Every year, the Alcohollywood podcast takes the week before Christmas to celebrate the life and works of Sir Harry Connick Jr. – actor, musician, Renaissance Man.
Harry Connickuh, listeners! For this episode, we take our appreciation for Harry Connick Jr. all the way to the beginning – his breakout film debut in the 1990 WWII drama Memphis Belle. Connick joins a cavalcade of other young 90s stars (Matthew Modine, Sean Astin, Tate Donovan, Eric Stoltz, Billy Zane and more) as the crew of a B-17 bomber on its last mission before ending its tour of duty.
While director Michael Caton-Jones (Asher) does an admirable job replicating the oo-rah spirit of old WWII pro-US propaganda films, that’s also what keeps Memphis Belle from really taking off. It’s hard to make a movie all that compelling when you have to keep track of ten similar-looking white dudes with one personality trait, all working as a unit to accomplish a pretty tension-free mission. The claustrophobic action, which mostly takes place inside the cramped bomber of the title, is novel, but it all gets dull after a while. Still, Connick’s his laconic, charming self as always, and he even gets a couple songs to sing!
Check out our thoughts on this WWII homage, along with our custom drinking game for the film, here.
(Thanks to our sponsor Jackbox Games as part of the Chicago Podcast Coop!)
DRINKING RULES FOR MEMPHIS BELLE:
- Any time you see prominent objects of sentimental value lost or traded (rubber bands, four-leaf clovers, etc.)
- Every time one of the men harps on their one character trait (Clay’s musical ability, Virgil’s virginity)
- The “What now?” rule – anytime a new setback befalls them in the plane, no matter how small
FINISH YOUR DRINK WHEN:
Matthew Modine’s character says to his men, “We’ve done our part for Uncle Sam. Now we’re flying for ourselves.”
Join us next week as we celebrate the holidays with our Christmas special, title TBD!
