5 Remakes Hollywood Got Right

Is is just me, or these days every time a new movie comes out, that’s not new? It is a reboot or remake? It does beg the question: Are there any new ideas in Hollywood?

And then there was Star Wars: The Force Awakens, which was, in my opinion, the most awesome fanfic that has ever grace the silver screen. (No offense 50 Shades.)

There are people that would prefer Hollywood to stop rebooting, revamping, and retelling stories. They think Hollywood should leave classic movies alone. Rightfully so. There have been some reboots of good movies that flopped in a big way, but on the other spectrum, there are some that have been close to, or even as good as the original, pleasing both the older fans and new generations.

Here are a few of my favorite reboots and remakes.

1. The Little Rascals. Let me admit, even though I was a kid when this one came out, I was very familiar with Our Gang, from watching the shorts with my dad.

The remake of the Little Rascals gives me many fond memories. I enjoyed watching the new one, almost as much as I loved watching the original black and white version.

To me their casting of Alfalfa was spot on, casting the adorable Bug Hall in his debut role as the charming “crooner.”

And to this day, my kids love the movie, too. Possibly more than the black and white ones, but I’m still trying to sell them on movies without color.

2. The Parent Trap. Who would have ever thought that little newcomer Lindsey Lohan could hold a candle to the gorgeously talented Hayley Mills in the 1998 revamp of The Parent Trap?

The twin scenes were amazing and Lindsey never missed a beat. The movie was full of laughs, warm and fuzzy moments, and the kind of fun that any person would wish to have if they discovered they had a long lost twin.

3. The Addams Family. For most people, when you mention the Addams Family, few will think of the old black and white TV show with Carolyn Jones and John Astin. Which was a great show in its own right. The show was actually based on Charles Addams New Yorker cartoons about a family of “black sheep.”

But many will recall Anjelica Houston, as the dark sensuous Morticia Addams and Raul Julia as the dreamy, and passionate Gomez Addams.

4. True Lies. A lot of people don’t know that True Lies is actually a remake of a French movie. I can’t say that I’ve seen La Totale, but Jamie Lee Curtis and Arnold Schwarzenegger make this movie as a wife and husband.

Arnold plays Harry, a man living a double life as a secret agent. When he finds out his wife maybe having an affair he uses his agent skills to get to the bottom of it. When he discovers she’s just bored with her mundane life, he forms a plan to spice things up. Let’s just say the plan backfires in a big way, and leads to a world of turmoil and some incredible action sequences.

This movie may be a bit campy for some, but it is one of its quirks.

5. The Equalizer. This movie stars Denzel Washington (who will star in the remake of The Magnificent Seven). Denzel is has a track record of amazing action and suspense movies. (Faster, Training Day, Out of Time, Man on fire.) The list goes on. This was no exception.

Some may not even remember the 80’s TV show, but this is a flick that you’ll never forget.

Those are my favorite remakes. Now I want to hear from you. What remakes got you going back for more? Which ones do you wish would have remained classics?

ABOUT DESIREE SMITH:

My love movies mostly comes from my dad. When my family lived in California, he used to work for MGM and Blockbuster Video and has always been a huge movie buff. My dad was the international movie database before it existed. He was the guy that you called when you couldn’t think of that one guy in that one movie, but was also in that other one, but you couldn’t think of his name. Somehow, I ended up being IMDB, Jr. And to this day, I think we are the only two people that play ‘the degrees of Kevin Bacon.’

When our family moved from California to Georgia, I was unsure about it, but I continued my love of movies and even started writing movie scripts in 4th grade. I always asked Santa for a camcorder for Christmas. I never got it, but it never stopped me from gathering my closest friends for readings of scripts. I always thought living in Georgia gave me a southern charm with my Hollywood imagination.

Though I haven’t become a movie director or screen writer, but I still continue to enjoy writing. When I’m not writing stories, fanfics, or being a mom to my beautiful 4 children, or a wife to my high school sweetheart and husband of 7 years, I’m enjoying movies, reading books, or talking to my dad about up and coming movies and playing the degrees of Kevin Bacon, of course.

Though, I haven’t abandoned the thought of making my own movies one day. Now, I love being a mother and sharing my passion for movies with others. I’ve always loved how a movie has the ability to transcend our differences and bring to light the things that connect us as a human race. We can grieve for the same fictional character’s death, believe in the same hero’s plight, and think that we have nothing in common. We can connect through movies, and stories in general, we are able to relate, and empathize and experience a journey together and that is a gift.