This website has produced nearly 100 blogs, and scanning an assortment of them over the past 2 years, it’s more than apparent that I’m stuck in the 1980s. This makes sense since my first two novels take place in this decade. But, if nothing else, I wanted to prove that yes, I do exist in this century and have been paying attention to pop culture for the past several decades, so I decided to draft this list of my five favorite films of the past 15 years. Here they are, in no order (except the last one, which is my favorite of the bunch):
Liberal Arts (2012)
Made before Elizabeth Olsen was a household name by virtue of being in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Liberal Arts proved Josh Radnor was more than just the amusing, amiable lead of the incomparable How I Met Your Mother, probably the best sitcom of the past 20 years. (Just ignore that last season.) Radnor plays Jesse Fisher, a jaded 35-year-old New Yorker trapped in his college years, so much so he takes a job as a college admissions officer in the Big Apple. Overly nostalgic for his halcyon youth, he visits his old campus in Ohio to deliver a speech for his retiring teacher and becomes smitten with sophomore Zibby (Olsen)—and you will, too. Yes, it’s another May-December romance, but if you think you know where it’s going, you don’t. Adding to the comedic-romantic atmosphere, the movie’s minor characters are played by absolute ringers who know more than one way to joyfully waltz through this material, including Richard Jenkins as that retiring teacher and Allison Janney as Jesse’s old poetry professor. My only complaint is that literally every female character, except for Zibby’s roommate, is in love with Jesse: Not only Zibby (obviously; it’s the plot of the movie) but the bookstore owner and (minor spoiler alert) the aforementioned poetry professor. Even Zibby’s Mom finds him attractive, and at one point, a student asks a crowd at a party, “Why do I like this guy so much?” (referring to Jesse), and Zibby replies, “Because he’s likable.” Even without checking the credits, it’s obvious Radnor wrote and directed the movie. One last note: It helps if you harbor a certain nostalgia for the collegiate years. If you didn’t attend college, this movie might leave you cold.
The End of the Tour (2015)
From one How I Met Your Mother alum to another: Jason Segel plays the late, brilliant author David Foster Wallace in the performance of his career. That might not mean much to you, but it keeps me coming back to view it every year. Based on the equally brilliant memoir, Although Of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself: A Road Trip With David Foster Wallace, Jesse Eisenberg plays real life Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky who interviews Wallace at the conclusion of his book tour (hence the title) for the epic and epically long, over 1,000-paged juggernaut Infinite Jest. (Reading this book has been on my bucket list for years, and I finally bought it recently—no time like the present!) Lipsky is jealous of Wallace’s career, and throughout the film, they playfully joust with each other over everything from writing to fast food to Alanis Morissette. It’s all fun and games until it’s not. To see their playful conversations take that dark turn is incredibly compelling, and I admire Eisenberg’s courage to continually play characters we don’t necessarily root for. With the bitter tension of a jealous rival and a genius auteur he simultaneously looks up to and resents at this movie’s core, The End of the Tour is the 21st Century answer to Amadeus. Side note: A minor character in the last movie I listed actually reads Infinite Jest throughout the film. (The title is never explicitly stated, but it’s more than implied.) That’s not why I chose these two movies; it’s just a coinky-dink. (Maybe I should add these to my Movie Coincidences list—blog callback!)
Everything Everywhere All At Once (2022)
Here is a movie that defies description. It must simply be experienced to truly appreciate it. In a world full of sequels, prequels, reboots, legacy sequels, and movies based on toys and dolls, this is a true original, and that’s particularly impressive considering all the movies about multiverses, the subject of the film, cluttering the cinema; there were two alone competing with Everything… when it was released: Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. (Both were meh.) I would explain the plot of this brilliant, baffling film, but I can’t. The movie is that gonzo insane. And I love it. This is probably the weirdest movie by the Daniels (googly eyes, “Racacooney,” and hotdog fingers!), and that’s saying something since they also wrote and directed Swiss Army Man, a movie about a talking, farting corpse played by Harry Potter. The only thing I’ll add is that Ke Huy Quan deservedly won a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Michelle Yeoh’s henpecked husband Waymond Wang in an action-packed though tender-hearted performance. When he wasn’t kicking butt, he was kicking in my heart. Also, it’s always a thrill to see Indy’s old pal and a Goonie win big. After all, Goonies never say die.
Brigsby Bear (2017)
If I could pick any celebrity in the world to be pals with, it wouldn’t be someone extremely rich and famous like Tom Hanks or Harrison Ford (though they are my favorite actors); it would be Saturday Night Live’s Kyle Mooney, cowriter and star of Brigsby Bear, but that’s not the reason I love this movie so much. As soon as I saw him standing on stage during one of the goodnights of an SNL episode proudly wearing an ALF shirt—a good 15 years after the show went off the air—he grabbed my attention. When he returned the following week stubbornly wearing the same shirt, I fell in love with the guy. In fact, I still claim his apparent love of ALF is what inspired him to create this movie, an ode to an ’80s-ish, nonexistent kids show starring an animatronic bear named Brigsby Bear. Actually, the show doesn’t even exist in the world of the movie. It was created and performed by his father, the always excellent Mark Hamill, for an audience of one, to teach life lessons and control his son James (Mooney)—only, he’s not really his father, but I don’t want to give all the surprises away. The ingenious plot is just the start to a movie that is considered a love letter to imagination and the art of collaborating with friends to create something artful and new. But to me, it will always be an ode to the pop culture that raised you. In many ways, I felt growing up like a boy in a bubble with nothing but T.V. shows and movies as a window to the outside world, and when I finally entered that big, bad world, talking about my love for specific pieces of pop culture, e.g., Star Wars, was how I connected with people. It’s a little sad, a little hopeful. That’s why I love that wistful, poignant nod James gives to Brigsby at the end of the movie. It’s like he’s saying: “Good job, buddy. I’ll take it from here.”
The World’s End (2013)
The best movies are the ones that are eminently rewatchable, and that’s more than true for The World’s End, probably my favorite movie of the past 15 years. It’s impossible to catch all the inside jokes (“Let’s Boo-Boo!”) and slam-bang Brit wisecracks in just one sitting. To watch this movie over and over is to be endlessly rewarded. I know many people would disagree, but for me, this is by far the best entry in the so-called “Cornetto Trilogy,” with Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz being the first two (also directed by Edgar Wright and starring Simon Pegg and Nick Frost). In fact, along with Peter Pan and a short story I wrote as a child, this movie was hugely influential on my sophomore novel Déjà View. I wanted to write a story where it also suddenly flips genres halfway through. For The World’s End, it’s about a third of the way through. During this first section, the movie tells a pretty straightforward, though highly affecting midlife crisis story, and part of me wanted the whole movie to play out this way. But, for those who’ve seen the trailer or even just glimpsed the poster, there is a sci-fi twist that takes over the narrative (hence my comparison to Déjà View).
In the other two Cornetto Trilogy movies, Simon Pegg plays more or less a good dude, but IMO (as Internet parlance goes), he’s never been better than as insufferable a-hole Gary King, a man trapped in time (specifically, the year 1990; for me, it’s 1989) who wants to finally finish the 12-bar pub crawl he began with his schoolmates 20 years ago on his high school graduation day. This provides the perfect structure for the film—I always try to guess the next pub they visit—and one time, I tried to drink along with them, but even for me, 12 beers is a lot. I also love how the names of the pubs comment on the plot; The Old Familiar looks identical to the previous pub, and they literally put a hole in the wall in The Hole in the Wall. The movie is equivalent to a great hang with a bunch of old friends, which is actually the main goal of King. All he wants is a few brews—okay, TWELVE brews—with his mates, and the end of the world has to come and muck it all up. Or does it? I found the ending of the movie surprisingly hopeful. Cowriter-director Wright even states on the commentary track that it’s probably the best ending for Pegg’s character. Too bad it comes at the expense of the world.
So fire up those DVD players—if you still own one—or go look for these gems on your preferred streaming services. What were some of your favorite movies of the past 15 years? Let me know in the comments!
MTP
P.S.: If I wasn’t so lazy, I would also write up (500) Days of Summer, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (another Edgar Wright jam), Pixar’s Inside Out (can’t wait for the sequel later this year), Inception, and Whiplash.
P.P.S.: Next week’s blog: Number 100 (And a Surprise Announcement!)
P.P.P.S.: Déjà View is now available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble:
Michael Thomas Perone 