I made a pretty big mistake last week. I thought it’d be a good idea to have a Saw marathon. 4 movies on Saturday. 4 on Sunday. Normally, I love this sort of thing. I was wicked excited and even came close to starting it a day or two early. But I was adamant to watch them in a set. I got thru the first couple okay, but at some point during 4, that inner ickiness that these movies cause that I typically enjoy (I watch so many movies, I seek out ones that make me feel something) was turning to disgust. Like turn-it-off-it’s-too-much disgust. I’ve never had that reaction before. It wasn’t the gore, but the intention behind it. Given everything going on right now, I didn’t need more of a cynical worldview piling on. I didn’t need John Kramer teaching me to live for the moment.
Yes I know, I titled this Turner and Hooch and I’m talking about Saw. I’m getting to it.
I figured maybe it was just too much for one night, but tomorrow was another day and I’d continue then. After chores were done, I put in 5. I felt some of the same ick–the unpleasant kind. I decided to shift gears and put on Turner and Hooch, and I was so happy for two hours. More in a bit, but that was the easily the most joy I’d felt the whole weekend. I felt ready to attack Saw 6. And everything that T&H built up came crumbling down. I’d not only reached my limit, I’d surpassed it. As OCD as I am about completing things, I was not gonna get to the last two. Movies that take enjoyment from watching the world burn are for when I’m already in a good mood. But when the world’s actually burning, I need something else.
I decided then and there that for the next week, I was implementing a “positivity rule”. Only movies that make me happy in some way. Comedies, nostalgia, lots and lots of Disney. So much of my emotional state can be tied into my entertainment, so self care dictates that I do this. This isn’t even the first time I’ve noticed movies having this effect. Remember when I saw Blinded By the Light on a really bad day, and it stirred up all kinds of shit reminding me of the bad parts of high school instead of being an uplifting film? No no no no not gonna go deeper into that hole this week. Okay so I made an exception to put on Tiger King in the background while working late in the week, but otherwise I pretty much stuck to it.
It was tough pulling out the positive movies at first. I split my watch pile into positive and negative and one pile was several times bigger. But once I got into the swing of it, I did start grabbing appropriate films, and it worked. So with all that intro, we’ll talk about the movie that kicked it off.
Cali started it’s lockdown pretty early in the game. One of the first things I did was raid Best Buy’s Under $5 DVD filter. Grabbed a pile that I still haven’t even gotten thru (there’s a reason most of those are bargain movies, and I’ve been more excited about revisiting things already on the wall). Turner & Hooch was the one I was most excited about. For some reason, I’d never seen it, but I knew it’d be good. I mean c’mon Tom Hanks and a giant dog? Who doesn’t love at least one of those things? If you don’t, then I’m sorry, but we can’t be friends.
Tom’s Turner, a small town cop ready to move on to bigger and better, but first he’s got one last case to solve. The first big case he’s seen in his career in this sleepy Cali community revolves around the murder of a man down by the docks, leaving his giant pooch Hooch orphaned. Hooch is a witness after all (dogs can do anything!) so Turner takes in the large unruly mutt and all his life and plans are turned upside down.
It’s your typical light murder mystery comedy (you know that genre, yeah? That’s a thing?) but Turner and Hooch are what differentiate Turner & Hooch as a film. Hanks is all charisma (duh) and just a joy to watch. And Hooch is a giant puppy, of course he’s the heart of this film. I’ve said multiple times that I don’t mind so much being separated from human interaction these past few weeks, but what I do miss is all the doggos in the office that I’d see every day. Hooch scratched that itch for me just enough for just a moment. Yes I know, I have two cats that I love dearly, but they’re not dogs.
For those two hours, I felt about as good as I had in the past few days, certainly that entire weekend. A good movie will do that. Especially if that good movie has Tom Hanks. And a giant dog