Dramas

Peggy Sue Got Married

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Image: Peggy Sue Got Married, 1986

Ramping up to the holiday movie season, I find myself in need of a cozy comfort watch. Luckily, Kathleen Turner and her silver lamé party dress are here to take me back to a time when movies about female mid-life crises were mainstream, and high school reunions were an actual thing people still attended (the horror). This week, we’re flashing back to 1960 via 1986 with Peggy Sue Got Married (Disc/Download).

I love time-travel, I love nostalgia, and I love the 1960s, so of course I also love the time-travel romance Peggy Sue Got Married. However, I didn’t expect my love to grow even stronger now that I’m adult-Peggy’s age. This year would have been my twenty-fifth high school reunion, and like her, I have a bad habit of looking at my life through the lens of what my teenage self expected it to be. By returning to the past, Peggy learns the “mistakes” she made in high school were simply the choices that led her where she was always meant to go. In that way, they weren’t mistakes at all. Personally, I find it hilarious that she goes back in time and invents pantyhose, only for my generation to come along and kill it. If this was millennials’ way of fixing a rift in the space-time continuum, you’re welcome.

Back in 1960, Peggy Sue and her friends fantasized about being housewives on the same cute little street, raising their cute little children. What they fail to mention is that they would probably need a cocktail to get through this cute little boring day. In keeping with the mid-century time period, I’m making a girly drink Peggy Sue and her gal pals might have enjoyed. While watching Peggy Sue Got Married, I recommend drinking a Pink Squirrel.

Pink Squirrel

¾ oz white crème de menthe

¾ oz crème de noyaux

1 ½ oz heavy cream

Garnish: grated nutmeg

Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well to chill and combine, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg.

Director Francis Ford Coppola made this movie a family affair with the addition of nasal-voiced nephew Nicolas Cage, and Miss “I’m way too cool for this production” little Sofia Coppola. Fittingly, Peggy’s ability to see her deceased relatives is where the film’s heart shines through. What wouldn’t any of us give to go back in time and see our loved ones when they were young, vibrant, and alive? You can keep your high school reunions; I prefer family reunions. Cheers!

Action/Adventure/Heist · Foreign · Uncategorized

Godzilla Minus One

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Image: Godzilla Minus One, 2023

I’m super excited for the new Godzilla Minus Zero film releasing in theaters this week, so now seems the perfect time to revisit my favorite chunky-thighed monster in his surprise 2023 hit, Godzilla Minus One (Disc/Download). Seventy years on, this icon of Japanese cinema just keeps getting better and better!

I’ve pondered why I love these enormous movie creatures so much, and I think it’s because they make our world look miniaturized. From King Kong, to the Indominus Rex, to a nuclear-powered Godzilla, these monsters tower over cities and make the people look tiny and insignificant. It’s intriguing to think that humans actually aren’t as important as we think we are; that there’s a whole universe of giants out there willing to put us in our place. In Godzilla Minus One, the creature has been freshly mutated by US nuclear bomb tests, while Japan is still trying to rebuild its infrastructure and national identity in the wake of World War II. A kamikaze pilot struggles with PTSD and shame, and now he views the fight against Godzilla as his chance at redemption. There’s a lot of science thrown at the audience, and a lot of history, so for those reasons, I consider this Godzilla for people who paid attention in high school. But if you’re just here to see a scary monster snap a train in half like it’s a stale breadstick, you won’t be disappointed.

There can only be one drink for this movie, and that’s the Kamikaze. Sometimes served as a shot, it’s equally nice scaled into a proper cocktail. You can serve it up or on the rocks, but I like to make mine with a glowing blue cube to “power up” the drink. While watching Godzilla Minus One, I recommend drinking a Kamikaze.

Kamikaze

2 oz vodka

¾ oz orange liqueur

¾ oz fresh lime juice

Garnish: blue glow cube

Combine vodka, orange liqueur, and lime juice in a shaker with ice. Shake well to chill, then strain into a martini glass, or rocks glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with a blue glow cube.

Godzilla is one of the few franchises I never tire of, and if you’re a superfan like me, I highly recommend the Criterion Box Set for all those classic iterations of our favorite “monster”. You can’t keep this guy down for long, and you can’t keep me from celebrating each and every reincarnation. Cheers!

Classic Films · Comedies

Blackbeard’s Ghost

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Image: Blackbeard’s Ghost, 1968

Leave it to Walt Disney to predict the pirate Tiki bar craze way back in the 1960s. Sixty years later, Polynesian carvings and Japanese fishing lanterns are out; cobwebs and Jolly Rogers are in. Let’s lean into the swashbuckling trend with this week’s pick Blackbeard’s Ghost (Disc/Download).

Starring Peter Ustinov as the cursed pirate Blackbeard, and Dean Jones as the only person who can see his spirit in a haunted New England inn, Blackbeard’s Ghost was the last live action film Walt Disney personally oversaw before his death in 1966. I love that Dean Jones is paired again with Suzanne Pleshette (the two having previously worked together on another favorite The Ugly Dachshund), and even Elsa “The Bride” Lanchester appears as an elderly spinster trying to save the struggling inn. Beyond the stacked cast, the fantastic production design features a hotel made out of cobbled-together pirate ships, and it makes me wonder if the folks behind the Magic Kingdom’s Beak and Barrel lounge looked to this classic film when designing the space. Who wouldn’t want to drink rum with a bawdy pirate ghost before hitting up the Jungle Cruise?

As the characters of this movie quickly discover, if you can’t stop Captain Blackbeard’s morally and legally questionable hijinks, you may as well join him. To me, this means drinking all the rum via a Tiki cocktail that is perfectly pirate-themed and incredibly potent. While watching Blackbeard’s Ghost, I recommend making a Skull & Bones.

Skull & Bones

1 ½ oz 151-proof demerara rum

½ oz aged gold rum

¾ oz lime juice

½ oz passion fruit syrup

½ oz grenadine

6 drops Pernod

1 dash Angostura bitters

1 cup crushed ice

Pineapple leaf and cherry (garnish)

Combine liquid ingredients in a blender with ice. Blend at high speed for about five seconds. Pour into a mug or glass. Add more crushed ice to fill, and garnish with a pineapple leaf and cherry.

Blackbeard’s Ghost is such a fun movie, and it’s a great choice if you want to escape into a world of non-frightening spirits, witches, and fortune tellers. Cheers to making it through another October, and to all the cinematic ghosts that kept us laughing and imbibing.

Classic Films · horror

Carnival of Souls

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Image: Carnival of Souls, 1962

This week, I’m thrilled to partner with The Cinematic Crypt on a cocktail for the podcast’s October movie pick, Carnival of Souls (Disc/Download). This podcast has been one of my favorite classic film resources over the past several years, and I’m thrilled it’s finally back with bonus video content. So thrilled, in fact, that I willingly subjected myself to a movie that skirts the line of how much horror I can handle.

Although a film about a woman haunted by ghosts and visions she can’t explain sounds terrifying, viewers who generally don’t enjoy scary movies will still find a lot to like here. I’d describe this as “art house horror” because it places more emphasis on spooky visuals and sound rather than the grotesque or violent. Nobody gets murdered, and no body parts are hacked off. Instead, the terror comes from not knowing if what you’re seeing is real, or even if you are real. It’s an interesting concept in our current age of AI and deep fakes, and it makes me think harder about what I want in my entertainment these days. Do I want plain, unobstructed truth, or do I want to be kept purposely off-balance?

One of my favorite parts of the film is when the lead character Mary Henry discovers an abandoned amusement park on the shores of the Great Salt Lake, only to find it filled with spirits waiting for her to join in their dance. It’s as though the lake has preserved them in time, and it has me yearning for a perfectly briny cocktail. While watching Carnival of Souls, I recommend drinking this Salt Lake Spritz.

Salt Lake Spritz

1 oz gin

1 oz dry vermouth

½ oz olive brine

1 dash orange bitters

3 oz club soda

Olive garnish

Fill a wine glass with ice, and add the gin, vermouth, olive brine, and bitters. Stir gently to combine, then top with club soda. Garnish with an olive.

If you’re looking for a moody, gothic watch that’s seasonally appropriate but won’t keep you up at night, Carnival of Souls is for you. And don’t forget to check out The Cinematic Crypt to discover more secrets lurking in this film’s buried coffin. Cheers!

Comedies · horror

My Boyfriend’s Back

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Image: My Boyfriend’s Back, 1993

A few weeks ago, I decided to revisit some of the movies and television shows on heavy cable TV rotation in the 1990s. Armed with a stack of TV Guides, a highlighter, and a bag of Bugles, I embarked on this trip down memory lane with a mix of nostalgia and wonder. In addition to learning that Rain Man was always on between 1991-1999, I also rediscovered a blast from the past I’d completely forgotten about: the zombie rom-com My Boyfriend’s Back (Disc/Download).

If you watched a lot of television in the nineties, you probably saw this movie’s trailer, featuring the hit song by The Angels (“My boyfriend’s back, and you’re gonna be in trouble…”). You might also recall a scene where a teenage couple is necking in a car, and suddenly the guy’s ear comes off. After watching this again, I can confirm: it’s even stranger than I remember. First of all, the “high school” students all seem to be in their late-twenties/early-thirties. When lead character Johnny Dingle—that name!!!!!!—wakes up in his parents’ house the morning after his funeral, the weirdest thing isn’t that he woke up, but rather, that he still lives with his parents. This guy should have a mortgage and 401K by now! Alas, Johnny is now a zombie, and if he wants to stay “alive” long enough to take his dream girl to the high school prom, he has to start eating his classmates. This isn’t a hard choice when it comes to the school bullies (Matthew Fox and Philip Seymour Hoffman in very early roles), but when his mom serves him an afternoon snack in the form of a small child, he balks. He’s not a monster; he’s just horny.

If you’re going to make it through this movie, you’re going to need alcohol. You could go all-in and mix up an original Zombie (that recipe is posted here); however, I decided to try my hand at Martin Cate’s simplified version, published in the Smuggler’s Cove book. While watching My Boyfriend’s Back, I recommend drinking an Undead Gentleman.

Undead Gentleman

1 ½ oz blended aged rum

1 oz overproof rum

½ oz Velvet Falernum

½ oz cinnamon syrup

½ oz grapefruit juice

½ oz lime juice

1 dash angostura bitters

1 dash absinthe (for rinsing glass only)

To prepare chilled glass, swirl absinthe inside, then discard. Add remaining ingredients to a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into prepared glass. Garnish with a dried lime slice.

Screenshot

After a few of these cocktails, you may think you’re hallucinating Matthew McConaughey in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-him part, but this actually was his film debut. Imagine: all this star power and talent in one movie, and the thing I remembered most is that rotting piece of an ear. Cheers!

Classic Films · horror

The Bride of Frankenstein

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Image: The Bride of Frankenstein, 1935

Well, it’s here: my least favorite movie season. October is always a fraught time for someone who doesn’t like horror, and I often have difficulty finding seasonal movies that won’t keep me up at night. If you’re in a similar situation, don’t fret—I’ve found some delightful spooky flicks that are far more campy than creepy. Kicking things off is the James Whale 1935 classic, The Bride of Frankenstein (Disc/Download).

I came to this film thanks to a recent episode I recorded for Hollywood Kitchen about Elsa Lanchester. Playing both Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley and The Bride, Lanchester is the perfect bookend to this story about a creature looking for a mate. As Frankenstein’s monster lumbers about the countryside, evading angry villagers, enacting revenge on the ones who hurt and betrayed him in the first movie, he is also searching for connection. He finds it in the form of a blind hermit who invites him in for a drink, a smoke, and a meal. Turns out, the Monster likes to party! He realizes he needs a more permanent companion and eventually partners with the evil Dr. Pretorious, who has his own plans to create new life. Dr. Frankenstein gets roped in once again, like an aging cop who’s “gettin’ too old for this shit”, and together, they rig up the lightning bolt lab to bring life to a mishmash of artificial organs and cadaver parts. The result? A bandaged Elsa Lanchester emerging off the operating room table, all wild hair and angry hissing. As all those Las Vegas Bride-themed slot machines now proclaim: she’s alive!!!!!

I enjoy this sequel even more than the 1931 original Frankenstein, mainly because it deals with the complexities of connection. The Monster doesn’t want to be alone anymore, but what is the true cost of a relationship? While watching The Bride of Frankenstein, I recommend drinking this Date with Death.

Date with Death

2 oz gin

1 oz lemon juice

1 oz Medjool date syrup

2 dashes walnut bitters

Dash of egg white

Combine gin, lemon juice, date syrup, bitters, and egg white in a shaker. Shake vigorously for about thirty seconds, then add ice. Shake for another thirty seconds, then strain into a coupe glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon.

This cocktail is inspired by Elsa Lanchester’s Date Torte recipe, as prepared for Hollywood Kitchen. It combines all the flavors from the dessert, plus a splash of Pretorious’s favorite tipple: gin. As the Monster proclaims, “Drink… goooood!” Cheers, to a new world of gods and monsters.

Dramas

Forrest Gump

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Image: Forrest Gump, 1994

There are two kinds of people in this world: those who think Forrest Gump (Disc/Download) is a moving tribute to mid-century nostalgia, and those who think it’s sentimental tacky crap. I’m in the first camp because I love the 1960s, and I love to be emotionally manipulated by cinema. Please, let me feel something, even if it comes at the price of my reputation as someone with decent taste. You can take your cynicism; I’ll be over here crying into my box of chocolates.

Back in the nineties, sixties nostalgia was a big deal: from Nick-at-Nite to the multiplex, from The Brady Bunch reruns to The Brady Bunch Movie. Thus it makes sense that a character like Forrest Gump would sweep the nation (and the Oscars) because our cable TV and oldies radio stations primed us for his arrival. American viewers, particularly the Baby Boomers, embraced pop-culture touchstones like Creedence in a Vietnam jungle, hippies dropping acid in San Francisco, Abbie Hoffman shaking his American flag-covered arm above the Reflecting Pool (RIP), and Lieutenant Dan doing his finest Ratso Rizzo impression in Times Square. You may not have wanted to hear Tom Hanks spin his wild yarns of ping pong diplomacy and shrimp market dominance, but Hollywood treated us all like southern strangers on a park bench—it was simply our destiny to listen.

In designing a cocktail for this movie, I tried to think of what Forrest would drink. Fifteen Dr Peppers were out of the question, but a Dr Pepper cocktail is manageable. While watching Forrest Gump, I recommend drinking this Box of Chocolates Highball.

Box of Chocolates

1 oz dark rum

½ oz white crème de cacao

¼ oz Allspice dram

¾ oz cold brew coffee

Dr Pepper, to top

Combine rum, crème de cacao, Allspice dram, and cold brew in a shaker with ice. Shake to chill, then strain into a Collins glass filled with fresh ice. Top with Dr Pepper, and stir gently. Garnish with a piece of chocolate.

If this sounds like the kind of drink that would have been served in a basement rumpus room in 1963, well, that’s the point. People can time-travel with cocktails just as they do with movies, back to an era when the world was every bit as complicated and scary as it is now, for vastly different reasons. But as Forrest Gump proves, no matter the year, kindness (and a little chocolate), will get you where you’re meant to go. Cheers!

Comedies

9 to 5

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Image: 9 to 5, 1980

As I continue to grieve beloved star Dolly Parton, it warms my heart to know that so many of us will be celebrating her on September 25th, in honor of her debut film 9 to 5 (Disc/Download). If you’re planning to toast her with a screening and a cold cocktail, Cinema Sips has you covered.

Starring Dolly, Jane Fonda, and Lily Tomlin as a trio of disgruntled secretaries in a large corporate office, 9 to 5 shouldn’t still be progressive, and yet, it is. Their sexist, predatory boss is a type of man who probably still exists in offices all over the country (certainly, within the White House). Women are still fighting for common sense policies like flexible work hours, job-sharing, in-office childcare, and equal pay, and don’t even get me started on the battle for hybrid and remote work. Sometimes it seems like the whole system is orchestrated to return women to the home and kitchen, but in this movie, they fight back. 9 to 5 dabbles in fantasy with its fairy tale dream sequence and Dolly in her cute cowgirl outfit, and to be honest, the plot goes off the rails after the first thirty minutes. However, sometimes you need a bit of fantasy in order to communicate some very real problems in the workplace. If you think Dolly roping and barbecuing her boss is the most ludicrous thing you’ve ever seen, you obviously haven’t used Microsoft Teams.

My favorite thing about this movie is Dolly’s iconic theme song, “9 to 5”. It still bops! While you’re watching these ladies slip rat poison into the boss’s coffee, pour yourself a Cup of Ambition.

Cup of Ambition

1 oz coffee liqueur

1 oz rye whiskey

2 dashes orange bitters

Dried orange garnish

Add coffee liqueur, rye, and bitters to a shaker with ice. Stir to chill, then strain into a rocks glass with one large ice cube. Garnish with a dried orange.

No shade to Jane and Lily, but Dolly is absolutely the best thing in this movie. She makes every scene funnier, and she brings her trademark wit and charm to what could have been another ditsy blonde stereotype. Through her performances, songs, and charitable legacy, this beautiful butterfly will live on, from 9 to 5, and beyond. Cheers!

Comedies

Miss Congeniality

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Image: Miss Congeniality, 2000

Did you know April 25th is the perfect date? If so, then you either A) got married on this day like I did, or B) you’ve seen this week’s flick Miss Congeniality (Disc/Download) more times than you can count. Gracie Lou may be talented with water, but I prefer to show off my skills with something a little more alcoholic.

Shot in San Antonio, Texas (a fact the tour guides will not let you forget), Miss Congeniality is about an undercover FBI agent posing as a beauty pageant contestant to capture a domestic terrorist. We’re expected to believe that Sandra Bullock is a gross, frizzy-haired tomboy at the start of this flick (a difficult ask given that she’s one of the most beautiful movie stars on the planet), but things soon brighten when Michael Caine’s Henry Higgins-esque pageant consultant transforms her into someone who can rock an evening gown and a bikini. I love a movie makeover, and Caine plays this like he’s having the time of his life. Gracie shares a tepid romance with her fellow FBI officer (Benjamin Bratt), but the real heart of this movie is her relationships with the other pageant contestants. She teaches them to let loose, eat carbs whenever they want, and not take everything so seriously. In return, they teach her about the importance of world peace.

There are some great shots of the San Antonio River Walk in this, but in my two decades of living in Central Texas, I’ve only found one acceptable place to drink in this floating tourist trap. That restaurant is Boudro’s and the drink is a Frozen Prickly Pear Margarita. If you absolutely must visit the River Walk, this will make the experience a little more tolerable. While watching Miss Congeniality, I recommend drinking a River Walk Margarita.

River Walk Margarita

4 oz silver tequila

2 oz Cointreau

2 ½ oz lime juice

2 oz simple syrup

2 oz prickly pear syrup

Fresh lime wedge (garnish)

Combine tequila, Cointreau, lime juice, and simple syrup in a freezer-safe container. Freeze at least eight hours. Once you’re ready to make your margarita, pour contents into a high-speed blender with 1 cup crushed ice. Blend until smooth. Pour into a martini glass, then add a swirl of prickly pear syrup around the rim. Garnish with a lime wedge.

We can’t forget about the always-gorgeous, always-hilarious Candice Bergen as pageant owner Kathy Morningside, nor Heather Burns as the sweet, ditsy Miss Rhode Island who gives us the iconic April 25th line. I’m totally fine having my anniversary celebrated in tandem with Miss Congeniality every year because the movie is pure fun. If you can’t find something to laugh about here, all I can say is, “Smilers wear the crown, losers wear a frown.” Cheers!

Classic Films · Musicals

The Pajama Game

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Image: The Pajama Game, 1957

Happy Labor Day to all you Cinema Sips readers! As an Elder Millennial raised on Newsies and Norma Rae, I never let this day pass without a little fanfare. It’s a celebration of the contributions and sacrifices made by the workers of America, many of whom are currently protesting the lousy economic policies that funneled so much of our money up to the billionaire CEOs. In other words, we are currently living through The Pajama Game (Disc/Download). Doris to the rescue!

If you’re looking for a movie about labor unions, you won’t find a prettier one than The Pajama Game. At the Sleeptite Pajama Factory in Cedar Rapids, IA, workers come to the factory in colorful A-line dresses, heart-shaped pin cushions, and a spring in their step. As they sing about the dreamy new Superintendent, whom Doris Day is definitely NOT in love with (yet), the women swish their polka dots, stripes, and ric-rac in time to the fabulous Bob Fosse choreography and catchy songs. In a classic rom-com trope, Day plays the chairwoman of the Grievance Committee (read: labor union) who clashes with the handsome new Superintendent (read: middle manager). He must come over to her side if they’re to have any chance of a romance, which is easy to do once he discovers their boss has been stealing money already allocated for the workers’ 7.5-cent raises. This movie may have been made in the fifties, but damned if it isn’t still relevant in 2026.

In The Pajama Game, Doris loves her apples almost as much as she loves fighting The Man. Let’s welcome fall with this refreshing Hernando’s Honeycrisp Sangria!

Hernando’s Honeycrisp Sangria

1 ½ oz brandy

3 oz white wine

1 oz apple juice

½ oz lemon juice

½ oz cinnamon syrup

Honeycrisp apple slices + cinnamon stick (garnish)

In a shaker with ice, combine brandy, white wine, apple juice, lemon juice, and cinnamon syrup. Shake to combine, then strain into a collins glass filled with fresh ice. Garnish with apple slices and a cinnamon stick.

In true Doris form, my favorite star is no-nonsense and driven when it comes to protecting the interests of her friends and co-workers. Sure, they make cute pajamas, but there’s nothing cute about the mistreatment they’ve suffered at the hands of management. This is a frothy, stylish confection of a movie, yet it still serves as a reminder that you can’t have the top without the bottom. Cheers!