Thursday Movie Picks: Small Towns

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I should put a trigger warning on this topic from Wandering Through The Shelves for myself. Small towns aren't for everyone. I was born and raised in one, I hated every minute of it. I hate walking into any given establishment and knowing somebody. I hated limited everything. And movie wise, I hated that I always had to drive two hours away to see indie films. Moving was one of the best things I ever did, even if it's not in a huge city. At least it's not a small town.

 Anyways, rant aside, here are some films about small towns that subtly capture how horrible they can be for some. And how well they fit for others.

 1) Waitress

 This is probably one of the sweetest movies I've ever seen. Jenna is a small town waitress/pie extraordinaire who finds herself pregnant by her loser husband when that's the last thing she wants. 

 2) Snow Angels

 An ensemble drama about life in a small town before a tragedy strikes. The performances in this one are great, particularly Sam Rockwell, Michael Angarano and Olivia Thirlby

 3) Junebug

 The film that stopped making me think of the ditz in Drop Dead Gorgeous. Amy Adams absolutely steals this movie to the point where it's kind of funny.The film is about a man bringing his new wife back to his home town, but the only thing that matters is Amy Adams, who plays his pregnant sister in law. 

Comments

  1. Sonia CercaDecember 14, 2017 at 7:31 AM

    I know how it feels, I still live in a small town :(

    I haven't seen any of your picks but I want to see Snow Angels and Junebug.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 14, 2017 at 11:47 AM

      I hope you like them! All three are great little films.

      Delete
  2. DanielDecember 14, 2017 at 10:42 AM

    LOVE Waitress SO MUCH.

    Amy Adams is such a treasure in Junebug.

    ReplyDelete
  3. BirgitDecember 14, 2017 at 11:43 AM

    Junebug is excellent and Amy is great in this film. I haven`t seen the other 2 but i am going to look it up. I grew up in the country where the nearest store was a mile away but to do groceries was to venture in the car and drive for 20 min. Indie films did not exist:)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 14, 2017 at 11:46 AM

      lol my town had a decent grocery store so I suppose I should be grateful.

      Delete
  4. GetterDecember 14, 2017 at 4:30 PM

    I can't remember Waitress for the life of me.. and I've never seen the other two picks either. Man, I really need to start watching more movies. :D

    ReplyDelete
  5. thevoid99December 14, 2017 at 4:43 PM

    These are all great choices. I'm not fond of small town life although I'd rather endure that than the noisiness of the city.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 14, 2017 at 10:16 PM

      I love big cities, noise and all. lol. I'd move to a bigger one if I could.

      Delete
  6. StephDecember 14, 2017 at 7:48 PM

    Waitress and Junebug are wonderful choices!

    ReplyDelete
  7. joel65913December 15, 2017 at 8:54 AM

    I wasn't sure when I walked into Waitress that I wouldn't find it puerile but I was totally charmed by it.

    I can't say the same for Junebug which I detested and it started by now seemingly lifelong aversion to Amy Adams who everyone else seemed to find winning and I found completely irksome.

    I haven't seen the other but I'm intrigued by the sound of it.

    Small towns are such a consistent theme for film settings that the pickins were plentiful so I simply chose the first three that came to mind.

    Doc Hollywood (1991)-Ben Stone (Michael J. Fox) is a hotshot young doctor as well as pompous jackass who has been offered a big opportunity with a plastic surgeon in L.A. Driving across country in his sports car he tries to avoid highway traffic but causes a minor accident on a back road in the small town of Grady. Sentenced to community service assisting the town’s long time cantankerous physician Dr. Hogue (Barnard Hughes) he struggles with the slower pace of the village. At first snappish and anxious to get out of there ASAP he gradually falls for both the colorful townspeople including the mayor (David Ogden Stiers) his randy but sweet daughter Nancy Lee (a scene stealing Bridget Fonda) and pretty ambulance driver Lou (Julie Warner) whose affections he has to compete for with the cocksure insurance man Hank (Woody Harrelson). Good natured comedy is a great showcase for Fox’s boyish charm.

    All That Heaven Allows (1955)-Douglas Sirk’s masterpiece of color and skewering of class structure looks at the May/December romance of wealthy widow Cary Scott (Jane Wyman), lonely but hidebound by small town mores to a country club life full of wolfish men, disapproving children and stifling conventions, and her younger gardener Ron Kirby (Rock Hudson) a successful nurseryman with a rustic, down to earth attitude who doesn’t give a damn what others think. They are happy for a brief period but Cary, saddled with two of the most odious children (both of college age) in filmdom is pressured by them to break off the affair at which point having ruined her life they promptly forget about her. There’s plenty more drama ahead for the pair though. This heavily influenced Todd Haynes’s Far from Heaven.

    Our Town (1940)-The everyday life of small town Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire from the turn of the last century until about the time the film was made is recalled by the residents young and old. Idyllic version of life in the early 20th century where no one locks their doors and all is mostly harmonious focuses on young lovers George Gibbs (William Holden) and Emily Webb (Martha Scott) through their trials and triumphs. Thornton Wilder’s play on which this is based won the Pulitzer Prize.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 15, 2017 at 9:03 AM

      I think I know one other person that hates Amy Adams. That's it. lol. I love her. I haven't seen any of your picks this week.

      Delete
  8. DellDecember 16, 2017 at 12:51 AM

    Man, I haven't seen any of these.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Big Screen Small WordsDecember 16, 2017 at 9:18 PM

    I loved Waitress and Junebug! I haven't seen your second pick but it sounds interesting.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 17, 2017 at 9:45 PM

      Snow Angels has lots of great performances in it. You should check it out!

      Delete
  10. Alex WithrowDecember 20, 2017 at 4:29 PM

    I just love when anyone mentions Snow Angels at all. I've always loved the hell out of that movie.

    ReplyDelete
  11. WandererDecember 21, 2017 at 12:19 PM

    We match on Waitress. I really like Snow Angels too and Junebug is definitely one I do want to see.

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    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamDecember 22, 2017 at 6:45 AM

      I'm glad you watched Snow Angels! Seems that's the least known pick of mine today.

      Delete

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