My Summer of 1970s Movies

We Are Not Alone.

The end of May and beginning of June is always such a tender time. There are graduations, and transitions, and often a shift in your regular schedule. My husband Chris teaches at a university, so he’s already on summer break and busy trying to figure out where the dishwasher is located. Our sons are both still in school, but flying home soon. (I’ve been counting the days since January.) It’ll be nice to not be in the house alone all day, especially because this month is also the start of my annual Time of Year I Don’t Go Outside Because We Live On the Sun and Also There Are Insects.

“Why don’t you get up early and walk Teddy before it gets hot?” Chris recently suggested after he saw me glaring at the outdoors.

“Because that would be 4 a.m. and the only people out and about at that hour are farmers and serial killers,” was my response. “And I don’t want to bother them when they’re busy working.”

It was with my weather issues in mind that Chris and the boys gave me a perfect Mother’s Day gift: a projector, movie screen, and reclining theater seats. That’s right, we’re turning the upstairs of our empty nest into a Cinemark. I’ll probably invite a few little kids over and let them go crazy with popcorn and Icees so we get just the right sticky ambiance. Maybe dump a few boxes of Junior Mints on the floor and dress the cats in tiny usher suits.

Once our ad hoc theater was set up, I had a great idea: let’s fire up the Country Squire station wagon and head off on a Summer of 70’s Movies roadtrip! Here’s why:

1. The 1970’s are considered by many film scholars to be the best decade of movies; the age of the American auteur.

2. The pacing in 70’s movies is a lot slower compared to current movies and shows, and the scenes are often longer, so you’re deeply drawn into the story. Rather than bored and tempted to scroll NordstromRack.com/clearance on your phone.

3. I have a degree in Film, and not only watched a lot of these movies in school but wrote papers on them, so I can usually whip out something smart (pretentious) from the recesses of my brain like, “Hal Ashby loved an ambiguous ending, which he most notably did in Shampoo…” and sound a lot smarter than my usual hot takes on the himbos on 90 Day Fiancé.

4. There’s always a character wearing a pinky ring.

5. The actors look a lot more natural, which helps add to the authentic feel of the story. No spray tans, no perfect teeth, and no hair products besides headbands. Also, no bras which makes sense because there is also

6. One gratuitous nudie shot per movie.

We’ve been referring to this list of the 100 Best Movies of the 70’s for our choices, but we’re also just rewatching some of our favorites. So far we’ve seen:

• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Director’s Cut) - 1977

  Two-second review: As a kid, I didn’t get why Richard Dreyfuss got on the spaceship. Watching it in 2023? It makes sense.

  

• Foul Play - 1978 (not streaming; we watched it on YouTube but don’t feel great about it. Get your act together, Paramount.)

  Two-second review: Goldie, Chevy, Dudley, Barry, Burgess, and The Mikado in an homage to Hitchcock. This is such a delight and so, so funny.

  

• Invasion of the Body Snatchers - 1978

  Two-second review: As a kid, I didn’t get why Donald Sutherland was scared of becoming a pod person. Watching it in 2023? It makes sense. (And yes, that’s Nimoy, Sutherland, and baby Jeff Goldblum.)

  

• High Anxiety - 1977

  Two-second review: Mel Brooks’ parody of Hitchcock films. The plot and jokes didn’t quite work for me, but Madeline Kahn, Cloris Leachman and Harvey Korman did.

  

• American Graffiti - 1973

  Two-second review: George Lucas’s love letter to a 1960’s high school experience. The soundtrack is one of the best, plus young Cindy Williams, Ron Howard, and Harrison Ford in a cowboy hat.

  

• Serpico - 1973

  Two-second review: Gritty doesn’t even begin to describe this Sidney Lumet story about the real Frank Serpico who took down dirty cops. It stars Al Pacino, who is mesmerizing and also wears more than a few tunics. I choose to keep my Al in the 70’s and 80’s and do not wish to hear about his recent babymaking, thank you.

  

• The Longest Yard - 1974

  Two-second review: Burt Reynolds became a bit of a caricature in his later years, but he’s Peak Burt in this funny and gritty story of a prison football team. Plus Bernadette Peters has the biggest hair-do ever seen on screen. I mean…

• Marathon Man - 1976

  Two-second review: Laurence Olivier is a Nazi dentist trying to secure his stolen diamonds. Dustin Hoffman is the student trying to stop him. The movie that led to millions of people saying,“Is it safe?” during a tooth cleaning.

We have a lot more in our line-up, but what did I miss? What’s your favorite movie from the 1970’s? And it has to have been made in the 1970’s, not about the 1970’s, per theater rules. Let me know!

—Wendi

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Need two-hours of inspiration and laughing? My friend Meredith Walker and I have you covered. Join us online on June 21st for Your Summer Update! Registration and info at: https://bit.ly/45MtSWO