Tag: Royal Hawaiian Hotel

Classic Films

Gidget Goes Hawaiian

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Image credit: Gidget Goes Hawaiian, 1961

The thing I love most about 1960s films set in Hawaii are the glimpses of jet set resorts, with their swanky tropical bars and even swankier patrons. It’s even more fun if the featured resort is still in business today, slinging pink cocktails and getting people lei’d.  If you can’t book a stay at The Royal Hawaiian right this second, the next best thing is watching its star turn in 1961’s Gidget Goes Hawaiian (Disc/Download).

With actress Deborah Walley stepping aboard Sandra Dee’s famous surfboard, Gidget Goes Hawaiian picks up where the first film left off. Our beloved surfer girl is pinned, but not for long. Gidget’s parents take her on a Hawaiian vacation against her wishes (talk about first world problems!), where she mingles with other vacationing teens. Mopey, ungrateful Gidget still misses Moondoggie, so her dad (played by the always-delightful Carl Reiner) flies him to Honolulu as a surprise. The catch? There’s a rumor spreading about how Gidget has been unfaithful, so now she has to spend the rest of the movie convincing everyone she isn’t a “fallen woman”. The plot is thin and outdated, but the cocktails are plenty, the hotel is pink, and that’s enough for me.

Speaking of hotels, it’s really fun to see what The Royal Hawaiian looked like in 1961, having personally stayed there in 2024. I don’t have to imagine having a drink at the Mai Tai bar like Carl Reiner because I lived it! In fact, I enjoyed this specific drink, which takes its color inspiration from the hotel’s pink stucco exterior. While watching Gidget Goes Hawaiian, I recommend drinking a Pink Palace.

Pink Palace

2 oz Light Rum

1 oz Grand Marnier

1 oz Cream of Coconut

1 oz Pineapple Juice

1 oz Grenadine

1 cup ice

Maraschino Cherry (garnish)

Combine all ingredients in a blender with ice, and blend until liquid. Pour into a glass and garnish with a cherry and pink umbrella.

In my view, Gidget was the original White Lotus traveler. After Hawaii she headed to Italy, and while there was not a fourth Gidget film (unfortunately), I like to imagine she would have gamely surfed the beaches of Thailand if given the chance. Can you imagine her and Moondoggie at a Full Moon Party??? C’mon Hollywood, let’s make it happen. If we’re rebooting every other franchise, why not the Gidge? Cheers!

Image credit: Gidget Goes Hawaiian, 1961
Comedies

Punch-Drunk Love

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Punch Drunk Love
Image credit: Punch-Drunk Love, 2002

With a title that includes the words “Punch”, “Drunk”, and “Love”, Paul Thomas Anderson’s dark romantic comedy seems like a natural fit for my collection. However, Punch-Drunk Love (Disc/Download) is not a movie I liked on the first watch, or even the second. It’s rare that my opinion shifts so drastically on a film, but that’s exactly what’s happened over the ensuing eighteen years. Now, in our cursed year of 2020, I adore it.

The reason I initially had a hard time connecting with this story was because I just didn’t know what to make of Adam Sandler’s character Barry. Was he being weird for weird’s sake? Was he simply shy with a dangerous undercurrent of anger? No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t figure him out. But since this movie’s release, we have a new language to describe people like Barry. I don’t know that this theory has ever been confirmed by the filmmaker, but to me, this guy is very clearly on the Autism spectrum. And with that realization, I now root even harder for him to find love with fellow lonely-heart Lana. Paul Thomas Anderson did something really incredible in this movie, making us feel through the camerawork and music, what it’s like to be in Barry’s head. Adam Sandler gives an incredible performance (as if there were any doubt- he’s been my uncut gem for YEARS), and I want so badly for this novelty toilet plunger salesman to find the one person in the world who “gets” him. I long for him and Lana to take those pudding cup miles and ride off into the sunset.

Speaking of sunsets, how gorgeous is the scene on Waikiki Beach? I’ve been lucky enough to sit at that beachside bar at the Royal Hawaiian, sipping a Mai Tai, and it’s a memory I cling to during lockdown. Someday, I’ll get back there (in fact, there’s already a room booked for June 2021. Call me an optimist.). But in the meantime, let’s have a drink with Barry and Lana. While watching Punch-Drunk Love, get those Waikiki sunset vibes with this Mai Tai Punch.

Mai Tai Punch

1 cup Light Rum

1 cup Gold Rum

1 cup Cointreau

½ cup Lime Juice

½ cup Orange Juice

½ cup Orgeat Syrup

Dark Rum for topping

In a glass bottle or punch bowl, combine Light Rum, Gold Rum, Cointreau, Lime and Orange juices, and Orgeat. Stir or shake until well combined. Pour into cups filled with crushed ice, and drizzle dark rum on top.*

Mai Tai Punch

There’s a moment in Hawaii when Barry and Lana are in bed, and they start saying violent, mildly shocking things to one another. He looks down at her and says, “This is right. This is good.” Those words perfectly describe what love is—finding that one other person who understands your weirdness and jumps right on into it with you. Barry, I’m sorry it took me so long to get to the diving board. Cheers!

*This gold pineapple glass, while attractive in a photo, is hands down THE WORST container I have ever put a drink in. The top wobbles and falls off, and the bottom gets so cold and slippery that you can’t even hold it. I have a dried puddle of Mai-Tai on the back of my couch cushion to prove it. If you got this from Target on a whim, do yourself a favor and THROW. IT. OUT.