Working the Weekend with Luke- At The Movies With Pop

Welcome to a very special edition of Working the Weekend with Luke. If you’re looking for the next entry in the trilogy countdown, you won’t find it here today. I will continue the countdown next week, but today, I’ve got something else in mind. This weekend marks the second anniversary of the passing of my father. For more on that, you can always head to The Luke Norris Experience and more specifically the latest post that I put up late last night, A Talk With Pop.

Now to business here at Binge Media. In lieu of the trilogy countdown, I bring you a list of 10 movies that I’ll always link the old man. But before I get to the strangest top 10 list of all time, here’s a quick bonus movie that currently resides in my own personal top 10. It’s a movie that hit me so hard the first time I saw it and continues to do so each time. It’s a movie that almost perfectly described the relationship that I had with Pop. He was a storyteller like no other and honestly, it was hard sometimes to know what was real and what wasn’t. Have you figured it out yet?

BIG FISH

Seriously, I was floored when I saw this movie. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. I’m usually not a big Tim Burton guy, but he nailed it with this one. The writing was simply amazing and the parallels were downright frightening, even down to the fact that my father once ran away and joined the circus. Yes, that actually happened. To my knowledge, my dad never saw this movie and I think I was just afraid to watch it with him. I wasn’t sure how he would react or even understand why I love it so much, especially when he was at the end. But Big Fish is definitely a movie that I’ll forever link to Pop.

AT THE MOVIES WITH POP

10. THE WAY OF THE DRAGON

Pop was a big martial arts movie guy and this certainly won’t be the last one on this list, but I know this was one of his favorites. Sure, we all love Bruce Lee, but my father loved Chuck Norris. I don’t know how many of his movies I watched when I was a kid, but I know it was a ton. But this one was one of Pop’s favorites and we would watch the final fight scene over and over again. Pop always said that if there was one person who could get the better of Chuck Norris, then it was Bruce Lee. I haven’t watched this one in a long time, but I’m thinking it’s about time to give it a revisit.

9. NO HOLDS BARRED

 I’m a big Hulk Hogan guy and I’ll never be ashamed to admit that. In fact, the first time I ever saw Hulk Hogan wrestle was with my dad. He was in the main event that night against One Man Gang, but I couldn’t see. So my dad put me up on his shoulders for the entire match, which the Hulkster ultimately won.  So a few years later, this movie comes out and I was there on the first day it came out and I’m sure I saw it a couple of times before it left theaters. A few months later, I broke my arm. To make me feel better, my dad took me to the video store, Stars & Stripes Video to be exact. Remember that place, Peoria? I could pick out anything I wanted and after walking around for a few minutes, I happened upon the box for No Holds Barred. I didn’t even know it had come out on video yet, but I was so excited. The problem was that the release date wasn’t until the next day. The girl working had just put the boxes out the night before to save the space for the next day, so I couldn’t actually rent it. That was unacceptable to Pop. It took some doing, but he talked the girl into letting us rent it anyway. Having worked at a video store, I know that’s a big no-no, but hey, it made me the happiest kid in the world that night.

 

8. GOOD WILL HUNTING

This was Dad’s favorite scene from Good Will Hunting. We watched this movie together a few times, and he just loved it. He was a big Robin Williams fan and dramatically speaking, this was arguably his greatest role. My father also spent some time in foster homes as a kid, so I think he could identify with the movie better than a lot of people. It was actually after seeing this movie for the first time that he filled me in on some of those years of his l

 

7. TOTAL RECALL

I’m not going to ever pretend that this is one of my favorite movies, but what I remember about Total Recall is the night my dad and I went to see it in the theater. We went to the Metro Centre when there will still theaters there and I remember that there was this couple sitting in front of us and during one of the few quiet moments during the movie, Dad scared the shit out of these two for no apparent reason. So there’s that. But the coolest part of the night was after we left. There was a bad storm that night and I think the entire side of town just blacked out. I remember the drive home was very intense and to this day, I can’t remember a darker night. We got home and got the flashlights out and just hung out as a family. My brother was very young so he was asleep, but my mom and sister were still up waiting for us. So it really wasn’t the movie that did it, but the rest of the night that I’ll remember. But I can’t come across the movie and not think of him, so that’s why this is here.

 

6. THERE’S SOMETHING ABOUT MARY

 

My dad and I watched a lot of comedies when I was growing up and there’s so many that I could put on this list. It could be 48 Hrs. or Another 48 Hrs or Moving or any number of Eddie Murphy or Richard Pryor movies, as he loved both of those guys. But I’ve never seen my dad laugh so hard or talk about a comedy like he talked about There’s Something About Mary. I remember when we went to see it at the theater that I swear he nearly had a heart attack from laughing so hard. He made sure I got him a copy when it came out on video and he watched it constantly. Dad really wasn’t one to quote movies that often, but he did with this one.

 

5. GLADIATOR

Pop loved this movie and what’s not to love? I’m not the biggest Crowe guy, but this one is very solid and will always hold a special place in my heart as this is the last movie that the Norris boys all saw together in the theater. My father, my brother, and myself. We saw it at Willow Knolls 14 and it was just a great day. In fact, one of the last things he ever talked about with my brother was that day. Pop couldn’t remember much at the end, but he remembered that great afternoon and that’s pretty amazing.

 

4. NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN

This is the last movie that I ever took Pop to see in the theater. I remember how much he would talk about the previews he’d seen on TV, and I remember how excited he was to go. And he loved it, as did I. He particularly loved the Javier Bardem character, as did I. Dad had a lot of VHS tapes at the nursing home, but this is actually one DVD that he had. There were quite a few times that I’d go to the nursing home to visit him, and he’d be watching it on his computer. I think I still have the stronger connection to Gladiator because it was the three of us there, but No Country For Old Men will always be special to me.

 

3. BLOODSPORT

I’m a big Van Damme guy and I owe that to my father. It started with No Retreat, No Surrender but the one we watched more than any other was Bloodsport. I don’t think I was supposed to be watching this at the age I did, but that could have been applied to any number of things Pop let me do as a kid. But seriously, this was the movie that really got me into martial arts as a kid, and I actually began taking classes soon after we watched it together for the first time.

 

2. SUPERMAN III

Let’s be honest. Superman III isn’t a strong film, but the story connected to it is. I’ve always been big into Superman, so when I was a little boy, we went as a family to the old Fox Theatre here in town for the latest installment in the franchise. And as I explained earlier, my dad was a big fan of Richard Pryor, so it was a win for everybody. I wore my shirt and cape to the movie, but that was a constant thing for me anyway. In any event, we got out of the movie and of course I was excited. I was running around and happened upon a monstrous rock. Now obviously I didn’t know that it was one of those hollow and decorative types, but Pop did and he told me that if I could lift it, then I really was Superman. So I gathered all my strength and all my might and I picked it up. Dad said that I had the biggest look of surprise and joy on my face. I heard that story dozens of times and it never got old.

 

BILLY JACK

Because Pop loved it. Because it’s awesome. Because it’s fucking Billy Jack.

Tell me that’s not the most jacked up top ten list you’ve ever seen. But it’s an awesome one. Do you have a movie that reminds you of your dad? I’d love to hear about it. Tell me the story below or follow me and tweet @THElukenorris.

The reason I love movies is that you can lose yourself in them, even some of the “bad” ones on this list. They can take us anywhere, sometimes whether we want them to or not. The great thing about these movies is that they can take me to a place where Pop was still with us, a time when things were good, and they can bring a smile to my face because I know they made him happy too. Pop, I love you and I miss you every single day.

Don’t worry, I do still have your Beverly Hills, 90210 clip of the week. This week’s come from my favorite episode of all time, “The Child Is The Father To The Man”. Forgive the subtitles, but this is the only clip I could find that had the original song. Until next time everyone. Thanks for joining me today for this very special column.