Five Great Movies According to My Dad

For Father’s Day, I asked my dad to talk about his five favorite movies and he was up to the challenge.

First there are some basics you should know about my father. He is a slightly bitter retired man who spends his nights watching the Nightly Business Report and the Newshour with Jim Lehrer. Since his retirement, he has taken up biking, playing solitaire, and occasionally woodworking. He hails from the Bronx and speaks with a fairly heavy New York accent. He loves Trisha Yearwood, Shania Twain, and Martina McBride, which makes no sense because he is from the Bronx. He has worked at a liquor store, an ice cream cart, a fish market and as a freight elevator operator. (But I won’t tell you which one had questionable mob ties.) He loves our cat, Salem, more than his four children combined (“Salem is the only one in this family who doesn’t bother me”). He hates lima beans and loves a good cannoli. In sum, my dad is ridiculous.

Our interview took place in my parents bedroom right before they went to bed. They were not too pleased that I bothered them. My mom tried to ignore us but she couldn’t resist interjecting some colorful commentary every now and then. After the interview I told my dad that he was about to blow up on the Internet. He replied, “Yeah. Whatever.”

So here they are. Enjoy and Happy Father’s Day!

Joe’s Reason: “The cast of actors. Action. Realism. Compelling story.”

Joe’s Reason: “Historic. A good portrayal of characters. Compelling story.”

Mom’s Interjection #1:
“You already said that.”

Joe’s Reason: “What else can you say?”

Joe’s Reason
Me: Because you’re a boy of the 60s?
Dad: Yeah.

Mom’s Interjection #2
Mom: What about Notting Hill? You’ve seen that like 10 times.
Me: He’s seen it way more than 10 times. He’s watches it every time its on.
Mom: I was being generous.

Joe’s Reason: “Julia.”

Mom’s Interjection #3:
“He wishes he was Hugh Grant… or the roommate.”

With that I concluded the interview but then my dad kept talking.

Postscript from Joe #1:
Dad: How was that?
Me: Good. It wasn’t supposed to be deep.
Dad: Well, go to hell.

Postscript from Joe #2:
“I was going to picked Battle Cry but Joanna hasn’t heard of it. That was the Leon Uris book that got me started on reading all that crap. I think I had to study for a test but I finished the book instead and forgot to study for my test.”

Postscript from Joe #3:
“I also like that movie about Indiana.” (He means Breaking Away.)

Postscript from Joe #4:
“What did I pick?”