Comedies

The Wedding Singer

April 22, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

As my five year wedding anniversary approaches, I’m reminded of a film that was a big inspiration to me in the planning of my nuptials. Namely, it was an inspiration of the kind of wedding I didn’t want. No big hair, or behemoth dresses, or tacky reception halls, or drunken best man speeches for me and my beloved (though the orchestral version of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin” did make an appearance during my aisle walk, in steel drum form). The film I referenced was that classic homage to the 1980’s, The Wedding Singer (DVD/Download). I like to watch this every year in the spring as wedding season rolls around, to remind me of how lucky I am that I didn’t get married in the 80’s. Shoulder pads and perms- oh the horror!

The Wedding Singer is a sweet movie starring Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore as two people who are unfortunately saddled with fiancés that are totally wrong for both of them. He’s a wedding singer, she’s a waitress, and they meet cute at a catered event as Alexis Arquette covers Boy George songs and pre-teen boys drink too many rum-and-cokes. Sandler and Barrymore are absolutely adorable together, and the script is chock full of hilarious 80’s references. I never really cared for Adam Sandler before this movie, but in The Wedding Singer, he proved that he can be funny and heartfelt (and that he can totally rock a permed mullet). Supporting roles played by Christine Taylor, Jon Lovitz, and the always amazing Steve Buscemi add to the comedic scenes, and even Billy Idol makes a cameo toward the end. If you’re a fan of 80’s nostalgia and romantic comedies, trust me, this is your movie.

My drink this week was inspired by #1 Miami Vice fan Glenn Guglia, Drew Barrymore’s fiancé. Glenn is your typical 80’s smarmy frat boy/stock broker type, and his drink of choice is the classic 80’s cocktail, the Alabama Slammer. It’s sweet, boozy, it’s empty of anything substantial- it’s the 1980’s in a glass.

1 oz Southern Comfort

1oz Sloe Gin

1oz Amaretto

2oz Orange Juice

Garnish: Orange wheel and maraschino cherry

Add all the ingredients into a shaker filled with ice. Give it your best Tom Cruise-in-Cocktail shake, then strain into a highball glass filled with ice. Garnish with orange wheel and cherry.

My advice to you on this one- watch your alcohol consumption closely because you don’t want to end up like Julia Guglia, climbing into a Delorean with vomit in your hair. Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore would go on to make many more movies together over the years, but this one is by far my favorite. The soundtrack is great, and I dare you not to be humming “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me” long after it ends. Just be careful of “Ladies Night”- Jon Lovitz has a tendency to get into my head and never leave. Cheers!

The Party

April 14, 2014September 21, 2020 LizLocke2 Comments

Image credit The Mirisch Corp., The Party, 1968

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 The Party, 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!

Comedies

The Royal Tenenbaums

March 25, 2014April 1, 2018 LizLockeLeave a comment

A recent screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel has inspired me this week to revisit my favorite Wes Anderson film, The Royal Tenenbaums (DVD/Download). Of course I love any film by this director who has such a keen eye for style, but my personal favorite is still this 2001 ode to dysfunctional families and Nico. It’s quirky, it’s stylish, and it’s heartfelt (I dare anyone not to feel saddened to their core as Elliott Smith’s ‘Needle in the Hay’ frames a character’s suicide attempt), but it’s also delightfully funny in other moments. With The Royal Tenenbaums, Wes Anderson has created a world that seems so real that I feel like I could just put on a Lacoste polo dress and aviator sunglasses and step right in.

This film tells the story of the wealthy Tenenbaum family and the struggle of the patriarch Royal to bring them back together. Gene Hackman does a phenomenal job of playing the hilarious and conniving Royal, and Anjelica Huston brings an unexpected softness to the part of his estranged wife Etheline. Their three children are played by Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, and Ben Stiller, and all three are former child prodigies who have grown up to be adult messes. Anderson regulars Bill Murray and Owen Wilson round out the cast, along with the sadly now-deceased Kumar Pallana (or Pagoda as I’ll always think of him). Of course the sets and costumes are phenomenal, like a 1970’s dollhouse come to life. There are the typical Wes Anderson quirks, like a pet hawk named Mordecai, and Dalmatian mice, and of course the soundtrack is perfect in every way. A mix of The Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, Paul Simon, and a plucky orchestral score, the music of The Royal Tenenbaums always makes me feel like I’ve just raided the record collection of a very cool relative.

For my cocktail pairing, I wanted to find something that seemed classic yet eccentric, sort of like the characters in this film. I scoured my bar to come up with a list of ingredients that would be off-putting on their own, yet when brought together would make a wonderful union. I call this week’s concoction the Tenenbaum Toast.

1 ½ oz Deep Eddy Grapefruit Vodka
½ oz St. Germain Elderflower Liqueur
½ oz Key Lime Juice
1 oz Club Soda
1 tsp Grenadine

Fill a champagne flute or small glass (the more unusual the better!) with crushed ice. Combine first three ingredients in a cocktail shaker with ice, and shake until chilled. Strain into prepared glass and top with club soda and grenadine. Dalmatian straw optional.

The pink color of this drink is meant to match that beautiful “Wes Anderson Pink” (as I like to call it) that covers the walls of the Tenenbaum house, as well as much of The Grand Budapest Hotel. I like to think that Margot Tenenbaum would enjoy one of these in the bathtub with her clandestine vintage cigarettes, as her old television teeters perilously close to the water. So as Wes Anderson is showered with accolades for his latest film, I urge you to take the time to re-discover one of his older works with a strange and wonderful cocktail. If you want to go all out, layer on the eye liner and watch with a bored expression. Cheers!

Comedies

Groundhog Day

February 1, 2014February 1, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

To all you woodchuck-chuckers out there, I know I may be a little early with my Groundhog Day celebration, but I’m so excited I just couldn’t wait!! Sunday marks one of my favorite holidays of the year, the day we look to a large squirrel predicting the weather. But Groundhog Day has become so much more, thanks in large part to the 1993 dark comedy classic starring Bill Murray. Full disclaimer, I happen to have grown up very close to Punxsutawney, PA, so that could be a reason this movie has endeared itself to me so strongly over the years. The polka music, the puddles of frigid murky water on street corners, the blizzards that move off to the east and hit Altoona- ah, childhood.

In Groundhog Day (DVD/Download), Bill Murray plays a weatherman Phil Conners who is sent to tiny little Punxsutawney with his producer and cameraman (played by Andie MacDowell and Chris Elliott, respectively) to cover Groundhog Day. He’s the cynical prima donna who rails against small-town life and finds annoyance in the quaintest of celebrations. While there, a strange phenomenon overtakes Phil, and he begins waking up every day in the same bed in Punxsutawney, on Groundhog Day. No matter what he does, he finds that his actions have no consequences, and the reset button keeps getting pushed on his life. In order to move on, he has to become a better man. What this has to do with the annual Groundhog prediction I’m not totally sure, but it does provide a fantastic backdrop. Of course, the comedy turns pretty dark as he begins to cycle through various ways to kill himself rather than endure one more day in Punxsutawney (understandably so), but there are also rare gems of comedic brilliance as he goes on a wild drunken bender through town, eats an entire restaurant menu while smoking a cigarette because there are no health consequences anymore, and executes a flawless bank heist. Murray is absolutely perfect as he transitions from cynical to desperate to charming, and even Andie MacDowell manages to turn in a performance that isn’t terrible.

Every year on Groundhog Day, my husband and I have started a tradition where we eat and drink like there’s no tomorrow, and live that day like we wish we could live every day for the rest of the year. The point being, if we were to suddenly wake up on February 3^rd and it was still February 2^nd, we’d like to plan a day that we could enjoy over and over again. With that idea of no consequences and no tomorrow in mind, my cocktail is a doozy this week. No, it’s not Sweet Vermouth on the rocks with a twist (I have one thing to say about that- Bleh). Instead, I’m serving up something a little more wild- a Don’t Forget Your Booties Shake. BING!

Don’t Forget Your Booties Shake

1.5 oz Godiva Chocolate Liqueur

1.5 oz Patrón XO

1 oz Brandy

2 Scoops Ice Cream (I used a French Silk flavor, but anything chocolate related is fine)

Milk to taste

Whipped cream (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend until liquefied, and then pour into a glass. Top with a dollop of whipped cream.

This really is the most calorically stupid mixed drink I could think of. Also, watch out for that first sip- it’s a doozy. Enjoy it today, because I like to think that on Groundhog Day, the possibility of no tomorrow and therefore no hangovers is exponentially higher. I know the original point of this holiday was for the groundhog to predict an early spring or six more weeks of winter, but as any Western Pennsylvanian can tell you, that whole thing is a joke. There are ALWAYS six more weeks of winter, even if Punxsutawney Phil doesn’t see his shadow. As Phil the weatherman says, “it’s gonna be cold, it’s gonna be grey, and it’s gonna last you for the rest of your life.” So drink up, laugh at Needlenose Ned the Head, shove an entire piece of angel food cake in your mouth, and make February 2nd the best day of your life (because you may see it again tomorrow). 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!

Comedies

Sleepless in Seattle

November 27, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

Today, I’m helping my mother celebrate her birthday by providing a cocktail pairing for one of her favorite movies, Sleepless in Seattle. It really doesn’t get much more romantic, or much more 90’s than this movie. What I love about this particular Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan combo is that we get to see the two sides of Tom Hanks- the dramatic (lonely, grieving widower) and the comedic (a single father trying to re-enter the dating scene). After this film, Hanks would begin his string of dramatic roles that would win him his much-deserved Oscars (Philadelphia, Forrest Gump, etc.), so it’s with that in mind that I relish the opportunity to see him debate drinks vs. dinner with his young son, get misty over the end of The Dirty Dozen, and fidget helplessly on a first date. And yet, his speech to “Dr. Marcia” about coping with the loss of his wife, and remembering to “breathe in and out every morning” always makes me a little misty.

Sleepless in Seattle tells the story of Annie (played by Meg Ryan) and Sam (played by Tom Hanks). Sam is recently widowed, and Annie is engaged to be married to dorky, allergic-to-everything Walter (hilariously portrayed by Bill Pullman). She hears Sam telling his story to a call-in radio psychiatrist one night, and is inexplicably drawn to him. She writes a letter, throws it out, her friend sends it anyway, asking Sam to meet her at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. The film borrows heavily from An Affair to Remember, and really it turns into a celebration of all romance movies, so-called “chick flicks”. Sleepless in Seattle can get a little cheesy at times, but it’s got heart.

Midway through the film, Tom Hanks is schooled in the ways of modern dating by his friend, played by Rob Reiner. He’s told that his future date will want tiramisu. In reference to this, and to Seattle’s booming coffee culture, I’m preparing a coffee-inspired drink.

Tom’s Tiramisu Martini

2 oz White Chocolate Godiva Liqueur

1 oz Patron XO Coffee Liqueur

1 oz Vanilla Vodka

Chocolate syrup, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder

Mix alcohol ingredients in a cocktail shaker over ice. Swirl chocolate syrup around a martini glass. Pour cocktail into prepped glass, and sprinkle cocoa powder and espresso powder on top.

Sleepless in Seattle is really the comfort food of movies. I know many people will be sitting down to eat their mashed potatoes and stuffing on Thanksgiving (myself included), and I suggest popping in this film after you’ve gorged yourself and need to rest on the couch. Instead of coffee with your pie, pour yourself this tiramisu martini and watch the magic happen. Because if you haven’t figured it out by now, when Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan get together, it is definitely magic. Cheers!

Comedies

Joe Versus the Volcano

November 26, 2013January 5, 2019 LizLocke3 Comments

Welcome to the first Cinema Sips theme week! Over this Thanksgiving holiday, I’m showcasing a week of Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan films. Their movies are perfect for lazy afternoons spent digesting in front of the television, particularly with a post-dinner cocktail. Today, I’m screening the first of their collaborations- the totally underrated Joe Versus The Volcano.

I have to say, as much as I love Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan together in this, I didn’t fully appreciate the movie until I had entered the workforce and found myself in a depressing, entry level job. My situation was nothing as bad as Joe and his monotonous job sending out catalogs for surgical devices in a windowless, grey basement office with flickering florescent lights, but still it wasn’t a picnic. I liken this film to Office Space mixed with Castaway, with a dash of Metropolis.

Perpetually sick, Joe visits a doctor who tells him that he has a “Brain Cloud”. It has no symptoms, but he’s told that it will definitely kill him in a few months. Shortly after, he’s visited by a wealthy businessman who tells Joe that he’ll give him unlimited funds and travel arrangements to the South Pacific, if Joe will agree to jump into a volcano as a sacrifice to the gods for the people of Waponi Woo (who as luck would have it, have a rare mineral on their island that the businessman wants access to). Joe is urged to “live like a king, die like a man”, and that’s exactly what he decides to do.

The plot is admittedly ludicrous, but I adore the actors and the script, and the art deco sets are fabulous. Meg Ryan actually gets to play three characters, bouncing between a Betty Boop accent, a Valley Girl accent, and her own normal one. At each stage of Joe’s journey she is there in some form or another, and each time he meets her he tells her he’s sure they’ve met before. This theme of fate between the Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan is something that will carry through to their other films, but in this one it helps us see that everything that has happened on Joe’s journey has led to her.

For my cocktail pairing, I’m making a “Brain Cloud”. This features orange soda in tribute to the Waponis, and it’s a tropical, rum-based drink. Just a warning though, Joe’s “Brain Cloud” made him tired and puffy, and frankly I can’t promise that this won’t do the same depending on how many you consume. You’ve been warned!

Brain Cloud

1oz light rum

2oz pineapple juice

1oz Orange Soda

Pineapple slice for garnish

Mix the rum and pineapple juice together over ice in a shaker. Pour into a chilled martini glass, top with orange soda. Garnish with pineapple.

My hope today is that you watch this film and either realize how lucky you are that your life is nothing like Joe’s, or you realize that it is and now it’s time to “live like a king”. I love that this film celebrates taking control of your life, making brave choices, and buying fabulous luggage. So happy watching, happy drinking, and may you live to be a thousand years old. Cheers!

Comedies

Waking Ned Devine

November 16, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLocke1 Comment

This week, I’m pleased to respond to Cinema Sips’ first reader film request. This one comes from my dad, so in celebration of his birthday today, I’m screening an old favorite of his, Waking Ned Devine. This is one of those little Irish/UK films that miraculously made it across the pond into US theaters and video stores back in the late 90’s. My dad and I both enjoyed this tremendously when it came out, him for the copious amounts of Jameson and beautiful rolling scenery of Ireland, and me for the charming accents and the scene of a skinny naked old man riding a motorcycle. It’s a quirky little movie, but very enjoyable. Particularly if you’re having a cocktail or two while you watch it.

The plot of Waking Ned Devine is slightly similar to the low-brow (but total guilty pleasure of mine) Weekend at Bernie’s. Essentially, the townspeople of a tiny village in Ireland have to make it seem as if the title character (Ned Devine) is still alive, so that they can collect his lottery winnings. It was perhaps the shock of winning the lottery that killed Ned in the first place, but the village decides that he would have wanted to share his fortune. Hilarity ensues when the village tries to fool the representative from the Lottery Commission, and while the film stops short of dressing up and toting around a cadaver (oh Bernie, how I miss you!), they do go to some pretty great lengths to pull it off.

Because the townspeople spend a lot of time in the local pub scheming, this film works well with a cocktail pairing. Of course, if you want to be authentic about it, just pour yourself a glass of Jameson Irish Whiskey and be done. However, I’ve always been a little more partial to that other great Irish alcohol export- Guinness. This week, I’m making a traditional Black Velvet cocktail:

Black Velvet

Champagne or sparkling wine

Guinness stout beer

Fill a flute halfway with the champagne. Turn a spoon upside down over the top of the glass, and pour the beer slowly over it so that the liquid runs gently down the sides of the spoon. The Guinness will initially layer nicely over the champagne, but as you sip the two will mix and turn the contents of the glass a golden amber color.

It definitely takes some practice to get this cocktail looking the way you want it to, but it’s not a terrible thing to have to drink your mistakes. I always feel transported to Ireland when I drink Guinness and watch this film. The scenery is beautiful, the people are, shall we say, different (it’s really saying something when the most attractive guy in the film is named Pig), and the laughter is genuine. This movie proves that if you have good friends, you don’t need to win the lottery to be rich in life. But the money doesn’t hurt. Cheers!

(and happy birthday dad!)

Comedies

Best in Show

November 11, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLocke1 Comment

Today in my house we’re celebrating the birthday of my furry kiddo, Miss Pickles Marie Hasselhoff. She is our beloved border collie, and she’s turning 5 today. I thought, what better way to celebrate than to put on her favorite movie, Best in Show. It’s one of my favorites too- how convenient! This is one of those films I never get tired of seeing, no matter how many times I’ve watched it. Really, what is funnier than a mockumentary about fancy schmancy dog shows and the people that frequent them? Nothing. We like to throw a birthday party for Pickles each year to let her know how special she is to us, so while she and her furry friends are playing, the humans can enjoy this movie with the accompanying cocktail. A win-win for everyone!

Now, Miss Pickles is of questionable lineage, despite what her very formal name suggests. I don’t think she’d make it into the Mayflower Dog Show, though she would have fun being pampered like these dogs. Sadly, she shares the personality of Weimaraner Beatrice- very neurotic, but we love her anyway. It’s hard to even pinpoint who my favorite character is in this film. Christopher Guest has assembled the funniest improve actors out there to tell this story, and they all make me convulse with insane amounts of laughter. I love Parker Posey and Michael Hitchcock as the catalog-obsessed, neurotic married couple, almost as much as I love Michael McKean and John Michael Higgins as the gay couple who name their shih tzu’s after 1950’s movie stars and travel with a suitcase full of kimonos. And let’s not forget nut-namin’ dark horse contender Harlan Pepper, played by Guest himself, or the closeted lesbian couple played by Jane Lynch and the brilliant Jennifer Coolidge. In short, the actors are hilarious, the dogs are adorable- it’s no wonder this is such a great film.

For my cocktail pairing, I’m serving up an obvious choice- a Salty Dog. However, in keeping with the spirit of pedigreed, high-class dogs (now keep in mind, I’m in no way talking about their owners) I’m using only the finest ingredients. Fresh-squeezed grapefruit juice, top shelf vodka, and Himalayan pink salt for rimming. But if you want to be all Cookie and Gerry Fleck about it, the cheap vodka you drank in college and Tropicana will do just fine.

The Salty Dog

2 oz vodka

4 oz fresh grapefruit juice

Salt and lime for rimming

Moisten the rim of a highball glass with lime juice, rim with salt. Pour the vodka and grapefruit juice over ice in the glass, and stir.

*Note, this drink can also be made with gin, but I prefer to use vodka.

I’m looking forward to gathering with friends as my four-legged little girl basks in attention, and laughing very, very hard every time Fred Willard is onscreen. What Best in Show does such a good job of satirizing is the phenomenon of dogowners who slowly start to resemble their pets. I have to say in my case, it’s kind of true. My hair has slowly lightened over the years to match Pickles’, and I too get grumpy if strangers try to touch me. So I encourage you to watch this film, drink up, and be amazed at how many times you find yourself saying, “It’s funny because it’s TRUE!” Cheers!

Comedies

Midnight in Paris

November 4, 2013January 23, 2014 LizLockeLeave a comment

This week is something I’ve been looking forward to since I started Cinema Sips. I hate to play favorites, and obviously I’m still discovering new cocktails while I write this blog, but if I had to chose a favorite drink, it would definitely be the French ’75. Typically I’ve been starting with the movie and finding a drink that I think pairs nicely with it. But in this case, the French ’75 is so special to me that I couldn’t wait for a movie to come along that would inspire me to choose this drink. This week, I searched my DVD (and VHS and Laserdisc!) collections in order to find the best excuse possible to make a French ’75, and I finally settled on one of my favorite films of the past few years, Midnight in Paris.

I was never a huge fan of Woody Allen’s older films (sorry, not even Annie Hall) but I really love his newer works. What I love about Midnight in Paris is that although it’s a completely absurd scenario (a writer travels to Paris with his obnoxious fiance, and while walking the streets at night, finds himself in a time-warp of literary giants) I really root for the characters and want this plot to be a reality. Every night at midnight, this writer (played by Owen Wilson) is transported to his dream era- Paris in the 1920’s. It was the heyday of writers and artists and thinkers, and also a heyday for cocktail drinkers. Coincidence? I think not. He meets F. Scott Fitzgerald and his charming wife Zelda (played brilliantly by Alison Pill), along with Ernest Hemingway, Gertrude Stein, Man Ray, and Salvador Dali. When I first read about the plot of this movie I thought it sounded absurd; however, Owen Wilson’s wide-eyed, giddy portrayal of the modern writer makes me feel more than excited to go on this journey with him. And while you’re going on this journey, why not enjoy a fabulous gin cocktail?

Over the years, I’ve honed my recipe of the French ’75, and now lucky readers of Cinema Sips get to reap the benefits:

Fitzgerald’s French ’75

1oz dry gin

½ fresh lemon juice

½ oz simple syrup

2oz chilled champagne

1 lemon twist

Combine gin, lemon juice, and simple syrup in a cocktail shaker over ice. Shake until cold, then pour into martini glass. Top with champagne and lemon twist.

I chose Midnight in Paris for my French ’75 pairing first of all because of the film’s Parisian setting, but second of all because it’s widely known that F. Scott Fitzgerald was a heavy gin drinker. This is my very favorite gin cocktail, so what better way to celebrate a literary hero of mine. Also, this drink feels like a cocktail of a bygone era, and like the main character, I dream of being transported back to a time when all of these amazing artists were mingling and creating and making history. By the end of the film, Owen Wilson realizes that everybody has their own unique ideal time and place. I’m lucky that I can truthfully say I’m living in mine right now- Austin TX circa 2013. But if I ever want to take a vacation (in my mind) to the most fabulous version of Paris, I just have to put on this movie and make sure the gin is cold and the champagne is flowing. Cheers!

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