don’t even need a mixer. Just a big ball of ice, and hearty splash, and you’ve got a festive cocktail. While watching The Holiday, I recommend drinking a Snowball.

Snowball

3 oz Smirnoff Peppermint Twist Vodka

1 large ice sphere

Pop an ice sphere out of the mold, drop into a martini glass, and pour vodka over it. Enjoy!

I’m lucky to have found my one true love already (and yes he does bear a striking resemblance looks-and-personality-wise to Jack Black’s character in this movie) so during the holidays I get to focus on the fun stuff- reading books, eating junk food, watching movies, and laughing with friends. Even if you don’t have a long break from work or a trip planned, watch this movie, have a cocktail, and for 2 hours pretend that you do. Cheers!

Comedies

You’ve Got Mail

November 29, 2013November 26, 2018 LizLockeLeave a comment

Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan week comes to a close with my personal favorite of their collaborations, You’ve Got Mail. Based on the wonderful Jimmy Stewart film The Shop Around the Corner, this film replaces the letters of olden days with emails and instant messaging. Back when this film was released, AOL instant messaging was new and trendy, though now it seems quaint (in the same way we look back curiously on party lines and wonder- what were they thinking?). Of course now, texting and Facebook have replaced instant messaging, but back in the day this was cutting edge dating technology. Whether or not you look at this film and laugh at that old AOL email alert declaring “You’ve Got Mail!” or yearn for the days when people could get to know each other without seeing photos and your entire life story flashed upon your Facebook page, the chemistry between Hanks and Ryan and the witty Nora Ephron script make this movie definitely worth watching.

In this film, Tom Hanks’s character Joe Fox meets cute with Meg Ryan’s character Kathleen Kelly when his large Barnes & Noble-esque book store opens in New York City and threatens to drive her small independent children’s book store out of business. They become fast enemies in person, but little do they know, they’ve already fallen for each other online after meeting in a chat room (now THERE’S a blast from the past) and exchanging emails. I’ve come to love everything about this movie- the beautiful shots of New York’s West Village, Meg Ryan’s adorable haircut, Tom Hanks’ dog Brinkley, and lines like, “I would send you a bouquet of newly sharpened pencils if I knew your name and address.” It’s classic Nora Ephron, and I love watching as she both romanticizes and satirizes the life of the upper class intellectual New Yorker.

For my cocktail pairing, I’m making a festive, holiday-appropriate drink that I think captures the feistiness and sweetness of Kathleen Kelly. This is a great way to use up some of that leftover cranberry juice or cranberries from your holiday gatherings, and very easy to make (for those of you who are totally over measuring and mixing and dirtying your kitchen).

The Shopgirl Spritz

1.5 oz gin

1 oz cranberry juice

1 oz lime juice

.5 oz simple syrup

Club Soda

Fresh Cranberries for garnish

Fill a collins glass with crushed ice, pour in the gin, cranberry, and lime juices and stir well. Top with Club Soda and cranberries.

I like to imagine Kathleen Kelly would drink this while listening to Joni Mitchell and reading Pride and Prejudice for the one millionth time. Or maybe that’s just what I want to do. At any rate, if this is the last movie that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan ever make together, at least they went out on a high note. I’ll always laugh as Tom Hanks flirts with the cashier at Zabar’s, and get misty when Meg Ryan says tearfully, “I wanted it to be you so bad.” Watch it with a box of Kleenex (and a drink). Cheers!

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