Pandemic Comfort Foods
Ken Jones
Allow me to be the millionth person to point out that it’s hard to be productive during a global pandemic. The world collectively hit the pause button for a few months ago and we’re still having a hard time adjusting. Personally, I’ve been going to work the whole time, as I was deemed “essential” in my day job. So not much changed for me on a day-in, day-out level in that regard, but the lack of new movies and sports has been tough to deal with. It’s not that my level of consumption in these areas has gone up or down; it’s just shifted into different avenues.
As the chief film critic for OnScreen, I was frequently going to movie theaters. Heck, even if I wasn’t reviewing films on a regular basis, I would probably still be going to the movie theater at about the same clip. I miss sitting in the darkened theater and experiencing other people’s stories on the big screen. I look forward to the day that I can go back and feel comfortable doing so.
I’ve also got my fair share of streaming subscriptions and I’m trying to make a concerted effort to spend at least a little time on each of them to justify my subscriptions (Netflix, Amazon Prime, Hulu, Disney+, HBO Now, Criterion Channel, and the WWE Network on top of YouTubeTV for my TV content). Aside from enjoying the latest seasons of Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Better Call Saul, Westworld, Curb Your Enthusiasm, and a few limited series shows (The Outsider, Devs), I’ve found it difficult to even want to watch something new, even though my queues on Netflix, Amazon, Hulu, and Criterion stretch into the hundreds. And with no new sports and no new releases in the theaters, now is a perfect time to get caught up on classics I’ve missed and fill in gaps in my filmic blind spots.
Instead, more than anything I’ve been drawn to the things I know I enjoy. I want my movie and TV comfort foods, so to speak; the old reliables, the familiars. There’s no need for deep psychological analysis here, for sure. When there is so much uncertainty in the world, we seek out stability and find comfort in what we know, we retreat to our corners. I’m much more drawn to the movie shelf in my apartment right now than I am to my Netflix queue and the decision paralysis that awaits me from scrolling for 20 minutes trying to decide on what to watch. And also not shocking is that a lot of it is comedy.
So here are a few of the things I’ve been diving back into recently, what I may revisit soon, and some new items I may want to give a try…
Hello, Old Friends…
1. Ghostbusters – Like any child of the 80s, I loved Star Wars and Saturday morning cartoons. I had more than my fair share of G.I. Joes and Transformers growing up. But the movie I loved more than just about anything as a child and has stuck with me and I still find as funny now as I did then is Ghostbusters. It was my favorite comedy as a kid. I never get tired of it. I still laugh at all the things I laughed at when I was six or seven years old. There are things I laugh at today that went completely over my head as a child. It’s also eminently quotable.
2. Community – SIX SEASONS AND A MOVIE! There are plenty of sitcoms that are probably better than Community, but, personally, it’s my favorite TV comedy of all time. I bought it on Blu-ray last year and it recently became available for streaming on Netflix back on April 1. I got a co-worker hooked on the show and decided to start rewatching it myself. I’m a handful of episodes into Season 3 and it has been so enjoyable to revisit Greendale Community College and my favorite, diverse study group (Hispanics notwithstanding). Not only is the study group (Joel McHale, Gillian Jacobs, Brie Larson, Yvette Nicole Brown, Danny Pudi, Donald Glover, and Chevy Chase) an amazing collection of comedic talent at the core (along with Jim Rash and Ken Jeong), but it’s also got a plethora of great minor characters that populate the school: Leonard, Star-Burns, Garrett, Professor Duncan, Todd, Neil, Vaughn, and of course… Magnitude (“POP! POP!”). I’ve spent a few Saturdays just straight binging this show. It seems to have gained wider audience on Netflix, so hopefully more people come to love it in the long run.
3. Swingers – The same co-worker I introduced to Community and The Wire also let it drop that he’d never seen Swingers, the classic 90s indie comedy with Jon Favreau and Vince Vaughn. I told him that he had to watch it and it was available on streaming via Hulu. Of course, I had to rewatch it myself. Another highly quotable movie and the answering machine scene is just as cringe worthy as it ever was. It’s easy for us to be like Mike and be down in the dumps with Covid-19, but just remember, you’re so money baby and you don’t even know it.
4. The Last Dance – Speaking of being like Mike, The Last Dance on ESPN has been a godsend. Technically, this documentary chronicling the career of Michael Jordan and the last season of the Jordan Era Bulls is new, but for me it is reliving my teenage years as a basketball fan. All the memories of the greatness of Air Jordan have come flooding back and it’s also exposing a whole new generation to his greatness and dominance. It’s even prompted me to go onto YouTube and watch a few classic games that are available to watch, including Games 5 of the Eastern Conference Finals vs. the Knicks (The Charles Smith game), and Game 4 of the 1993 NBA Finals vs. the Phoenix Suns (Jordan scored 55 points).
5. Video Games – So much Madden. So… much… Madden.
It’s Been Too Long…
1. The Big Lebowski – As much as I love Ghostbusters, The Big Lebowski has officially supplanted it as my favorite movie of all time. Super quotable, Lebowski is a Coen Brothers classic that was their follow-up to the Oscar-winning Fargo. I loved it the very first time I saw it, I’ve seen it dozens of times, it gets funnier every time, and I’ve never been stoned to enjoy it. The Dude, Walter, Donnie, Brandt, Maude, The Jesus… what is there to say about this characters that hasn’t already been said? I had planned to watch this on my birthday recently, but didn’t have enough time. I may need to find time for a viewing this weekend because it has indeed been far too long, and this aggression will not stand, man.
2. The Complete Star Wars Saga – I recently purchased the Best Buy exclusive 4K Skywalker Saga that has all nine of the main Star Wars movies in a nice box set. I also bought Rogue One and Solo. I also recently wrote a piece on what I thought would be the best order to rewatch the entire movie collection. Now would certainly be a good time to test that out and see whether I was right or not, even if the conclusion with The Rise of Skywalker left a bitter taste in my mouth.
It’s Shiny, I Wanna Touch It…
1. What We Do in the Shadows – Season 2 of this FX comedy premiered back in April. I loved the movie that the show is based on, but I only got through a few episodes of the first season last year. I know that I’m predisposed to liking this show, and I have no idea why I’ve put off watching it for this long.
2. Space Force – This Netflix comedy is dropping May 29th and is from Greg Daniels and stars Steve Carrell, two alums of The Office making a parody show of the 6th branch of the US armed services. As if that wasn’t enough to entice me, John Malkovich, Noah Emmerich, and Lisa Kudrow are also a part of the cast.
3. The Great – A satirical, historical fiction about the rise of Catherine the Great from the Tony McNamara, the Academy Award nominated writer of The Favourite? Starring Elle Fanning and Nicholas Hoult? Sign me up! Thank you, Hulu!
4. Video Games – So much more Madden, but… I recently purchased an Oculus Quest. So I’m entering the VR gaming world (JESUS WEPT!). Vader Immortal is on the docket. And who knows what else.
So you keep hanging in there. Watch what you want to watch. Go back and revisit those old reliables, whatever they may be for you. I’ll let Frank the Tank take it from here.