Classic Films · Musicals

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes

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Image: Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, 1953

There’s been a lot of Marilyn Monroe chatter this summer in honor of the star’s 100th birthday, and while I was lucky enough to celebrate her at my local theater with a screening of The Misfits, this week I want to highlight one of her most joyous movies, Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Disc/Download). Between Marilyn’s iconic musical numbers and the dancing muscle-bound men, I can’t remember when I’ve had so much fun!

While Marilyn certainly makes a splash as showgirl Lorelei Lee, the part might not have worked nearly as well without the chemistry between her and costar Jane Russell. They are two singing, dancing, former “little girls from Little Rock” with very different tastes in men. When Lorelei hooks a millionaire’s son, the two set off on a pre-wedding cruise to Paris, initially unaware that they’re being watched by the millionaire’s private eye. Lorelei schemes to land an even bigger fish with even more diamonds at his disposal, while gal pal Dorothy enjoys a buffet of hot men. Although Dorothy’s official job is chaperone, she astutely points out: “Nobody chaperones the chaperone.” Pretty soon she’s flirting with her buff Olympian shipmates and catching the eye of the handsome PI. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and you shouldn’t either. Just lean into the vibes, and you’ll be okay.

Recently, I came across a cocktail in the Mr. Boston bar book that has Marilyn written all over it. From its pink hue, to its showgirl roots, this fizzy beverage is like Lorelei Lee in a glass. While watching Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, I recommend drinking a Floradora cocktail.

Floradora

2 oz gin

1 oz lime juice

1/2 oz raspberry syrup

Ginger beer, to top

Dried lime, garnish

Add gin, lime juice, and raspberry syrup to a shaker with ice, and shake to chill. Strain into a highball glass filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger beer, and garnish with a dried lime.

Anyone who knows me knows I have a pet peeve about annoying child actors, but I’m happy to report that young George Winslow is like the Macaulay Culkin of the 1950s; I keep expecting him to order a plain cheese pizza for one! Ultimately, this movie is a reminder that when life gets hard, I simply need to put Gentlemen Prefer Blondes in my movie arsenal and let Marilyn make everything better. Whether covered in diamonds or a fabulous leopard cape, she always brings the light. Bottom’s up!

Comedies

Muriel’s Wedding

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Image: Muriel’s Wedding, 1994

I thought I’d seen most of the quirky, rom-com-adjacent indie darlings of the 1990s, but somehow, Muriel’s Wedding (Disc/Download) slipped by*. In our current landscape of horror films and special effects extravaganzas, there’s never been a better time to travel back to Porpoise Spit and remind yourself what it was like to be young and terrible.

Starring Toni Collette in her breakout role, Muriel’s Wedding is sort of like a trashier Four Weddings and Funeral, with more sequins and fewer top hats. Belittled by her family, Muriel decides to steal $12,000 and go on a wild trip to Hibiscus Island. There, she reconnects with a former high school acquaintance (Rachel Griffiths), who gives her the confidence to leave her dead-end life behind. The two become roommates in Sydney, and on the surface, it seems like Muriel’s life has gotten so much better. She works at a video store! She goes to discos! She has smooth hair! But alas, it still isn’t enough. Muriel won’t feel like she’s “made it” until her ultimate wedding fantasy becomes a reality. This woman is nothing if not a problem-solver, and in desperation, she answers a newspaper ad from someone looking for a wife. Turns out, it’s an extremely hot South African swimmer who needs a marriage of convenience to compete on the Australian team. If “video store clerk” and “marriage of convenience” aren’t enough to sell you on this movie, then we obviously have very different tastes.

Muriel discovers, as so many of us do, that travel can be the catalyst to making a big change in your life. On the fictional Hibiscus Island, anything seems possible after a few brightly colored drinks. Let’s lean into the island fantasy with this Hibiscus Island Daiquiri.

Hibiscus Island Daiquiri

2 oz white rum

1 oz lime juice

¾ oz hibiscus syrup

Lime wheel (garnish)

Combine rum, lime juice, and hibiscus syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a lime wheel.

The thing I love most about this movie is its focus on female friendships. As Muriel eventually realizes, the wedding and the guy aren’t as important as the best friend. If you don’t have someone who will throw on a wig and join you in an ABBA lip sync performance, what do you even have? Cheers!

*In my defense, I was eleven.

Classic Films · Dramas

The Long, Hot Summer

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Image: The Long, Hot Summer, 1958

I’ve been saving The Long, Hot Summer (Disc/Download) for a week when I absolutely cannot stand the Texas heat another second, and well folks, this is that week. Seasonal affective disorder has set in, and the only cure is Paul Newman’s abs.

Sharing similarities with movies like Picnic and Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, The Long, Hot Summer features Newman in the role of Ben Quick, a falsely accused barn burner and mysterious drifter who lands in a small Mississippi town. He quickly makes an impression on the only daughter of the local bigwig, Clara Varner (played by Newman’s real-life love Joanne Woodward), soon ingratiating himself into her dysfunctional mess of a family. The chemistry between Newman and Woodward is electric, and even when she’s putting on a good show of hating this cocky ne’er-do-well, you can tell she’s also wildly attracted to him. And honestly, who wouldn’t be? The man performs the simple act of eating a watermelon, and I’m a puddle.

In Frenchman’s Bend, Mississippi, people spend most of the day either toiling in the fields or sitting on a veranda with an icy cold beverage in hand. I know where I’d be in this scenario, and I also know what drink I’d be holding. While watching The Long, Hot Summer, get hot and bothered with this Barn Burner cocktail.

Barn Burner

2 oz bourbon

1 oz lemon juice

1/2 oz hot honey syrup (1:1 ratio Mike’s Hot Honey® to water)

4 oz ginger beer

Dried lemon wheel (garnish)

Combine bourbon, lemon juice, and hot honey syrup in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a tumbler filled with fresh ice. Top with ginger beer and stir gently to combine. Garnish with a dried lemon wheel.

I normally loathe movies where everyone is sweaty, but when it’s Paul Newman standing shirtless outside the town schoolmarm’s bedroom, complimenting her reading glasses and promising to waltz with her under the moon, I don’t mind it one bit. Joanne was smart to lock that down when she did. Cheers!

Classic Films

A Kiss Before Dying

LizLocke2 Comments
Image: A Kiss Before Dying, 1956

If my beloved A Summer Place had taken a very different turn in the third act, it might have resulted in a version of this week’s Technicolor noir, A Kiss Before Dying (Disc/Download). I’m trading the windswept beaches of Pine Island for the desert vistas of Tucson to see what happens when a girl really gets in “trouble”.

Dropping us right into the melodrama, the film opens with a college student (Robert Wagner) who’s just found out his girlfriend (Joanne Woodward) is pregnant, and he is not happy about it. He promises to marry her, but secretly, he’s also checking out poison books from the library and skulking around the chemistry department. When she refuses to take the poisoned pills he gives her, he lures her to a rooftop on their wedding day. In a flash, the girlfriend goes splat, and the murderer coolly walks away. The rest of the movie is a cat-and-mouse game wherein the girlfriend’s sister starts asking questions, never realizing the man she’s begun dating is the same man who pushed her sister off a roof and made it look like a suicide. Robert Wagner is extremely good at playing a sociopath—someone akin to a charming conman from a Patricia Highsmith novel.  Except he’s no Ripley; the audience feels no sympathy for this guy.

My favorite scene in the movie occurs in the historic Pago Pago Lounge, a Tucson Tiki bar opened in 1947. I’ve seen pictures in various books, but it’s extra exciting to see it in a Hollywood production. I’m not sure what the characters have in their glasses, but I know I’ll be sipping on the bar’s eponymous drink, the Pago Pago Punch.

Pago Pago Punch

2 oz orange juice

1 ½ oz lime juice

1 ½ oz grapefruit juice

1 ½ oz honey syrup (1:1 ratio honey to water)

2 oz dark Jamaican rum

2 dashes angostura bitters

Place all ingredients in a shaker filled with plenty of crushed ice. Shake to chill, then pour entire contents unstrained into a pilsner glass. Garnish with a dried orange and swizzle stick.

Tiki bars are the perfect place to discuss murder because they usually involve dim lighting, soft music, and liquor to loosen your inhibitions. It makes sense they’d pop up in so many film noirs, and it’s always a pleasure to see these architectural touchstones of the Tiki movement come alive onscreen. A Kiss Before Dying invites us to escape into a world where bright Technicolor hides sinister plots, and the only safe place is next to a tropical fish tank, hunched over a cocktail. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Classic Films

Hell’s Angels

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Image: Hell’s Angels, 1930

If you’ve seen Martin Scorsese’s 2004 Howard Hughes biopic The Aviator, then you’re likely somewhat familiar with this week’s pick, Hell’s Angels (Disc/Download). As a fun experiment, I decided to watch them both back-to-back, to see whether the backstage drama depicted in The Aviator resulted in a Hughes film that stands the test of time. Happily, or rather, unhappily for reasons we’ll get to later, I’m here to report it does.

The film begins with three college friends: German Karl, and two English brothers, Roy and Monte Rutledge. They think they’ve all got more carefree Oxford days ahead of them, but what none of them realize is that they’ll soon be fighting on opposite sides, both in World War I and in pursuit of the affections of a fickle young woman: a braless, flawless Jean Harlow. Roy and Monte both think they have a shot with her, but she’s only interested in having fun while she’s still alive to have it (a statement that would prove to be horribly prescient given the actress’s death from kidney failure at the age of twenty-six). Roy becomes disillusioned with love while Monte becomes disillusioned with military service, realizing too late he and his fellow fighter pilots are merely pawns for politicians and privateers. He wonders why he and his brother are putting their lives on the line in the night patrol when the people sending them to the battlefield are home safe in their beds. It’s in this skepticism of war that the movie stays current, nearly a hundred years later. I’d imagine there are a lot of military personnel and their loved ones asking this very same question right now.

I’ve been wanting to feature the Jean Harlow cocktail on Cinema Sips for a while, and Hell’s Angels is the perfect pairing because in this breakout role, Jean likes liquor, she likes men, and she’s not afraid to declare it. While watching Hell’s Angels, I recommend slipping into something more comfortable to enjoy the classic Jean Harlow cocktail.

Jean Harlow

1 ½ oz light white rum

1 ½ oz red sweet vermouth

1 dash orange bitters

Orange twist

Combine rum, vermouth, and bitters in a shaker with ice. Stir to chill, then strain into a coupe glass. Express the oils from the orange twist over the glass, then rest on the side.

Even if you think a war flick is not for you, Hell’s Angels is worth watching for its technical achievements alone. A silent film that had to be reshot for sound, it also mixes black & white footage with scenes in Multicolor processing, plus tinted frames. Not to mention the incredible (and dangerous) aerial stunts that took the lives of several pilots, and all those fluffy, precious clouds. This is a historical record of what was newly possible in cinema in the late-1920s/early-1930s, and also of what happens when one crazy guy just keeps throwing money at the problem. Cheers!

Comedies

Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas

LizLocke1 Comment
Image: Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, 1998

I’m writing to you from the cold confines of an air-conditioned casino, marked safe from the “dry heat” of Sin City. As the most boring Vegas-goer you’ll ever meet, I’m basically the opposite of the characters in this week’s pick Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (Disc/Download). But even though I’m a “three drinks is my limit” kind of girl, that doesn’t mean I’m not up for a cinematic visit to the weird, drug-fueled land of Hunter S. Thompson.

In my opinion, this cult classic survives thanks to three things: Johnny Depp’s narration, the soundtrack, and the production design. Thank goodness director Terry Gilliam chose to stay faithful to Thompson’s original novel by setting this in 1971 because the time period offers a rich visual language you wouldn’t get if it was set in the 1990s. This language includes pink shag carpeting at the Flamingo hotel and casino, the revolving carousel bar at the circus-themed casino (how I wish Circus Circus had instead been named Bazooko Circus!!!), and vintage signs blinking over the Strip. I’m along for this ride because the music is good, the guy on the bar stool is saying some pretty interesting things, and I like how everything looks. I’m not there for the plot, of which there is none, or the drugs, of which there are too many.

Speaking of the revolving carousel, I’ve been to the Carousel Bar at the Hotel Monteleone in New Orleans, but that one sort of creeps along. The Bazooko Circus carousel is a tilt-a-whirl by comparison! While you’re watching Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, I recommend drinking this Carousel cocktail, adapted from Tim Miner’s recipe for Death & Co.

Carousel

1 oz cognac

¼ oz absinthe

½ oz Crème de Noyaux

¾ oz lime juice

½ oz pineapple juice

½ oz simple syrup

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a glass filled with fresh crushed ice. Garnish with a pineapple leaf.

With its strong Tiki vibe and strange collection of ingredients, this’ll make you feel like you’re Hunter S. Thompson in a Hawaiian shirt, cozied up to a Vegas bar with your favorite attorney. Maybe the absinthe will make you hallucinate bats or narco agents—who’s to say? Cheers!

Classic Films · Dramas

Picnic

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Image: Picnic, 1955

In my professional opinion, summertime calls for fruity cocktails and shirtless classic film heartthrobs. This week’s film Picnic (Disc/Download) is full of hot people who can’t handle their passion or their liquor, and I think of it as a precursor to my other favorite movie in this hyper-specific genre, Splendor in the Grass. William Inge has always been the king of summer lust.

On first glance, the town in this movie gives me goosebumps because it looks so similar to where I spent my summers in rural Ohio. The actual location is Kansas, but it could be any Midwestern town where houses come with a big backyard, a nosy old woman or two, and a wholesome charm that makes you feel safe enough to ride a bike through the streets with no adult supervision. In Picnic, this wholesomeness contrasts with the dangerous new energy introduced by a handsome drifter (William Holden). He catches the eye of his old chum’s girlfriend (Kim Novak), and works an unmarried, old-maid school teacher (Rosalind Russell) into a drunken lather. Holden and Novak have amazing chemistry, and it makes sense why they’d both throw their lives down the drain for a chance at passion: a life without it would be no life at all.

The movie gets its title from the town’s Labor Day picnic, and what’s a picnic without a giant wall of watermelon?

This cocktail is summer in a glass, and it’s the perfect choice to cool you off when William Holden starts looking too damn hot. While watching Picnic, I recommend drinking this Watermelon Cosmo. 

Watermelon Cosmo

½ cup fresh watermelon juice

2 oz vodka

¾ oz Cointreau

½ oz lime juice

Mint sprig, fresh watermelon (garnish)

Pulse seedless watermelon cubes in a blender until you have about a cup. Strain through a fine mesh sieve, and put ½ cup strained juice in a cocktail shaker filled with ice. Add vodka, Cointreau, and lime juice. Shake until chilled, then strain into a cocktail glass. Garnish with a cube of fresh watermelon and a sprig of mint.

Picnic is a film that demands to be seen on the big screen, and until I get the opportunity to experience its full CinemaScope brilliance, the living room will simply have to do. No bugs, plenty of cocktails, and no chance of sunburn—my favorite kind of picnic. Cheers!

Comedies

The Cat’s Meow

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Image: The Cat’s Meow, 2001

I’ve just returned from my summer travels, and wow, what a whirlwind! Ever hear the phrase, “I need a vacation from my vacation?” I understand it now, and so do the characters in Peter Bogdanovich’s The Cat’s Meow (Disc/Download). Was Hollywood producer Thomas Ince just “dying” to get off the Hearst yacht by any means necessary? Let’s set sail on a weekend full of mystery, intrigue, and maybe a little murder.

In telling the story of the untimely death of “Father of the Western” Ince, Bogdanovich gives us a fascinating glimpse into the world of William Randolph Hearst. It was a world full of lavish parties where guests of Hearst (think: politicians, titans of industry) would mingle with guests of his mistress, actress Marion Davies (think: lowly Hollywood folk) in boozy weekends full of stunning views and lush accommodations. In this case, it’s the Hearst yacht, carrying Charlie Chaplin, gossip columnist Louella Parsons, writer Elinor Glynn, producer Thomas Ince, and other prominent figures of the Jazz Age. They think they’re in for a fabulous cruise to San Diego, but what they don’t realize is that W.R. has trapped them in a game where he holds all the cards, and there are no winners. This man is so petty and paranoid that he spends the whole trip spying on his guests, certain they’re disrespecting him behind his back. And, admittedly, Marion is contemplating a dalliance with the little tramp Chaplin. This ship is full double-crossers and manipulators, and it’s a reminder of why I loathe cruising—you’re stuck in a confined space with insufferable people, and the solution is to either to swim for shore, or get unreasonably drunk.

One positive thing (maybe the only positive thing) I will say about Hearst is that he threw a hell of a dinner party. Even during Prohibition, he allowed his guests one cocktail apiece, plus all the Charleston dancing they could handle. Let’s toast the jubilant Jazz Age with this Charleston cocktail.

Charleston

½ oz gin

½ oz orange liqueur

½ oz maraschino liqueur

½ oz sweet vermouth

½ oz dry vermouth

½ oz cherry brandy

Combine all ingredients in a shaker with ice. Stir to chill, then strain into a glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

I was lucky enough to visit the Hearst Castle on my travels, and what a treat it was to see the spaces where Willie and Marion entertained their guests. Everything was so well preserved, it felt like Joan Crawford or Cary Grant could be coming up from the tennis court at any moment, requesting a cocktail before dinner. It preserves a moment in time where the stars came down to earth—mingling, dealing, and dreaming—in this pleasure palace on a hill. Cheers!

Dramas

Milk

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Image: Milk, 2008

Since my summer vacation includes a stop in San Francisco during Pride Month, now seems like a great time to watch one of my favorite biopics, Milk (Disc/Download). Gus Van Sant’s film about trailblazing politician Harvey Milk is essential viewing for anyone who wants to learn more about the gay rights movement, and it’s also a perfect reminder of why the fight continues today.

In our current world, a politician like Harvey Milk seems almost unfathomable. He fought against bigots like Anita Bryant and John Briggs not with hateful rhetoric or kowtowing to the middle, but by taking the radical stance that queer people must come out of the closet and face their oppressors head-on. He reasoned that if more people knew how many of their friends, co-workers, family members, and community members were gay, they would realize the fight is personal. They would understand that gay rights is human rights because these are human beings they already know and love. It was a winning strategy that got an archaic bill targeting gay and lesbian educators defeated, and it raised Harvey’s name recognition throughout the country. Finally, this marginalized community felt like they had a protector in government. But of course, this being America, hope was defeated by gun violence and an entitled, petulant man with a terrible haircut. Some things never change.

As much as I want to make a “Burn in Hell, Anita Bryant” orange juice cocktail, I’m choosing to celebrate the hero instead of the villain. This drink is sweet and smooth, just like Harvey himself. While watching Milk, I recommend trying this Harvey Milk Punch.

Harvey Milk Punch

2 oz bourbon

3 oz whole milk

½ oz crème de cacao

½ oz maraschino liqueur

2 dashes Angostura bitters

Grated nutmeg (garnish)

Shake all liquid ingredients vigorously with ice. Strain into a rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

Milk unfortunately features some truly trash men among its cast, but I’m willing to look past their well-publicized misdeeds in order to focus on the characters they portray. There have certainly been great strides made in LGBTQ+ rights since Harvey inspired a city and a nation, but sadly, America is in a period of backsliding. I hope the pendulum swings the other way soon, just as I hope we have great leaders who will inspire us with messages of love, not hate. I’m ready to be recruited. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Operation Petticoat

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Image: Operation Petticoat, 1959

What’s better than being trapped on a submarine with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in the middle of the Pacific Ocean? Being trapped on a pink submarine with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. This week, Blake Edwards makes military service look downright enjoyable in the 1959 romp, Operation Petticoat (Disc/Download).

We all have our favorite iterations of Cary Grant, but to me, the actor is at his best while playing a grumpy hero who is awkward around women. It’s not that he doesn’t know what to do with a woman; it’s that he doesn’t know what to do with a woman in this particular situation. It’s fun to see Cary try to squeeze past buxom actresses in the narrow, cramped hallways of a submarine, just as it’s fun to watch them wreak havoc on his calm, orderly operation. This navy commander simply wants to get through the South Pacific in one piece, but to do it, he needs every bra, girdle, and can of pink paint he can find. He also needs a man who knows how to get things, and since Morgan Freeman was unavailable, he’s stuck with playboy/petty thief Tony Curtis in dress whites.

When the crew runs out of time to cover their pink paint job with boring old grey, they act horribly embarrassed, but I think it’s fantastic. Why shouldn’t they have the prettiest sub in the fleet? While watching Operation Petticoat, I recommend drinking this boozy version of a “Pink Drink”, the Sea Tiger.

Sea Tiger

1 oz fresh lime juice

1 oz unsweetened coconut cream

2 oz pineapple juice

1 oz dragon fruit syrup

3 oz gold Puerto Rican rum

1 oz PAMA pomegranate liqueur

8 oz crushed ice

Combine all ingredients in a blender. Blend for five to ten seconds, then pour into a Tiki mug or glass. Garnish with a flower.

Something I love about this movie is how the female characters bring this submarine to life. Sure, it’s fun to watch Tony Curtis foil Cary Grant’s plans for a professional, by-the-book military operation, but it’s even more entertaining to watch a gaggle of pretty nurses send him into a tizzy. Turns out, pink really is his color. Cheers!