'Marty'

Have you ever had a film where in the first five minutes you automatically loved a character? That's part of the charm with the 1955 Best Picture Oscar winner "Marty." Never in film have I wanted something good to happen to a character as much as I did with Marty.

I have several life moments concerning this film.

As part of this project I watched the film "Quiz Show" in which John Turturro's character is asked to intentionally miss a question as part of this TV game show. The question is what film won the Best Picture Oscar in 1955?

Turturro's character knew the answer but missed it anyway. So all through the movie Turturro attempts to get his spot back by arguing that he had seen "Marty" a number of times and it was impossible for him not to know the answer.

Also, in the 1990s I watched the sitcom "Single Guy," the Jonathan Silverman vehicle where Ernest Borgnine played the lovable doorman. Of course, then, I didn't know who Borgnine was or that he was an accomplished actor in Hollywood. Kinda just thought he was a bit actor in a not-so-bad sitcom. A shame.

What's most fascinating about this film is that it won the Best Picture Oscar in 1955. Not that it's not deserving, but could you imagine a romantic comedy winning or even being nominated nowadays? It's ridiculous to think as such.

I have a friend who's a movie buff and he doesn't watch or even consider the Oscars because it's not about the best film anymore ... it's about politics. You make a film about war or the Holocaust or some half-decent epic and you're sure to be considered. All the while, there's great films being made all the time that aren't considered high brow enough. Watching "Marty" you realize he may be right.