13 Films To Get To Know Steve Goldberg

Steve Goldberg from the terrific Substack, 'Earworms and Song Loops', swings by the Sheddio to share his bakers' dozen list of films.

Substacker Steve Goldberg of Earworms and Song Loops offers up thirteen films to offer up a window into his personality and tastes. You’ll find comedic horror, loads of dark comedy, inter dimensional romance, videotapes, and a slew of great dialogue.

Enjoy Steve’s list and be sure to check out his Substack today.

Cheers,
Matty C

---

While looking at my list of 13 films, I tried to find a common thread, a common quality. What popped out to me was that each, in its own way, is a romantic comedy. I know many might not be classically defined as romantic or even comedic, but I believe they all are, if perhaps darkly so. 

Up in Smoke is clearly a romance between Cheech and Chong. They meet cute, get high together, and go on wild adventures together. They form a band, fight, and forgive each other. Case closed. 

Evil Dead 2, the Sam Raimi comic horror sequel, I would say, is a romance between Ash and the Evil Dead, but maybe more, a relationship between Ash and his hand (if you’ve seen this, you know what I mean). 

I won’t argue every film on the list, but the only one I struggle to fit into my liberal definition is Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature, Sex, Lies and Videotape. Not the romantic part — the comedy part. But as I haven’t watched it in over a decade, I’m probably overlooking some comedic elements.  

Enjoy my picks, and let me know which romantic comedies (loosely defined) would make your list.

Annie Hall (1977)

“The universe is expanding.”

Yeah, Woody Allen’s skeevy personal life has rendered many of his films unrewatchable (Husbands and Wives and Manhattan in particular). But thankfully, the brilliant Annie Hall still hits all the right buttons for me. It’s probably the one film that has shaped me more than any other as a creative person with a heavy lean toward the neurotic. 

The film would not work without Diane Keaton, who is perfect. Every scene is. I would say it’s the film I quote from the most, but that would go to the last one on the list.

Before Sunrise (1995)

This is the film that kept me single for way longer than I wanted. I desperately desired a romance like the one Ethan Hawke (Jesse) and Julie Delpy (Celine) share on screen in the first of the “Before” trilogy of films from the great Richard Linklater. 

The film takes place over one night as Jesse and Celine wait for their connecting trains the next day. I can think of no film that captures the dynamics of young love, of falling in love, that excitement, better than Before Sunrise. Being close to the characters' ages, I loved getting to watch them age and grow in the subsequent films, Before Sunset and Before Midnight. Both could have made this list as well. 

Being John Malkovich (1999)

This is the first of two Charlie Kaufman-penned films on my list. Not only was Being John Malkovich Kaufman's first screenplay, but it was also Spike Jonze's directorial feature debut. To summarize the plot would take 1000 words and still not do it justice. Seriously, I’ve seen the movie a dozen times and was still confused after reading the synopsis on Wikipedia. The three main stars, John Cusack, Catherine Keene, and Cameron Diaz, have never been better. 

Being John Malkovich is a good test film for relationship compatibility. If someone doesn’t appreciate the creative spirit in this film and you do, they probably won’t “get you.” It should go without saying that my wife also loves the film.

Boogie Nights (1997)

I’ve already written about my love for P.T. Anderson’s follow-up to Boogie Nights (Magnolia, link here). But it was the Mark Wahlberg-starring lead-in that made me a true fanboy for the director. 

I grew up in the San Fernando Valley area of Southern California, where this movie takes place. And my very first “film” job I ever had (while taking film classes at Cal State Northridge before I transferred to UC Santa Cruz) was working the night shift as a VHS porn duplicator (in 1986). 

I’m not saying Boogie Nights felt like a documentary to me. But it did feel like I was watching something I’d never seen before. The blend of comedy with brutal violence. The way popular music was utilized. I can never listen to Night Ranger’s “Sister Christian” without imagining the insane apartment scene it plays over. 

Expect an earworm and song loops post on my porn-duplicating job soon!

Brazil (1985)

My mind was blown when I first saw Brazil as an 18-year-old suburban kid. It was dark, hilarious, brutal, inventive, confounding, surreal, and gorgeous. Directed by Terry Gilliam and starring Jonathan Pryce in his most lauded role to date, Brazil’s drab yet colorful dystopian worldview is still way ahead of its time.

I haven’t watched it in at least a decade, but I’m going to rectify that ASAP. They don’t make movies like this anymore (and if they do, please tell me which ones so I can go watch them). 

Cheech and Chong’s Up in Smoke (1977)

When Up in Smoke was released, Star Wars was all the rage. To avoid having to watch a film (again) that I didn’t care about, I decided to sneak into another theater that was screening the Cheech and Chong classic. I was eleven. 

It’s got an amazing supporting cast and a kick-ass soundtrack. Oh, and it was directed by legendary music producer Lou Adler.

I recently wrote about this on Earworms & Song Loops.

War - Low Rider

Defending Your Life (1991)

The romance between Albert Brooks and Meryl Streep in Defending Your Life is so sweet and genuine. You want them to be able to share eternity together so badly. Sweet and genuine are good adjectives to describe the whole film. But it’s never saccharine, all the emotions are earned. And it’s one of the funniest films of all time as well. 

Brooks plays Daniel, a middle-aged middle manager who dies in a car crash. While in purgatory, he gets a chance to ‘defend his life’ in a court-like body led by the amazing Rip Torn. 

I watch this one every year. It’s my version of It’s a Wonderful Life. 

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2002)

One of the most inventive, funny, tender, ridiculous, and heartbreaking films ever made. Very few films can leave me feeling giddy and inspired like this one. 

Take one part (director) Michel Gondry, a screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, add acting by Kate Winslet and Jim Carrey, with a sprinkling of supporting roles for Mark Ruffalo, Kirsten Dunst, Tom Wilkinson and Elijah Wood. Finish with a dollop of music from the great Jon Brion as a score. Stir and bake for 108 minutes.

Evil Dead 2 (1982)

Evil Dead is fine, but Evil Dead 2 is light-years better. Maybe the best movie sequel ever. (No, it’s not The Empire Strikes Back.) Directed by Sam Raimi, Bruce Campbell stars as Ash, who has a penchant for waking up the “evil dead,” or dating women who do.

Blending horror and comedy had been done before, but never with the combination of gore and glee that is on display in Evil Dead 2. When Ash has to fight his reanimated severed hand, and the hand flips him off…cinematic and comic genius.

Harold and Maude (1971)

I struggle to know what to say about Harold and Maude. It’s one of those films that never fails to break open my heart and demolish any vestiges of cynicism. A quick synopsis: a depressed young man who stages fake suicides and drives a hearse meets an old woman who lives life defying all rules and societal limitations.

With a fantastic Cat Stevens soundtrack. Starring Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon. Whenever life feels too overwhelming, I can count on Harold and Maude to help me reconnect with my deepest joy. 

Raising Arizona (1987)

I could have picked O Brother, Where Art Thou? as my Coen Brothers romantic comedy. But I’m going with the one film I can rewatch every month for the rest of my life and never get tired of it. Also, I love Nicolas Cage (I considered Bad Lieutenant: Port of Call New Orleans for this list), and this is one of his three best roles ever. 

Raising Arizona is like a Looney Tunes cartoon come to life. Cage’s H.I. and Holly Hunter’s Ed are one of my favorite on-screen couples of all time. Every time I watch this film I expect to like it a little less, to tire of the zaniness, but the opposite happens.

Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)

I remember seeing Steven Soderbergh’s debut feature as a college senior at UC Santa Cruz and walking out of the theater with my jaw dropped to the floor. The direction and script were sublime. The quartet of actors, Peter Gallagher, Annie MacDowell, Laura San Giacomo, and especially James Spader fully embodied their complex characters. 

I hadn’t seen a feature film tackle the subject of sex so directly and with such nuance and subtlety. I can still conjure the scene where Andie MacDowell’s Ann realizes that Spader’s Graham is masturbating to the videotapes she discovers. The way the glass of lemonade she holds in her hand is about to spill, the conflicting emotions that are clearly going through her head and across her face. So good. 

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

"This piece is called "Lick My Love Pump."

Mockumentaries existed before Rob Reiner brought the incomparable Spinal Tap to the screen. But it feels like the genre was invented and then perfected with this 1984 classic. If you have never seen Spinal Tap, you are either younger than 30 or lived in a monastery during the 80s and 90s. 

It’s impossible to write about it and not start quoting it non-stop. Every line in the film is a meme. If you haven’t seen the outtakes, you are missing out on another 80-plus minutes of improvised comic genius. And the soundtrack? It might make my top 13 albums of all time as well. 

Thanks to Matty C for bringing me into this awesome 13 Films project!