Category: Comedies

Classic Films · Comedies · Holiday Films · Uncategorized

We’re No Angels

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: We’re No Angels, 1955

If you want to get me excited to watch a movie, all you have to do is tack on VistaVision before the opening credits. Paul Thomas Anderson has been bringing the format back into the zeitgeist with his 2025 release One Battle After Another, but there are so many classic films that benefited from its vivid colors and wide aspect ratio. One of these is the 1955 Christmas movie, We’re No Angels (Disc/Download), starring Humphrey Bogart, Peter Ustinov, and Aldo Ray as a trio of escaped convicts on Devil’s Island.

I confess, I had to look up Devil’s Island on a map to see what kind of setting we were dealing with. Turns out, it’s solidly in what I like to call “Rum Country”, off the coast of French Guiana in the Atlantic ocean. In 1895, our three main characters escape from the island’s penal colony and take refuge in a general store. They convince the manager to let them fix the roof, with the intention of robbing him blind. But then, they get sucked into the manager’s family affairs, soon realizing they enjoy selling unnecessary junk to customers, cooking a (stolen) Christmas dinner, and menacing some evil relatives. But the true MVP of this movie is Adolphe the snake, who has no lines, but is the most integral to the plot. An honorary “fourth angel”, he’s judge, jury, and executioner all in one.

Because of the film’s tropical setting, I’m inclined to make a Tiki cocktail. There’s a great scene of a woman buying a bottle of Chartreuse for her Christmas celebration, and if you can find some these days, that’s reason enough to throw a party. While watching We’re No Angels, I recommend drinking A.C. Davidge’s 1949 classic, the Palm Breeze.

Palm Breeze

½ oz lime juice

½ oz dark Jamaican rum

½ oz white crème de cacao

¾ oz yellow Chartreuse

1 tsp grenadine

Gummy snake (suggested garnish)

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a gummy snake.

It’s fun to watch these tough guys get into the holiday spirit on a tropical island, and for that reason, I think We’re No Angels would make a great double feature with Donovan’s Reef. Just remember to keep the rum flowing and watch your wallet…  

Cheers!

Comedies

Uncle Buck

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Uncle Buck, 1989

If you’re planning a family visit this holiday season, then you might be in the mood to watch everybody’s favorite movie relative: John Candy. In Uncle Buck (Disc/Download), the actor makes a killer breakfast, looks great in a bowling shirt, and knows how to talk dirty to a washing machine. He also puts the “fun” in funcle.

Written and directed by John Hughes, this film features many Hughes hallmarks such as the mid-western suburban setting, a great soundtrack, and precocious children. Gabby Hoffmann and Macauley Culkin steal every scene they’re in, always game to participate in whatever crazy scheme their uncle has cooked up. It could be pancakes the size of a kiddie pool, or microwaved socks, or a trip to the horse track; every day is a new adventure. Where the film’s conflict emerges is in his relationship with surly teen niece Tia (Jean Louisa Kelly). They butt heads because she wants to grow up too fast, while he doesn’t want to grow up at all. Honestly, this guy is a saint for putting up with her scowl for as long as he does. I’d have left her to Bug.

The cozy scenes of colder climates have me longing for a bourbon cocktail, and what better than a “buck”? This style of drink traditionally has a spirit + citrus + ginger beer, and it’s a fantastic base for experimentation. The possibilities are limitless, but in honor of Uncle Buck’s most hilarious scene, I recommend trying this Buck Melanoma cocktail.

Buck Melanoma

2 oz bourbon

¾ oz lemon juice

3-4 fresh blackberries

½ oz maple syrup

4 oz ginger beer

In the bottom of a shaker, muddle the lemon juice, blackberries, and maple syrup together. Add bourbon and ice and shake to chill. Double strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice and top with ginger beer. Stir gently to combine.

John Candy’s improv skills save Uncle Buck from being too formulaic, and they also distract from some of the broader physical comedy moments. My ego took a bit of a bruising when I realized I’m now older than Buck, but that’s okay. You can be a dreamer and a sillyheart at any age. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Arsenic and Old Lace

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Arsenic and Old Lace, 1944

Before watching the beloved classic Arsenic and Old Lace (Disc/Download), I never would have believed any one movie could contain so many random topics such as serial killers, the Panama Canal, plastic surgery, Niagara Falls, etc. Frank Capra has made me a believer in the oddball, the screwball, and heck, even baseball! Let’s pour a drink and unpack this weird, wonderful film.

Cary Grant starts the movie at the NYC marriage license bureau, about to get hitched to the loveliest girl-next-door, Elaine. Ironically, he is also the author of a book about why men should never get married. Before Mortimer can leave town on his honeymoon, he first has to check in with his elderly aunts to share the good news. While at their home, he discovers the dead body they stashed in the window seat, still awaiting its proper burial in the basement. The aunts have been poisoning their lodgers for years, and Mortimer’s brother has been aiding and abetting, under the delusional persona of Teddy Roosevelt. He thinks all the victims died of Yellow Fever while digging the Panama Canal, which apparently runs through their Brooklyn basement. Things get weirder still when a Frankenstein look-alike shows up at the house, who turns out to be psychotic eldest brother Jonathan. He’s accompanied by plastic surgeon Dr. Einstein (the always-creepy Peter Lorre), and yet another dead body in the trunk of his car. Cary Grant is the glue that keeps this madcap story from going completely off the rails, and even though his performance is about as broad and hammy as I’ve ever seen from him, he’s the level-headed one in a family of lunatics.

My favorite part of the movie is every time Teddy makes a run up San Juan Hill, shouting, “CHARGE!!!” as he dashes up the staircase. Before he gets carted off to the Happy Dale mental asylum, let’s toast him with this appropriately named classic cocktail that’s probably a little safer than the aunts’ elderberry wine. While watching Arsenic & Old Lace, I recommend drinking a Roosevelt.

Roosevelt

1 ¾ oz dark rum

½ oz dry vermouth

¼ oz orange juice

1 barspoon simple syrup

Orange Twist

Combine dark rum, vermouth, orange juice, and simple syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a chilled coupe. Express the orange peel over the glass, then use as a garnish.

This is a perfect movie for Halloween because not only does it take place on October 31st, but there’s a delightfully spooky cemetery, a Boris Karloff look-a-like, and a lot of unexpected visitors knocking on the door. If you’re looking for more of a treat than a trick, give Arsenic and Old Lace a watch. Cheers!

Comedies

This is Spinal Tap

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Image: This is Spinal Tap, 1984

While I’m typically anti-sequel/franchise in my movie tastes, I couldn’t help but be excited about the recent return of one of my favorite fictional bands. This is Spinal Tap (Disc/Download) essentially created the mockumentary genre, and though I haven’t been lucky enough to see Spinal Tap II yet (distribution is sadly lacking in my area), I’m glad Guest & Co. are still out there, rocking hard and giving the world a much-needed laugh.

Starring Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, and Harry Shearer as a fictional British heavy metal band, This is Spinal Tap mimics the look and tone of rock documentaries like The Last Waltz, so much so that you might be fooled into thinking this is an actual non-fiction project about a trio of narcissistic, dim-witted musicians. The laughs come from the film’s absurd scenarios, improvised dialogue, and song lyrics, but never from stereotypical “jokes”. We laugh at Guest and McKean sporting matching herpes sores, not because anyone ever points them out, but because they don’t. Tap never underestimates the intelligence of its audience, yet it challenges us in new ways. Because the film’s actual director Rob Reiner plays fictional on-screen director Marty Di Bergi, the lines of real and fake are continuously blurred. By the time the song “Big Bottom” is played, you’ve already forgotten these aren’t “real” rock songs because the fact is, they are real, and they are rock n’ roll. They also happen to be incredibly funny.

Now that Spinal Tap has come back around, it got me thinking about “Auld Lang Syne”, Robert Burns’ ode to the remembrance of old friends. The movies of Christopher Guest defined my young adulthood, and they’ll always be synonymous with the nights I spent with my college crew laughing at Waiting for Guffman in someone’s dorm room, or screaming like a groupie during the Mighty Wind tour. Whether you’re watching the original or the sequel, let’s toast the movie friends (and rock stars!) that should never be forgot with a classic Bobby Burns cocktail.

Bobby Burns

2 oz Scotch

1 oz Sweet Vermouth

¼ oz Bénédictine

Garnish: Lemon Twist

Stir the ingredients over ice, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Twist the lemon peel over the drink to express the oils, then rest it on the rim.

I always assumed A Mighty Wind’s reunion of Guest, McKean, and Shearer as The Folksmen would be the closest we’d get to an on-screen Tap reunion, but happily, these guys keep coming back for more. From miniature Stonehenge sets, to amps that go to eleven, This is Spinal Tap is the enduring comedy masterpiece that will never seem old-fashioned, even if the players are now…well… old. Cheers!

Comedies

Sex and the City 2

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Sex and the City 2, 2010

The recent conclusion of And Just Like That… (the latest installment of the Sex and the City franchise) got me thinking about beloved characters in not-so-beloved situations. Like most people, I hate-watched this series week after week, hoping for glimpses of what I loved about the original TV show. Friendship. Fashion. Romance. Humor. Sadly, the show was so terrible, and such a betrayal of characters I’d come to know inside and out, that I couldn’t help but wonder… was it as terrible as Sex and the City 2 (Disc/Download)?

Before this week, my memories of the second SATC movie were scattered and vague. It had been fifteen years since I watched it in the theater, and sometimes I wondered if I dreamed the whole thing. I recalled camels, Samantha sweating a lot, and men leering at Charlotte’s bra-less nanny. Surely, there must have been more to it. So, Cosmo in hand, I gave it another shot. And reader, I’m here to tell you: it’s not that bad!!! On a sliding scale from, “She’s fashion roadkill!” to Seema’s two-episode deodorant arc, it falls somewhere around Charlotte’s marriage to Trey. Well intentioned, but ultimately not a slam dunk. For every lovely scene of four women laughing together and talking about their jobs and relationships, there’s also a weird cameo or plot point that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. Liza Minnelli singing “All the Single Ladies” at a Gay Wedding (seriously, they go to painstaking efforts to call this wedding “gay” no less than twenty times) is somehow not even as bad as Carrie throwing a hissy fit because Big wants to watch classic films in bed. On second thought, maybe this woman deserved to be punched in the head by Aiden’s psychotic son.

I’ve featured Cosmopolitans on the blog before, but there are so many variations, it’s almost like there’s one for every iteration of this show! I spent all summer immersing myself in the gospel of Ina Garten, beginning with her famous Cosmo recipe from Barefoot Contessa Foolproof, and it’s become a new favorite. Therefore, while you’re watching Sex and the City 2, make it a whole lot more enjoyable with a Duke’s Cosmopolitan!

Duke’s Cosmopolitan

2 oz Fresh-squeezed lemon juice

2 oz Cointreau

3 ½ oz Cranberry juice

3 ½ oz Vodka

Dash of egg white

Combine ingredients in a shaker half-filled with ice. Shake for 30 seconds, then strain into a martini glass (serves 2).

Duke’s Cosmopolitan
We love Ina!!!!

I have a crazy conspiracy theory that the only reason And Just Like That… exists is because Michael Patrick King wanted to take a bit of the heat off Sex and the City 2. People (myself included!) trashed this movie so much when it came out. But now, by comparison, it seems almost good. Granted, a lot of elements had to come together for me to feel this way. Romantic comedies had to be wiped off the Hollywood release slate completely. Movies had to pretty much stop featuring designer clothing. Samantha had to flee to London, taking all the laughs with her. Carrie had to spend three years not smiling, writing a terrible novel about “the woman”. Miranda had to become an alcoholic, and Charlotte had to become a cartoon. I guess, looking back to the days before all this happened, it makes you realize we had it all. But now, at long last, she is done.

She is done.

She is done.

Comedies

Back to the Beach

LizLocke2 Comments
Image: Beach to the Beach, 1987

Some movies get burned into your brain at such a young age that decades later, you can still remember flashes of dialogue and music. Back to the Beach (Disc/Download) is one such movie for me, forming a core 1980s childhood imprint as well as a lifelong love of 1960s kitsch.

My gateway into loving this movie was undoubtedly Pee-wee Herman’s cameo. Back in the eighties, I adored Pee-wee, and Pee-wee on a surfboard, doing the “Surfin’ Bird” was extremely exciting. The recent documentary Pee-wee as Himself unlocked a lot of memories, making me gasp with recognition at the Tiki idol near the door of his playhouse, Miss Yvonne’s retro A-line dresses, and all that large-scale terrazzo. Somehow, I’ve styled my life like Pee-wee’s without even realizing it! But it doesn’t stop there. Back to the Beach is an important part of the Liz Locke lore because it also incorporates my love of 1960s surf culture and teen beach movies. Frankie and Annette bring their helmet hair and cheeky dialogue into the 1980s, reprising old characters as they attempt to save their marriage, save their daughter (played by Lori Loughlin, or as I know her, “Aunt Becky”), and save the beach from a group of leather-clad punks. Somehow, this spoof of the beach movies works even better than the originals because it never takes itself seriously. We’re supposed to laugh at Annette singing “Jamaica Ska”, all those silly rear projections, and Frankie Avalon’s obsession with his hair. And boy, do I laugh.

Another thing I love about this movie is the incorporation of Tiki. It’s kind of amazing, considering Tiki was largely out of fashion by the 1980s, yet there was still a subculture of cool Los Angeles creatives who embraced it. Annette gets tempted by something called a Stunned Mullet, and while I’m not sure what’s in it, the mystery gives us freedom to make it up as we go along. Kind of like the plot of this movie!

Stunned Mullet

2 oz Vodka

4 oz Pineapple Juice

1 oz Coconut Cream

1 oz Macadamia Nut Liqueur

1/4 oz Lime Juice

Pineapple, Cherry, Umbrella (suggested garnish)

Combine vodka, pineapple juice, coconut cream, macadamia nut liqueur, and lime juice in a blender and add 2 cups of crushed ice. Blend until slushy, then pour into a coconut Tiki mug. Garnish with pineapple, cherry, and umbrella.

It’s interesting how Back to the Beach is both a time capsule of the 1980s as well as the 1960s, existing now as a retro joke within a retro joke. I don’t know which particular era Pee-wee calls home, but I like to think he’s timeless, surfing through our memories like the Big Kahuna he’ll always be. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Beach Blanket Bingo

LizLocke1 Comment
Image: Beach Blanket Bingo, 1965

Despite an enduring love of Gidget, 1960s swimwear, and rear projection scenes, the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello beach movies somehow never made it to the top of my watch list. Luckily, this cinema oversight has been corrected this week with the fifth “Beach” movie in the series, Beach Blanket Bingo (Disc/Download).

Like Ryan Gosling’s Ken, as far as I can determine, Frankie Avalon’s job in the 1960s was “beach”. What a gig! There were many gorgeous girls prancing around him in bikinis, but none as charming as Annette. She had oodles of charisma, along with an unflappable comb-over hairstyle that could survive wind, waves, and even a skydiving helmet. I love the mermaid side character in BBB, with Lorelai acting as a precursor to Daryl Hannah’s “Madison” in Splash. It’s a shame the romance between the mermaid and her beachbum lover Bonehead gets interrupted time and again with the antics of a middle-aged motorcycle gang masquerading as adolescents. Honestly, if this movie had been nothing more than mermaid rescues and drinks at the local bar with Frankie and Annette singing their hits, I would have been a happy viewer. Who needs skydiving and lame kidnapping plots when you have “beach”???

Although the sexcapades of these teenagers seem pretty chaste by today’s standards, there’s a surprising amount of double entendre and suggested nudity. We’re left to imagine what may have happened during Bonehead’s date with the mermaid, which results in the loss of her dress by the end of the night. For this reason, it seems like a great time to mix up the classic eighties resort drink, a Sex on the Beach.

Sex on the Beach

1 ½ oz Vodka

½ oz Peach Schnapps

½ oz Chambord

1 ½ oz Orange Juice

1 ½ oz Cranberry Juice

Add the vodka, peach schnapps, Chambord, and cranberry juice to a hurricane glass. Fill with ice. Top with orange juice, and garnish with a cherry and cocktail umbrella.

Like other 1960s teen movies, the cameos in this are incredible. Paul Lynde as the scheming music manager, Don Rickles as the nightclub owner, and even Buster Keaton as an aging pervert! The plot doesn’t make sense, but it doesn’t need to. As long as you’re okay with a film based entirely around shimmying teens and retro bikinis, you’ll do just fine. Cheers!

Comedies

Barbie

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: Barbie, 2023

A new summer cocktail book has reignited my love of all things Barbie. Ginny Landt’s The Official Barbie Cocktail Book has so many wonderful (and wonderfully pink!) cocktails and mocktails that it inspired me to revisit a recent favorite, Greta Gerwig’s Barbie (Disc/Download).

Arriving in 2023 like a blast of color after the dark years of the pandemic, Barbie offered reassurance that we’d be okay. Cinema and imagination would survive. I don’t know what I expected from a movie about my favorite childhood toy, but Barbie was everything I didn’t know I wanted: fantasy, adventure, comedy, musical, feminist rallying cry, and Slim Aarons fever dream, wrapped in existential crisis. Being a woman is complicated, so it’s only natural the dolls who were made to represent us experience the same anxieties and societal pressures. The film’s message gets a little muddied by the end, but ultimately, I think it’s about treating everyone with dignity and respect, no matter their gender. Also: never let yourself be put in a box.

When this movie came out two years ago, I had no idea that by 2025 I’d be living in the Mojo Dojo Casa House timeline. Incompetent men have taken over, smart women have lost their power, and we all have to pretend to be interested in The Godfather and golf. It’s for this reason that I chose to make Ginny Landt’s “Movie Night” recipe because unlike a lot of the other cocktails in her book, it’s dark in color. Nevertheless, it’s bubbly and refreshing, because even in the land of “brewski beers”, there are pockets of joy. While watching Barbie, I recommend drinking a Movie Night cocktail.

Movie Night (adapted from The Official Barbie Cocktail Book)

1 ½ oz Gold Rum (I used Smith & Cross Traditional Jamaica Rum)

¾ oz Coffee Liqueur

½ oz Lime Juice

7 oz Coke

Add ice to a Collins glass. Pour rum, coffee liqueur, lime juice, and Coke on top. Garnish with popcorn.

Watching Barbie is always a delight because of the sets, costumes, and the mere presence of Ryan Gosling as Ken. No actor has ever made me laugh as hard as Gosling when he starts to play Matchbox Twenty’s “Push”, and in that moment, he is definitely Kenough. Kudos to the Disney Channel for preparing him for the role of a lifetime. If you need a break from our bleak human timeline and current events, then join me—Ordinary Barbie and my flattering top—on a trip to Barbie Land. Maybe, if enough people visit, we’ll be inspired to make it a reality someday. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

The Girl Can’t Help It

LizLockeLeave a comment
Image: The Girl Can’t Help It, 1956

If you haven’t watched My Mom Jayne yet, STOP what you’re doing and go watch Mariska Hargitay’s stunning documentary right now!!! Then, after you’ve finished crying a river, check out one of Jayne Mansfield’s best performances in Frank Tashlin’s The Girl Can’t Help It (Disc).

Taken as a whole, the movie feels like a parody of itself. The producers knew Jayne was constantly compared to Marilyn Monroe in the press, so they got The Seven Year Itch’s Tom Ewell to play yet another schlub who miraculously catches the eye of a woman waaaaaay out of his league. The movie uses Jayne’s physique and exaggerated costumes to hilarious effect, with big chunks of ice melting as she walks down the street, and milk boiling over in the milkman’s hands. She swings those hips like Jessica Rabbit, as though her upper and lower halves aren’t even connected to the same body. Mansfield’s mob girlfriend character Jerri Jordan is reluctantly trying to break into the music business, which gives Tashlin an excuse to feature a ton of R&B artists from the time period. Acts such as Little Richard, Fats Domino, The Platters, and Eddie Cochran pop up in nightclubs and on television, and it’s wild to see the real people behind the voices I’ve come to know so well in my vinyl collection. But the greatest treat of all is Julie London, who plays “the one who got away”, appearing like a ghost to Tom Ewell’s agent character. Having owned Julie is her Name for many years, losing it, then somehow gaining it back from my deceased uncle’s estate, I feel like Julie’s ghost won’t leave me alone either.

Because boobs (and milk) are such a running gag in this movie, I had to do a cream-based drink. The cherry flavor is sweet like Jerri, and it feels like a frothy confection in a glass—a cocktail version of Jayne’s final pastel evening gown. While watching The Girl Can’t Help It, I recommend drinking a Cherry Jordan.

Cherry Jordan

1 oz Vodka

1 oz Cherry Heering

½ oz White Crème de Cacao

1 oz Heavy Cream

Maraschino cherry

Combine vodka, Cherry Heering, crème de cacao, and cream in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Shot in glorious DeLuxe Color, The Girl Can’t Help It is a true feast for the eyes. The costumes and sets pop like a Powell & Pressburger picture, as if The Red Shoes had been directed by the guy who drew Looney Tunes. This movie is campy, fun, and surprisingly clever, and it’s the perfect way to celebrate a woman who was all these things, and more. Cheers!

Comedies

Summer School

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: Summer School, 1987

Congrats to all the teachers out there for making it through another school year! It hasn’t been an easy one (certainly not here in Gilead… er, Texas), but hopefully, you’ll be spending the summer sipping cocktails or mocktails in a Hawaiian shirt and not teaching remedial English like Mark Harmon in this week’s pick, Summer School (Disc/Download).

A movie that was on heavy television repeat during my formative years, Carl Reiner’s Summer School effectively scared me into getting good grades. If the alternative was taking summer classes with jocks, strippers, and a guy named “Chainsaw”, I’d keep that GPA up.  Even as an adult, the scene with the rabid bunnies is horrifying. Nevertheless, being married to a teacher has made me appreciate the heart behind the movie. Mr. Shoop thinks he just has to do the bare minimum in order to keep his gym teacher job, but in the end, all he really wants is for these kids to succeed. Success is not about teaching them to ace the final exam; it’s about helping them become better humans. Getting them to focus and study is part of that, but teachers do so much more. They are therapists, career counselors, surrogate parents, and sometimes, Lamaze coaches. Teachers may get summers off, but it’s because they’re burnt out from doing at least five other jobs throughout the rest of the year.

I’m slightly in love with Mr. Shoop’s beach bungalow, and totally in love with all his Hawaiian shirts. He may not have gotten to take that dream Hawaiian vacation, but he still lives an enviable life by the ocean. Lean into those summer beach vibes with this SoCal Spritz.

SoCal Spritz

1 oz Malibu Coconut Rum

2 oz Pineapple Juice

½ oz Lime Juice

2 oz Prosecco

1 oz Soda Water

Dried Pineapple Slice (Garnish)

In a shaker with ice, combine Malibu rum, pineapple juice, and lime juice. Shake to combine and chill, then strain into a hurricane glass filled halfway with crushed ice. Top with Prosecco and soda water, and garnish with dried pineapple slice.

I like to think Chainsaw and Dave became cinema darlings after attending Mr. Shoop’s summer school, eventually making their own horror masterpiece. Maybe they bonded with Guillermo Del Toro. Maybe Dave still wears that leopard beret. Maybe those bunnies are going to haunt me until my final breath. Cheers!