Sunday, August 14, 2011

Independence Day

People (friends, family, acquaintances, haters) have wondered over the years why OH why Independence Day is my favorite movie. The new Star Trek movie definitely threatens that most awesome moniker of perfection, but for now let's just say that my favorite movie is Independence Day (1996).

Why is it my favorite? So many reasons (I shouldn't have to defend):

Evildoer aliens vs. the Planet pre-9/11. All things prior to 9/11 were somehow sweet and innocent. Remember Patriot Games? Irish militants? Now seems twee, doesn't it?

Jeff Goldblum. Nerd Muscle. Sex Geek. Checkmate.

Bill Pullman's speech. No President has ever given a speech that will match this one. It is beyond soaring. And the cheesy saluting airman only adds to the excellence. How often do we both laugh and cry?

Will Smith in his first role as American we'd all love to be and possibly slow kiss. I haven't seen all WS movies since his most righteous role in Independence Day ( 7 Pounds, Wild Wild West) but I've seen the ones that make me believe there is no greater pop American actor worthy of our dollars and adoration. That is, of course, if he can stay the course with aliens/disaster/general action genres.

Judd Hirsch. "You wanna borrow the car?"

The fact that our dumb asses could ever figure out how to kill their alien-evil-satellite abusing overlord ways. Do notice that our basic answers are always a "virus." Note that this is also the thing that will also probably kill us, too. Eventually.

Adam Baldwin being all military sexay. Brent Spiner being all science nerday? Vivica A. Fox being all juicy-strippy sassay?

The Moment. I'd never experienced an opening day movie before. Especially not one with that much advance excitement and expectation. What was better was the fact that we were in LA that week to celebrate my ex-husband's grandmother's birthday. We visited Universal Studios on July 4, 1996, and one of the highlights the day (and the trip) was the premier viewing of Independence Day at the theater on site. The audience was down like a clown for all the emotional highs and lows of the movie. They screamed, yelled, laughed, and applauded throughout the movie, and this forever imprinted on my tiny monkey mind. Independence Day = happy/joy spikes of feelings iced with sugar-spiked edges of glee.


I've viewed this movie countless times since it's been released on DVD. It remains one of my very favorites: most quotable, most memorable, most wonderful. My biggest wish, extraplanetary-wise, is that aliens who find us will be peaceful, kind, helpful, or just bored enough to pass us by. It would be nice if they understood our humor, or at least my humor (and that of this wedding party, God bless them for all eternity!) and love us for the monkey dweebs we are:

2 Comments:

Blogger Flushy McBucketpants said...

amen.

3:48 AM  
Blogger Shiny said...

YAY, WF. You get it, dude. You GET IT.

1:03 AM  

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