The Comfort Movie
My favorite thing to know about people.
Hello again. I mentioned in a previous post, Why I Love Media that my favorite thing to bond over is movies, television, music and other forms of media. To me, it is an excellent way to get to know new people. The best part of doing this is finding out what a new person’s “comfort movie” is. A comfort movie is any movie that someone turns to when they need to feel good. It can be any movie. Some people like romance movies, some people like horror, some people like movies from their childhood. I would largely credit nostalgia for the inception of comfort movies. You can learn so much about someone by asking what their comfort movie is. Typically, their answer is a window into their interests and what kind of person they are. Bonding over a comfort movie is the perfect way to relate, connect, and perhaps, make a friend.
This is my Substack after all, so I am going to talk about my comfort movie. If you couldn’t tell by the thumbnail, my comfort movie is Richard Linklater’s School of Rock (2003). School of Rock is the lovable, heartfelt story of identity theft and child endangerment. Just kidding, kind of. The film follows endearing slacker Dewey Finn (Jack Black) after he is kicked out of his Staten Island based band. This puts him in quite the predicament because he owes his roommate Ned Schneebly (Mike White, Survivor competitor and creator of The White Lotus) $2200 for rent. I always wondered how Ned and his girlfriend Patty could afford to live in their NYC apartment on a substitute teacher and mayoral assistant’s salary. Then again, it is Staten Island 20 years ago. I digress. Shorty after being kicked out of the band, Dewey seizes the opportunity to pretend to be Ned in order to substitute teach at a ritzy private elementary school.
I’ll make the rest of the synopsis quick because I’m sure most of you have seen School of Rock, and the plot of the movie is not the point of this piece.
After finding out that his students have exceptional music talent, Dewey decides to recruit the students to be his new band and crew. They practice music secretly under the guise of a class project. Dewey later sneaks the students out of school for a “field trip” to audition for Battle of the Bands. When they are denied entry, the students decide to fake a terminal illness known as stickittodamaneosis. They get the booking, but Dewey is ultimately exposed as an imposter at a parent teacher meeting. (SIDENOTE: If you look closely during the movie, all the parents drive Volvos for some reason.) After the incident at parent’s night, Dewey gives up on his dreams. The students later show up at his apartment (not sure how they knew where he lived), and take him to the show. They play their show in front of the parents, who believe their children are being kidnapped, and Dewey wins everyone over. Unfortunately, The School of Rock loses The Battle of the Bands to Dewey’s former band, No Vacancy. For the sake of the film, you want The School of Rock to win, but to be honest, Heal Me, I’m Heartsick by No Vacancy is a BANGER. After The Battle of the Bands dust settles, Ned and Dewey open their own music school and everyone lives happily ever after.
I love this movie. I think School of Rock just struck me at the right age and stayed with me forever. I’ve been playing guitar on and off for most of my life, and it would be fair to say that this movie at least partly sparked my interest in learning music. One time I was having such a bad week that I put School of Rock on 13 times. Yikes. To me, the main draw of this movie is Jack Black’s charisma. He is so likable and has excellent chemistry with the kids. Richard Linklater’s exceptional filmmaking takes Black’s performance to another level. It would be easy to fully credit nostalgia for my attachment to this movie, but I think it holds up as a legitimately great movie. Critics and audiences would agree.
Enough about me, though. I want to review some of your comfort movies. Earlier this week, I posted a poll on 1 AM Media’s Instagram @OneAyEmm asking what your comfort movies were. I was pleasantly surprised with the amount of responses. These were your answers:
Cheaper by the Dozen (Colin): I haven’t seen this one in years, but Colin’s answer reminded me of a scene from this film that we both love. The song. The dialogue. Everything about it is perfect. MY LATTE!
Almost Famous (Natalie): This movie is honestly a contender for MY comfort movie. It has a feel good story with amazing performances all around. It also hit me at the perfect time, much like School of Rock. Shortly after watching Almost Famous, I took my first music journalism class with
, who, like William, also worked for Creem Magazine and Rolling Stone. It was a weird stars aligning moment for me.Crazy, Stupid, Love (Elita and Erika): I hadn’t seen Crazy, Stupid, Love when I posted the poll, so I watched it. It holds up. The intertwining stories of the main characters sets it apart from typical romance movies, and Ryan Gosling just does not miss.
Swingers (Rob): I watched Swingers with Rob when we lived together, and I really liked it. Vince Vaughn and Jon Favreau are perfect together, and the writing captures the perfect snapshot of how I imagine LA bros behaving in the late 90s.
Interstellar (Matt): Perhaps my favorite Christopher Nolan movie. Matthew McConaughey shines in just about everything he’s in, and this is no different. It takes a few viewings to grasp what is going on, but it is well worth it.
Ocean’s Eleven (Ruvo): Preposterously good cast. Ruvo said it best, “it makes me feel like the coolest MF out there.”
27 Dresses (Anne): I’m sorry Anne, I have yet to watch it. I’m more of a 13 Going on 30 kind of guy. I’m not sure why I have always associated the two movies, but to me, they are the same. Maybe it’s the numbers in the titles.
Forrest Gump (Dave): Jenny!
Project X (Logan): Another contender for my comfort movie. I don’t think this movie gets the credit it deserves. Project X, in my opinion, had the same lasting impact on my generation that Superbad had on the generation before me. It is the quintessential modern party movie. Everyone thought they could throw/attend a party of that magnitude. No one even considered the logistical nightmare that comes with a party that size. Regardless, this movie is a staple of the 2010s and an instant classic.
Before I wrap this up, I would like to say thank you to everyone who responded to the poll. It was a pleasure getting the readers involved and watching some of your comfort movies. I can certainly understand why these are comfort movies for you, because they’re all great. You guys have very good taste.
Thanks
Till next time,
-CJ