Implausible Conversations at the Movies 2 Quiz

Answer: Tracy Lord ("The Philadelphia Story") might be wise to take Qui-Gon Jinn ("Star Wars: Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace") a little more seriously!

In 1999 the "Star Wars" films sort of started anew - but went backwards doing it - returning Luke Skywalker to his childhood. The quote here comes from Qui-Gon (Liam Neeson), Jedi guy unmatched in various talents, as he goes about saving the planet Naboo (and Queen Amidala, or Natalie Portman, who reigns there). We get to meet young slave boy Anakin Skywalker, the endearingly odd Jar Jar Binks, noisy little R2-D2 and, of course, Obi-Wan Kenobi (played by Ewan McGregor) who was just a mere Jedi wannabe at this point in the story. Without much trouble, the film grossed $924.3 million in the U.S. alone! Tracy Lord in 1940's "The Philadelphia Story" was but a spoiled (and occasionally tipsy) Pennsylvania socialite juggling romance, real love vs. the practical angles of it, a not-so-encouraging wedding and the verbal sparring of the cunningly charming Cary Grant. Hardly the stuff of interplanetary derring-do, but full of its own kind of fireworks nonetheless!

Answer: Somehow or other, my guess is that Stanley Ipkiss ("The Mask") is not in the same neighborhood as Rosemary Woodhouse ("Rosemary's Baby") is!

'In the wrong neighborhoods' nicely covers it indeed! In "The Mask" (1994) mild-mannered Stanley finds himself in all sorts of muddy water, thanks to the magical powers (and absolutely outrageous adventures) that befall him when he tries on a most perplexing "new face".

When he uses his mask, though, he attracts the attention of the lovely Cameron Diaz ~ which seemed worth the complications. As for his pajamas? Well, 'The Mask' had stolen a truckload of money and hidden it in Ipkiss's apartment and Stan didn't want anyone, specifically a detective, snooping around and finding the loot. Miss Woodhouse in "Rosemary's Baby" (1964) was dealing with magic, too, but it was not terribly funny and much blacker in design.

It seemed she was about to give birth to little Beelzebub, Jr.? The problem there was that everybody knew that rather cumbersome detail except her! She chose to predominately think throughout, though, that -ahem- things were no different where she lived than they were in any other place in New York City.

Answer: There you go! Elaine Dickinson ("Airplane!") will be fine. Queen Elizabeth II ("The Queen") will arrange for rescue [once again!].

"Airplane!" is nothing short of one hysterical scene after the next one! Making a careful plot out of it wasn't a priority and all it was really meant to do was lambaste the whole "Eeek!-This-plane/building/luxury liner's-going-down!" films that were so popular in the 1970s.

It did this (and then some) to completely outrageous effect in 1980 and it starred Peter Graves, Lloyd Bridges, Robert Stack, Leslie Nielsen and -yes- even Ethel Merman for a minute. The stewardess (Julie Hagerty) dryly delivers many remarks such as this one quoted in the movie. "The Queen" (2006) was a very serious matter as Her Highness dealt with the real ramifications surrounding the unexpected death of Princess Diana in 1997.

Her remark highlighted here was used to Tony Blair as she hoped to help maneuver the PR surrounding her current events. Based in fact on a tragedy so fresh in the minds of society was a tricky project to try but, in a performance as nuanced as it was directly sound, Helen Mirren made every frame of the film watchable and fascinating. Queen Elizabeth even saying "kick the bucket" sounded not only possible, it sounded entirely likely. Great filmmaking!

Answer: Mr. Jim Coates ("Old Yeller") is right, but Captain Danny Walker ("Pearl Harbor") makes a good point, too - in his own way.

The most brutal lessons of 'manhood' come first to little boys and "Old Yeller" (1957) is one of the more classic examples of such a story. The rural Coates family must teach their son the pain of loss, compassion and very hard choices - and it all comes with the misfortune of the beloved family dog! Fess Parker, Dorothy McGuire and young Tommy Kirk played the family in question. "Pearl Harbor" was a much larger film (but, somehow, missed by a mile or so on "heart") in 2001.

The title alone would mostly explain that it takes the dismal historic attack on Hawaii (which led to U.S. involvement in WWII), spins some dramatic personal stories and dazzling special effects into the tale and a massive blockbuster emerged. Josh Hartnett played Captain Danny and was flanked by his stalwart pals played by Ben Affleck and Kate Beckinsale.

Answer: Kimberly Wallace ("My Best Friend's Wedding") is mostly lucky that Sadie Dugan ("A Letter to Three Wives") is paying attention at all. This could get ugly, however...

Miss Wallace (played by Cameron Diaz) makes this announcement in 1997's "My Best Friend's Wedding" when she has caught her fiance and his best 'friend' sharing a kiss soon before the ceremony. Julia Roberts plays the best pal who decides that she wants to be more than than just chummy and Dermot Mulroney plays the object of both ladies' affections - but, in my opinion, Rupert Everett steals the show as the most reliable friend in all matters large or small.

He also manages to lead a group of eclectic strangers in singing one of the most hysterical versions of the tune "I Say a Little Prayer" that you'll likely ever hear.

Thelma Ritter played the domestic, Sadie, in "A Letter to Three Wives" (1949). While she was not one of the distraught spouses left to wonder if it was her husband that had left town with another woman, as per a letter cryptically penned by a vixen named Addie, Miss Ritter got some of the best one-liners in a nicely written script. For those of you unfamiliar, rare is the actress who could EVER spit out a zinger like Thelma Ritter (1905-1969) could.

Answer: If I might venture a third-party guess? Ben Sanderson ("Leaving Las Vegas") doesn't have nearly what it takes to interest Frances Stevens ("To Catch a Thief")!

As if the exciting photography wasn't enough, there was the extra pleasure of seeing Cary Grant and Grace Kelly on-screen together in Alfred Hitchcock's 1955 caper "To Catch a Thief". Had the film even been marginal (which it wasn't) the 'photogenic factor' was large enough to satisfy the audience as it told its cat-and-mouse story of a cat burglar trying to catch another cat burglar who has taken to stealing the first cat burglar's modus operandi. Get it? As the story unfolds, and it takes a long time for it to do so, all loose ends tie up nicely. Forty years after "Thief" came director Mike Figgis's dark character study "Leaving Las Vegas". Nothing partly panoramic in the style of this movie, the plot followed a tragically alcoholic writer as he pursued his lofty ambition of drinking himself to death and chose Las Vegas, Nevada as the place wherein he decides to do it.

The quote cited here was Ben (Nicolas Cage) babbling in a stupor to the hooker who becomes his friend (played breathtakingly well by Elizabeth Shue).

These were not endearing characters on any first glance (or second or third glance, for that matter) but the acting was tight and exact and ultimately award-winning. Yes, very different types of movie-making but each profoundly unforgettable in very opposite ways.

Answer: Lewis Medlock ("Deliverance") may be chock full of adventurousness but Andrew Shepherd ("The American President") likes a more sensible approach to events as they turn.

If you're planning to do a "weekend warrior" excursion, it probably isn't a good idea to catch a rerun of "Deliverance" (1972) before embarking. The story, written by poet James Dickey, details an excruciatingly NOT fun canoe trip down a remote river and how four city men come up against a whole lot more than they could have conjured up in their worst nightmare as they go. Lewis Medlock, played effectively by Burt Reynolds at his he-man peak, engineered this trek which yielded tragic, even deadly, results for the entire group of them - his quote here reflects his initial attitude, which changed after just a few miles spent afloat on a most unfriendly course. Jon Voigt, Ned Beatty and Ronny Cox were the other urbanites riding those canoes from Hell. 1995's "The American President" was a much more heartening experience, following President Shepherd as he embarks on the heretofore untested waters of having a full private life/romance while running the United States and enduring the glare of a relentless public life at the same time. Michael Douglas, Annette Benning, Martin Sheen and Michael J. Fox head the cast as the Chief Executive dares to attempt 'having it all' in a deftly 'nice' movie that shamelessly embraces that, while it's never easy, it certainly doesn't hurt a person to try to achieve every side of happiness and success AND to remain a decent human being while doing so.

Answer: Awww, that Charity Hope Valentine ("Sweet Charity") sure is a cutie and I'm just glad Jerry Mulligan ("An American in Paris") slowed down long enough to notice!

The collaboration of director/choreographer Bob Fosse and brilliant writer Federico Fellini was on fire with promise on its own. Add to them the multi-talented firecracker that was Shirley McLaine and the result was the extremely watchable (but not so well-received, at the time) "Sweet Charity" in 1969.

It told the hearty tale of a taxi dancer (which is NOT the same as a prostitute, make no mistake) with big, big dreams of stardom. Charity belting out "Hey Big Spender" brought down the house and shored up a pretty fun piece of cinema. "An American in Paris" (1951) was a splendid musical, too - that one widely considered a true classic and more than worthy of being named Best Picture that year. Mr. Mulligan (Gene Kelly) is a carefree young artist set loose in Paris, rebuffing the advances of a wealthy older "sponsor" to pursue, and dance up a storm with, the beguiling Leslie Caron (to whom he speaks our out-of-place quote). If you love a Gershwin tune AND a dazzling modern ballet or two, this is the film for you!

Answer: All Ray Kinsella ("Field of Dreams") has to worry about losing is his farm and maybe his grip on reality. Sam Spade ("The Maltese Falcon")? People seem to end up dead in his neck of the woods...

"Field of Dreams" (1989) ranks right up there, according to most sources, as one of the best sports films of all time but, really, baseball is only the glue that holds it together. The film is entirely about dreams, redemption, righting past wrongs, hope and, of course, the notion that "if you build it, they will come". Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner) intends to build it, a field of dreams whereupon he hopes to not only meet Shoeless Joe Jackson but also, just maybe, to finally get to play that boyhood game of 'catch' with his long-dead father.

In a jiffy, he turns his Iowa cornfield into a magnetic stadium of magic, a farm he stands to lose if he doesn't get busy paying his bills and forget about baseball and the players of it. The quote refers to the size of his real estate but his intentions are much larger. Humphrey Bogart did what he managed to do best in 1941's "The Maltese Falcon".

His Sam Spade, seemingly tired of living but caught up in all sorts of deviousness as he manages to get through the days, finds himself dragged into the quest for a priceless statue of a bird in the story. Mr. Bogart is matched every step of the way in the subtlely brilliant adventure by Mary Astor and the especially unsettling Peter Lorre.

Answer: Too bad HAL ("2001: A Space Odyssey") isn't programmed to deal with fishes of any sort, eh? And isn't Dory ("Finding Nemo") both frisky and competitive today?

What to do when your independant little clownfish decides to strike out on his own, only to be caught by a human being, finally ending up trapped in a dentist office aquarium? "Finding Nemo" seemed most urgent in 2003, brought to us by the rather amazing Pixar Animation Stuios. Dory, a blue tang fish (suffering from short term memory loss, by the way, and voiced by Ellen Degeneres) knows just how to retreive young Nemo and enlists many sea creatures to help as she orchestrates this madcap (but endlessly enjoyable) rescue. HAL the Computer was, finally, on "his" own sort of mission in the "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968). Stanley Kubrick's exhaustive and entirely stirring exploration of mankind, as our condition progressed from caves and apes to the penetration of the unknown regions of space exploration, really only served to say one thing - that we humans will never stop looking, trying, striving to achieve that which is more than likely unattainable. But, yes, we'll keep aspiring to get there anyway. Extremely memorable cinema, the stuff of which Kubrick (1928-1999) was consistent in building in his long career.