What's Up Doc?

I think I found my movie soulmate...I'm in love!

This post will be a short but sweet one, I just had to get my thoughts out about what might be my new favorite movie.

Last night I had the immense pleasure of watching the movie “What’s Up Doc?” for the first time. Before yesterday I don’t think I had heard of or seen anything about this movie, at least not in any way that made it stick in my brain. If anyone in my life has seen it and has been holding out on telling me about it, how could you do that to me?! I think, and I am not exaggerating, that watching “What’s up Doc?” was one of the best movie experiences I have ever had in my whole life.

My enjoyment of a movie experience depends on several things: The environment, the snacks that I am munching on, the people that I am with, and the weather outside (there are levels to this), and yesterday I wouldn’t say my situation was perfect in any of those categories, but it didn’t matter.

I started off the evening by texting my friend and asking if she still had a Criterion Channel subscription so I could watch this French film from 1986 called “Golden Eighties”. I was excited about the aesthetics that I was gathering from the trailer and the fact that it was French, so I could add another notch to my mildly pretentious foreign films belt. Once I started watching it I was SHOCKED to find out that it was a musical??? On top of the musical aspect, there was a lot of eye contact with the camera in the first five minutes from this one actress, and I was just not in the mood to be perceived by a French woman with a crazy crazy perm (no offense queen). I promptly stopped watching that and went back to the drawing board.

I saw that the Criterion app had created a playlist of John Waters movies, so I decided to take a peek in there. You know that something freaky and fun will be in there, considering he wrote and directed the incredible 1988 movie “Hairspray” which I am truly a massive fan of. While scrolling through this playlist I saw the movie “Cry Baby” with Johnny Depp, which has been on my watchlist since I was in High School. I remember adding this to my list because I would re-post a lot of gifs of Depp in that movie on my Tumblr when I was 15. Exposing myself…but come on! He looked great as a 1950s greaser. Anyway, I saw this and I realized that tonight was the night to check this one off of my list. I don’t have much to say about Cry Baby other than I was also shocked to find out that it would be a musical (why I would be shocked about this) and that it was entertaining. Enough about that though, let’s get to the real meat and potatoes...

I checked the time after that movie ended and it was only 9 pm, so I decided lets be CRAZY and watch another one!! I somehow stumbled upon “What’s Up Doc?” and after seeing that Barbara Streisand was the main gal I was SO IN. I have recently been listening to her audiobook, and I am becoming such a huge fan of hers. I know I am a little late to hop on the Streisand train, but better late than never y’all come on!! She also narrates her audiobook and I think hearing her voice explain these crazy scenarios that she has been in throughout her life makes it 10x better. Anywho, seeing 1970’s Barbara made me immediately click play, I didn’t even watch the trailer.

First of all, TECHNICOLOR BABY. Holy cow do I love a technicolor movie. I wish that I was around when movies first started coming out in technicolor (Okay, how many times can Ayden say technicolor challenge). The colors were so saturated and vibrant and beautiful and the decor was so late 60s and early 70s I was seriously eating it UP. I don’t mind a black-and-white movie at all, but since I love those eras of decor so much it’s nice to see it in full color.

I also have a deep deep love for the intro credit sequences in old movies, and this one did not disappoint. We see a hand, which I can only assume belongs to Barbara, flipping through a book that lists everyone involved in the making of the film.

I did my research, because I loved the font that they used, and I found a similar font called “Screwball”. To me, It kind of reminds me of The Flinstones. They didn’t use this font in The Flinstones, but it makes me think of them I don’t know what else to say, guys. That’s my truth.

I found out that the titles in the book at the beginning of “What’s Up Doc” were hand-lettered, so the Screwball font was made to look as similar to that as possible. AH, I love design I love creative brains I love what humans can do. So cool.

Anyway,

Not only did I love the set design, but I became utterly obsessed with this plaid overnight case that was the main focus of the movie. Here is said plaid bag with adorable Barbara in her very cute hat and top.

I have become a plaid loverrr in the last couple of years and I so desperately want to find a luggage set that has a nice leather and plaid combo like this one. I did a quick google search and could not find anything similar, they just don’t make ‘em like they used to do they? Grrr.

This movie made me smile and laugh more than any movie that I have watched recently which obviously was a big plus for me. I do wish that I watched it with friends so I could share the joy that it brought me, but maybe it’s best that I had this moment for myself. I am going to add some of my favorite stills from the movie so you can see but you really MUST watch it if you haven’t yet. I promise it will be such a fun fun fun time :)