Thank You Busby Berkeley

I watched Reservoir Dogs for the first time about a month ago. I’m kind of slow on these things sometimes. I have to make a real sick confession. My favorite scene in that movie is when Mr. Blond does that funky little dance to “Stuck in the Middle With You” while torturing the cop. I asked my friend whether this makes me a sick fuck, and he pretty much said 10-4. It’s just that I have a soft spot for funky music and dance.

In a similarly sick movie, American Psycho, the main character, who is a serial killer, puts on “It’s Hip To Be Square” by Huey Lewis and the News. He does this funky little movement while doing a crazy funky monologue about the history of Huey Lewis and the News. It was pretty funky. And then, if memory serves me correctly, he hacks the guy to death with an ax.

It looks like I am on a sick little trend here, so maybe Godard can come to the rescue. I have kind of turned into a Godard fiend as of late. Two of my favorite movies by him have cool little dance scenes. I love the cool scene from My Life To Live where Anna Karina does a fabulous funky little dance in order to get the attention of the men in the room. The best is from Band of Outsiders, where they do a dance called the Madison. Even cooler is the narrator’s monologue:

Now is the time for a digression in which to describe our heroes’ feelings. Arthur keeps watching his feet, but his mind is on Odile’s mouth and her romantic kisses. Odile is wondering if the boys notice her breasts moving under her sweater. Franz thinks of everything and nothing. He wonders is the world is becoming a dream or if the dream is becoming the world.

There are many more dance numbers and musical scenes that I love. Pretty much anything by Mel Brooks lands on the list, but I digress. I wonder why I love the scenes so much. Is it because I got introduced to the performing arts by seeing Broadway Musicals? Do I have a soft spot for sick or campy musical scenes because that’s what I have trained myself to do? Or, are these scenes just that good. It’s the million dollar question. I think it's all Busby Berkeley's fault.