Guest Blogger Ethan Linden Discusses Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Below is a contribution from guest blogger Ethan Linden to our continuing series in which I asked several of my close friends and colleagues to name their Favorite Movie of All Time.
This is the type of assignment I would normally reject. Not writing for Josh’s blog, which I am honored to do, despite his somewhat upsetting regard for the finale of Battlestar Galactica. As a matter of policy, I refuse to state my favorite movie. People in my life know I watch a lot of movies (or at least I did until I had, you know, children) and they consider me a bit of a movie buff, so often I am asked to give my top ten, or top five favorite movies. I always politely decline, because really, what the hell does that mean?
I can recite pretty much all of This is Spinal Tap (“like lukewarm water”) but, given the right company, it’s still hysterical. I laugh every time I see Airplane! (“what a pisser” is just funny) and no matter how often I see Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, I can’t help wishing I lived his life, even now. Are these my favorite movies? How about a movie like this summer’s sadly under-seen The Hurt Locker, which has stayed with me with incredible vividness? Or, in a similar vein, a film like The Deer Hunter which gets more painful, and more powerful, as I get older? And don’t even get me started on The Godfather and The Godfather Part II (or the The Godfather Part III for that matter, though the speech is decidedly different). The list goes on and on, and it shifts as I shift, which is, I suppose, part of the power of movies.
But I have come to see that my unwillingness to pick a favorite as a sort of moral cowardice; it is, at its base, a deep hesitation to be judged on the basis of my choice. If I am unwilling to declare myself for one movie over all others, than what am I? If I am not for my movie, who will be for me?
My favorite movie is Who Framed Roger Rabbit?. Partly, this is a choice defined by nostalgia. The movie came out in 1988; I was eleven years old, and it was right in my wheelhouse. It is the first movie I remember going to see multiple times in the movie theaters, using my own money, dragging friends and family members, or homeless people, anyone really, who would join me. I loved Roger Rabbit, I thought it was brilliant and funny and poignant (though I would not have used that word) and I thought Jessica Rabbit was, well, impressive.
I find I still feel that way, about all of it. Sure, some of the gags seem a bit broad to me now (“nice booby trap” to Jessica after one of the weasels goes searching for Acme’s will in the wrong place and gets a nasty-looking set of jaws on his hand) and some of the moments I loved as a kid are a bit more obvious than I thought as an eleven year old (really, a guy named Judge Doom turns out to be the bad guy!) but there is greater depth with age as well. There is something melancholy about the movie, even with all the cartoon fireworks. Toontown survives Doom’s attempt to dip it out of existence, but the reality of being an adult is the knowledge that there is no Toontown. You don’t need dip, just maturity. Indeed, even Doom’s master plan, the one Eddie Valiant labels as “insane” is, of course, precisely what transpires in our real world. There is a freeway, and there are miles of fast food restaurants, automobile dealerships, and billboards stretching as far as the eye can see. “My God,” Doom says, in a rapture, “It will be beautiful.” He’s right about the future, but wrong about the beauty. In the end, there is no saving Toontown.
That’s not to say the movie isn’t funny. It’s still funny. Valiant falling through the sky while chatting with Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny is a great moment. Mickey’s silly laugh at the end of his line “You could be killed” is brilliant comedy. The classic Donald Duck and Daffy Duck routine at the Ink and Paint Club stands the test of time. (Daffy: “Does anyone understand what this duck is saying?”) I am happy also to report that it’s still funny when Roger slips out of the handcuffs he and Eddie have been sharing. (Eddie: “You mean you could have gotten out at any time?” Roger: “No, not at any time, only when it was funny.” It was.)
I also surprised myself by laughing at the opening Maroon cartoon with Roger and Baby Herman. As an eleven year old, I am pretty sure I found the whole thing hysterical because it was funny to see Roger set on fire, banged on the head, cooked, and generally pulverized. As an adult, I laughed because the opening cartoon is a clever satire on cartoon violence, and the outrageous over-the-topness of the whole proceeding is now funny to me in a whole different way. And then there are moments I’m pretty sure I didn’t really get as a kid, and are so funny now I can’t believe the filmmakers got away with them. Anyone up for a nice clean game of pattycake?
In watching the movie as an adult, I can also appreciate the craftsmanship of the pieces that comprise the final product. Robert Zemeckis absolutely works wonders with the film, and the fact is that it still looks great over twenty years later. The basic conceit, Toons living and interacting in the human world, still holds up, even after all the advances in effects creation. Watching Jessica take Eddie’s hat off, or Baby Herman chomp on a stogie, you still have to buy it. It’s magic. Bob Hoskins is terrific, especially given that he acted all by himself in scene after scene; you’d never know it. Christopher Lloyd is like an evil Doc Brown, and you love him for it. The voice work is similarly outstanding, giving depth and character to the Toons. Charles Fleischer gave voice to both Roger Rabbit and Benny the Cab, and both are funny without being obnoxious. Even the score, which I barely noticed as a kid, is beautifully done. Finally, you even have to give a nod to the business end: how in the world did they get the rights to all those classic cartoons? Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is a stupendously well-made film. At eleven, I just knew it was great. At thirty-two, I know how hard it is make something great, and I appreciate the effort all the more.
Who Framed Roger Rabbit? is indelibly a movie of my childhood, and I will always love it for that. But it is also a truly great piece of filmmaking. It deserves a place in pantheon of must-watch movies for the next generation. And even if it never gets a place in those hallowed halls, it’s still my favorite movie. And that’s pretty good too.
Rabbi Ethan Linden served as the Assistant Director of Camp Ramah in New England before moving down to New Orleans to become the Rabbi of Shir Chadash. A tally of the number of hours that he and I have discussed Battlestar Galactica would be hard to fathom.
The series so far:
Hoosiers, The Frisco Kid, & Casablanca
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