Second on the list is the "last" show...

Movie Review #2: The Last Picture Show, 1971

Stark. Cold. Flat. These words describe the environment in which the movie's characters lived. Everything on the surface seems this way. Still and dead. The town, a fictional town in Texas in the 1950's, reminded me of my own small town upbringing. My first real job was as the local newspaper reporter in that same town, Marshall, Ill. I remember days where the biggest news was when someone walked in with the big tomato of the week!

The film starts slow...just like the town, but once you get into it, you understand that the life--the warmth--is in the characters, who are trying to break out of the sparse, bleakness that surrounds them. The main character, Sonny, is just a boy. This is a coming of age story, that is gritty...dirty...real. Shot in black and white, the movie shows a raw nature. It leaves nothing to the imagination, and deals with some difficult situations even for today's standards.

The best scene in the movie is where Sonny is at the lake, which they call the "tank," talking with the local pool-hall owner, Sam the Lion, who also happens to be the closest thing Sonny has to a father. As I said, the entire movie scenery is unbelievably flat. This scene shows the water blowing in the wind behind Sam, who starts talking to the camera. It is a very touching moment in the movie, where Sam shares a private, intimate memory with Sonny.

There are two things that stand out in this movie. The quiet nature of the main character, who takes almost the entire movie to find his voice, and the music. According to Wikipedia, this was the first movie to use a contemporary popular soundtrack--and now we know who to thank for the soundtrack to Footloose!

This movie was nominated for 10 Academy Awards and won two. Although it was long, and we had to read subtitles because we are not very adept at using the VCR, it was worth the look. It wasn't what I thought it would be, and I'm not sure that it is appropriately named, but it definitely has me thinking of my own small town beginnings, and remembering what it was like to look down the street and see old, empty buildings with all the life worn out of them. I remember thinking that I couldn't wait to get out...and go do something, anything. This movie gave me a little life perspective.

The reference to the "last picture show" was directed to the closing of the local movie house. As the picture show closed, so did a chapter in the life of the town, its people and their innocence.

Just as a side note, I was very surprised by the role Cloris Leachman played, and humored by the goofy, lanky kid played by Randy Quaid. You can see already that he will be perfect for National Lampoon's Vacation movies!