Every once in a while, there’s a scene in a movie that’s just perfect. The lines are right, the actors are playing the part right, and the cinematography and music (or maybe the lack there of) put it in just the right life. These are the scenes in movies that I want to watch over and over again:
1o. This one will seem random, but I really like the scene in the second Pirates of the Caribbean between Lord Beckett and Elizabeth, and Beckett admits that currency, not loyalty, is the new currency of the empire. The dialogue is witty, intriguing, and the whole scene is fraught with tension.
9. In Mona Lisa Smile, when Julia Roberts’s character confronts Julia Styles’s, helping her to realize that maybe it’s not selling out if a woman chooses a family over a career.
8. In the first Pirates of the Caribbean, when Will sees Jack and asks him where Elizabeth is. I LOVE Jack’s reply, “She’s safe, just like I promised. She’s all set to marry Norrington, just like she promised. And you get to die for her, just like you promised. So we’re all men of our word, really. Except Elizabeth, who is in fact, a woman.” Yes, I’m a dork.
7. The Pop! “music video” in Music and Lyrics. SO cheesy…but that just makes it better.
6. In 10 Things I Hate about You when Kat is reading her version of Shakespeare’s sonnet listening all the things she hates about Patrick which is topped by the fact that she doesn’t hate him. I’ve so been there.
5. Ocean’s 11‘s exes in the restaurant scene (the one I quote here). Julia Roberts and George Clooney are a couple of my favorites to watch on screen, but their verbal sparing in this scene is top notch, even for them. When I watch the movie (which I do fairly frequently), I have to watch that scene a couple of times in a row.
4. Mr. Collins’s introductory scene in the latest Pride and Prejudice. Between only half his head being seen at our first glimpse at him (emphasizing he’s a half-wit) to his overdone compliments throughout the scene, I think that this scene is more entertaining to watch than it was to read in the original done by Austen herself. (Tom Hollander who plays Mr. Collins, also plays Beckett in the last two Pirates movies, so he actually makes this list twice.)
3. When Libby talks to Bailey for the first time after she finds out that the girl has cancer in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants. I think it’s a mix of the look on Tibby’s face (brutally perfect!) and the straightforwardness of Bailey’s lines.
2. In Mansfield Park, When Fanny is reading Edmund’s letter, and he professes that Mary, not she, is “the only woman he could think of as a wife.” Not exactly the thing you want the man you love to say, is it? The scene is all the more perfect when Fanny seeks comfort in Henry’s arms.
1. Enchanted‘s “So Close” scene, the one at the end where Giselle and Robert are dancing. The music, the lyrics, the whispered singing in the ear, the looks on their faces…ahh.
So what about you?
My favorite is every scene from Wedding Crashers
oh my goodness, I loved reading this post and remembering those lines. I love the Mona Lisa part too, Family first, wow what a strange concept!
OHHHHH… I LOVE that scene in Enchanted… when he starts singing to her & the look on her face… I actually teared up the first time I saw that!!!!
Well, this leads me to believe I need to see more movies.
Ooh… I will have to think this over – there are so many!
The kids I had were age 18 months to 3 years. They did better if they were wiht their parents until they knew me. I can see how the older ones would know better.
So I hate to pick this but the scene in the rain in the Notebook “It wasn’t over, it still isn’t over.” One of the favorites that I would pick.
I just found you on SITS. I like your blog so far, so I’m going to follow it, so don’t be alarmed if I comment again :)
I LOVE the music video on Music & Lyrics. LOL Too funny!
I like the scene in Bridget Jones where Mark Darcy tells Bridget he likes her, just the way she is.
And
Legends of the Fall (one of my top 5 FAVE movies) when Tristan comes back for the last time, finds out his brother married Susannah, goes to see her and she says to him “forever turned out to be too long.”
Clearly I don’t watch enough movies! Out of your list, I’ve only seen Pride & Predjudice. And I agree wholeheartedly with your assessment of that scene with Mr. Collins – his overdone compliments, it’s just so PAINFUL to listen to – then Elizabeth’s quip sends it all over the top!!! Love love love it!
I also agree with Miriam… and Aubry about the Bridget Jones scene.
Now I know this isn’t the sort of scene you’re talking about – but I rewind the scene in Bridget Jones II – where Firth and Grant are fighting the fountain!! Best fight scene EVER! What sissies – it’s hilarious.
Love Pride and Prejudice – and Enchanted! The final scene of Slumdog Millionaire is a bit cheesy, but priceless, after all the heartache the characters have gone through.
Jessica: Never seen it, but the guys I work with talk about it a lot.
Rebecca Jo: Would it be bad to admit I tear up EVERY time I see it?
Caution: Ditto that for me. All these are relatively recent!
Miriam: I hope this won’t put you off, but I REALLY don’t like the Notebook. Way too cheesy in my books!
Aubrey: I haven’t seen either of those, either.
Lady Fi: I’ve been wanting to see Slumdog Millionaire for a while!
Wow, I have not seen one movie in your list Ronnica! At this very moment we’re watching a movie – “Jonah – a Veggie Tales Movie”. Jonah’s in the belly of the fish and a heavenly choir is singing about God being the God of Second Chances. The last movie I saw in a theater was Horton Hears a Who. Oh my.
My two favorite movies of all time are Father of the Bride I and II. My favorite scene is in the first movie, when George (Steve Martin) and his daughter are out in the driving shooting baskets the night before her wedding. A very special father-daughter moment.
I must be a dork, too. I really liked scene #8.
I just rewatched Enchanted this weekend. I must admit that I’m a fan of the music…though probably for different reasons than you have. And I know your obsession with Pirates (since I shared it with you back during junior year when we drove poor Brooke crazy). And who could forget the Oceans’ movies? I’m also not surprised that Jane Austen made it on your top 10.
I love 10. 8 has never failed to have me laughing out loud, so I’m right there with you.
I don’t see how you can have a list of great movie moments without hitting on “The Princess Bride,” though. The swordfight between Westley and Inigo, for example (perhaps most especially, “There’s something I need to tell you.” “What’s that?” “I’m not left-handed, either!”)
Ah, well …
How about the scene in You Got Mail when Kathleen learns that her online friend is Joe. He walks around the corner and she has a look of shock, confusion and submission and the tears start rolling. Joe comes to her and says, “Don’t cry, ShopGirl” and she says, “I hoped it was you.”
Too neat!