Click-and-stick: What movie makes you stop channel-surfing?
Diane Keaton and Al Pacino click and stick.
My colleagues George Anastasia and Glen Macnow (great journalists and authors of The Ultimate Book of Gangster Movies) formulated the concept of “the click-and-stick” movie, the one that, while channel-surfing, you inevitably stop and watch. George and Glen dubbed The Godfather “the ultimate click-and-stick.” Ultimate? Shall we test that theory?
In our household, The Godfather is a click-and-stick. So is Clueless. And Casablanca. Also Bend it Like Beckham, Groundhog Day, Last of the Mohicans, Laurence of Arabia, Malcolm X, Master and Commander, North by Northwest, Singin’ in the Rain, The Year of Living Dangerously.
All these films have familiarity, quotability and story going for them. Any other commonality? I just read a tweet from film critic Karina Longworth that whenever she finds Keeping the Faith on cable she can’t turn it off. (I feel the same way.) What are your click-and-sticks? Why do you think?
MISS CONGENIALITY usally stopped me in my tracks. Even the sequel. And usually on the eliptical at the gym. Actually, anything with Sandra Bullock rivets me. (Last week I caught the end of MURDER BY NUMBERS and then, on another channel, the middle of THE LAKE HOUSE). If a station has THE BLIND SIDE on, I hope I’m not at the gym, because I wouldn’t be able to get off the machine.
“Vertigo,” “Mean Girls,” “The Wedding Crashers,” “Please Don’t Eat the Daisies,” “North by Northwest” and “Gypsy.” Can’t get enough of any of them. And even though I have DVDs of all of them and can watch them anytime, it’s something of a treat to find any of them airing while channel-surfing and something slightly illicit about stopping whatever I’m doing and sitting down to get drawn in once again – sort of like playing hooky.
clueless, the way we were, gone with the wind, gump… for me i think i like to be with these people and want to stay and visit whenever i see them.
A Hard Day’s Night, Grosse Point Blank, many Hitchcocks, That Thing You Do, The Whole Nine Yards, almost anything with Fred Astaire, The Adventures of Robin Hood. It’s a combination of these movies for some reason making me feel all warm and safe, while also knowing that other people are watching the same thing at the same time, which creates an odd, but nonetheless pleasing sense of being part of an audience.
1) Funny Girl,West Side Story,The Proposal,Hangover 1 and 2 ,Love Actually.Gone With The Wind,Once Upon A Time In America,and of course The Godfather series. I love a well written story, love to laugh, and love a good musical. I mean there are plenty of movies I could name because I stay in the dark at least once a week but this is my short list.