My 'Favorite' Movie

glenalbrethsen (68)in #writingchallenge02 • 5 years ago

Not An Easy Choice

I really don't have a favorite anything, let alone movies.

That's not to say I don't have something I really like, but there's usually more than one of those at any given time and I don't typically try to choose between them.

And since the emphasis of this particular post, in part, has to do with movies that I connected with somehow, that makes it harder, because I don't often watch movies to connect with them. That's not to say it doesn't happen, though.

There are probably three movies of that sort that I can think of. They are:

Field Of Dreams
Forrest Gump
The Incredibles

Which one do I choose, though?

The Incredibles

Unlike the other two films, The Incredibles is a CGI-animated movie by Pixar (now a part of Disney). The main characters are superheroes, who, after a couple of incidents (quite a bit of destruction to a city and saving a person who doesn't want to be saved, then being sued for it all), are forced to give up the superhero life, settling down and raising a family.

The father, Bob Parr, aka Mr. Incredible, goes through a series of jobs, never really fitting in anywhere because he's suited to bringing down supervillains, not office work. The last job we see him doing is working for an insurance company, where the diminutive boss finally gets on his last nerve. Bob's reaction gets him fired.

Instead of uprooting his family, again, he refuses relocation from an agency dedicated to helping superheroes adjust to 'civilian' life, doesn't tell his wife, Helen (aka Elastigirl), and continues to sneak out with his best friend, Lucius (aka Frozone), to thwart crime and save people whenever they can.

Before he is fired, he receives a mysterious note offering him a job using his unique talent—superhuman strength. He is torn whether or not to take up the offer, but when he ends up unemployed he decides to find out what it's all about, again without telling his wife.

As the story progresses, Bob's deception begins to unravel, Helen believes she's being cheated on, and the new job turns out to be far less than ideal, with real sinister and perilous consequences.

Why I Like It

It has superheroes and superhero action. I've been a fan of superhero comics (Mostly Marvel with some DC) since I was 12 or 13. I watch as much of them, live action or cartoon-version, as I can, and within the last few years, I'm back into reading comic books, albeit digitally.
The music. The movie begins somewhere in the mid-1950s to early 1960s, and then fast forwards into the early 1970s as we see Bob and Helen with older children (middle school age, more or less). The music, including the theme song, is an upbeat style of jazz that I really like, and it's all newly composed for the movie.
The character development. This isn't just about the superheroing. It's about a family who's trying to fit into normal human society when their abilities make them capable of so much more. Because of this, they find themselves faced with the same mundane situations of everyday life—trying to make ends meet, fitting in at school, changes heading into the teenage years, wanting more. In other words, it's atypical to what most superhero movies were like up until when The Incredibles debuted back in 2004.
The dialogue, especially the repartee between Bob and Helen. It's natural, reactive, and dead on for married couples who come at an issue from different ends. They aren't always happy with one another, but they still love each other very much.

How I Identify With It

I'm not a superhero. At one time, I though it would be great to have some kind of power. In a way, I still do, but it's less about fighting villainy now or the adventure of it all and more about changing the world for the better.

That said, I identify with:

Bob Parr (Mr. Incredible). I probably analyze or think about things more than he does, but he and I share a lot of the same sentimentality. If you have the ability and power to do something, you should do it. If you're better than others, you should be able to show it and be rewarded for it. People are not all the same. I understand his frustration with everything from not being able to use his ability for good, to how things are going at school, in particular for his son, to knowing that no matter what he tries to do, he's just not suited for a 9 to 5 kind of job.
The family dynamic. I was around 38 when this film came out, with two boys that would have been the same ages as Violet and Dash, the Parr children. I didn't have a girl, but raising children is still a challenging experience, with it's ups and downs. Through it all though, you never stop loving your children. You only want the best for then, and you want to keep them safe, even if they don't see it like that and seem to resent you for it.
The vulnerability. There is a scene towards the end of the movie that I can't watch without getting emotional. Every time. The Parr family is about to go up against a huge metal monster that Bob has been unable to defeat. He wants to go it alone, though, rather than risk the lives of his wife and children. Helen confronts him on it.

This is what happens:

Hopefully, that isn't too big of a spoiler. Suffice it to say, something has happened earlier that causes Bob great anguish, and the thought of it happening again is unbearable.

It's just a movie, and a CGI one at that, with impossible scenarios. However, this scene makes it real for me, no matter what the situation or the context. The idea of ever losing my wife or family brings me deep sadness, even though I know, eventually, we all will die. It's imagining premature loss, of not having my wife or family around me, to share our love and experiences together, that hits me the hardest.