The Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures Bracket -- Round 5
My friends, we’ve done it. We’ve made it to the Final Four of the Touchstone/Hollywood Pictures bracket, and that’s thanks to passionate and dedicated voters like you.
We are left with just four films (all, I should note, from Touchstone Pictures), and two matchups. Which films of these four would I send to the Top Two? Let me tell you.
(2) Who Framed Roger Rabbit vs. (6) High Fidelity: First of all, I should emphasize something that may already be clear: this Final Four is lightyears away from the Final Four I would’ve selected. (And just to be clear, this isn’t the “Final Four is lightyears” the bracket. Ahem.) Anyway, the reason I say that is because at the very least, I had hoped The Royal Tenenbaums would’ve topped Roger Rabbit. I adore both films. I do. But The Royal Tenenbaums hits me emotionally in ways that Roger Rabbit doesn’t.
So now we have an interesting scenario, where I am torn: on one hand, I really don’t want Who Framed Roger Rabbit to win this bracket, and on the other hand…I don’t particularly want to give this one to High Fidelity. I like the film well enough, but the way that Rob and friends are presented has curdled to me over time. Rob’s not an out-and-out hero to start, but some of the nastiness of the character just rubs me the wrong way, in ways I don’t quite think are intentional. (The scene where he abandons Lili Taylor’s character is just…rough. And if I’m meant to think it’s rough, I struggle with seeing that same protagonist wind up with his girlfriend again in the finale.)
Anyway. It’s a tough one. But I stick with Roger Rabbit for this one. (Real talk: if Romy and Michele had made it this far, I would’ve selected it instead of the Toontown story.)
(4) Rushmore vs. (2) O Brother, Where Art Thou?: This is a bit tougher for me, because I enjoy both of these movies, adore the filmmakers who made them, but I also wouldn’t call these my favorites of either Wes Anderson or the Coens. I just rewatched O Brother for a piece I’m writing on George Clooney, and I had almost forgotten how goofily charming he is in a film that takes delight at mocking him for the vanity that made him a star.
Rushmore has a much different sensibility, and is itself funny and intelligent and wise beyond its years. It’s a close one, but I’m sticking with the bona fide Dapper Dan man. Just barely.