the groundhog day project

I don't really want to rehash the inherent sexism in a family film made in the 70s--that's just par for the course, another sign of the times that were. At some point, you must take a film on its own terms, let it have its timely biases and its timely treatments of men, of women, of people of color, of varying ethnicities. What then can you take from The Apple Dumpling Gang ? It's an entertaining film. It's funny. It's got heart. It's plot is simple and easy to understand, and Donavan and Dusty ending up a couple is a good ending to the story as offered. That Amos and Theodore ride off with the happy couple and their kids is icing on the cake. But, what really stands out watching The Apple Dumpling Gang after so many years--and I have seen it in the intervening years, probably most recently in the last 10 to 15 years--is just how well put together it's plot is. (Except for one detail.) The Hash Knife Gang--Amos and Theodore--and their antics are barely c...

Over at Oy!Chicago yesterday, Steven Chaitman describes heading out to Woodstock this past weekend as "a movie nerd's dream." Walking around Woodstock, he says--and I'd agree--"was like being in the world of the movie." His best line: "There is definitely something spiritual about being 'on the set' of one of your favorite films." He continues: "Forgive the lofty comparison, but it was a lot like setting foot at the Western Wall for the first time, the recognition that the place where you stand once played host to something awesome, something bigger than yourself, something you treasure." Steven gets it, and I wish I'd talked to him while he was there. From his photo (included in his article) I do recognize him, but he wasn't one of the ones I had a conversation with, which is too bad. "A complete outsider," Chaitman says, "might laugh at the town of Woodstock for milking its one (and likely only ever) c...