Monday: Sense and Sensibility
Forget about Bridget Jones’s Diary or Love, Actually (but just for a minute!). This 1995 Ang Lee film is about as satisfying a romantic film as you are going to get, compliments of Jane Austen (natch). There’s the always-fabulous Emma Thompson (who wrote the screenplay) as poor good-girl Elinor Dashwood, the sensible sister as opposed to Kate Winslet’s tempestuous loves-to-walk-even-when-it’s-raining Marianne. Hugh Grant is the stuttering swoopy-haired Edward Ferrars! Tom Wilkinson is the dad! Alan Rickman loves Kate Winslet but she loves the feckless John Willoughby (played by Greg Wise, who in real life has babies with Emma Thompson). We’re telling you this one has it all—including an excellent but far-too-small role by our would-be husband Hugh Laurie as the grouchy (typecasting!) Mr. Palmer. Swoon city. [HBO2, 2:00 p.m.]
Tuesday: Broadcast News
This will movie will make you laugh and break your heart. Albert Brooks, William Hurt and Holly Hunter star in this 1987 classic from James L. Brooks. You think it’s nuts now with Maddow and O’Reilly and that crazy big-headed Keith Olbermann? Check out the wacky network news crowd, where Mr. Brooks is the hilarious sweaty-mess smart reporter who just can’t compete with William Hurt’s pretty boy, cry-on-camera WASP-y appeal. Also, look for Jack Nicholson in an unbilled cameo as the big cheese network news anchor. Can you imagine a world where Jack Nicholson is your local news anchor? No offense to Pat Kiernan, but that is a wonderful world indeed. [AMC, 4:30 a.m.]
Wednesday: Make Me a Supermodel
We can’t lie: We’re a little bit sad that this is the last episode of Make Me a Supermodel. Somehow those evil geniuses over at Bravo came up with a way to make America’s Next Top Model even better, cattier and more fun without Tyra Banks. We’re down to the final three (though we miss you, big-bottomed Salome!): hot underwear-model-in-the-making Jonathan, sweet American blockhead Branden, and the former dancer Sandhurst. Who will win? And what on earth are we going to be reduced to watching when this is over? [Bravo, 10 p.m.]
Thursday: Young Guns
Gosh, remember those heady 1988 days when Young Guns had the all-star cast of man meat to make certain eighth-graders (ahem) go nutso? So you have Emilio Estevez (looking more Martin Sheen-y than ever before) as Billy the Kid, his real-life brother Charlie Sheen playing the mellow one (ha!), Lou Diamond Philips shoehorned into something kinda ethnic, Dermott Mulroney as someone else, and head-butting Kiefer Sutherland as the poet who falls in love with some Asian chick he calls China Doll … cause he loves her. Terrance Stamp is a good guy and Jack Palance is a bad guy and at one point they all get high and see things, and people die and maybe get hung and, according to IMDB, Tom Cruise plays an uncredited cowboy. Whatever, trust us: It’s amazing. Screw High School Musical, why don’t people make movies like this anymore? [Cinemax, 6 p.m.]
Friday: Close Encounters of the Third Kind
People often forget just how awesome this Steven Spielberg movie is. And sure, it came out in 1977, which was a rather crowded year considering how many other great movies came out (Annie Hall, Star Wars, Saturday Night Fever) but do not forget about this! For one thing, take a minute to think about the fact that Richard Dreyfuss was a movie star! Then think about how cool it is that Mr. Spielberg got Francois Trauffaut to appear in it, not to mention this movie has what must be the best cinematic use of mashed potatoes ever. Eat it, Cloverfield. [Bravo, 1 p.m.]
