Movie Name Dropper
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, Rocky Balboa had A Beautiful Mind and All the Right Moves but, sadly for him, Love Actually was Lost In Translation. And while a Modern Romance with all The Rapture and the Ecstasy could've helped The Fighter in The Pursuit of Happyness he wasn't The 40-Year-Old-Virgin either. More like The Player. He surfed The Social Network, was seen Hooking Up with Date Night regulars, enjoyed a standing Breakfast at Tiffany's with Jackie Brown, Dangerous Liaisons with Norma Rae and his share of Boogie Nights with Swingers who were Wild at Heart seemngly Always ending with him Home Alone, Dazed and Confused, Eyes Wide Shut, The Hangover a Memento of The Good, The Bad and the Ugly.
Like the Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, though, Rocky was The Shining optimist, always Showing Up for his Friends With Benefits. One Groundhog Day, during The Ice Storm, a Taxi Driver was Driving Miss Daisy to Atlantic City when The Car slid Sideways, the Crash resulting in a trip to The Hospital with Dr. Zhivago applying Seven stitches to her Head. The Pugilist made a quick Arrival, a result of The Fast and the Furious, Catch Me If You Can serious Speed in Traffic mentality he Possessed. Armed with The Purple Rose of Cairo, Chocolat and a Smile he cheered her Up and took her Home. "He was always Someone to Watch Over Me", the Pretty Woman proclaimed.
Terms of Endearment regarding The Boxer were Everywhere: "An American Beauty in a Field of Dreams," said Annie Hall. "True Grit meets Dirty Harry", quipped Barton Fink. "One of A Few Good Men", chimed in Billy Madison. "A Giant... should be on Mount Rushmore", came The Verdict from Michael Clayton. Barbarella, The Accidental Tourist, mused, "He was my Lifeboat in The Perfect Storm." "The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is Simply Irresistible to behold", gushed Jojo Rabbit while both Fannie and Alexander labeled him "The Man Who Fell to Earth to save The Remains of the Day".
I spoke ruefully of The Champ at the Diner during My Dinner With Andre, an old Blade Runner I'd met in Casablanca who surprisingly ordered Eggs, Sunny Side Up, the mood being Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs if the Waitress could get the Chef to go off The Menu. "Being There to help in Romancing the Stone cold Rambo was my Mission Impossible", I said, The Importance of Being Earnest, not Lost on my friend. He was one of A Few Good Men I could Trust to Stand By Me in an Advise and Consent capacity. He would Analyze This and Analyze That, always there to Help; a real Street Smart guy. The Graduate of The School of Rock solid Sense and Sensibility. Nobody's Fool. "The Miracle Worker, you're not", he surmised.
Still awaiting the Meatballs, The Hunger Games continued. In my Line of Sight I Caught a man Stealing Beauty tips from Two Women seated with him. Their backs to The Kitchen and The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover were at a Table For Three eating Fried Green Tomatoes and drinking a Pineapple Express, Knives Out, Waiting for Guffman as Andre continued. "When I got Out of Africa I knew The Age of Innocence was Gone for me. I was Lost in America, Without a Trace of a Girl, Interrupted by Everything Everywhere All At Once, constantly searching for My Own True Love. Just Waiting... Waiting to Exhale. Finally, I realized A Little Romance, while Sometimes a Great Notion, wasn't guaranteed. Being Addicted to Love had to stop so I opted to Do The Right Thing and finally Breathe. Crazy, Stupid Love, sometimes it's best to just Let It Be."... Yeah, only I couldn't. "Nope", I replied.
Back to the Future, I got The Game Plan underway in the form of a Surprise Party; a Birthday bash for the Champion with Love, Guaranteed even if Against All Odds. The Sound of Music from The Blues Brothers was Up in the Air as My Cousin Vinny greeted Me, Myself & Irene. The Usual Suspects, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid along with Melvin and Howard, all Goodfellas, were Hangin' with the Homeboys, one of 'em Being John Malkovich while Uncle Buck and Bull Durham chatted up Tootsie and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Hannah and Her Sisters, all Beautiful Girls met with Hope and Glory at the bar. Luckily, it was Ferris Bueller's Day Off so he was an Eyewitness to the Guest of Honour arriving in his Gran Torino, greeting the Men in Black and The Woman in Red. My Neighbors, Ordinary People, introduced themselves, "Hi, We're The Millers."
It was gonna be A Hard Day's Night but I was determined to find The Right Girl for the Iron Man. Mary Poppins, always Little Miss Sunshine, couldn't Snatch his interest. Thelma & Louise, two Uncut Gems, didn't make The Final Cut. Turns out he wasn't Chasing Amy or Desperately Seeking Susan and all about Forgetting Sarah Marshall. He discovered Nurse Betty had no Saving Grace or Bedside Manner and Julie & Julia to be Dumb and Dumber. There's Something About Mary that put him off and neither Erin Brockovich nor G.I. Jane had The Right Stuff. The Kiss of the Spider Woman failed to leave him Breathless and he didn't have to be Sherlock Holmes to see both Sybil and Mrs. Doubtfire had serious Multiplicity problems. Despicable Me, it wouldn't take Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri or CNN to Broadcast News for all to realize I didn't Stand and Deliver on The Promise of The Perfect Match.
I found Solitude in A Room with a View overlooking The Party, completely Down and Out in Beverly Hills over my Failure to Launch the ultimate romantic Rendezvous, the Flirting With Disaster having ended in Misery. And then, suddenly, Without Warning... Magic. I watched through the Rear Window just as The Champ caught the Eyes of Laura Mars. It was like a Spotlight went on, the two seemingly in a Trance, Lost in Space, Clueless to the onlookers, unable to Say Anything At First Sight. Finally, The Prizefighter and the Lady drew near, their Body Heat palpable. I continued to Witness the scene At Close Range as The Conversation ensued. The Happening was Something Wild. Redemption was finally mine. And just like that I was Walking on Air, my Fear quickly Gone with the Wind... Ahh... It's a Wonderful Life!