"1950"

Like the old saying goes, art imitates life. Before the women’s movement changed the landscape forever in the mid-late sixties, most Hollywood films limited women to playing “traditional” roles of housewife and mother.

Those who remember her only from those endless grocery store checkout line-stories on her health problems, fluctuating weight, friendship with Michael Jackson & Bubbles, or impressive eight marriages (she wed Richard Burton twice), pay attention. Today, we celebrate the film career of a legendary beauty, prodigious talent, and a big personality, Elizabeth Taylor.

It’s been called the oldest profession in the world: offering companionship and sexual favors for money. As movies reflect life, portrayals of prostitution are numerous.

No surprise then that so many movies feature couples tying the knot, for better or for worse. From acknowledged classics like “Gone with the Wind”(1939), “The Philadelphia Story” (1940), and “The Sound of Music” (1966), to more recent crowd pleasers like “Meet the Parents” (2000) and “Mamma Mia” (2008), a wedding always features in the plot.

Not surprisingly, people frequently ask me, “What’s your favorite movie?” It sounds like a reasonable question, but actually it’s maddening for the simple reason that there are so many fabulous movies that attain the same superior level of quality, but are wildly different. That said, if someone forced me to compile a “Top Ten” list, Billy Wilder’s “The Apartment” would definitely make the cut. While I’d watch it most anytime, it is for me the ultimate New Year’s Eve film.

This time of year, it’s wonderful to spend time with loved ones we don’t often get to see, both friends and family. This welcome scenario still involves an unusual amount of “interrelating,” since there’s always so much catching up to do. To get a respite from all that stimulating talk, nothing beats a great, crowd-pleasing movie.

The most famous quotes have become worn down with repetition: “Here’s looking at you, kid” from “Casablanca” (1942); “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” from “Gone With the Wind” (1939) and “Fasten your seatbelts, it’s going to be a bumpy night” from “All About Eve” (1950). Happily, there are plenty more delightful zingers to be found in dialogue from our best movies.