I will be posting a series of these "knitting movies," at least until the weather turns warm enough that my urge to knit fades. I'm working on a pair of cabled gloves for myself right now and have been taking full advantage of Netflix's Instant Watch feature. The best knitting movies are those that don't require full attention; therefore, they must be movies I've seen before or movies that are mildly entertaining without being too novel or interesting. Movies that are too good are disqualified because I will get distracted and make knitting errors. For example, during Persepolis, I stopped knitting my sock entirely and half the stitches slipped off the needles. It was a knitting disaster. For this series of movies, there will be no rating system, because the metrics for a good movie don't quite apply. Onward!
These were movies I watched while knitting a pair of blue socks:
mannequin: i remembered really liking this movie when i was young so i thought it would be the perfect knitting movie. sadly, the passage of 20 years had rendered this movie completely unwatchable. i plowed determinedly through a good portion of it bc tortoise was encouraging me to (awesome movie!! says he) but i could not take it through to the end. if it's too awful to be a good knitting movie, it is too awful period. end of story.
enchanted: this was a ridiculous movie featuring a very squealy heroine. i don't remember a whole lot about this movie aside from the fact that a high pitched voice appeared to be a prerequisite for princesses. oh there was one really funny dance and song number in central park. i enjoyed that part. i probably would have enjoyed this more 20 years ago. that said, i did make it all the way through the movie.
you've got mail: i think this might be classified as an ideal knitting movie. you've got meg ryan who is adorable and a very simple and absurd love story. after watching this movie i caught on that romantic comedies may really be the way to go here. my knitting was perfect and i was adequately entertained.
four weddings and a funeral: i started watching this but it was kind of a snoozefest. maybe it was because my laptop speakers weren't loud enough or something but i really couldn't get into it. and normally i find hugh grant so charming. oh well.
These are movies I've been watching while knitting cabled gloves:
penelope: this was another wonderful knitting movie. you've got a bit of a fairy tale thing going, a accepting yourself for you are thing going, and a budding romance with a guy who looks like he sleeps in the sewers by day and does crack cocaine by night. i like christina ricci in general, with or without a pig nose. this was a girly and fluffy movie.
an ideal husband: i watched a streak of period pieces and this was one of them. during high school i went through an oscar wilde phase so when this movie came out, i was wilde (haha!) to see it. it was entertaining then and was entertaining now. everyone was great except minnie driver. she just didn't seem to quite fit.
emma: all girls like jane austen and i am no exception. while i've read pride and prejudice exactly one million times, i've only read emma once or twice. i have seen clueless several times however and so i am quite familiar with the story. gwyneth paltrow was pretty perfect as emma and this was another great knitting movie. she's so good to look at. when i watch a movie, i pretty much only want to watch good looking people. if i wanted to watch ugly people i would take a walk. and this brings me to the next movie...
persuasion: this was a complete disappointment. it was so extremely disappointing because after pride and prejudice, persuasion is my favorite jane austen book. i realize that anne was supposed to have lost her looks when the book/movie starts, but she does go through a second bloom and if you cast a stolid matronly looking actress as anne, no one is going to believe that anyone can ever fall for her, no matter how refined her mind. especially if this actress only has one expression: scared stiff. bah! it was so annoying. i watched the entire movie but was irritated the whole time. i had always imagined anne as a waif of a thing, too pale with delicate features. this woman was quite solid. her face did not seem sensitive enough; it was just wide wide wide eyed. bug eyed. and you couldn't tell at all that anne was especially intelligent and feeling. i hope they remake this soon.
I have quite a few more movies to post, both of the knitting variety and the non-knitting variety, but it is getting late so it is time for sleeps!
