I can’t believe it’s been seven months of Cinema Sips greatness, and I have yet to discuss the ultimate cocktail movie, the one that made me want to do this blog in the first place. This week, I am beyond excited to feature one of my top favorites, and certainly my absolute favorite film to screen during any cocktail-fueled gathering– The Party (DVD).
This 1968 Blake Edwards classic stars comedy genius Peter Sellers as the bumbling Hrundi V. Bakshi, an Indian actor who accidentally gets invited to a dinner party at a Hollywood producer’s home. He arrives, loses his shoe, mingles with movie stars, spills birdseed everywhere, sticks his hand in caviar, and gets a chicken caught on a woman’s tiara. And that’s just in the first half! There are a lot of sight gags involving the ultra-modern home set, such as people falling in the water that runs through the house, guests getting burned by the indoor fire pit, and floors and walls disappearing at the flick of a switch. It’s a ridiculously impractical home, but if I had a million dollars I would build it for myself in a second. The sets and costumes truly capture that ’60s Mod era in a way that Mad Men could only dream of. The real elephant in the room (pun intended) which must be addressed is the fact that Peter Sellers plays a character of a different race. Of course I wish they would have hired an actor of South-Asian descent, and if this movie ever gets remade, I sincerely hope this mistake gets corrected. It’s interesting to watch this and realize how far diversity in Hollywood has come since the 1960s, but of course we’ve still got a long way to go.
What really makes this movie such a great fit for Cinema Sips is the plentiful alcohol that is poured and consumed on-screen for a solid hour and a half. A drunken waiter offering vodka and scotch; Peter Sellers refusing alcohol then getting wine poured all over his hand anyway; Hollywood power players sipping cocktails at the retro bar- it’s a classic cocktail lover’s paradise. While watching TheParty, I recommend drinking a Brunette in Yellow.
Brunette in Yellow
2.5 oz lemon vodka
1 oz lemon juice
1 oz simple syrup
3 drops rosewater
Mix all ingredients in a shaker over ice. Strain into a chilled martini glass, and enjoy!
Once Hrundi gives in and actually has a drink, The Party becomes a wild, nutty ride featuring a gorgeous French ingenue, a Russian ballet troupe, and a house full of bubbles. Perhaps you’ve thrown a party or attended one that evolved into something crazier and crazier as the night went on, ending only when the sun comes up. If not, watching this movie makes you feel like you have. I’m sure in real life I would be the neurotic hostess fretting about her hair getting wet while her house is being destroyed, but when I watch this I like to pretend I’m the loopy, drunk actress who sees imaginary things in the bottom of her cocktail glass. After a couple of these vodka concoctions, I might not be too far off. Cheers!
I’m reaching back into the vault this week to highlight a little movie I happened to catch on Turner Classic Movies a few years ago, which has since become one of my favorites. It’s a tradition in my house to watch this during tax season, preferably after completing one’s taxes, with a strong cocktail (because nothing makes me want to drink more than itemizing deductions). This week’s Cinema Sips movie is The Mating Game (DVD), a 1959 comedy starring the adorable Debbie Reynolds and Tony Randall at his geeky, persnickety best. You may be thinking, “How is a movie about taxes funny?” Well, trust me, this one is.
The Mating Game tells the story of the Larkins, a family of rural Maryland farmers. Pop Larkin makes his living as a trader/barterer (physical money rarely exchanges hands). Whatever object he needs, he just trades another one for it. Now, it isn’t expressly stated how this family pays for ordinary things like the electric or phone bill, but as for the rest of their belongings, it’s a pretty great way to operate. Of course since they make no actual money, they don’t file an income tax return, and eventually the government comes calling. The IRS sends Tony Randall to investigate, he falls for the eldest daughter played by Debbie Reynolds, and the rest is history. The Mating Game was actually the final film featuring Paul Douglas, who plays the lead role of Sidney “Pop” Larkin, and who sadly died of a heart attack the same year the film premiered. He is absolutely terrific in the role, and it’s unfortunate to think of the parts we never got to see him play.
My drink this week is inspired by the nauseating cocktail creation the Larkin family plies Tony Randall with in an effort to keep him on the farm and helpless against their daughter’s charms. Their beverage had a hefty dose of moonshine, and I promise mine is a lot more drinkable. Still, it’s big, it’s boozy, and it’s the perfect way to unwind after doing your income taxes. While watching The Mating Game, I recommend drinking a Smirking Hyena.
Smirking Hyena
1 3/4 oz Bourbon
3/4 oz Sweet Vermouth
3/4 oz Cointreau
2 dashes Angostura Bitters
1/2 oz fresh lime juice
1 sprig of mint
Combine the liquid ingredients in a shaker filled with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a rocks glass with fresh ice. Garnish with mint.
Let it be known that I’m madly in love with the Larkin family’s greek key-trimmed living room bar, and the vintage glassware makes me swoon. It’s easy to see how Tony Randall got suckered into drinking such a mess of a cocktail in the film- how to say no to the genial, larger-than-life Paul Douglas? Hopefully, you’ll be a little more sensible with your imbibing and your family won’t find you passed out on a pool table come morning. But, if your taxes are as labor-intensive as mine, who could blame you? So tally up your figures, sign your forms, and end the day on a high note with The Mating Game and a strong drink. Cheers!
While planning an upcoming trip to San Francisco, I felt inspired to watch a film that beautifully captures the scenery, the history, and the mystery of this city. I settled on the Alfred Hitchcock classic Vertigo, which is sometimes remembered more for Jimmy Stewart’s odd Technicolor acid trip dream sequence, but in my mind will always be remembered for a beautiful Kim Novak throwing herself into the San Francisco Bay as the Golden Gate Bridge frames the scene. It’s a dark, confusing tale that manages to make even sunny California seem downright sinister. Furthermore, it’s the rare movie where Jimmy Stewart is a bit of a creep, hobbled by his fear of heights and a strange attachment to a lost love. He’s not exactly a villain, but making your new girlfriend dye her hair and dress up like your old dead girlfriend is definitely on the disturbing side.
In Vertigo (DVD/Download), Jimmy Stewart plays retired police detective Scottie Ferguson, who is hired by an old college friend to investigate the friend’s wife, played by Kim Novak (long before Botox and surgery froze her face- see 2014 Academy Awards). She is suspected of either being insane, or of actually being inhabited by the soul of a long-dead woman named Carlotta Valdes. Of course Scottie falls for her, shortly before she appears to throw herself out of the bell tower of an old California mission. The plot is initially a bit confusing, but Hitchcock manages to brilliantly weave everything together so that in the end it all makes perfect sense. Jimmy Stewart turns in a performance that’s intense and manic (I’d go so far as to call him the Nicolas Cage of the 50’s in this), and the Edith Head costumes for Kim Novak are so wonderful that I would gladly trade places with her for a day (though only as Madeleine Elster and not cheap, tawdry Judy).
My cocktail pairing for Vertigo is a San Francisco classic. Many believe that this drink was first served in the United States at San Francisco’s famed Buena Vista Café, the recipe having been brought over from Ireland by travel writer Stanton Delaplane. I’ll certainly be stopping at the Buena Vista to sample the real thing, but in the meantime, while watching Vertigo, I recommend making an Irish Coffee.
Irish Coffee
1 cup hot coffee
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 ½ oz Irish Whiskey
Heavy cream, slightly whipped
Pour piping hot coffee into a warmed glass mug until it is about ¾ full. Add the brown sugar and stir until dissolved. Blend in Irish Whiskey. Top with the whipped heavy cream by pouring gently over the back of a spoon. Serve hot.
This drink will warm you up as Hitchcockian suspense sends shivers up and down your spine, and images of foggy evenings and the woman in the grey wool suit make you colder just watching them. I’m sure Kim Novak and Jimmy Stewart could have definitely used a couple of Irish Coffees after their dip in the San Francisco Bay. Watching this film reminds me what a master filmmaker Hitchcock was, and it makes me even more excited to visit the city where ghosts and intrigue mingle with fog and warm whiskey. Cheers!
It’s spring break in Austin, TX and you know what that means- millions of co-eds fleeing in search of sandy beaches, while millions of music, film, and internet movers-and-shakers descend on the city to fill up our restaurants and hotels during the SXSW Festival. If I still got a spring break, I would definitely be heading for the beach, but since I don’t, the next best thing is watching a movie about spring break at the beach. No, I’m not talking about Spring Breakers– yikes! Rather, I’m watching Where the Boys Are (DVD/Download), a delightful film from 1960 starring Connie Francis, Dolores Hart, and a very young George Hamilton. Yes, that George Hamilton of the tangelo tan. The movie may have been somewhat racy for the time, (Necking on the beach! Giving it up to a Yale-y in a seedy motor lodge! Underage drinking- oh my!) but now it’s just quaint and adorable.
Where the Boys Are follows four northern co-eds who head to Ft. Lauderdale for spring break. Of course they meet boys and each girl must decide it she’s a “good girl” or a “bad girl” when it comes to shacking up. Except Connie Francis, that is, who unfortunately gets saddled with a dialectic jazz musician who looks to be about 40 years old but is playing 20. A self-professed girl’s hockey team member, she’s definitely the Lady Edith of this movie. Dolores Hart fares a little better with rich playboy-with-a-heart George Hamilton, and Paula Prentiss is matched with her usual co-star Jim Hutton (presumably because they’re both about 6 ½ feet tall). Then there’s poor Yvette Mimieux. She plays the girl who’s desperate to hook an Ivy Leaguer so she can drop out of college and be a housewife. Feminists would probably have a field day with this movie, but I look at it as simply her choice. I chose to stay in college, have a career, and make a great life for myself, but to each her own.
My drink this week is tiki-inspired, sort of a rum version of the Cosmopolitan. Fruity and boozy, this cocktail is a great way to kick off a week away from school. Even if you’re not sipping it while laying by the beach or pool, it’s still like a vacation in a glass. When you’re watching Where the Boys Are, I highly recommend drinking a Beachcomber.
2 oz white rum
¾ oz Cointreau
¾ oz fresh lime juice
½ tsp of maraschino liqueur
½ tsp simple syrup (optional, to taste)
Combine all ingredients into a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake well, then strain into a coup glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry and a tiny umbrella.
With its catchy Connie Francis tunes, cute 60’s bikinis, Modcloth-esque dresses, and candy-colored motel set, this movie is pure fun. Think of it as a pre-Sex and the City, long before Carrie Bradshaw ever strapped on her Manolos. In Where the Boys Are, female friendship trumps boys every time, and even the sordid melodramatic scenes are still relatively innocent. Really, underwater bar mermaid Lola Fandango is about as trashy as this film gets. If spring break in Florida was actually as fun as it appears to be in this movie, I might be tempted to go back to school. Cheers!
That’s the line- the one that makes me smile every time. I don’t know if it’s the way Audrey Hepburn says it in her breathy, untraceable accent, or if it’s the idea of a large boutique full of diamonds and precious gems bringing delightful happiness to all who enter, but something about it gets me grinning from ear to ear. As Valentine’s Day approaches, I can think of no better movie to watch on February 14th with a cocktail. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (DVD/Download) isn’t just a charming story about love between two lost souls- it’s a classic film showcasing the style and grace of the great Audrey Hepburn.
Of course as many know, Truman Capote was not at all pleased with the producers’ choice in casting Ms. Hepburn to play his iconic literary creation Holly Golightly. And frankly, after reading the book, I don’t think I would have been thrilled either. The film version of Breakfast at Tiffany’s bears little resemblance to the novel, though both are wonderful works in their own right. Yes, the film whitewashes a lot of the more scandalous details of the book (most importantly Holly’s career as an escort) but still the overarching themes remain the same. I love the way Audrey Hepburn plays Holly as strong and funny one minute, then beautifully damaged the next minute. George Peppard is satisfactory as her love interest, in a Ken-doll sort of way, but I think of him more as window-dressing. Blake Edwards does a fabulous job directing, particularly in the party scene (we’ll see more of his genius on Cinema Sips when I talk about his other cocktail-fueled masterpiece The Party), and the shots of Hepburn and Peppard racing hand-in-hand through the streets of New York make me giddy with envy and happiness.
For my cocktail pairing, I wanted to come up with something that evoked the opening scene in front of Tiffany’s, and also the wonderful moment where Fred and Holly drink champagne before breakfast. I think this drink hits all the right notes in terms of complexity and style, just like Holly herself. When you’re watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s, I recommend drinking a variation on a mimosa that I call the Sunrise Sip.
¼ oz Peach Schnapps
½ oz Citrus Vodka
Juice of 1 Clementine
2 oz Champagne
Clementine twist for garnish
Pour peach schnapps, vodka, and the clementine juice into a champagne flute. Top with chilled champagne, and garnish with a clementine twist.
Whether you’re spending the holiday alone, with your friends, or with your significant other, this film will make you fall in love- with vintage Givenchy clothes and a cat named Cat. I swear, the sight of her pathetic feline friend soaking wet and meowing in a New York alley would melt the heart of even the fiercest dog-lover. I apologize in advance for the strange and offensive Mickey Rooney that I’m subjecting you to, but just take his Mr. Yunioshi with a grain of salt and skip ahead to more Audrey and more Fred-baby. And for heaven’s sake, don’t pull a Mag Wildwood and spend your evening face-down on the floor. Moderation, please. Cheers!
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)
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!
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!
I am so excited this week to write about one of my favorite films from the golden age of Hollywood, The Philadelphia Story. One of the reasons this is a favorite of mine is not just because of its sparkling dialogue, beautiful art deco sets, and long langorous cocktail hours of a wealthy Philadelphia family, but rather because it stars one of my all-time favorite actors, Jimmy Stewart. In a strange coincidence, I was actually born and raised in Jimmy Stewart’s hometown of Indiana, Pennsylvania. However, I like to think I would have been a fan even if our ancestors hadn’t shared the same zip code once upon a time. The Philadelphia Story was actually the film that won Stewart his only acting Academy Award in 1941, and it’s easy to see why. His performance as writer Macaulay “Mike” Connor is just marvelous.
The other two big stars of this film are Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. Hepburn plays a divorced Philadelphia socialite who’s engaged to be married once again. Her ex-husband (played by Grant) comes to see her the day before the wedding, bringing along two reporters who are there to cover the wedding, but really do little more than get under Hepburn’s skin. Hepburn and Grant’s verbal sparring is masterful, however it is truly Jimmy Stewart as a reporter who steals the show (and for a time, Hepburn’s heart). He breezes into all of his scenes, tall and lanky and charming, offering up the absolute best one liners. I swear, every time I watch him ask the librarian at a Quaker library “Dost thou have a washroom?” I get the giggles. This is also a great film for cocktail pairings because Grant has a long history with whiskey, and Hepburn and Stewart have a booze and moonlight-fueled tryst by the swimming pool. They break into the wedding champagne a touch early, giving Jimmy Stewart a chance to really show his acting chops as a happy drunk.
When I watch this film, so many cocktail opportunities come to mind. On one hand, I’d love to mix up a batch of Uncle Willie’s Stingers, however with so much bubbly flowing, I’ve got to go with a classic champagne cocktail. This week, I’m serving up a drink called Cinderella’s Slipper (the name’s origin will become obvious about halfway through the movie).
Cinderella’s Slipper
1 Sugar Cube
2-3 Dashes Angostura bitters
1 oz Brandy
Champagne
Orange peel for garnish
Place the sugar cube in the bottom of a champagne flute. Use the dashes of Angostura bitters to saturate the sugar cube. Add the brandy. As you fill the flute with champagne, the sugar cube will dissolve. Garnish with orange peel.
This drink typically calls for a maraschino cherry as a garnish in the bottom of the flute, but I like to think that Hepburn’s character Tracy Lord would never do anything so gauche. Sip this as you watch Jimmy Stewart carry Katharine Hepburn around in his fluffy white robe, and I dare you to not chime in when he starts drunkenly shouting “Oh C.K. Dexter Haaaaven!” This film is classic Hollywood screwball comedy at its best, and I for one plan on watching it, champagne flute in hand, while imagining what it must have been like to be Katharine Hepburn back then. Cary Grant on my right arm, Jimmy Stewart on my left. Not exactly a terrible place to be. Cheers!
Cinema Sips 