My Top 5 Favorite Movies to Put On While I Have Other Things to Do
It seems that I rarely have the time to watch the TV shows and movies I want to anymore. Life, though always busy, has seemed particularly hectic for the last few months. Luckily, one of my favorite pastimes is to put movies on while I am doing work or planning or writing, etc. This allows me to feel like I am using my time wisely by accomplishing more than one thing, even though multi-tasking is not always a smart move. In order to get work done, though, I need to choose a particular kind of movie: one that I do not have to pay perfect attention to. At the same time, however, I want it to be a movie that I really like. It can’t be something I will completely ignore; otherwise, why even take the time to turn it on? If something is going to be on the screen, I want it to be interesting when I take a break from my work and look up at it. But if it were to demand my attention for long stretches, it would defeat my efficacy. Therefore, it must be a very specific type of movie that can be exciting whenever I look up, but not so deep or intriguing as to prevent me from going back to work. Obviously, movies I have seen many, many times work well as background filler since I know them well enough to miss huge chunks and jump right back in without missing a beat.
However, movies like The Sting or Unbreakable are too precious to me to exist only in the background. I have too much respect for them to relegate them to that. But I also don’t like putting movies that I hate on as my “work movie” because then I am just wasting my Blu-Ray player’s time, you know. Also, I am not including TV shows in this list, because that would open up a whole other discussion about what episodes and the length of time I am working and I wanted to keep this discussion much simpler. The type of movie I am speaking of feels very rare to me, which is why I sometimes waste far too much time deciding which one will be the background to my work time. That wasted time and thought sparked this article, which aims to outline my five favorite movies to put on when I actually have other things to do. My favorite movie to put on in the background when I was in my twenties, by the way, was Ocean’s 11. I watched that movie with every commentary track and went through all the special features, and I still loved to pop it in while I did homework or while I packed to go to college. It just felt right. Now, I have changed a bit in my tastes, I guess. Though Ocean’s 11 will always be a strong candidate to put on while I do other things, it has fallen out of my top five. What is the new top five? Let’s take a look.
5. Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds’ one-liners always work in the background of one is doing work. Deadpool also features some fun fight scenes, though nothing as awesome as in the action movie later on this list. The main plot of Deadpool is simple and easy to follow; it does not hinge on strict attention from a viewer. Movies that are paced by ad-libs and voice inflection are perfect to exist while my brain focuses on other things. Also, watching Deadpool allows me to silently protest the sheer number of other Marvel movies while still technically giving love to a Marvel property. That may seem like a weird stand, and it is, but when I have other work to do, I am not necessarily thinking through the logic of my choices, I am simply finding something to put into my Blu-Ray player as fast as I can so that I can get to work. Deadpool provides me with the perfect opportunity to make a superficial statement that imbues my work time with empty significance, much like the movie Deadpool itself.
4. The Nice Guys
The Nice Guys has a rhythm all its own, which can be attributed to the idiosyncratic style of its writer-director Shane Black, who has had a wide-ranging and rollercoaster-y career. (He wrote and directed Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Iron Man 3. He also wrote Lethal Weapon, The Last Boy Scout, and Last Action Hero, to name a few. He is known for his action movies and for putting a stylish spin on stories, but he has also written multiple flops and been figuratively flogged for some of his screenplays. But the man is always interesting.) The relaxed and amusing vibe of The Nice Guys is what makes it one of my favorite movies to put on while I am working on other things. I never know what I might see when I look up. Ryan Gosling (who is in two of the movies on this list and that is absolutely NOT a coincidence) and Russell Crowe appear to be having the time of their lives in this movie, which is a compliment to their realistic and lived-in but hilarious performances. The plot here does theoretically demand attention, but the nature of the development is very episodic. Crowe and Gosling’s characters follow the trail to various suspects and low-lifes and clowns and have interactions with each of them. They go to parties and houses and streets and shake down teenagers and old people alike. It seems like a bunch of uproarious sketches or farcical one-act plays that I can enjoy before going back to the work at hand. It works perfectly for me, especially late at night when I need a little pick-me-up to get through the last bit of work I need to finish. Thanks, Shane Black, Ryan Gosling, and Russell Crowe.
3. The Muppets
I am a big Muppet fan, making sure to indoctrinate my kids at a young age by showing them as many of the Muppet movies as I could, purchasing the soundtracks, and, of course, watching A Muppet Christmas Carol every single Christmas (often more than once during the holiday season). But my go-to Muppet movie while I am working on other things is the Jason Segel-scripted-and-starring The Muppets. Not only are the songs perfect joyful music to hear with half of my brain as I work, but the various Muppet voices give the background noise a fun variety to delight the small part of me that is paying attention to the movie while the other part of me grades papers or plans for class the next day. Since there are copious cameos in Muppet movies, I can see someone fun every time I look up during The Muppets, even though it’s random. I might see Jack Black or Rashida Jones or Zach Galifianakis at any given moment; if I don’t see them, I will definitely see Jason Segel or Amy Adams, who are fantastic in the movie, never phoning in their performance. The variety and music make The Muppets a great film to put on while I work on other things.
2. Atomic Blonde
One of my favorite movies of the last few years, Atomic Blonde, checks a lot of the boxes I want checked when I am working on something else. Almost every time I look up, something cool is happening: car chases, hand-to-hand combat, Charlize Theron jumping off of a ledge, James McAvoy acting crazy, love scenes, etc. Not only that, but the soundtrack is loud and fun, incorporating many 80s songs into its aesthetic. McAvoy delivers a ton of killer lines that can be appreciated even if my eyes are not currently staring at the screen. Also, the song cues alert me to when I should look up for some fun or important things that I don’t want to miss or just provide me with something interesting and nostalgic to listen to while I work. Though the movie has a fairly convoluted storyline, I have seen it enough to not need to follow along any more, which frees me up to enjoy the acting and moviemaking whenever I happen to look up. Charlize Theron’s brilliant acting means that I will likely see something interesting in her face or her body language each time I glance at the screen as well, providing me with important context for what is going on in the scene, even if I have been looking down for a really long time. Finally, the more times I manufacture to watch Atomic Blonde, the more recognition I feel like I am giving it. Since the movie was not a big hit, per se, and wasn’t necessarily a huge critical hit (78% on Rotten Tomatoes is not bad, though), when I put the movie in the Blu-Ray player, it feels like tiny support every single time.
- La La Land
Like The Muppets, La La Land gives me some fantastic background music while I work. (I am fond of putting musicals on for that reason while I am working on other things.) What separates La La Land from the other musicals I may put on is its gorgeous cinematography. Any time I look up, something is framed beautifully or lit spectacularly and I can get lost in that wonder for a few minutes before returning to my work. Also, though I have always appreciated the conclusion of La La Land, it is sad in many ways. But when I put it on while I work on other things, I can blunt the melancholy of the ending. Now, the movie works best when one gives it one’s full attention and FEELS the final emotion. That is definitely true. However, when I put it on in the background, it means that I can feel the emotion of the happy moments and choose to engage with the thoughtful ending or simply bask in the joyful moments of earlier in the film. It’s like putting it on as my second option makes it more of a “choose your own adventure”-style movie. Do I want to really think about the consequences of following your dreams or about leaving behind a lover who many have been the love of your life or about the messiness of relationships? If the answer is no, then I turn my focus away from the luminescent Emma Stone and the passionate Ryan Gosling at key points. And if I do want to feel the full thrust of those potent themes, I turn away from my work at key points and turn my heart on. It’s the best of both worlds, but with dancing, music, and Oscar-winning cinematography by Linus Sandgren.
