Tag: movie cocktails

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

The Sting

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: The Sting, 1973

It’s rare for me to think of a movie as 100% perfect. Most of the time (especially in our current era of 2hr+ movies), I’m considering which scenes needed to be cut, which actor was miscast, and at what point the story started to drag. So when I say that The Sting (Disc/Download) is a 100% perfect movie, know that this is a statement I don’t make lightly. From beginning to end, from the biggest star to the tiniest detail, there is nothing I would change about this classic caper film.

Starring Robert Redford and Paul Newman as con men attempting to fleece Irish gangster Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw), George Roy Hill’s film truly immerses the viewer in Depression-era Chicago. From the title cards, to the music, to the costumes, to the cars, not a single element was overlooked in this production. Add to that a script that’s as clever and slick as an Ocean’s movie, full of twists and turns that never underestimates the intelligence of the audience but still keeps us guessing, and you’ve got a film I can’t look away from. Plus, did I mention the two most attractive men in Hollywood, not just in the 1970s, but maybe, possibly ever, are in the leading roles? Robert Redford was born to play a smart guy in a tux, and Paul Newman was born to play a winking alcoholic, and this is the movie where they both get to shine. Not since Dudley Moore slurred from a limousine have I seen such impeccable drunk acting.

Like the Ocean’s movies, the con job in The Sting is also a revenge job. This time our villain is a vicious Irish mob boss who likes to cheat at cards and doesn’t forgive easily. These guys need to take him for all he’s worth, but never let him know he’s been taken. So sit back and watch the elaborate machinations take shape while you sip on an Irish Stinger.

Irish Stinger

2 oz Bailey’s Irish Cream liqueur

2 oz White Creme de Menthe

Combine Irish Cream with Creme de Menthe in a shaker without ice. Shake until combined, then strain into a glass filled with a large ice cube.

A drink that tastes like an Andes Mint, this is a perfect after-dinner beverage for this undeniably perfect film. But a word of warning: once you see it, you’ll immediately want to watch it again. I could say the same about this drink, too. Truly, a match made in movie-cocktail heaven. Cheers!

Comedies

Moonstruck

LizLocke2 Comments
Image credit: Moonstruck, 1987

As a writer, I try to give the people what they want. And if social media is any indication, the people want Moonstruck (Disc/Download). A movie I’ve always enjoyed, it wasn’t until a recent rewatch that I understood the power of this romantic comedy. You want positive feedback? Announce that you’re watching Moonstruck and wait for all the people to chime in to say how much they looooove Moonstruck. And they will chime in because this movie is just that delightful.

Starring Cher as a widowed Brooklyn bookkeeper who lives with her Italian-American family and is suddenly juggling the affections of two brothers, Moonstruck succeeds because of two things:

  1. The fantastic script by John Patrick Shanley
  2. Nicolas Cage

All of the actors in this are brilliant, but Cage has the most difficult role. He has to be angry, slightly unhinged, sporting a wooden hand, yet somehow sexy enough for a smart, mature woman like Cher’s character Loretta to give him the time of day. Sexy enough for the audience to give him the time of day. Spoiler: he’s all that and then some. This guy is a wounded wolf who wears his vulnerability on his sleeve, particularly when Loretta graces him with her presence at the opera. The moment she removes her coat and he thanks her for taking the time to look nice for their date, I absolutely swoon. If your partner doesn’t acknowledge you and look at you the way Ronny looks at Loretta, you’re with the wrong person.

Because Loretta comes from a big Italian family, food and wine are the backbone of so many Moonstruck scenes. For a celebratory occasion, only a little bubbly will do. I love a good spritz, particularly one that uses the Italian liqueur Amaro. You could try the Sicilian variety Averna in honor of Ronny and Johnny’s “dying” mother, or you could go authentic Brooklyn by picking up a bottle of Forthave Spirits Marseille Amaro. Either way, you’re in for a treat. While watching Moonstruck, I recommend drinking a “That’s Amaro!”

That’s Amaro!

2 oz Amaro

3 oz Prosecco

1 oz Soda Water

Lime Wheel garnish

Build drink over ice, stirring gently to combine. Garnish with a lime wheel.

Watching Moonstruck always makes me feel like I just spent the night having dinner with family. There’s a familiarity to these characters and the way they interact that transcends cultural backgrounds. I may not have grown up in a multi-generational household, and as a child most of my access to fettuccini and manicotti was through Stouffer’s, but the happiness and frustration of being with people who know you better than you know yourself is universal. As is, apparently, our love for this movie. Cheers!

Dramas

The Phantom Thread

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Image credit: The Phantom Thread, 2017

“A house that doesn’t change is a dead house.” What a quote to send us into the new year! Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Phantom Thread (Disc/Download) has a lot to say on the subject of death, but it has just as much to say about life. About finding the muse that makes you move forward. In Reynolds Woodcock’s case, it was a person and an unending yearning for perfection. In my case, it might just be this movie.

The Phantom Thread is one of those films that feels fresh and new each time you watch it. Like an evening gown from the House of Woodcock, there are so many layers that it’s impossible to see them all at once. Initially, the viewer is dazzled by the costumes and sweeping score by Jonny Greenwood, which sounds like something out of a Hitchcock film. Maybe you’re also a little turned on by Daniel Day-Lewis ordering breakfast (I know I was!). But then on the next viewing, you start to notice the subtleties in the performances. How one look or turn of phrase can convey so many emotions. Maybe you start to see it as a romance between two impossible people who could only ever love each other. But then on the next viewing, you start to see it as a ghost story. There’s a reverence for the dead, and a comfort from thinking that some of them are still sticking around. Eventually the dresses start to play second fiddle to the women in them, which perhaps was always the point of haute couture: to bring out the best in the person wearing it.

The change that hits the House of Woodcock comes in the form of Alma, a lovely but somewhat invisible waitress. Reynolds transforms her into his muse, and under his gaze we see her confidence grow. As his bitchy sister Cyril says with an assessing sniff, Alma smells of rosewater, sandalwood, lemons, and sherry. A couple of those ingredients found their way into my cocktail this week, and it all came together into a hue that matches Alma’s first Woodcock creation! While you’re watching The Phantom Thread, I recommend drinking this Rosewater ’75.

Rosewater ’75

1 1/2 oz Pink Gin

1/2 oz Lemon Juice

1/2 oz Blood Orange Cordial Syrup

3-4 drops Rosewater

Prosecco to top

Combine gin, lemon juice, blood orange syrup, and rosewater in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Top with Prosecco.

This is a great movie to watch on New Year’s, not just for the lively 1950s NYE party, but because it inspires us to evolve. I honestly don’t know how to categorize it (gothic romance, period melodrama, dark comedy?), but I do know that I’m excited to watch it again. Same time, next year. Cheers!

Holiday Films

The Preacher’s Wife

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Image credit: The Preacher’s Wife, 1996

It takes a special kind of movie star to step into the shoes of Cary Grant, particularly when those shoes are made for a charming angel in The Bishop’s Wife. Happily, Denzel Washington decided to try them on for size, and to me, it’s a perfect fit. Penny Marshall’s The Preacher’s Wife (Disc/Download) is the rare update on a classic that feels every bit as delightful as the original, and for that I’m grateful. If you thought nobody could make a modern movie about faith seem both poignant and funny, Denzel is here to make you a believer.

I wasn’t an enormous Whitney Houston fan before watching the biopic Whitney Houston: I Wanna Dance With Somebody, but this 2022 under-appreciated gem has converted me. The sheer number of hits this woman had in her brief lifetime is staggering, and although she didn’t act in many movies, The Preacher’s Wife was tailored to Whitney’s specific talents. Playing a gospel singer in her husband’s church choir, she’s certainly magnetic in the role of Julia, but then she does the torch song “I Believe in You and Me”, and both Dudley the Angel and every single audience member watching this movie falls instantly in love with her. As with the original, the best scenes are the ones with Julia and Dudley, though Courtney B. Vance does a perfectly fine update on the David Niven role of a tortured clergyman. However, the reason I watch this movie isn’t because I want to see if a preacher will find his faith again; I want to see if an angel will give up everything for love. Or if instead, this impossible love will stay impossible.

Because this is an old-fashioned story about faith and love at Christmas, it seems appropriate to watch it with an Old Fashioned! This one uses gingerbread syrup, and it’s so good that I wish Dudley would use his special touch to keep my glass full all season long.  While watching The Preacher’s Wife, I recommend drinking a Gingerbread Old Fashioned.

Gingerbread Old Fashioned

2 oz Bourbon

½ oz Gingerbread Simple Syrup

2-3 dashes orange bitters

Orange twist (garnish)

Cinnamon Stick (garnish)

Prepare glass by filling with one large ice cube or ball. Pour in bourbon, gingerbread syrup, and bitters. Stir to combine and chill. Garnish with an orange twist, and a cinnamon stick (I used Trader Joe’s rock sugar-dipped Cinnamon Swizzle Sticks).

I’d also like to give a shout-out to the film debut of Lionel Richie, who pops up as the owner of “Jazzies”, site of Julia and Dudley’s unofficial date. Julia’s husband gets jealous when they return from the outing (which he practically forced them into), and I want to scream at him, “What did you expect?? It’s Jazzies! And it’s DENZEL! Of course she had a great time!” This Christmas, believe in miracles, believe in Denzel, and above all, believe in the power of an old-fashioned love story. Cheers!  

Classic Films · Holiday Films

Bachelor Mother

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Image credit: Bachelor Mother, 1939

Anyone who has read my book knows that I harbor deep fantasies of spending New Year’s Eve with David Niven. Always the life of the party, you know you’re in for a good time with this cheeky sophisticate. Lucky for us, if we time it just right, we’re able to ring in the New Year with Niv by watching him in the delightful classic holiday film Bachelor Mother (Disc/Download)!

This is one of those wonderful pictures like The Shop Around the Corner, or Christmas in Connecticut, that’s still able to resonate with modern audiences due to its sparkling script and screwball antics. Ginger Rogers is a terrific comedienne, playing a New York shopgirl who’s just been handed a pink slip for her temporary holiday gig in the toy section of a big department store. Devastated, she’s on her way home when she sees a baby left on the steps of an orphanage. She takes it inside out of the cold, and the employees mistake her for the baby’s mother. Despite her protests, they manage to find out where she works and convince her boss (David Niven) to keep her employed even after the holidays so she can support herself and the baby. Hijinx ensue as she tries again and again to give the baby back, but eventually she’s forced to accept this situation and make the best of it. Meanwhile, Niv (beginning the movie as a rich playboy) starts to develop a fondness for this woman, and their obvious chemistry at a swanky NYE party makes him realize he’s falling for her.

If you’re hoping for some iconic Ginger Rogers moves, then you’re in luck because she puts on quite the show in a dance contest at the Pink Slipper. An ironic name, given that she’s just been handed a pink slip and needs the prize money to make up for that lost paycheck! Since I happen to love pink cocktails and gimlets, let’s combine the two. While watching Bachelor Mother, I recommend drinking a Pink Slipper.

Pink Slipper

2 oz Gin (I used Tanqueray Rangpur Lime)

1 oz Cranberry Juice

1 oz Lime Juice

1 oz Simple Syrup

Fresh cranberries (garnish)

Combine all liquid ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a glass. Garnish with fresh cranberries.

Clocking in at less than ninety-minutes, this is the perfect movie to watch when you need a little break over the holidays, but don’t have a ton of time. With its tinker toys and screwball comedy, this delightful rom-com will leave you feeling downright giddy. Cheers!

Holiday Films

A Merry Scottish Christmas

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Image credit: A Merry Scottish Christmas, Hallmark, 2023

I’m going to try not to turn this into a Party of Five appreciation post… and I’m going to fail miserably. You see, A Merry Scottish Christmas was made for those of us who still harbor a deep love for this ’90s television show and those plucky Salinger siblings. I don’t even care that this is blatant stunt casting because part of me always wanted reassurance that Bailey and Claudia would grow into happy, functioning adults. Now, here is the proof: they’re totally fine, and they’ve just inherited a Scottish castle!

Before you make the mistake of thinking two Salingers (Scott Wolf and Lacey Chabert) are now playing love interests, rest assured they are STILL siblings, albeit estranged ones. Brad is married to a thoroughly boring woman he is reluctant to impregnate, while his sister Lindsay is an overworked general practitioner. Although they’ve grown apart, Brad and Lindsay agree to reunite at their mother’s castle in Scotland, one she’d kept secret from them throughout their childhood. Now, they must decide if they’re willing to step in and help her run it, or if the family should sell. Lindsay has a romance with a charming Scottish property manager, while Brad and his boring wife reconnect over a Highland Fling, resulting in what is sure to be an extremely boring baby. It should have been named Owen, but sadly, nobody asked me.

Because this is a Hallmark movie, I was not expecting much alcohol. However, whisky tastings and boozy nights at the village bar suggest that the channel has gone to the dark side. Finally! Also, in a great PoF nod, the bar is called Salinger’s, and it’s staffed by a man named Charlie! Although there are a couple of festive cocktails imbibed here, I went with the one that utilizes the country’s main export, Scotch. While watching A Merry Scottish Christmas, I recommend drinking a Highland Snowball.

Highland Snowball

¾ cup Eggnog

1 ½ oz Scotch Whisky

½ oz Butterscotch Schnapps

Nutmeg + honey (garnish)

Star Anise

Prepare glass by dipping an edge in honey, then lightly in ground nutmeg. Set aside. Combine eggnog, schnapps, and scotch in a shaker with ice. Shake until chilled, then strain into prepared glass. Top with star anise.

With a manor that resembles something out of Downton Abbey, morning bagpipes, and cozy tartan blankets beside crackling fires, this movie is just the relaxing holiday watch I needed. The stakes are low (to castle or not to castle?), and the acting is remarkably decent. The most important thing I learned? That I will still watch Bailey and Claudia in just about anything… as long as they never play lovers. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

Mogambo

LizLocke1 Comment
Image credit: Mogambo, 1953

If you love The Jungle Cruise ride at Disneyland but were disappointed by Disney’s 2021 film adaptation, then put on a classic that gives you all the thrills and animal encounters of a trip through Adventureland. John Ford’s Mogambo (Disc/Download) may be short on puns, but it’s long on danger and melodrama.

Starring Clark Gable as a big game hunter, and Ava Gardner as the cheeky New York socialite who upends his camp and his heart, Mogambo is a stunning Technicolor production shot on location in Africa. It’s wild to me that Ford would subject stars like Gable and Gardner and Grace Kelly to such an intense environment, but the authenticity of the continent shines through. During the course of a safari, Gable finds himself at the center of a love triangle with Gardner and Kelly, who plays the wife of a British anthropologist. Clark may be quite a bit older than both actresses, but he’s still got that twinkle in his eye that makes women of any age susceptible to his charms. Ava Gardner is a breath of fresh air in this movie, and it’s through her eyes that we see the wonder of this amazing place and all its creatures. She acts as the comic relief, to the point where I almost expect her to make a “ginger snaps” joke at the sight of a crocodile. Unfortunately, it’s just me making the lame dad jokes, from my couch.

Speaking of Gardner, I recently had the pleasure of trying the Ava Gardner Goddess Blend coffee from Breakfast at Dominique’s, and I loved it so much that I decided to use it in a cocktail! Strong and complex, this drink is Ava in a nutshell. While watching Mogambo, I recommend drinking an Espresso Martini.

Espresso Martini

2 oz Vodka

1 oz freshly brewed Espresso, cooled

½ oz Kahlua coffee liqueur

½ oz simple syrup

2-3 dashes Fee Foam (optional)

Coffee beans (garnish)

Combine all ingredients except the beans in a shaker with ice, shaking vigorously for a full minute. Strain into a coupe glass, and garnish with coffee beans.

*Note, I tried making this with cold brew, but I couldn’t achieve that signature foam on top. To get it frothy, I instead made it with a freshly brewed shot of espresso and added a few dashes of Fee Foam.

The quality of the coffee you use in this martini has a big impact on the final flavor. One sip of the Ava Gardner Goddess Blend, and I immediately realized I’d never had great coffee until that moment. Now, I’m drinking it every chance I get! Honestly, the caffeine is probably a good thing out on the safari. You never know when you’ll run into a panther, or a trigger-happy Grace Kelly. Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Black Narcissus

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Image credit: Black Narcissus, 1947

If you like your nuns with a side of murderous melodrama, then strap in for the Technicolor fantasy of Black Narcissus (Disc/Download). A movie brought to my attention by Jenny Hammerton of Silver Screen Suppers, this was my first introduction into the world of Powell & Pressburger. After sinking into their completely immersive setting of a 1940s Himalayan monastery, consider me hooked.

Starring Deborah Kerr as the leader of a group of nuns tasked with setting up a convent on a remote mountaintop, Black Narcissus feels at times like a science fiction film (sample tagline: Trapped in isolation, the inhabitants of a spaceship go a little mad…). Maybe there’s a mysterious illness slowly claiming the lives of the these inhabitants, or maybe it’s all in their heads. Swap in wimples for spacesuits, and you’ve got the general vibe of Black Narcissus. These women are lonely, and it doesn’t help that there’s a handsome caretaker (David Farrar) coming around in his short-shorts to flirt and rile them up. He makes the nuns remember what their lives were like before joining the order, and eventually it all becomes too much for Sister Ruth, played marvelously by Kathleen Byron. Ditching her dreary robes for a smart new dress and dark red lipstick, she is your worst nightmare—a woman pushed to the brink, with nothing to lose.

Because color is such an important element to the production design of this movie, it seems fitting to drink one of the most colorful gins on the market, Empress 1908. The nuns make a big show of dropping a purple powder into some water in an effort to wow the locals at the new infirmary (I’m still not sure what the powder was—quinine?), but you can do the same at home with either your Empress Gin, or a pinch of Butterfly Pea Powder. This is definitely a floral-inspired cocktail because on this depressing mountaintop, we need flowers more than food. While watching Black Narcissus, I recommend drinking a Floral Gin & Tonic.

Floral Gin & Tonic

2 oz Empress 1908 Gin (OR 2 oz London Dry Gin w/ ¼ Teaspoon Butterfly Pea Powder)

4 oz Elderflower Tonic

Dried lime and flower garnish

Build drink over ice, stirring slowly to combine (if using the powder, stir a little more to fully mix). Garnish with a dried lime + flowers.

Floral G&T with Empress 1908 Gin
Floral G&T with London Dry Gin + Butterfly Pea Powder

I’m thrilled to be collaborating this week with Jenny Hammerton over at Silver Screen Suppers because she actually puts together a full meal for her pairings! If you want to craft your own dinner party for Black Narcissus, be sure to subscribe to the Dinner and a Movie Substack and come prepared with an appetite, plus your moodiest purple gin. Cheers!

Classic Films

Cat People

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Image credit: Cat People, 1942

I confess: I am not a cat person. Frankly, they terrify me. So when I heard about Jacques Tourneur’s 1942 B-horror film Cat People (Disc/Download), I assumed I’d have to close my eyes through most of it. However, I was delighted to discover that it’s actually the perfect level of spooky, supernatural fun during this Halloween season. Really, the only scary thing is how long I waited to watch this charming classic!

Starring Simone Simon as a Serbian illustrator who believes she’s descended from a line of “cat people”, the movie takes place in a bustling Manhattan where the female characters have a surprising amount of agency for the time period. We see career gals instead of housewives, and indeed, even after Irena marries a nautical engineer, she’s still a fairly independent person (albeit a troubled one, under the care of a psychiatrist). You see, Irena believes that if she becomes aroused with strong emotion, she’ll turn into a jungle cat and attack. This becomes inconvenient for her husband, and it isn’t long before he’s looking at his female co-worker with straying eyes. Here is where the film becomes more domestic soap opera than supernatural horror, and probably why I enjoy it so much. Although we see plenty of zoo cats pacing in their cages, and hear frightening hisses from the shadows, the audience is spared any encounters with gore. The horror is achieved by building tension and fear, much like Rosemary’s Baby would do decades later.

One of my favorite lines is when Irena gets hissed at by a kitten and laments, “Cats just don’t like me.” Same girl, same. However, one “cat” I do get along with is of the cocktail variety! While watching Cat People, I recommend drinking a Black Cat.

Black Cat

1 oz Vodka

1 oz Cherry Brandy

3 oz Cranberry Juice

3 oz Cola

Maraschino cherry (garnish)

Fill a glass with ice, and top with vodka, cherry brandy, cranberry juice, and cola. Stir well to combine, and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

If you’re looking for sexy supernatural fun this week, I’d suggest doing a double feature of Cat People and I Married a Witch, the Veronica Lake classic from the same year. Both feature strong female leads, ancient curses, and glamorous costumes, and as an added bonus, neither one is frightening enough to keep you up at night. Cheers!

Dramas

Don’t Look Now

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Image credit: Don’t Look Now, 1973

I thought I was through with being scared by Nicolas Roeg after watching Anjelica Huston peel her face off in The Witches, but it turns out, there was one more bit of nightmare fodder waiting for me. Don’t Look Now (Disc/Download) is a gorgeous, moody thriller based on the story by Daphne du Maurier, and perfect for those times when you want a dash of sexy sophistication with your horror.

Although I love the Venice of David Lean’s Summertime, Roeg’s Venice in Don’t Look Now feels much more authentic to the Venice I’ve personally encountered. This is a decaying city, full of narrow dark alleys, crumbling mosaics, and murky water. It’s also the perfect place to stage a horror film because one never knows what’s hiding in the shadows, or what you’ll find around the next corner. Donald Sutherland and Julie Christie are fantastic together, playing a married couple still grieving the death of their young daughter, living in Venice while Sutherland works to restore a church. During a lunch break, they encounter a blind clairvoyant who informs them their dead daughter’s spirit is still with them. Also… danger is imminent. Roeg plays with time in a really interesting way, flashing backwards and forwards to knock the viewer off balance. You aren’t really sure where you are until the thrilling climax makes everything clear. In one second, this ghost story becomes something much more sinister.

Don’t Look Now is filled with flashes of red, usually in the form of a little girl’s raincoat. Let’s make an appropriately macabre Italian cocktail with a splash of Campari and a few grapefruit bitters. While watching Don’t Look Now, I recommend drinking this Death in Venice cocktail.

Death in Venice

½ oz Campari

3-4 dashes Grapefruit Bitters

5 oz Prosecco

Pour Campari and grapefruit bitters into a chilled flute and top with Prosecco.

This film caused a lot of controversy at the time of its release because of its very “aerobic” sex scene, a scene I actually thought was well-constructed. Roeg cuts back and forth from wild passion to the mundane task of getting dressed for a night on the town, from biting and clawing to putting on socks. This scene represents a lot of what I like about this movie—it mixes the terror of death with the everyday business of living. Maybe that makes it even scarier, for that flash of red can appear on even the most ordinary of days. Cheers!