Cinema Lounge, a film discussion group, takes place at 7:00 PM at Barnes and Noble, 555 12th St., NW in Washington, DC (near the Metro Center Metro stop). You do not need to be a member of the Washington DC Film Society to attend.

Cinema Lounge is moderated by Daniel R. Vovak.

Cookie-cutter formulas in film

On July 14, 2008, we discussed "Cookie-cutter formulas in films." Immediately someone offered a few examples: 1) a family-friendly film with a dog, 2) a mismatched couple, and 3) an action film with a loose-cannon character and a conservative.

A League of the their Own (1992) had a cookie-cutter formula, but with a tweaked ending. Halloween III (1982) changed its formula by using masks, which led to it bombing at the box office. James Bond: Casino Royale (2006) changed the formula by making James Bond a victim. A frequently used cookie-cutter set is the New York background at Universal Studios, seen in many movies.

Some movies mock the cookie-cutter formula. Hancock (2008) was an anti-cookie-cutter film, perhaps making a new cookie-cutter mold. In Matrix 3: The Matrix Revolutions (2003), there is a scene where the kids carry ammunition cans. There was a small debate about whether or not Brokeback Mountain (2005) broke the western mold. One person answered that the movie was not a western at all, but a love story.

Someone added his enjoyment of Baltimore Sun movie critic Stephen Hunter, noting his humoristic style with the adage: "the blind guy fights the one-armed man." Another person added that movies with toys is a cookie-cutter formula, especially in the 80s. Transformers (2007) and WALL-E (2008) also used toys from the 80s.

There was a widely held belief that the Iraq War movies are not selling tickets because they are not fitting them into a call-back formula that existed with other wars. Lions for Lambs (2007) was missing a third act. Another obvious movie logic is "who wants to watch a film about an unpopular war?"

A generic term for a cookie-cutter film is a "one's-a." For instance, "one's-a this or one's-a that." Deep Blue Sea (1999) is one with a Black cook who kisses a cross. Executive Decision (1996) is one when the main character dies. However, there is a resistance to teen movies when the teens are played by people in their twenties, without acne, and not nervous about their futures.

Later, there were comments about actors who have broken the cookie-cutter role. Leslie Nielsen has a career of breaking all the rules. William Shatner makes fun of himself. Phillip Seymour Hoffman does not look like a movie star. Michael Caine and Gene Hackman are great actors because they elevate every movie they are in.

A number of movies used an anti-cookie-cutter formula, like Deliverance (1972), The Unforgiven (1960), Pulp Fiction (1994), Airplane (1980), Kentucky Fried Movie (1977), Star Wars: A New Hope (1977), and Usual Suspects (1995).