Larry Tucker's 5 All-Time Favorite Films

 

My dear husband, Larry Tucker, passed away early this year and I miss him every day. He was a movie addict like me and always helped with my movie reviews by letting me know about any “elbows” that poked out before I submitted them. Plus, it was such fun to watch films together, some even many times – as movie addicts do.

Below are the five films Larry liked the best and loved watching over and over.

THE WIZARD OF OZ The last time we watched this 1939 classic, Larry said, “There’s no other movie that compares with this one. It’s perfect from beginning and end!” Then he bragged about the tornado sequence and how a black stocking played that scary storm. “Greatest special effects ever,” he added. Plus, he never got tired of watching Judy Garland deliver her wonderful performance as Dorothy Gale.      

BEST IN SHOW. No matter how many times we watched Christopher Guest’s mockumentary about dog shows, Larry couldn’t stop laughing at every scene, He loved the crazy dialogue, especially Fred Willard’s impromptu comments as a host of the occasion who knows nothing about canines or dog shows. My surprise is that this one finally overcame Guest’s previous Waiting for Guffman on Larry’s list.

RRR. This recent blockbuster from India roared right into Larry’s heart. He  even championed it for an Oscar® in every category. He didn’t live long enough to see it won for the best song, but I know he would have been cheering right along with me when that award was announced.  

SEVEN CHANCES. Buster Keaton starred and directed this silent slapstick comedy. It’s one my husband enjoyed seeing every time TCM features it on TV. However, by the end of the film, both of us have been exhausted from laughing so much. Larry enjoyed Keaton’s comic stunts playing a man who needs a lot of money to keep him out of jail. When he finds out he can inherit 7 million dollars from his grandfather if he is married on his 27th birthday by 7 p.m., which is that same day, Keaton puts an ad in a local dally. Results? Hundreds of women end up running after him in one of the greatest film chases ever.

MOULIN ROUGE! Both of us were bowled over by the sheer cinematic artistry of Baz Luhrmann’s Moulin Rouge!  But Larry was most impressed with the music, especially the singing by Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman. He continued to ask at any running, “How did McGregor manage to smile at Kidman while singing to her at the same time?.” The film’s touching romance also had an emotional effect on both of us.  Corny as it seems, we believed in the film’s theme. "The greatest thing you’ll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return."

Thanks so much, dear Larry, for all the movie fun we’ve had together from the late 1940s to early 2023. I will always love you. .