Also echoes the experiences of Joe Pepitone (e.g.: not taking the game seriously and forgetting to duck when going through doorways) and Randy Bass (who missed tying the home run king’s record in '85).
My hard to please father enjoyed ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou’.
My 98 year-old father-in-law laughed uproariously at his first viewing (believe it or not) of “It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World” over Christmas.
Since he likes Sound of Music, perhaps he would the same movies as Pope Leo, who mentioned his 4 favorite movies:
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) — The Hollywood classic starring James Stewart that highlights the profound, unseen impact a single good person’s life has on an entire community.
- The Sound of Music (1965) — The iconic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical starring Julie Andrews, which the Vatican noted balances family devotion with a quiet, moral resistance against Nazi expansion.
- Ordinary People (1980) — Robert Redford’s heavy, emotionally raw drama starring Timothy Hutton, exploring grief, survival guilt, and the deep need for family healing and mercy.
- Life Is Beautiful (La vita è bella, 1997) — Roberto Benigni’s moving Italian film about a Jewish father who uses his immense creativity and imagination to shield his young son from the horrors of a Nazi concentration camp.
Sheep Detectives is a recent release on Prime
Hugh Jackman plays the Shepherd. His flock of sheep investigate his death. Starts slow but surprisingly good. Definitely a family friendly film.
How about a different Chicago musical: Robin and the 7 Hoods, featuring two-thirds of the Rat Pack with Bing standing in for Peter Lawford.
How about a car chase with music (and the world’s largest pie fight)?
Maybe if they’re played for laughs?
Screwball comedies might be a good area to try. His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story, and Sullivan’s Travels come to mind immediately as likely choices.
Most of the Ron Shelton films treat profanity as an art form
Also Das Boot and Master and Commander.
That occurred to me too, and if Dad likes it then it’s a small jump to The Martian’s near-future hard science fiction.
That occurred to me also, but it is a bit subversive. Worth a try.
Yeah, we just don’t know. Stand By Me is a possibility. The early 1960s sound track might not be Dad’s cup of tea.
Maybe The Man Who Wasn’t There or Hail Caesar? And he might get a kick out of The Hudsucker Proxy…
Some popular musicals
An American in Paris
Bye Bye Birdie
Fiddler on the Roof
Funny Face
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Grease
Hello Dolly
The Music Man
My Fair Lady
Oliver!
Stormy Weather
Willie Wonka and the Chocolate Factory
I thought about Hudsucker —nostalgia and corporate finance — but remembered the time-stopping and metaphoric battles of good vs evil. There’s just no telling.
Finian’s Rainbow is dated, but it’s fun and the songs are great.
Ditto Guys and Dolls.
The Greatest Showman, a musical with Hugh Jackman as a fictionalized P.T. Barnum. Lots of cleavage in circus costumes but nothing overtly sexual/ Circus freaks – an albino,a dog-faced boy, a bearded lady, etc. – and a brawl that sets Barnum’s museum afire.
For baseball, Pride of the Yankees, Gary Cooper in a biopic of Lou Gherig.
I think he’d get a kick out of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying.
Speaking of the Yankees: Damn Yankees, if he wouldn’t mind a musical about a Washington Senators fan offering to sell his soul to the devil to beat them. If that’s an issue, there’s Take Me Out to the Ball Game.
This may seem like it’s out of left field, but I’d suggest Sorcerer (1977). I like it a lot myself and virtually all older people I show it to seem to like it a great deal. Unlike many more recent films, it relies on practical FX (which are absolutely awesome) and it captures a period in history that would probably be meaningful to him. It does have some violent scenes, but they are important and brief.
“You’ll Find Out!” is a good movie from 1940, starring Kay Kyser, Boris Karloff, Peter Lorre and Bela Lugosi.
And since he’s a fan of at least one Rodgers and Hammerstein movie musical:
Carousel
The King and I
Oklahoma!
State Fair
This is in my top 5 movies, but the kids cuss a lot.
Another sports movie he’d probably like is Seabiscuit, about a champion racehorse during the 30s.
I know you said no sci-fi – what about fantasy? Do you think he’d like The Princess Bride?