H

Heat (1995)

Rated R

170 Minutes (Yes, 2 hours and 50 minutes!!!)

Directed by Michael Mann (The Last of The Mohicans, The Insider, Ali)

Budget - $60,000,000

Box office - $187,436,818


Ok.  So, Heat shouldn't be allowed to be a Frank Movie.  It had a $60,000,000 budget, plus Pacino and DeNiro together onscreen for the first time.  I'll grant you that.  But, it only finished 3rd at the box office its opening weekend, behind Jumanji and Toy Story.  And, this may be THE Frank Movie.  Like, you put The Godfather and Goodfellas back in the mix, and this is still one of my Top 5 all-time films.  Here's why:



1.  Great opening scene.

To be a great film, you have to open with a bang.  Hard to beat this one.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=409IGgu-Utw


2.  The greatest gun fight in the history of film.  Period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZL9fnVtz_lc


3.  One of the greatest ensemble movies ever. 

Oceans, The Departed, Breakfast Club... great ensemble films.  And, this is truly the story of Pacino vs. de Niro, but it's also so much more.  It's not just an ensemble cast, it's an ensemble cast vs. an ensemble cast.  It's a team of good guy stars vs. a team of villain stars.  If you're looking to do a great superhero team movie - this is how yu should do it.

For anyone interested, here's Roger Ebert's review.  He loved it:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/heat-1995




Runner-up:  Hanna (2011)

Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  It's the best film version of the Logan/Wolverine story.  We've had the 6'2" Australian showtune singer play the hairy stout Canadian in 6 different films.  None of them does the story of Weapon X get told as well as it does starring an Irish teenage girl.  This is how you do Wolverine on the big screen.

2.  The escape sequence.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiNP82dVSIQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iDSekadtuHk


Honorable Mentions:  The Hitcher (1986), Honeymoon in Vegas (1992), High Fidelity (2000)

G

The Game (1997)

Rated R

129 Minutes

Directed by David Fincher (The Social Network, Fight Club, Se7en)

Budget - $50,000,000

Box Office - $109,423,648



Ok.  So with a $50,000,000 budget and a cast including Michael Douglas and Sean Penn, this shouldn't be allowed on the list, but I love Fincher, and I didn't have room for Fight Club or Se7en - so this is his one.  Also, Char believes this to be the definition of a Frank Movie.



Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:



1.  This scene alone:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfzRP1tCmsk




2.  It twists your mind like a pretzel:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hYQIObd_bog

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BFUVGfsVzhQ


3.  Best use of Jefferson Airplane.

I hate this fucking song.  But, it's perfect for this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1pxwIwnU9Q


For anyone interested, here's Roger Ebert's original review:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-game-1997





Runner-up:  The Getaway (1994)

Ok.  So, Alec Baldwin will be all over this list.  Just be prepared.  This is the movie that put him together with Kim Basinger, and it was a great collaboration.  Yes, it's a remake, but the original with Steve McQueen and Ali McGraw was awful.

None of those things are the reason that it's a Frank Movie.  These are:

1.  James Woods as the villain.

I love Jimmy Woods.  Like in anything.  This is a premiere role for him as the douchebag.  Beautiful.

2.  Michael Madsen's best role.

Not Mr. Blonde.  Not Bump Bailey.  Not Sonny Black.  Rudy from The Getaway is his greatest role.  Period.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmDqDjJV3tI

p.s.  Jennifer Tilly in a dead heat battle with Nancy Travis for best butter face.  Just sayin'...


Honorable Mentions:  The Ghost and The Darkness (1996), Go (1999), The Girl Next Door (2004)

F

F is a particularly difficult letter to narrow down, but here goes:

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)

Rated R

90 Minutes

Directed by Amy Heckerling (Clueless, 2 episodes of Gossip Girl, and 3 episodes of The Carrie Diaries)

Screenplay by Cameron Crowe (Almost Famous, Jerry Maguire, Singles)

Budget - $4,500,000

Box Office - $27,092,880


Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:



1.  Generationally defining. 

If you want to know how life was in Richmond, VA in 1982, it was very similar to Cameron Crowe's Van Nuys (nee Ridgemont, CA).  Damone's room, and his explanation of "the attitude" explains everything it meant to be a teenage (or in my case, a preteen) guy in 1982.  I basically gave this same lecture to all of my brothers:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFJaXzIweUk


2.  The introduction of Phoebe Cates.

Many high school movies have tried to replicate the iconic pool scene, and have failed.  It is in a world all its own.  What is undersold is the iconic "carrot scene", as well.  I imagine that our reaction would have been the same at Godwin, as it was by the table full of boys at RHS.  Oh, and we also had our share of Pat Benatar look-alikes at MEG.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iNrVxbYUX18

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IUZkug8qo8


3.  The soundtrack.

I guess you should expect this from Heckerling/Crowe, but the songs in this film, for me, are inseparable from the film itself.  There's not a time that I here Tom Petty's "American Girl" or Jackson Browne's "Somebody's Baby" that I don't immediately associate it with Fast Times.  That's generationally defining.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6TDdKeb_94Q

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/an-ajHHYumJhbJmm/fast_times_at_ridgemont_high_1982_first_sex/


p.s.  The most popular shoe of my teen years was spawned of this movie.

 

 

p.s.s.  The film debut of Nicholas Coppola, or as you may know him...  Nic Cage.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Runner-up:  Fear (1996)

 

 

 

 

 

Directed by - John Foley (Glengarry Glen Ross, Who's That Girl, House of Cards)

 

 

Reasons it's a Frank Movie:

 

1.  Reese.  Orgasm.  On a Rollercoaster.  Right?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tumI28B48wY

 

2.  Alyssa Milano.  Skank.  Right?

 

 

 

Honorable Mentions:  Full Metal Jacket (1987), Frighteners (1996), and The Fifth Element (1997).

 

 





E

Easy Money(1983)

Rated - R

95 Minutes

Directed by James Signorelli (SNL)

Budget - Peanuts

Box Office - $29,309,766

People know Rodney from Caddyshack(1980), Back To School(1986), and (for the tragically sheltered) Ladybugs(1992).  For me, the film that most clearly highlights his talents is Easy Money.  Here's why:

1.  This was the 1st movie that I can remember where they made a clip of the film to be used directly as a music video on MTV.  It was a sign of the times, generationally defining.  And, it was fantastic.  I totally reminded me of Connie's wedding reception in "The Godfather" and Frankie Five Angels at Anthony's 1st Communion in "Godfather: Part II".  You know, except that it's in Rodney's back yard in Jersey.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXNwxkHcD0A


2.  It has a personal life moment for me.  At my brother's wedding, they employed a lifelong friend's father to take the wedding pictures.  It was a kind gesture, and I'm sure that they got a bargain.  But, I had never seen Mr. Ikenberry go more than 10 seconds without a Virginia Slim in his lips, and this was in a historical church with no AC.  It was 700 degrees.  Oh, and my young cousin, the ring bearer was uncooperative with the photo taking process.  I think he was like 3.  I thought, for sure, that Mr. Ikenberry was going to take the Lord's name in vain, in church, in front of a kid.  In fact, I was hoping that was what was going to happen.  And, all that I could think of was this scene:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-982oTKR0M

3.  Julio spawns an iconic Anthrax hit:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zwWrajIdHII

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiHdr4rWG98

And for the record, Nicky Cerone may be Pesci's best role.  That's a tough call...

For those who are interested, here's Ebert's 1983 review.  He liked it, but not as much as I did...

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/easy-money-1983


Runner-up: Excalibur(1981)

Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  First film for Gabriel Byrne.  There will be several more appearances on the list for Gabriel, but this was the one that started it all, as Uther Pendragon, father of King Arthur.  Here's a great scene - keep in mind that his enemy's queen is Katrine Boorman, the director's daughter - who does a graphic sex scene immediately after this one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1YOL-Cm5RmQ

 

 

2.  First film for Liam Neeson.  Yep.  The ultimate action star of the 2010's got his start in the same film as Gabriel Byrne.  The cast also includes Helen Mirren and Patrick Stewart.  I shit you not.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ipSZn5qcJds

Honorable Mentions:  Escape From New York (1981), Empire Records (1995), Elf (2003)

D

Doc Hollywood (1991)

Rated: PG-13

104 Minutes

Directed by Michael Caton-Jones (The Jackal, Rob Roy, and The Boy's Life)

Budget - $17,000,000

Box Office - $54,000,000


Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  Woody Harrelson + Bridget Fonda = Frank Movie.  You just have to know that.

For me, this is Harrelson's best role as insurance salesman, Hank Gordon.  Although Harrelson is a Texan, he seems very plausible as an Upstater in The Palmetto State.
  Here's a good dialogue with Fox, although the scene where they meet in the diner is better:

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qlf9BZiL57Y

2.  Great 80's theme song.

Top Gun.  Karate Kid.  The Breakfast Club.  These all had iconic theme songs.  But, "I Am The One and Only" may be better than all of them, and it is so unheralded.  Play it, it'll haunt your dreams.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NoA89ACTflk

For the record, that is my hometown of Richmond, VA that Dr. Ben Stone is driving through.

3.  Small-town U.S.A.

It may be hard to imagine, but, like Ben Stone, I'm a small-town guy (Lively, VA).  I have lived all over this great nation, and one thing I know - her small towns are all alike, and the things that make her great.  The characters represented in Grady, are very archetypical of the characters that I grew up with, and am surrounded by today.  I love it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7oOqDUXzDY

For the record, I'm not the only one who loves this film a little too much:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0WmgEd4uavI

For the most part, Roger Ebert agreed with me:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/doc-hollywood-1991


Runner-up:  Drive Me Crazy (1999)

Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  Teen angst + definitive generational movie.  This is The Breakfast Club of The Millennials.  Plus, Vincent Chase gets dumped by Whipped Cream Bikini and falls for Sabrina the Teenage Witch.  And they all get hammered.  Perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=326hheVVhx4


2.  The Donna's (nee The Electrocutes)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0yleULPsq4


Honorable Mentions:  Donnie Brasco (1997), Dazed and Confused (1993), Dream A Little Dream (1989)

C

The Color of Night (1995)

Rated R

140 Minutes (Director's Cut)

Director - Richard Rush

Budget - $40,000,000

Box Office - $19,750,470

The $40,000,000 budget should disqualify this from being a Frank Movie, but since it only made half of that back at the box office, I'm going to make an exception.  It was one of the Top 20 most rented movies of 1995, so I clearly am not the only person who found this film compelling.  It did, however, win The Razzie for Worst Film of 1995.

Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  Maxim magazine named this the best sex scenes in film history.  That seems to be the recurring theme with this list, but, really, it's just front-loaded in the alphabet.  I swear.  Anyway, here's the list:

http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/reframe.html?http://telepixtvcgi.warnerbros.com/dailynews/pop/12_00/12_06a.html

2.  Great car chase. 

I'm a sucker for good movie car chases, and this definitely has one.  A 95 Mercedes vs a 78 Pontiac Trans Am.  The streets of Orange County.  I'll take it.  See for yourself:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v0L5XB6nY50

The migrant worker in the back of the POS pickup.  The random old lady with the grocery cart full of watermelons.  The car carrier as a projectile.  Very cool.

3.  Best use of a rattlesnake.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gmZ9PwQkvCs

'nuff said.

Here's Ebert.  He did not like it:

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/color-of-night-1994


Runner-up: The Crush (1993)

Reason that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  Before the Aerosmith videos, there was this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwQpnYZeWW0

2.  Alicia Silverstone uses wasps as a weapon.  Awesome.

Honorable mentions:  City Hall (1996), Coming To America (1988), Consenting Adults (1992).

B

Body Double (1984)

Rated R

114 Minutes

Director: Brian De Palma (Carrie, Scarface, The Untouchables)

Budget - $10,000,000

Box Office - $8,001,940

Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

1.  It's a De Palma (read Hitchcockian) murder mystery set using the porn industry.  Doesn't get much more Frank than that.

2.  This:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgyAgsDo4sw



3.  Along with "Swingers" (also a Frank Movie), "Body Double" is like an insiders tour of Los Angeles. 

Tail of the Pup, Barney's Beanery, The Farmer's Market, The Beverly Center, The Rodeo Collection Mall, The Chemosphere, Tower Records.  These iconic LA places play as much of a role in this film as any actor.  That, in and of itself, make it a Frank Movie.

 

 

 

 

Once again, if it's of any interest to you, here's Roger Ebert's 1984 review (once again, shockingly kind):

 

 

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/body-double-1984

 

 

 

Runner up:  Boiler Room (2000)

 

 

Reasons that it's a Frank Movie:

 

1.  It's the poor man's "Wall Street".  Actually, it's a Gen X social commentary on the unintended effects of "Wall Street" upon the culture.  Slate did a great article on it:

 

http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/dvdextras/2007/09/greed_is_bad_bad.html

 

 

Or you can see the same analysis in 2 minutes of "Boiler Room":

 



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArS16ZyOxLQ

2.  The only 5 minutes of great monologue in the history of Ben Affleck's laughable acting career:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfIKzReNDF4

So, don't waste 3 hours of your life on "The Wolf of Wall Street".  "Boiler Room" tells basically the same story, only better, cheaper, shorter, and with less pomposity - and no Jonah Hill's dick.

Honorable Mentions:  all big budgets, Basic Instinct (1992), Batman (1989), and Backdraft (1991).

A

 

 

 

Angel Heart(1987)

Rated R (which generally goes without saying on this list.)

113 Minutes.

Budget - $17,000,000

Box Office - $17, 185,632

Director - Alan Parker (Mississippi Burning, Midnight Express, and Pink Floyd's The Wall)

Reasons that it's a Frank movie:

1. Best performance of DeNiro's career.

That's right. Not Jake La Motta. Not young Vito Corleone. Louis Cyphre in Angel Heart.
I would hope from the name that you can infer his character's identity. The best part is, he played the role by imitating Martin Scorsese. That is ironic and foretelling, simultaneously.

Here is a small sample.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQfiuHK_U84


2. They had to edit a sex scene to get the rating dropped from "X".

This was Lisa Bonet's first film role, and an attempt to distance herself from her clean-cut role as Denise Huxtable on The Cosby Show. She swung for the fences. Her sex scene was so graphic with Mickey Rourke that it had to be edited down to avoid an X-rating. 
Not because of the strong sexual content or the nudity, but because of the blood.
I shit you not.
If you're able to, find the unrated version.

 

 

 

3. There's a character named Toots Sweet.
The film starts off in Harlem in 1955, and makes its way south to Algiers, Louisiana. It is a period piece, but it feels just like New Orleans today. Maybe not as filthy.

 

 

 

If you're interested, here's what Roger Ebert had to say about it (which is shockingly kind):

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/angel-heart-1987




Runner up:  April Fool's Day (1986)

89 Minutes.

Budget - $5,000,000 (I can't believe that it was that much.)

Box Office - $12,947,763


Reasons that it's a Frank movie:

1.  The hotties. 

It doesn't stand the test of time, but there was some grade A 1980's tail in this flick.  It has Deborah Foreman, who makes another appearance later in this list, Deborah Goodrich, who makes a later appearance in this list, and Amy Steel, who was famous for her work on daytime soaps, but also for playing Ginny on Friday the 13th Part 2.

 

Oh, and lots of post-teen angst.

2.  Biff Tannen, only better.

You may know Tom Wilson as Biff Tannen from Back to the Future.  But, before that, he was even better as Arch.  His character also had to be the inspiration for Steve Sanders on Beverly Hills, 90210.  Classic.

Here's the original trailer:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjT58KaVI3s


Honorable Mentions:  Alien (1979), American Anthem (1986), and Amongst Friends (1993)

  

Defining The List

Many times I will be sitting in my living room, misquoting lines from some obscure B-movie, and my wife or family will remark,





"Oh God, this is such a Frank movie..."

What does that mean?

In general, it means it's dark. Like... no happy ending, no rainbows and cupcakes. It's generally saturated with gratuitous, deviant sex. There's got to be violence; preferably graphic, otherworldly violence. I'm a sucker for American provincialism; if it is a inside, regional joke - I'm sold.






Oh, and teen angst... teen angst is a major theme (especially if it is generationally definitive. It can be a comedy, it can be a drama, it can be gore porn. It just can't be critically acclaimed. Or arthouse. No big budgets. No big marketing campaigns.






Basically, if you could catch it at 4 in the morning on Cinemax, or at the Ridge Cinema Midnight Movies, it's probably a Frank movie.

I hope that they become your movies, too.