As a lover of all different media types, I typically like to consume new TV shows and movies as often as I can. With all these new streaming sites popping up it seems like no matter how much material you end up watching, you are always behind. That can be frustrating (how the hell am I supposed to be able to watch everything?!), exciting (I have so much new content to watch!), or make you feel like you do when you are trying to pick out the right bottle of wine at the store (I’m sorry honey, there were too many options so I just decided to buy some Corona Light (not a plug for Corona, I swear)). That latter response is something I have been doing a lot (it’s a metaphor, I’m not really buying Corona Light constantly, don’t worry). There are so many new shows and movies being added to these different avenues I decide to do something insane, re-watch TV shows and movies I know I love. I don’t know if it’s for the stability of knowing what I’m getting during an unstable time (hi COVID), if I’m just too lazy to pick something new, or it might just be many of the other millions of reasons out there.
Instead of trying to figure out the psychological reasons why (that could go on for pages and pages, and I don’t want to bore you to death on random tangential thoughts I have on the subject), I thought I would tell you what my go-to is, and maybe even dive into why I think it is my go-to. One of my goals over the past three or so years has been to watch every AFI top 100 film that I haven’t seen. What this experience so far has taught me is 1) I don’t like all of these critically acclaimed films, 2) some of these films should only be watched once (or once every couple of years (or decades)), and 3) while my favorite movie of all time is on the list (Taxi Driver), I reference you back to point number 2 as to why it is not my go-to re-watch movie.
When I think of a great go-to re-watch it is one that is entertaining, can be played in the background, or can be watched intently at any point. It’s the movie (if you are old enough for this reference) that you would stop changing channels to watch on cable. This point makes me think about the scene in the movie I Am Legend where Will Smith’s character is reciting the Shrek lines verbatim, and the kid that has yet to officially meet him is sitting on the couch terrified thinking this guy has lost a couple of screws. Shrek is a good example of a go-to re-watch, it’s entertaining, can be played in the background, and you can sit down and watch it intently. To be honest I Am Legend is a somewhat good re-watch movie (spoiler alert: his family dying and the scene where he has to kill his dog takes it out of the running for a great re-watch movie for me). Obviously everyone has their own taste and criteria for these specific things, and to be honest, it all depends on your mood.
With that being said, I have found that my favorite go-to re-watch movie is The Dark Knight. If I’m feeling overwhelmed by the amount of new content I have to watch, I put on The Dark Knight. If I’ve had a bad day and I don’t want to be let down by the new content I’m thinking of watching sucking, I throw on The Dark Knight. It meets all the three criteria from the above paragraph, but I also think that this movie came out at my most impressionable time as a filmmaker/actor. When The Dark Knight came out I was just dipping my toes into the water of acting. So, watching the commitment of all the characters was incredibly impressionable into pushing me further into loving acting. Seeing Heath Ledger literally transform into the Joker was awe inspiring in so many different ways. It might be my favorite performance of all time (I know a lot of people are going to have many opinions on that, but come on, it’s a subjective art). This film not only pushed me further into acting, but made me start thinking even more creatively. I didn’t really get my feet wet in the filmmaking aspect of my life (that was my first year at UC Davis in 2010/2011), but the idea of creating a story like that inspired me to do more. It’s funny that this is my go-to re-watch as some think it’s not even the best of the trilogy (some even saying it’s behind both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight Rises). Everyone has their different reasons for having a go-to re-watch movie, and these were mine.
Don’t get me wrong now, this isn’t my only go-to re-watch piece. I have re-watched many movies over the years, but this has always been, without a doubt, the main staple of the list. If I need something in shorter snippets I re-watch Rick and Morty (not only is it easier to consume these shorter episodes, for the most part it is way more light hearted than The Dark Knight). I might fluctuate depending on where I am in my life on what show (The Sopranos, Euphoria (yeah, super new show, but I am obsessed with everything about it right now)) or movie (The Departed) I am re-watching constantly. It’s something that I find super ironic because the more I re-watch the same thing, the further behind I get on new content, and the further behind I get on new content, the more likely I am to re-watch the same thing. With this logic, by the time I hit forty everyone might be wondering if I’m losing it as I recite lines verbatim from The Dark Knight (“I’m going to make this pencil disappear...Ta Da!”), thinking this is the only thing I’ve watched for years now.
Either way, I would love to hear what your go-to re-watch movie(s) and TV show(s) are as well! I hope you all are having an amazing start to your Friday, and stay tuned for the next update on anything and everything here on The Day Off Post!
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