Watching Spider-Man 2, my favorite super-hero flick, I was struck by an fact. To my taste, the best part of this movie–the most memorable sequence, the part that makes the movie work–is quite unlike the majority of the movie. I specifically refer to
the sequence in the middle of the movie when psychosomatically-powerless Peter confesses to his Aunt May that her husband’s death was his fault, and later she forgives him and gives him a pep talk about the worth of heroism that convinces him to resume being Spider-Man again
It’s a quiet little scene, no special effects, no fights, no masks or tights: just good, understated acting, mostly wordless on Tobey Maguire’s part. I just love it.
My liking for this scene reminds me of another favorite movie of mine, Down With Love. This film is a homage to the Hudson-Day sex comedies of the early fifties and is full of fast-paced wordplay, jazzy music and beautiful sets and costuming. That said, the funniest bit is
when Barbara Novak, in a two-minute, music-less monologue, reveals to Catcher Block that she’s the author of an insanely complicated and improbable plan to make him fall in love with her, punctuated by his getting a telephone message from a detective he’s hired to look into her, said message confirming every word she’s said.
Like I said, I love both these movies … it just strikes me as odd that my favorite bits from each of them is perhaps the most atypical moment from each.
Anybody have similar examples?