Seven movies that apparently more of you need to see

...because none of you got them in my little movie-quote quiz last week.

Mother? I love art.

...was from It's My Party. One of the things I like most about this movie is the way it uses its large ensemble cast. The story's about a gathering of friends around one person; but there isn't time to map out every detail of all their relationships to him. So you just get enough.

"...who's Ann Miller?"
"Leave this house."

...was from Jeffrey. I adore this film for its performances, especially Steven Weber as the title character, Patrick Stewart getting to show more warmth and humanity than he ever did as Picard and Nathan Lane in a memorable cameo. And because the jokes are very, very funny.

I resent you. I resent everything about you. You had Mom and Dad's unconditional love, now you have the world's. How could I not envy that? I wish I could say it was because you're so much better looking than me. No, the real pain is that it's something so much harder to bear. You got the good soul; I got the bad one. Think about leaving me yours...

...was from Love! Valour! Compassion! I put these three films together because they're all about gay men. Two of them are also based on plays, the third, It's My Party, might easily be seen as a play since it's mostly on one set and takes place over the space of two days.

I've often joked with my friends that my personality, certainly my musical taste, would make so much more sense if I were gay. If I could just get over this darned "attracted to women" thing. In LVC we meet (among others) a character who I believe is very much the kind of gay man I would be if I was: The loving, apparently happy-go-lucky Buzz, played by Jason Alexander.

Except for Alexander, all the cast are veterans of the stage version. He was cast presumably to capitalize on his fame but it's a touching performance that I personally prefer to the overrated Seinfeld.

Also featured in another strong ensemble is Stephen Spinella, who turned up this season on 24 as the treacherous, ambitious Miles. The quote in question, though, comes from John Glover, who plays twins in the movie, reprising a role for which he won the Tony onstage. It's a performance of stunning brilliance and grace, aided immeasurably by the superb script.

"He just came in for few hours to uh, to uh, fuck me."
"It takes a few hours."

...was from My Best Friend's Wedding. Amee, this is the movie that you and I watched over here once when we weren't paying attention to other things.

This film stands for me as one of the best uses of a movie star (as opposed to an actor) in recent cinema history. Cast with someone who doesn't have the audience dazzled as much as Julia Roberts, the protaganist of this movie could come off as downright psychopathic.

But with her and a sturdy screenplay, it's as sweet a confection as a good wedding cake. Great soundtrack, too.

Oh, and there's another gay man in it. Means nothing.

"Now what the Good Master is telling us all right now is that up in Heaven, there are about a hundred million little tiny angels about 'yea' by 'yea', and they all take shorthand. And every time you do something silly, they write it down..."
"No, no."
"That's not what the Good Master is telling us."

...is from Godspell, one of my all-time favorite movie musicals. I love it, so sue me.

"Are you nervous?"
"No."
"Good. My nervousness exists on several levels; number one, and this is in no particular order, I haven't done this in a pretty long time. Number two, uh, any expectations that you might have, given the fact that I'm... you know..."
"The most powerful man in the world?"
"Exactly, thank you. I think it's important you remember that's a political distinction, it comes with the office."

Now this one, I'm kind of disappointed that none of you got. Even if you hadn't seen it or just didn't remember that particular dialogue, from the context, it would seem to be a romantic comedy, wouldn't it? A romantic comedy about The American President.

Which was only written by Aaron Sorkin, who if you don't know I think is one of the strongest writers of film and television we have today, you haven't been paying attention.

"You were wonderful! We're free!"
"Kara, we're inside a Russian airbase in the middle of Afghanistan!"

Sherman came closest to getting this one, remembering it was from a James Bond movie but not which one. It's The Living Daylights, still one of my favorite Bond films. It always makes me a little sad that Timothy Dalton didn't get to play the part more than one other time, in the much-less successful Licence To Kill. He deserved better than to only do twice as many as George Lazenby.

It's also got John Barry contributing his last musical score to the series; it's one of his most exciting. And this is fucking self indulgent, but what the hell it's my blog: At the quiz in My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, this is the movie which end-credits song they're trying to remember, and there's an in-joke reason, beyond just that I like it.