New Year’s Movies

I thought it was time to stop writing posts about Christmas, but nobody said anything about New Year’s.

It would be nice to report that I did something really exciting, maybe involving a noted Mohawk Valley landmark or establishment. Alas, no. My husband had to work New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day, so we planned a quiet evening at home. Left to my own devices during the day of New Year’s Eve, I did not do much but take the dog for a couple of walks. They were long walks and we enjoyed them, but nothing of particular note happened.

When Steven got home, we commenced the movie watching portion of the evening, usually our favorite part. We watched two New Year’s Eve movies: Sunset Boulevard and Mystery of the Wax Museum.

A note about how I categorize movies might be in order here. I call a movie a Christmas movie if the movie takes place on Christmas (Die Hard), has a scene or two during Christmas (LA Confidential), or even mentions Christmas (Almost Famous). The same rule applies for New Year’s. Also, since many of our New Year’s Eves have been spent watching movies, I have designated a few other movies New Year’s Movies, just for the sake of argument. Sunset Boulevard and Mystery of the Wax Museum are in the former category. In case anyone wants to know, the latter category includes Murder By Death, Sleepy Hollow (also known in our house as The Headless Everybody), and any Marx Brothers movie.

Sunset Boulevard is a delightful piece of Gothic art. Not a love letter to Hollywood, not exactly a poison pen letter… I’ll call it a love/hate letter. Gloria Swanson is wonderful as an aging silent film star who cannot accept the passage of time. Swanson was, of course, a silent film star, but from anything I’ve read about her, she aged gracefully, vibrantly and with an eye always on what she would do next. A pivotal event happens on New Year’s Eve. William Holden attends two very different parties: an elegant, surreal soiree for two, and a crowded, boisterous gathering of young folks. I can’t quite decide which I’d rather be at (not that anybody’s invited me to either kind, so I’m not too worried about it).

Mystery of the Wax Museum stars Fay Wray of King Kong fame. She gets to play a girl with a lot more character and spunk this time out. The movie opens New Year’s Eve 1933 and Wray’s job as a reporter is on the line if she can’t bring in a story. While chasing the story of a stolen corpse, Wray stumbles upon greater crime and terror. The movie was remade as House of Wax with Vincent Price in 1953, but without the Wray character and with no New Year’s connection.

After the movies, we peeked at the World’s Dumbest marathon on TruTV, then went to bed shortly after our midnight smooch. And now it’s 2012, and I have a whole year ahead of me for Mohawk Valley adventures.