This time each year for the last five years I'm usually packing my bags to head for Hollywood, where the annual TCM Film Festival (TCMFF) is taking place. I decided to forgo the trip this year and go to Disney World with my family instead, mostly so that I'd be having so much fun next week that I wouldn't even notice all of my friends hanging out in tinseltown watching movies without me! But I can't say it's worked 100% -- I am definitely having some withdrawal and there are a few movies being screened this year that I really wish I could see at the festival. So here are my top five movies I would want to see at TCMFF this year... if I was going.
1. Day for Night - I'm being greedy because I actually already saw this at the Film Society at Lincoln Center two years ago, but it's one of my favorite films by my all time favorite director, Francois Truffaut. And the star, Jaqueline Bisset, will be present for a discussion before the movie! This movie is a pure delight, and a beautiful ode to the art of moviemaking -- if you love movies as much as I do, you should check this out even if you won't be at TCMFF!
2. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes - I think this is going to be absolutely DAZZLING on a big screen! I can't even imagine! The colors in this movie already pop off the screen when you're watching an old worn out VHS tape on a tiny tv screen at home. And Marilyn Monroe's "Diamonds are a girl's best friend" number is going to be just gorgeous. Plus I'd imagine that this is going to get a really fun audience and few things are as exhilarating as watching a movie you love surrounded by people who are enjoying it just as much as you are!
3. Indiscreet - This 1958 pairing of Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant is one of my go-to movies whenever I need a pick me up. I forgot myself for a minute when it was first announced on the schedule and got VERY excited about seeing it, and then came back down to earth and remembered I won't be there. But I hope it gets a jam-packed audience because it really deserves it. It's so underrated and not as well known as it should be.
4. Love Affair - Oh, how I love this movie!! Charles Boyer and Irene Dunne have a sizzling but comfortable chemistry and play so well off of each other. An Affair to Remember is a remake of this film, and as much as I adore it (A LOT) I think I actually prefer Love Affair. That's how great this movie is.
5. Ocean's 11 - I am such a sucker for a good heist film, and this one is a BLAST!! I've been obsessed with this movie since I was 13 years old, and my first cell phone voicemail message was Frank Sinatra's character saying "Hello, you've dialed the right number. Now please hang up and don't do it again." Words can't describe how jealous I am of every person who's going to be watching this poolside at the Roosevelt Hotel, with Angie Dickinson in attendance no less!!
I'm sure once I board my plane for Orlando all of my FOMO will stay behind in New Jersey, but the days leading up to the festival are definitely a challenge if you aren't going to be there! I'm really going to miss some of my friends, and BOY am I going to miss food from Mel's Diner (someone please get the eggs verde so I can live vicariously!)
