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SUZY LEONARD

Suzy Fleming Leonard: Draft night results in enough movies to see us through 2021

Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, I've reconnected with an old flame: movies.

When I was a kid, the movies offered an escape. Our parents dropped us off at the Delta Theater in my hometown, and we got two glorious hours of independence. I can remember feeling disoriented walking out of the dark theater into the sun-soaked lobby, blinking my way back into reality.

As I got older, movies faded into the background. It was difficult to find time to go to a theater, and besides, the husband and I could never find a mutually agreeable title to watch.

Then came COVID-19.

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Early on, we found our Quaran Team, a small group of close friends we know and trust to follow appropriate safety protocols.

We shrunk our social circle to six people, which wasn't bad at first. Then we realized an unfortunate truth: When you don't go anywhere or do anything, you quickly run out of things to talk about. 

I loved "American Graffiti," with Paul Le Mat, Cindy Williams and Ron Howard, as much now as I did when I was a kid. Plus, I got more of the jokes.

We decided to try movie night. There's a reason movies make great first dates. There's no need for idle chitchat.

Pop some popcorn, turn down the lights and enjoy. Right?

Except, who knew it would be so difficult to agree on a movie? Some like history, others drama. The women want romantic comedies, the men want action. One refuses to watch anything with British accents (Too hard to understand!) and none of the guys will watch "Music and Lyrics." (British accent and romance.)

We finally settled on holding a movie draft, kind of like in fantasy football. We started with the American Film Institute's Top 100 Movies of All Time. The movie names were printed on slips of paper and arranged, in order, on a counter top.

The six of us took turns, each removing five movies from the list. 

"Citizen Kane" (1941), No. 1 on the list, was among the first to go. 

Others that got the ax included "Wizard of Oz" (1939, No. 6. We've all seen it a zillion times.), "Birth of a Nation" (1915, No. 44. A silent movie? We're not sitting through a silent movie.), "Forrest Gump" (1994, No. 71. Too smarmy.)  and "Pulp Fiction" (1994, No. 95. Too violent!)

As we came around to our fourth and fifth discard picks, it got more difficult. 

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I fought to keep "Psycho" (1960, No. 18) and "Shane" (1953, No. 69). "Shane" stayed, "Psycho" ended up in the no-show pile.

After we'd whittled the list down to 70, everyone was given two slips of blank paper to add our wild cards, movies that had been cut by someone else or that weren't on the list in the first place.

I can remember being wowed by "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" as a kid. Seeing it as an adult left me confused.

My picks: "Young Frankenstein" (1974) and "Blazing Saddles" (1974). I've always loved Mel Brooks' wacky sense of humor, but I'm also curious about watching the irreverent satire of religion, politics and race in "Blazing Saddles" through the lens of current events. How will a broader awareness that comes with age and experience affect the comedy?

The resulting list includes 82 movies ranging from "Remember the Titans" (2000), a feel-good movie that was a write-in, to "Casablanca" (1942, No. 2).

Each week, we draw a movie from a bucket, pop some popcorn and settle in. 

So far, we've seen "American Graffiti" (1973, No. 77), M*A*S*H (1970, No. 56) and "Close Encounters of the Third Kind" (1977, No. 64). 

"American Graffiti" seemed timeless, thick with the angst of growing up and leaving home. I remember being scandalized by the mooning scene when I saw it in the theater, something that seemed quaint and harmless almost 50 years later.

I saw every episode of "M*A*S*H" the series at least three times, but this was the first time I'd seen the movie. Times have changed since 1970.

"M*A*S*H" was entertaining, though the blatant sexism was cringe-worthy.

"Close Encounters?" I remember being filled with wonder after seeing that one at the Delta Theater. Watching it now just left me confused. I have no idea what happened, and it had nothing to do with that third glass of wine.

We've got 79 movies left in the jar. That's more than a year's worth, even if we watch one a week.

I'm hoping we won't need that many to get us to the end of the pandemic, but I'm also hoping this is a tradition we keep going until the jar is empty.

I can't wait to find out what's showing this weekend.

Email sleonard@floridatoday.com.

Facebook: @SuzyFlemingLeonard

Instagram: @SuzyLeonard

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