Monday, January 14, 2019

What Inspired Me? 1/11


Guy films:

For my personal film opening genre, the one genre that really stood out to me among all of the other genre choices was the genre of “Guy Films”.  A lot of my favorite movies from over the years are actually guy films, which I never really thought about until I wrote this review.  Among my favorite guy films include: Animal House, Caddy Shack, James Bond License to Kill, and Dirty Harry. 

Animal House is definitely a film at the top of my list for guy films.  With the beginning of the movie showing two of the main characters going to a frat party it really opens up the “Guy feeling” of the movie.  The way the beginning of Animal House shows the two characters talking about and interacting with the female characters at the party establishes the film as a more male dominated theme.  The division of social groups of being a dweeb, jock, or nerd also begins to establish the ability of the characters to be a part of the “cool” frat house, especially among the men shown in the opening several minutes.  Through this, Animal House shows itself as being a guy film.

Caddy Shack is another great guy film that also comes to mind.  Through the opening of this movie focusing solely on the life of Danny, Caddy Shack begins to show the life of a caddy working at a wealthy golf course where his life is mixed with girls and adult humor.  Near the beginning of Caddy Shack, several scenes are also shown of the caddy shack itself where all the caddy’s hang out and hoarse around for a good part of the day.  These scenes express a lot of how the guys acted and lived in the movie, making Caddy Shack a great example of a guy film. 

James Bond’s movie License to Kill is also a great representation of a guy film.  With the opening scene opening up with Bond and one of his buddies chasing a drug lord in a coast guard helicopter and finally parachuting into a wedding, this opening sequence really exhibits a very macho feeling to the viewer.  With all of the action fight scenes being mixed in with the quick paced opening of this movie, License to Kill really shows Bond and his buddy as total bad asses that will do any “macho” thing to catch the bad guy.

A final example of a guy film is Dirty Harry.  The opening to Dirty Harry shows Clint Eastwood climbing up staircases, walking down narrow alley ways, and walking along beautiful rooflines while a somewhat suspenseful music plays as he walks.  In addition to this, Eastwood is shown in a suit with dark sunglasses and a very blunt expression on his face throughout the entire scene.  This opening portion of Dirty Harry really portrays Eastwood as a man that has a very rough personality and is very laid back since he doesn’t smile or say a single word in the entire opening scene.  As a result, Dirty Harry’s opening reflects very nicely into the theme of guy films.

Through the opening scenes of all four of these movies, the theme of guy films is really strongly represented by the way each character or scene is portrayed, as well as the way music is incorporated into the way the characters are shown.  Due to this, each film fits very well into the theme of a “Guy Film”.

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