February 12, 2025 • 29 mins
On this episode of the Speaking of … College of Charleston podcast, in honor of Valentine’s Day, we ask Colleen Glenn, associate professor and director of the College's Film Studies Program, to weigh in on her favorite romantic movies.
We discuss some of the classes she teaches at the College, including Dreams and Movies and The Myth of the Road in American Cinema. As we shift to the upcoming holiday, she highlights her favorite romantic dramas, including Casablanca, An Affair to Remember, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as well as romantic comedies like The Shop Around the Corner and Moonstruck.
Glenn also talks about how rom-coms have evolved and now include a wider variety of perspectives.
“Films have become more diverse in terms of representation,” says Glenn. “We have better representation of people of color – of different races and ethnicities – on screen today, and we also see different gender orientations and sexual orientations. So, the classic rom-com formula of 'boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy wins girl back' might now be 'boy meets boy' or 'girl-meets-girl.'"
Glenn encourages moviegoers to watch movies in the theater instead of on their devices to get the full experience. She says romantic movies are just one of the many cultural systems that facilitate the “happily ever after” myth of love – and, if we’re going to blame rom-coms, we have to throw music, theater and poetry into the mix.
What’s your favorite romantic movie to watch on Valentine’s Day? Text us your favorite romantic movie on the Apple Podcasts or comment your favorites on Spotify.
Resources From This episode:
- Romantic Dramas:
- Casablanca (1942)
- An Affair to Remember (1957)
- Cold Mountain (2003)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Romantic Comedies:
- It Happened One Night (1934)
- The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
- The Philadelphia Story (1940)
- Some Like it Hot (1957)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Moonstruck (1987)
- The Princess Bride (1987)
- When Harry Met Sally (1989)
- Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
- Film Noir/Thrillers:
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
- Fatal Attraction (1987)
- Body Heat (1981)
- Oscar Nominees
- CinemaScope
- Great Local Theater: The Terrace
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
amy stockwell (00:05):
On this episode of speaking of College of
Charleston, we talk to ColleenGlenn, associate professor of
Film Studies and English anddirector of the film studies
program. Colleen's researchincludes star studies, gender
studies and American cinema, andshe's published articles on
Woody Allen, Mickey Rourke andJimmy Stewart. We brought her
(00:26):
into the studio a week beforeValentine's Day to talk about
romance movies and how they'veevolved from the Jimmy Stewart
days to now. Thanks for beinghere, Colleen. Hi. Thank you for
having me. So to kick it off.
You're the director of FilmStudies, as I said at the
college, was there a specificmoment in your life when you
discovered a love of film? Didyour parents take you to the
(00:50):
movies when you were little? Ordid you come to appreciate the
movies later? I'd
Unknown (00:56):
say a bit of both. I grew up watching classical
Hollywood cinema, for sure, myparents are both older and, you
know, family nights around thetelevision set on weekend
nights, you know, where we werewatching classical Hollywood
movies with actors like JimmyStewart or Kate Hepburn or
Carrie Gary Cooper or SidneyPoitier, that kind of thing. So
definitely, I think that wasinstilled in me at an early age,
(01:18):
just an appreciation for movies.
And then I remember, as anEnglish major in college, I took
a course on Shakespeare, onfilm, and that was like the
first time I really studiedfilm, you know, and I just kind
of fell in love with it. So, so
amy stockwell (01:34):
that established your interest in film. And then
now, as a college professor, youteach classes, a variety of
classes that I think soundreally cool, classes on dreams
in the movies and the myth ofthe road in American film. What
are some of the movies that youreference in these classes? Can
you just tell us a little bitabout these classes? Sure, yeah,
Unknown (01:55):
I teach courses on all types of topics, but just the
two that you just mentioned,dreams and movies, that, course,
kind of dealt with how dreamsand movies have a lot in common
that you know, in many ways,movies are like dreams that we
experience, watch unfold. We arewe are passive as we watch them.
We cannot, sort of change what'shappening on screen, just like
(02:16):
our dreams, right? So that,course, covered a lot of movies.
I think we started with SherlockJr, which is a Buster Keaton
silent film in which theprojector falls asleep and then
dreams he's in the movie. So heliterally walks into the frame
of the movie. He's aprojectionist. If I missed that,
if I didn't say that, and wewatched films like vertigo. I'm
(02:37):
trying to think, what else wecovered in that class. Oh,
Mulholland Drive, David Lynch,so of course, he is very much a
kind of a dream maker in hisfilms. Yeah, his surreal films.
The myth of the road in Americancinema class, I've taught that
several times now, and it'sreally enjoy it. The road movie
really comes out of the post warmoment. And so most of the films
(03:01):
we watch are kind of derivingfrom that new Hollywood era and
beyond. So films like Bonnie andClyde, Easy Rider, Badlands,
Thelma and Louise. So yeah,films like that, and that's a
really popular class,
amy stockwell (03:15):
I bet, yeah, I bet, yeah. Okay, so that's,
that's a little bit about whatyou do in your real life, but
the reason that we have you heretoday is to talk about romance
because, like I said, it'sValentine's Day is coming up,
and I'm already seeing all sortsof movies pop up on Netflix and
Amazon, all sorts of rom coms.
So that I thought we would talkabout have have you tell us, in
(03:38):
your opinion, what are some ofthe top romantic movies of all
time, and why?
Unknown (03:46):
Okay, wow. So obviously that's such a big, you know,
genre, so I would probably breakit into romantic dramas and
romantic comedies, you know. AndI think for Valentine's Day, we
tend to think more of rom coms,right? So maybe I'll just
mention a few of my favoriteromantic dramas, and then we can
get into rom coms. ButCasablanca is certainly, you
(04:08):
know, at the top of my list,probably for a romantic drama,
and it just has everything youwould want in a movie. And I
think in addition to the thelove affair, the relationship
between Ingrid Bergman andHumphrey Bogart. We also have a
buddy relationship there betweenClaude Rains and Humphrey Bogart
(04:29):
that I think is equally kind ofsatisfying, you know, by the end
of the film. And add that tothe, you know, made in 1942
during the war effort, it's justvery, I think, touching and
uplifting film. Some otherfavorites would be like an
affair to remember. If you knowthat film from 1957
that's Katharine Hepburn. No,that's Deborah
(04:49):
Carr and Cary Grant, and that'sit was remade as it well. I
think they reference it andSleepless in Seattle, it's not
exactly the same thing, but.
There's a Sleepless in Seattle.
It's like, derivative of anunfair to remember, I think,
where they meet at the top ofthe Empire. Yeah, exactly
they're supposed to meet, yeah,and I'm afraid to remember, and
(05:10):
she doesn't show up. And, yeah,Cold Mountain is another one.
I'm like, Oh yeah, I forgotabout that. Yeah, adapted from
the novel, but Jude Law andNicole Kidman, another one, more
recent, or not that recent, butI guess it's all relative,
right, but Eternal Sunshine ofthe Spotless Mind, Michelle
gandry with Jim Carrey and KateWinslet, I think is a really
fantastic romantic drama.
(05:31):
I have all sorts of thoughtsabout that, and that's
another one that's really funny,but also really, I think, deep
and emotional and touching, justthis idea of, would you, would
you, you know, would it bebetter to be free of painful
memories, right? You knowexactly have them. Yeah,
amy stockwell (05:49):
your heart's broken. And you think I would
love to just cut that wholepiece out of my mind so I don't
have to agonize over it anymore.
Unknown (05:56):
Yeah? And very ultimately, he chooses to have
the pain, right? Yeah? But yeah,I think with Valentine's Day, we
probably gravitate more towardsrom coms. And again, there too
is such an old genre. Wementioned Jimmy Stewart before,
so one of my favorites of hisrom coms would be the shop
around the corner. And that wasjust, it's actually was remade
(06:21):
as you've gotten mail in the90s, but that's a really
endearing one, which, if people
amy stockwell (06:26):
remember, that's Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, that's
right, he's the big bookstoreconglomerate, and she has the
little local bookstore. Yeah,and
Unknown (06:33):
not, I will say I'm not a big fan of you've gotten mail,
even though I like both of thoseactors, but I would definitely
recommend watching the shoparound the corner. Yeah, who's
the female lead in the MargaretSullivan, okay? And, yeah, just
they have terrific screenchemistry, and it works really
well. And some other favorites,Jimmy
amy stockwell (06:52):
Stewart ever not have great chemistry with all of
the like, don't you think I feellike he just created that
chemistry? Yeah?
Unknown (07:00):
Yeah. A lot of his movies in the 30s, especially,
he was paired with these strongleading ladies, so he worked
really, I think, Well, with thatdynamic, he worked against gene
Arthur, and you can't take itwith you, which is another
really endearing rom com, ThePhiladelphia Story. Yeah, that's
Cary Grant Brenda Jimmy Stewart.
That's a great one. One of mypersonal favorites is Billy
(07:23):
Wilder's the apartment with, oh,I don't know that one that's
really worth seeing. That's JackLemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
Okay, yeah, it's, it's sowonderful. It really is. And
it's very modern for 1960 Ithink it's very kind of
contemporary. And it's, youknow, a bit of a movie about, I
won't say, two lost souls in acity, but kind of, you know, and
(07:45):
it also kind of deals withcorporate culture and that kind
of thing. So anyway, that's oneof my favorites. Some Like It
Hot, also by Billy Wilder,right, which is, you know, just
terrific fun. And all the genderbending is just, I actually
think is really, you know, makesit still holds up today in so
many great ways.
amy stockwell (08:08):
And up to our listeners, I promise. I'll put
all of these in our show notesand with links to the movies so
that you can find them. Becausealready in my head, I'm like, I
need to write this down. I cango watch these
Unknown (08:18):
this weekend. Yeah. I mean others, when Harry man
Sally is always a favorite, youmight go wrong with that one.
One of my favorites isMoonstruck with that one. Oh, I
love 1987 Yeah, Norman Jewison.
It's just a terrific one. I justrewatched it recently, and I can
never get enough of that movie.
I knowthere's so many great quotable
lines in that movie too. It'ssuch
(08:39):
a great love story and you know,but I also love the love within
the family, you know? I foundmyself tearing up, not just
that, the relationship betweenNIC and Cher, but also just the
closeness of the family unit,and the grandfathers there and
they're all together, and thedogs house in Brooklyn, yeah,
(09:00):
it's sweet. I agree that's oneof my all time favorites. Yeah,
it's really terrific. Anotherfavorite is The Princess Bride.
Yeah, people love that. I'venever watched it, but okay, I
don't believe Iknow that's what you should do
tonight. Yeah, I do love thatfilm. I think it's incredibly
funny, but also it really, it'svery romantic as well. And
(09:22):
another one of my favorites isFour Weddings and a Funeral.
Yeah,
amy stockwell (09:28):
that was like the beginning of Hugh Grant's kind
of when he took off. Yeah,
Unknown (09:31):
I think that's a terrific screenplay. Yeah,
really well done. So those are,none of those are really
contemporary anymore. What doesthat say?
But those are the qualitycompletely diminished. Do
you think, um, no, I don't thinkso. I think I, you know, I'm
sort of naming, you
amy stockwell (09:50):
could go back and watch any of those movies that
you just mentioned. You couldwatch it and it would still, it
still resonates. Yeah, themessages in those movies. Yes, I
Unknown (09:59):
think so. I'm. Mean, in another 10 or 20 years, we'll be
able to see like, you know,right, which films from this era
kind of stand up. I'm just morefamiliar with with older film,
yeah, I think, yeah, yeah.
I'm, I'm gonna chime in herereal quick with, please do not a
very serious one, but the theaction rom com, and just kind of
(10:23):
curious about thoughts on, Imean, that's just real popcorn
type movie, but I was raised onmy parents taste in movies, and
they really liked Romancing theStone, those vibes. Now you get
a little bit of that, a littlemore recent. I think the
adventure romance, yeah, yeah,Romancing the stones a terrific
(10:45):
movie. And I'm a huge KathleenTurner fan and, and that was
really kind of a throwback toromantic drama movies of the
1950s including King Solomon'sminds. And there were several,
they're not all going to come tomind right now, but several
movies that featured, you know,you know, two, two leads, or,
(11:08):
you know, a romance evolving insome exotic, you know, location,
and we've got, I can't rememberthe name, like the lost city or
something, which was a recentSandra Bullock Channing, oh,
yes, exactly. Had a fewcurveballs in it wasn't exactly
an Oscar winner, but was
amy stockwell (11:26):
and didn't Brad Pitt have a random appearance in
that? I was like, What is hedoing? Air
Unknown (11:31):
dropped into that one for about five minutes. Yeah.
Cameo. Yeah.
amy stockwell (11:35):
That was better than I expected. I didn't think
it looked very good. Yeah.
Actually was prettyentertaining. Yeah, have they
changed? Have romance movie romcoms evolved over time? You
know, since the days of, let'sgo back to like Jimmy Stewart
and and to to more current ones,yeah. I mean,
Unknown (11:53):
I think they, I think they have, I mean, I think for
one, I think we see films havebecome more diverse in terms of,
you know, representation. So wehave, you know, better
representation of people ofcolor, you know, of different
races and ethnicities, also havedifferent genders and gender or,
you know, orientations andsexual orientations. So you know
(12:16):
the classic rom com formula of,you know, boy meets girl, boy
loses girl, boy wins girl back.
Now we see that, you know, itmight be Boy Meets Boy, right,
you know, or Girl Meets Girl, orwhatnot. And so I think we
definitely have seen just a kindof, just greater diversity, and
in terms of representation, forsure that, you know, in the
(12:40):
early 2000s there was a whole,like spate of bromance films,
including, I love you man andget Him to the Greek. There were
several of them. But, yeah, Ithought those, the romance films
were kind of interesting,because they essentially took
the rom com formula, and, youknow, kind of place that formula
onto male friendship. So theywere straight, you know,
(13:04):
straight men. But, you know, thethings were really kind of, it
was kind of romantic in the waythat it was conveyed as this
person being the primary personin your life. Yeah, I think the
same shifts that we see in romcoms in terms of mapping that
onto, you know, more diverserepresentations of of people,
includes romantic dramas. Socall me by your name with
(13:28):
Timothy Chalamet, which mystudents love. By the way, they
love the movie, but they alsolove Timothy Chalamet, oh my
gosh. They go crazy for him. Andalso a really terrific film that
features two female leads and arelationship between the two
women as a Portrait of a Lady onfire, yes, which is just
amazing. I can't recommend thatenough. So, yeah, I think that's
(13:52):
one way we've seen romanticfilms. Romance films evolve and
shift, yeah. But also, I thinkone thing I really noticed over
the last, I don't know, 15 or 20years or so, maybe more now, is
as movies that are focused onolder couples. Yes, middle aged,
even senior couples. And we seethat like on television with the
(14:14):
golden Bachelorette, but we'realso seeing it in movies like as
good as it gets, or a book club,or, you know, it's complicated,
yeah, even though, when we weretalking about earlier, you're
cordially invited, which cameout on Yes, is that Amazon
Prime? I think, yeah,
amy stockwell (14:33):
exactly. Amazon Prime
Unknown (14:34):
features, you know that the romantic relationship that
unfolds is between a middle age,right? So I do think
that that's crazy to think ofmiddle age, to think of Will
Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon asmiddle age, but that's really so
I thinkthat's one of the things I
noticed, too,
amy stockwell (14:52):
with all of the rom coms, you know, popping up
on Netflix and Amazon in thesenext few days. I know. That
valentine's day can be hard whenyou're single, and so those
messages come from all over theplace, but I feel like are rom
com slightly to blame forcreating these unrealistic
(15:13):
expectations about love andhappily ever after, and maybe
less so now, I don't know ifthat's something that has
evolved, but if you're watchingone of those movies and you're
all by yourself, it's gonna makeyou not necessarily feel good.
It's gonna make you feel sad.
This
Unknown (15:27):
is true. You know, that's a tough question, because
if we're gonna blame movies,then we have to, like, blame,
you know, everything. And youknow popular culture and and you
know also, like, you know, most,most songs, for example, right
on the train, you know, yeah,chopping block, or, you know,
going back to, you know, dramaor poetry, you know. So we've
(15:49):
been glorifying love and sincethe beginning, right, story
time, right?
amy stockwell (15:58):
That's except those horrible movies, like,
what was that? There was onehorrible one about two couples
who hated War of the Roses likethat just popped into my head,
where, because, because I wasjust thinking, everybody loves
to watch the rom coms becauseit's escapism, and it's, you
know, because it is happy everafter, nobody wants to watch a
movie about a terriblerelationship, right? But then
(16:21):
there are some of those,
Unknown (16:22):
although, if it, you know, if it does, if it
depresses you, to watch a romcom with, you know, the happy
ending, then maybe, maybe watchFatal Attraction, right? Or body
heat, which is a great, yeah,noir, also, Kathleen Turner, you
know, or, I don't know, betteroff dead, you know, feel like
that might provide more laughs,but also gets a darker element
(16:46):
and into thethat's a good idea, like
recommending Fatal Attraction.
Yeah, so make you feel betterabout not being interrupted.
amy stockwell (16:55):
Exactly, right?
Just put blinders on. Don't lookat all the cards in the store
and all the balloons and right.
Okay, so enough about romance.
We have the Oscars are coming upright around the corner. I'm
sure you haven't seen all ofthem, but do you have any? Do
you have any picks that youthink will be winners? Yeah, I
(17:18):
haven't
Unknown (17:20):
seen them all. I'm curious to hear what you guys
think, too. Jesse's probablyseen
them all. I have not close. Ihave not seen them all. I need
to review the list. I did seethe brutalist recently, which is
feeling like it's got somemomentum behind it. So I'd love
to hear yourthoughts. Well, I haven't seen
it. I can't wait to see it. Infact, I want to see it while
it's still it's at theterrace. I know I saw it at the
at the terrace, and it was verygood. I very appreciated the 15
(17:43):
minute intermission. He's got areal intermission in it, really,
amy stockwell (17:49):
you know, like, three and a half hours. Yeah,
why? That's another thing aboutmovies. I feel like they're just
long getting better and longer.
I mean, it
Unknown (17:56):
used to be, I mean, for many years, the standard length
of a feature film was 90 minutesto two hours, and now it's
becoming two and a half hours.
Do
amy stockwell (18:04):
you think that's because of they're competing
with Netflix, where that hadseries shows that can stretch,
you know? Perhaps
Unknown (18:12):
I actually think it's, I don't think it's for the
better. I think it's, in fact,most, most films these days, not
all, and I don't mean to sound,you know, but most films I think
could be improved by cuttingabout 15 or 20 minutes out.
I find that there's the oddoccasion where it might, it
(18:33):
might be necessary, you know, toit warrants the like I one
example, I think dune two was avery long but, but quality and
kind of needed some length, andit was a well crafted movie.
But, yeah, no, a lot are ratherlong these days. Yeah, it's
interesting that that's a shift.
I don't know, like all thereasons why, but yeah, you make
(18:54):
a good point about perhapscompeting with these, you know,
lengthier, right
amy stockwell (18:59):
story, season 10 episodes each, or whatever. But
Unknown (19:03):
I feel like there is a little bit of some filmmakers
wanting to try and, you know,reignite some kind of, like, no
cinema is different kind ofapproach, and for for good and
ill, where it'd be like, youknow, for example, the brutalist
was shot in a in was itCinemaScope or this division, I
(19:27):
think it was, which is a bit ofa gimmick kind of thing, but was
a special film process that theycreated in the early 50s. One of
the first movies that I thinkused, it was White Christmas.
And so that's kind of like agimmicky, kind of, like, look.
We've shot this this particularway. They've
(19:47):
you know, can you tell thedifference when you're
watching I think it lookedfantastic. I mean, you can it's
it kind of flips perspective onhow you shoot you take, instead
of a 35 millimeter film rollingvertically. Way across the
shutter. It goes horizontally,gives you more room and in the
frame, so you get a higher res,not resolution, because it's
(20:11):
film, but a higher quality kindof image from that, from that
negative. So I think it lookedamazing. And it's way cheaper
than, say, like 70 millimeterIMAX, which is really
challenging to work with, butparticularly looks good on the
big screen, yeah, you know,right? Which
is part of the I think the goalis the idea that you need to see
these things. These are in thetheater. This is a theater
(20:32):
experience. And that's, I think,a big thing for a lot of
filmmakers right now, is, youknow, you hear Scorsese talk
about, you shouldn't be watchingthis stuff on my phone, right,
right. No, I try to tell mystudents the same thing. Yeah,
is
amy stockwell (20:44):
the brutalist up for best movie. It's up
Unknown (20:47):
for almost every category. I mean, not everyone,
but all of the major categories.
And I my prediction it willprobably sweep. I don't know if
it's gonna really, I don't knowif it'll sweep every category,
but I think it's gonna take homeseveral years. Yeah,
I you know, I think it mighthave some real legs to get a
significant like maybe amajority of its of its
(21:11):
nominations. But we have seen inrecent years where you have
these movies that get a bunchand then don't necessarily win a
whole bunch. I think La La Landis an example that had a lot of
nominations, but didn't win allof them. I think two or maybe
two of them, butI think, I mean, again, who
knows, but it could likely winBest Director, Best Picture,
Best Actor, we'll see. I mean, Ithink Timothy Chalamet. I mean,
(21:33):
he's in the running for BestActor for The Bob Dylan movie
for the, yeah, a completeunknown. Which
was good, yeah, I enjoyed that.
Was another long one. Wasn'tthat. I actually haven't
seen it yet. I don't know if Ishould confess this or not, but
I don't love biopics. Yeah, andthere's, there's so many biopics
lately, and especially the moreI like the artists, like, I'm a
big Bob Dylan fan, and, youknow, there's a lot of other
(21:56):
biopics that have come out onmusic artists I really liked.
It's, it's hard for me toexplain, but it's almost like I
don't want to know. I just, Ienjoy the music so much. Yeah,
it's like I just want to enjoythe art and not necessarily know
personal details of their lives.
But I must be in the minority onthat, because biopics are so
popular right now. I mean,
amy stockwell (22:19):
Bob Dylan, there's several done about him.
I was listening. I was talkingabout that, yeah,
Unknown (22:23):
this one's, I think, the most like, I hesitate to say
normal by any means, you know,because you know what is, what
is normal, but it's the moremost traditional, right? The
others were kind of avant garde,yeah? And this is kind of like,
Hey, we're going to tell thisfour year, you know, gap, chunk
of of his life. Yeah,I'm sure I'll see it at some
I've heard it's very good, and Ihave no doubt Chalamet did a
(22:44):
great job,and Nora was there's one I
haven't seen that I would reallylike to see. I think
that film deserves recognition.
I don't know whether, again, Idon't know whether baker or Sean
Baker, will win a Best Director,but he's certainly nominated. I
thought it was masterfuldirecting. The acting by the
leading actress, Mikey Madison,was really impressive.
(23:08):
What does that one call Nora?
Oh, I don't even know that one.
It's, I mean, it's, in someways, it's a tough film to watch
because it's, it's so, like,stressful, yeah, the two and a
half hours of this kind of wildride. But the acting is just
terrific, yeah. And so I thinkthat film might likely get some
recognition one way or another.
Other films Conclave, there'stalk of conclave or recognition
(23:33):
for Ray fines, a real pain.
Jesse Eisen, Karen Calkins,I was a bit of that was a good
one as an understated movie, andI think intentionally So, yeah,
but I enjoyed that one. It was,it was pretty good.
I think Karen Calkins nominatedfor Best Supporting Actor, and
(23:54):
it might be also nominated for,like, maybe best original
screenplay or something likethat. I'm not sure. I think some
of the art direction and likeproduction design, costuming and
makeup stuff, awards might go tofilms like wicked or to dune to,
amy stockwell (24:13):
yeah, as a film studies professor, do you give
much weight to like award shows,or is it all just kind of, you
know, glitz and glam. And
Unknown (24:25):
I, I guess I don't give a whole lot of weight to the
Oscars, and I do think they'refun to watch. I have not been in
favor of this 10 Best Picturenomination show that occurred a
few years ago. I think in anattempt to get a wider audience,
they've now nominated 10 bestpictures. And I just think
that's a little too many, anddoesn't quite it dilutes the
(24:48):
like, the potency of what itmeans to be nominated for Best
Picture when there's 10. But asmuch as I think it can be
arbitrary, what wins, and Ithink it certainly is. I mean,
some years, you know. Know, youcan have, speaking of Mickey
Rourke, you mentioned himearlier the year that he was up
for the wrestler, which was astunning performance. Oh, that
was great. I mean, I think hedeserved the Oscar for that, but
(25:10):
he lost to Sean Penn, who did afabulous job in milk, you know,
so Harvey Milk, yeah, so, andthat's one of those that like,
like not to say the pen didn'tdeserve it, but you can always
go back and look and say, youknow, you know, maybe this film
deserved it more or whatnot. Ithink
a lot of the time they are aproduct of their moment,
because, like, 1994 Best Pictureincluded three of, I think
(25:35):
Forrest, Gump, Shawshank,redemption and Pulp Fiction. I
believe were all three nominatedfor Best Picture that year, and
I believe Forrest Gump won theaward. Which is a is a good
film, but is not necessarily inthe the Pantheon or dialog of of
great films, quite as much as,say one of those other two,
(25:55):
right is agreed.
Right, agreed. That wasmassively popular, but it's not
necessarily, you know, to be asmore important, yeah, so any
given year depending on thecompetition. But that said, I do
pay attention, especially whenI'm teaching a film like I
taught it happened one night acouple of weeks ago, and as I
was introducing the film, youknow, I said this film was
(26:16):
nominated, I want to say, forseven Academy Awards, and it won
five. I think that's correct.
I'm sorry that it's not quite onthe not quite remembering, but,
and I think that isn'timportant, that does tell us
something about this film andhow it was received. In fact,
Claudette Colbert didn't thinkmuch of the movie they were
making, and so she didn't evengo to the Oscars, really. Oh,
wow. And it was one of thoseyears where it just swept the
(26:37):
award. So I recently saw babygirl, and I thought, Oh, what do
you think I liked it? And I wassurprised, because when I saw
the trailer, I thought, oh, boy,yeah, you know, I was like, here
we go again. Because I wasalready feeling a little weird
about Nosferatu, which, I don'tknow if you guys want to talk
about that, but I don't want tospoil anything for anybody. But
um, baby girl surprised me in away I really liked.
amy stockwell (27:02):
Okay, I'll give it a shot. Then, yeah, because I
was like, Oh, here we go. I sawthat.
Unknown (27:08):
I saw that trailer. And I said to myself, they either
know exactly what they're doingwith this trailer or this is not
going to be a movie I willenjoy. And it sounds like it may
have been very skillful editingwith that trailer, then I don't
know. Yes,no, the trailer is misleading.
And I don't mean that in apejorative way. The trailer
(27:28):
leads you to expect the filmwill be different than it is,
yeah. And you know, in the handsof a female director, I think we
ended up with a film that'sactually pretty empowering.
amy stockwell (27:38):
And like you said, I mean, again, it's hard
to think of Nicole Kidman asbeing older now, but really she
is an older so more filmsfocusing on women of a later age
and their relationships. Andyeah, yeah, I'll have to check
that one out. So okay, so Ithink we've given people plenty
(28:01):
of ideas of movies to watch andways to keep themselves
entertained on Valentine's Day,if, if it is if you do decide to
watch a movie. So thank you forcoming in and talking to us. And
I would love to take one of yourclasses one
Unknown (28:17):
day anytime. Thank you for having me. I'd love to come
in again sometime.
amy stockwell (28:23):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
speaking of College ofCharleston with today's guest,
Colleen Glenn. If you liked thisepisode, please help us reach
more listeners by sharing itwith a friend or leaving a
review for show notes and moreepisodes. Visit the College of
Charleston's official news site,the college
today@today.charleston.edu, youcan find episodes on all major
(28:47):
podcast platforms. This episodewas produced by Amy Stockwell
with recording and soundengineering by Jesse Kunz from
the Division of InformationTechnology. You
On this episode of speaking of College of
Charleston, we talk to ColleenGlenn, associate professor of
Film Studies and English anddirector of the film studies
program. Colleen's researchincludes star studies, gender
studies and American cinema, andshe's published articles on
Woody Allen, Mickey Rourke andJimmy Stewart. We brought her
(00:26):
into the studio a week beforeValentine's Day to talk about
romance movies and how they'veevolved from the Jimmy Stewart
days to now. Thanks for beinghere, Colleen. Hi. Thank you for
having me. So to kick it off.
You're the director of FilmStudies, as I said at the
college, was there a specificmoment in your life when you
discovered a love of film? Didyour parents take you to the
(00:50):
movies when you were little? Ordid you come to appreciate the
movies later? I'd
Unknown (00:56):
say a bit of both. I grew up watching classical
Hollywood cinema, for sure, myparents are both older and, you
know, family nights around thetelevision set on weekend
nights, you know, where we werewatching classical Hollywood
movies with actors like JimmyStewart or Kate Hepburn or
Carrie Gary Cooper or SidneyPoitier, that kind of thing. So
definitely, I think that wasinstilled in me at an early age,
(01:18):
just an appreciation for movies.
And then I remember, as anEnglish major in college, I took
a course on Shakespeare, onfilm, and that was like the
first time I really studiedfilm, you know, and I just kind
of fell in love with it. So, so
amy stockwell (01:34):
that established your interest in film. And then
now, as a college professor, youteach classes, a variety of
classes that I think soundreally cool, classes on dreams
in the movies and the myth ofthe road in American film. What
are some of the movies that youreference in these classes? Can
you just tell us a little bitabout these classes? Sure, yeah,
Unknown (01:55):
I teach courses on all types of topics, but just the
two that you just mentioned,dreams and movies, that, course,
kind of dealt with how dreamsand movies have a lot in common
that you know, in many ways,movies are like dreams that we
experience, watch unfold. We arewe are passive as we watch them.
We cannot, sort of change what'shappening on screen, just like
(02:16):
our dreams, right? So that,course, covered a lot of movies.
I think we started with SherlockJr, which is a Buster Keaton
silent film in which theprojector falls asleep and then
dreams he's in the movie. So heliterally walks into the frame
of the movie. He's aprojectionist. If I missed that,
if I didn't say that, and wewatched films like vertigo. I'm
(02:37):
trying to think, what else wecovered in that class. Oh,
Mulholland Drive, David Lynch,so of course, he is very much a
kind of a dream maker in hisfilms. Yeah, his surreal films.
The myth of the road in Americancinema class, I've taught that
several times now, and it'sreally enjoy it. The road movie
really comes out of the post warmoment. And so most of the films
(03:01):
we watch are kind of derivingfrom that new Hollywood era and
beyond. So films like Bonnie andClyde, Easy Rider, Badlands,
Thelma and Louise. So yeah,films like that, and that's a
really popular class,
amy stockwell (03:15):
I bet, yeah, I bet, yeah. Okay, so that's,
that's a little bit about whatyou do in your real life, but
the reason that we have you heretoday is to talk about romance
because, like I said, it'sValentine's Day is coming up,
and I'm already seeing all sortsof movies pop up on Netflix and
Amazon, all sorts of rom coms.
So that I thought we would talkabout have have you tell us, in
(03:38):
your opinion, what are some ofthe top romantic movies of all
time, and why?
Unknown (03:46):
Okay, wow. So obviously that's such a big, you know,
genre, so I would probably breakit into romantic dramas and
romantic comedies, you know. AndI think for Valentine's Day, we
tend to think more of rom coms,right? So maybe I'll just
mention a few of my favoriteromantic dramas, and then we can
get into rom coms. ButCasablanca is certainly, you
(04:08):
know, at the top of my list,probably for a romantic drama,
and it just has everything youwould want in a movie. And I
think in addition to the thelove affair, the relationship
between Ingrid Bergman andHumphrey Bogart. We also have a
buddy relationship there betweenClaude Rains and Humphrey Bogart
(04:29):
that I think is equally kind ofsatisfying, you know, by the end
of the film. And add that tothe, you know, made in 1942
during the war effort, it's justvery, I think, touching and
uplifting film. Some otherfavorites would be like an
affair to remember. If you knowthat film from 1957
that's Katharine Hepburn. No,that's Deborah
(04:49):
Carr and Cary Grant, and that'sit was remade as it well. I
think they reference it andSleepless in Seattle, it's not
exactly the same thing, but.
There's a Sleepless in Seattle.
It's like, derivative of anunfair to remember, I think,
where they meet at the top ofthe Empire. Yeah, exactly
they're supposed to meet, yeah,and I'm afraid to remember, and
(05:10):
she doesn't show up. And, yeah,Cold Mountain is another one.
I'm like, Oh yeah, I forgotabout that. Yeah, adapted from
the novel, but Jude Law andNicole Kidman, another one, more
recent, or not that recent, butI guess it's all relative,
right, but Eternal Sunshine ofthe Spotless Mind, Michelle
gandry with Jim Carrey and KateWinslet, I think is a really
fantastic romantic drama.
(05:31):
I have all sorts of thoughtsabout that, and that's
another one that's really funny,but also really, I think, deep
and emotional and touching, justthis idea of, would you, would
you, you know, would it bebetter to be free of painful
memories, right? You knowexactly have them. Yeah,
amy stockwell (05:49):
your heart's broken. And you think I would
love to just cut that wholepiece out of my mind so I don't
have to agonize over it anymore.
Unknown (05:56):
Yeah? And very ultimately, he chooses to have
the pain, right? Yeah? But yeah,I think with Valentine's Day, we
probably gravitate more towardsrom coms. And again, there too
is such an old genre. Wementioned Jimmy Stewart before,
so one of my favorites of hisrom coms would be the shop
around the corner. And that wasjust, it's actually was remade
(06:21):
as you've gotten mail in the90s, but that's a really
endearing one, which, if people
amy stockwell (06:26):
remember, that's Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan, that's
right, he's the big bookstoreconglomerate, and she has the
little local bookstore. Yeah,and
Unknown (06:33):
not, I will say I'm not a big fan of you've gotten mail,
even though I like both of thoseactors, but I would definitely
recommend watching the shoparound the corner. Yeah, who's
the female lead in the MargaretSullivan, okay? And, yeah, just
they have terrific screenchemistry, and it works really
well. And some other favorites,Jimmy
amy stockwell (06:52):
Stewart ever not have great chemistry with all of
the like, don't you think I feellike he just created that
chemistry? Yeah?
Unknown (07:00):
Yeah. A lot of his movies in the 30s, especially,
he was paired with these strongleading ladies, so he worked
really, I think, Well, with thatdynamic, he worked against gene
Arthur, and you can't take itwith you, which is another
really endearing rom com, ThePhiladelphia Story. Yeah, that's
Cary Grant Brenda Jimmy Stewart.
That's a great one. One of mypersonal favorites is Billy
(07:23):
Wilder's the apartment with, oh,I don't know that one that's
really worth seeing. That's JackLemmon and Shirley MacLaine.
Okay, yeah, it's, it's sowonderful. It really is. And
it's very modern for 1960 Ithink it's very kind of
contemporary. And it's, youknow, a bit of a movie about, I
won't say, two lost souls in acity, but kind of, you know, and
(07:45):
it also kind of deals withcorporate culture and that kind
of thing. So anyway, that's oneof my favorites. Some Like It
Hot, also by Billy Wilder,right, which is, you know, just
terrific fun. And all the genderbending is just, I actually
think is really, you know, makesit still holds up today in so
many great ways.
amy stockwell (08:08):
And up to our listeners, I promise. I'll put
all of these in our show notesand with links to the movies so
that you can find them. Becausealready in my head, I'm like, I
need to write this down. I cango watch these
Unknown (08:18):
this weekend. Yeah. I mean others, when Harry man
Sally is always a favorite, youmight go wrong with that one.
One of my favorites isMoonstruck with that one. Oh, I
love 1987 Yeah, Norman Jewison.
It's just a terrific one. I justrewatched it recently, and I can
never get enough of that movie.
I knowthere's so many great quotable
lines in that movie too. It'ssuch
(08:39):
a great love story and you know,but I also love the love within
the family, you know? I foundmyself tearing up, not just
that, the relationship betweenNIC and Cher, but also just the
closeness of the family unit,and the grandfathers there and
they're all together, and thedogs house in Brooklyn, yeah,
(09:00):
it's sweet. I agree that's oneof my all time favorites. Yeah,
it's really terrific. Anotherfavorite is The Princess Bride.
Yeah, people love that. I'venever watched it, but okay, I
don't believe Iknow that's what you should do
tonight. Yeah, I do love thatfilm. I think it's incredibly
funny, but also it really, it'svery romantic as well. And
(09:22):
another one of my favorites isFour Weddings and a Funeral.
Yeah,
amy stockwell (09:28):
that was like the beginning of Hugh Grant's kind
of when he took off. Yeah,
Unknown (09:31):
I think that's a terrific screenplay. Yeah,
really well done. So those are,none of those are really
contemporary anymore. What doesthat say?
But those are the qualitycompletely diminished. Do
you think, um, no, I don't thinkso. I think I, you know, I'm
sort of naming, you
amy stockwell (09:50):
could go back and watch any of those movies that
you just mentioned. You couldwatch it and it would still, it
still resonates. Yeah, themessages in those movies. Yes, I
Unknown (09:59):
think so. I'm. Mean, in another 10 or 20 years, we'll be
able to see like, you know,right, which films from this era
kind of stand up. I'm just morefamiliar with with older film,
yeah, I think, yeah, yeah.
I'm, I'm gonna chime in herereal quick with, please do not a
very serious one, but the theaction rom com, and just kind of
(10:23):
curious about thoughts on, Imean, that's just real popcorn
type movie, but I was raised onmy parents taste in movies, and
they really liked Romancing theStone, those vibes. Now you get
a little bit of that, a littlemore recent. I think the
adventure romance, yeah, yeah,Romancing the stones a terrific
(10:45):
movie. And I'm a huge KathleenTurner fan and, and that was
really kind of a throwback toromantic drama movies of the
1950s including King Solomon'sminds. And there were several,
they're not all going to come tomind right now, but several
movies that featured, you know,you know, two, two leads, or,
(11:08):
you know, a romance evolving insome exotic, you know, location,
and we've got, I can't rememberthe name, like the lost city or
something, which was a recentSandra Bullock Channing, oh,
yes, exactly. Had a fewcurveballs in it wasn't exactly
an Oscar winner, but was
amy stockwell (11:26):
and didn't Brad Pitt have a random appearance in
that? I was like, What is hedoing? Air
Unknown (11:31):
dropped into that one for about five minutes. Yeah.
Cameo. Yeah.
amy stockwell (11:35):
That was better than I expected. I didn't think
it looked very good. Yeah.
Actually was prettyentertaining. Yeah, have they
changed? Have romance movie romcoms evolved over time? You
know, since the days of, let'sgo back to like Jimmy Stewart
and and to to more current ones,yeah. I mean,
Unknown (11:53):
I think they, I think they have, I mean, I think for
one, I think we see films havebecome more diverse in terms of,
you know, representation. So wehave, you know, better
representation of people ofcolor, you know, of different
races and ethnicities, also havedifferent genders and gender or,
you know, orientations andsexual orientations. So you know
(12:16):
the classic rom com formula of,you know, boy meets girl, boy
loses girl, boy wins girl back.
Now we see that, you know, itmight be Boy Meets Boy, right,
you know, or Girl Meets Girl, orwhatnot. And so I think we
definitely have seen just a kindof, just greater diversity, and
in terms of representation, forsure that, you know, in the
(12:40):
early 2000s there was a whole,like spate of bromance films,
including, I love you man andget Him to the Greek. There were
several of them. But, yeah, Ithought those, the romance films
were kind of interesting,because they essentially took
the rom com formula, and, youknow, kind of place that formula
onto male friendship. So theywere straight, you know,
(13:04):
straight men. But, you know, thethings were really kind of, it
was kind of romantic in the waythat it was conveyed as this
person being the primary personin your life. Yeah, I think the
same shifts that we see in romcoms in terms of mapping that
onto, you know, more diverserepresentations of of people,
includes romantic dramas. Socall me by your name with
(13:28):
Timothy Chalamet, which mystudents love. By the way, they
love the movie, but they alsolove Timothy Chalamet, oh my
gosh. They go crazy for him. Andalso a really terrific film that
features two female leads and arelationship between the two
women as a Portrait of a Lady onfire, yes, which is just
amazing. I can't recommend thatenough. So, yeah, I think that's
(13:52):
one way we've seen romanticfilms. Romance films evolve and
shift, yeah. But also, I thinkone thing I really noticed over
the last, I don't know, 15 or 20years or so, maybe more now, is
as movies that are focused onolder couples. Yes, middle aged,
even senior couples. And we seethat like on television with the
(14:14):
golden Bachelorette, but we'realso seeing it in movies like as
good as it gets, or a book club,or, you know, it's complicated,
yeah, even though, when we weretalking about earlier, you're
cordially invited, which cameout on Yes, is that Amazon
Prime? I think, yeah,
amy stockwell (14:33):
exactly. Amazon Prime
Unknown (14:34):
features, you know that the romantic relationship that
unfolds is between a middle age,right? So I do think
that that's crazy to think ofmiddle age, to think of Will
Ferrell and Reese Witherspoon asmiddle age, but that's really so
I thinkthat's one of the things I
noticed, too,
amy stockwell (14:52):
with all of the rom coms, you know, popping up
on Netflix and Amazon in thesenext few days. I know. That
valentine's day can be hard whenyou're single, and so those
messages come from all over theplace, but I feel like are rom
com slightly to blame forcreating these unrealistic
(15:13):
expectations about love andhappily ever after, and maybe
less so now, I don't know ifthat's something that has
evolved, but if you're watchingone of those movies and you're
all by yourself, it's gonna makeyou not necessarily feel good.
It's gonna make you feel sad.
This
Unknown (15:27):
is true. You know, that's a tough question, because
if we're gonna blame movies,then we have to, like, blame,
you know, everything. And youknow popular culture and and you
know also, like, you know, most,most songs, for example, right
on the train, you know, yeah,chopping block, or, you know,
going back to, you know, dramaor poetry, you know. So we've
(15:49):
been glorifying love and sincethe beginning, right, story
time, right?
amy stockwell (15:58):
That's except those horrible movies, like,
what was that? There was onehorrible one about two couples
who hated War of the Roses likethat just popped into my head,
where, because, because I wasjust thinking, everybody loves
to watch the rom coms becauseit's escapism, and it's, you
know, because it is happy everafter, nobody wants to watch a
movie about a terriblerelationship, right? But then
(16:21):
there are some of those,
Unknown (16:22):
although, if it, you know, if it does, if it
depresses you, to watch a romcom with, you know, the happy
ending, then maybe, maybe watchFatal Attraction, right? Or body
heat, which is a great, yeah,noir, also, Kathleen Turner, you
know, or, I don't know, betteroff dead, you know, feel like
that might provide more laughs,but also gets a darker element
(16:46):
and into thethat's a good idea, like
recommending Fatal Attraction.
Yeah, so make you feel betterabout not being interrupted.
amy stockwell (16:55):
Exactly, right?
Just put blinders on. Don't lookat all the cards in the store
and all the balloons and right.
Okay, so enough about romance.
We have the Oscars are coming upright around the corner. I'm
sure you haven't seen all ofthem, but do you have any? Do
you have any picks that youthink will be winners? Yeah, I
(17:18):
haven't
Unknown (17:20):
seen them all. I'm curious to hear what you guys
think, too. Jesse's probablyseen
them all. I have not close. Ihave not seen them all. I need
to review the list. I did seethe brutalist recently, which is
feeling like it's got somemomentum behind it. So I'd love
to hear yourthoughts. Well, I haven't seen
it. I can't wait to see it. Infact, I want to see it while
it's still it's at theterrace. I know I saw it at the
at the terrace, and it was verygood. I very appreciated the 15
(17:43):
minute intermission. He's got areal intermission in it, really,
amy stockwell (17:49):
you know, like, three and a half hours. Yeah,
why? That's another thing aboutmovies. I feel like they're just
long getting better and longer.
I mean, it
Unknown (17:56):
used to be, I mean, for many years, the standard length
of a feature film was 90 minutesto two hours, and now it's
becoming two and a half hours.
Do
amy stockwell (18:04):
you think that's because of they're competing
with Netflix, where that hadseries shows that can stretch,
you know? Perhaps
Unknown (18:12):
I actually think it's, I don't think it's for the
better. I think it's, in fact,most, most films these days, not
all, and I don't mean to sound,you know, but most films I think
could be improved by cuttingabout 15 or 20 minutes out.
I find that there's the oddoccasion where it might, it
(18:33):
might be necessary, you know, toit warrants the like I one
example, I think dune two was avery long but, but quality and
kind of needed some length, andit was a well crafted movie.
But, yeah, no, a lot are ratherlong these days. Yeah, it's
interesting that that's a shift.
I don't know, like all thereasons why, but yeah, you make
(18:54):
a good point about perhapscompeting with these, you know,
lengthier, right
amy stockwell (18:59):
story, season 10 episodes each, or whatever. But
Unknown (19:03):
I feel like there is a little bit of some filmmakers
wanting to try and, you know,reignite some kind of, like, no
cinema is different kind ofapproach, and for for good and
ill, where it'd be like, youknow, for example, the brutalist
was shot in a in was itCinemaScope or this division, I
(19:27):
think it was, which is a bit ofa gimmick kind of thing, but was
a special film process that theycreated in the early 50s. One of
the first movies that I thinkused, it was White Christmas.
And so that's kind of like agimmicky, kind of, like, look.
We've shot this this particularway. They've
(19:47):
you know, can you tell thedifference when you're
watching I think it lookedfantastic. I mean, you can it's
it kind of flips perspective onhow you shoot you take, instead
of a 35 millimeter film rollingvertically. Way across the
shutter. It goes horizontally,gives you more room and in the
frame, so you get a higher res,not resolution, because it's
(20:11):
film, but a higher quality kindof image from that, from that
negative. So I think it lookedamazing. And it's way cheaper
than, say, like 70 millimeterIMAX, which is really
challenging to work with, butparticularly looks good on the
big screen, yeah, you know,right? Which
is part of the I think the goalis the idea that you need to see
these things. These are in thetheater. This is a theater
(20:32):
experience. And that's, I think,a big thing for a lot of
filmmakers right now, is, youknow, you hear Scorsese talk
about, you shouldn't be watchingthis stuff on my phone, right,
right. No, I try to tell mystudents the same thing. Yeah,
is
amy stockwell (20:44):
the brutalist up for best movie. It's up
Unknown (20:47):
for almost every category. I mean, not everyone,
but all of the major categories.
And I my prediction it willprobably sweep. I don't know if
it's gonna really, I don't knowif it'll sweep every category,
but I think it's gonna take homeseveral years. Yeah,
I you know, I think it mighthave some real legs to get a
significant like maybe amajority of its of its
(21:11):
nominations. But we have seen inrecent years where you have
these movies that get a bunchand then don't necessarily win a
whole bunch. I think La La Landis an example that had a lot of
nominations, but didn't win allof them. I think two or maybe
two of them, butI think, I mean, again, who
knows, but it could likely winBest Director, Best Picture,
Best Actor, we'll see. I mean, Ithink Timothy Chalamet. I mean,
(21:33):
he's in the running for BestActor for The Bob Dylan movie
for the, yeah, a completeunknown. Which
was good, yeah, I enjoyed that.
Was another long one. Wasn'tthat. I actually haven't
seen it yet. I don't know if Ishould confess this or not, but
I don't love biopics. Yeah, andthere's, there's so many biopics
lately, and especially the moreI like the artists, like, I'm a
big Bob Dylan fan, and, youknow, there's a lot of other
(21:56):
biopics that have come out onmusic artists I really liked.
It's, it's hard for me toexplain, but it's almost like I
don't want to know. I just, Ienjoy the music so much. Yeah,
it's like I just want to enjoythe art and not necessarily know
personal details of their lives.
But I must be in the minority onthat, because biopics are so
popular right now. I mean,
amy stockwell (22:19):
Bob Dylan, there's several done about him.
I was listening. I was talkingabout that, yeah,
Unknown (22:23):
this one's, I think, the most like, I hesitate to say
normal by any means, you know,because you know what is, what
is normal, but it's the moremost traditional, right? The
others were kind of avant garde,yeah? And this is kind of like,
Hey, we're going to tell thisfour year, you know, gap, chunk
of of his life. Yeah,I'm sure I'll see it at some
I've heard it's very good, and Ihave no doubt Chalamet did a
(22:44):
great job,and Nora was there's one I
haven't seen that I would reallylike to see. I think
that film deserves recognition.
I don't know whether, again, Idon't know whether baker or Sean
Baker, will win a Best Director,but he's certainly nominated. I
thought it was masterfuldirecting. The acting by the
leading actress, Mikey Madison,was really impressive.
(23:08):
What does that one call Nora?
Oh, I don't even know that one.
It's, I mean, it's, in someways, it's a tough film to watch
because it's, it's so, like,stressful, yeah, the two and a
half hours of this kind of wildride. But the acting is just
terrific, yeah. And so I thinkthat film might likely get some
recognition one way or another.
Other films Conclave, there'stalk of conclave or recognition
(23:33):
for Ray fines, a real pain.
Jesse Eisen, Karen Calkins,I was a bit of that was a good
one as an understated movie, andI think intentionally So, yeah,
but I enjoyed that one. It was,it was pretty good.
I think Karen Calkins nominatedfor Best Supporting Actor, and
(23:54):
it might be also nominated for,like, maybe best original
screenplay or something likethat. I'm not sure. I think some
of the art direction and likeproduction design, costuming and
makeup stuff, awards might go tofilms like wicked or to dune to,
amy stockwell (24:13):
yeah, as a film studies professor, do you give
much weight to like award shows,or is it all just kind of, you
know, glitz and glam. And
Unknown (24:25):
I, I guess I don't give a whole lot of weight to the
Oscars, and I do think they'refun to watch. I have not been in
favor of this 10 Best Picturenomination show that occurred a
few years ago. I think in anattempt to get a wider audience,
they've now nominated 10 bestpictures. And I just think
that's a little too many, anddoesn't quite it dilutes the
(24:48):
like, the potency of what itmeans to be nominated for Best
Picture when there's 10. But asmuch as I think it can be
arbitrary, what wins, and Ithink it certainly is. I mean,
some years, you know. Know, youcan have, speaking of Mickey
Rourke, you mentioned himearlier the year that he was up
for the wrestler, which was astunning performance. Oh, that
was great. I mean, I think hedeserved the Oscar for that, but
(25:10):
he lost to Sean Penn, who did afabulous job in milk, you know,
so Harvey Milk, yeah, so, andthat's one of those that like,
like not to say the pen didn'tdeserve it, but you can always
go back and look and say, youknow, you know, maybe this film
deserved it more or whatnot. Ithink
a lot of the time they are aproduct of their moment,
because, like, 1994 Best Pictureincluded three of, I think
(25:35):
Forrest, Gump, Shawshank,redemption and Pulp Fiction. I
believe were all three nominatedfor Best Picture that year, and
I believe Forrest Gump won theaward. Which is a is a good
film, but is not necessarily inthe the Pantheon or dialog of of
great films, quite as much as,say one of those other two,
(25:55):
right is agreed.
Right, agreed. That wasmassively popular, but it's not
necessarily, you know, to be asmore important, yeah, so any
given year depending on thecompetition. But that said, I do
pay attention, especially whenI'm teaching a film like I
taught it happened one night acouple of weeks ago, and as I
was introducing the film, youknow, I said this film was
(26:16):
nominated, I want to say, forseven Academy Awards, and it won
five. I think that's correct.
I'm sorry that it's not quite onthe not quite remembering, but,
and I think that isn'timportant, that does tell us
something about this film andhow it was received. In fact,
Claudette Colbert didn't thinkmuch of the movie they were
making, and so she didn't evengo to the Oscars, really. Oh,
wow. And it was one of thoseyears where it just swept the
(26:37):
award. So I recently saw babygirl, and I thought, Oh, what do
you think I liked it? And I wassurprised, because when I saw
the trailer, I thought, oh, boy,yeah, you know, I was like, here
we go again. Because I wasalready feeling a little weird
about Nosferatu, which, I don'tknow if you guys want to talk
about that, but I don't want tospoil anything for anybody. But
um, baby girl surprised me in away I really liked.
amy stockwell (27:02):
Okay, I'll give it a shot. Then, yeah, because I
was like, Oh, here we go. I sawthat.
Unknown (27:08):
I saw that trailer. And I said to myself, they either
know exactly what they're doingwith this trailer or this is not
going to be a movie I willenjoy. And it sounds like it may
have been very skillful editingwith that trailer, then I don't
know. Yes,no, the trailer is misleading.
And I don't mean that in apejorative way. The trailer
(27:28):
leads you to expect the filmwill be different than it is,
yeah. And you know, in the handsof a female director, I think we
ended up with a film that'sactually pretty empowering.
amy stockwell (27:38):
And like you said, I mean, again, it's hard
to think of Nicole Kidman asbeing older now, but really she
is an older so more filmsfocusing on women of a later age
and their relationships. Andyeah, yeah, I'll have to check
that one out. So okay, so Ithink we've given people plenty
(28:01):
of ideas of movies to watch andways to keep themselves
entertained on Valentine's Day,if, if it is if you do decide to
watch a movie. So thank you forcoming in and talking to us. And
I would love to take one of yourclasses one
Unknown (28:17):
day anytime. Thank you for having me. I'd love to come
in again sometime.
amy stockwell (28:23):
Thank you for listening to this episode of
speaking of College ofCharleston with today's guest,
Colleen Glenn. If you liked thisepisode, please help us reach
more listeners by sharing itwith a friend or leaving a
review for show notes and moreepisodes. Visit the College of
Charleston's official news site,the college
today@today.charleston.edu, youcan find episodes on all major
(28:47):
podcast platforms. This episodewas produced by Amy Stockwell
with recording and soundengineering by Jesse Kunz from
the Division of InformationTechnology. You
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