AFI Top 100: 64, 62 & 61

 Here are three remarkably made films, with great production value, with special effects or well-made comedy, but with either horrible stories or mediocrity built in.

64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind - This film is not a classic. It's just a pretty good science fiction film. And after seeing the Lost finale, I have to draw some comparisons, none of them good. Lost was built as a mystery that revealed just a little bit at a time, building season long, and sometimes series long mysteries revolving around interesting characters. A lot of these mysteries were cool when revealed, but then at time when the original mystery is re-thought out, it doesn't make much sense. Lost is full of them, the "why did he do that, then" type of stuff. Close Encounters doesn't have so many of those exactly, but it does follow the same, reveal a little bit at a time until you've exposed the whole thing. Except, when you think back, who ends up caring? Where did these people get the vision of the mountain? The aliens beamed it to them? If the gas thing the government was warning about just a ruse, why did their birds die when they were getting arrested?
The ending was interesting, but mainly only because you've had this mystery built up for 2 hours and this is what you end up with. Maybe because we've seen so much alien encounters after this film that it doesn't seem so dramatic. But I still feel like this was just a well done piece of B movie, and that's what Spielberg does best.

62. Tootsie - How is this film such a classic? It's not any kind of new comedy. There's no breakthrough in special effects or cinematagraphy. The acting was pretty good, but not earth shattering. Even the story is at times trite. But somehow this is one of America's best films. It's because of the way it handles social commentary. The film follows an actor that can't get work anywhere because he's difficult to work with, so he becomes a woman and lands a spot on a soap opera. He struggles to maintain his normal life, while balancing his new job and new obligations and love interest. The film is remarkable for never being on the nose and yet the whole film is on the nose. There are a few lines and speeches referring to gender issues and woman's problems, but for the most part the film lets the story and situations do the social commentary. For instance, the idea that Hoffman is now struggling to balance his whole new life is indicative of the working woman. As well, Hoffman faces troubles while trying to merely work without bother, but yet men bother him on all sides.
The film isn't the best comedy ever. But it handles social commentary on par with the best comedies, and seeing Bill Murray in an uncredited supporting role is a delight.

61. Vertigo - Aesthetically and production-wise, this is a perfect film. As usual, Hitchcock turns in his usual best, and this could even be his best effort. But just like with many Hitchcock films, the story is utterly retarded. A lot of critics and directors have argued what this film is about and the themes, but it doesn't matter what the movie is "about" or "what the movie is saying." The story is so dumb and unfulfilling that it makes the whole thing a waste.
The movie follows Scottie, a recently retired detective with vertigo, as he tails an old friend's wife who is up to strange behavior. Then in a matter of a few hours together, after she's tried to kill herself, he falls in love with her. Or rather, becomes obsessed. Then she kills herself, or so he thinks, and then goes to an institution. Then later, he sees some lady on the street who looks kind of like her and starts dating her, while forcing her to dress up like the wife. Turns out, she was the wife, or at least playing her so Scottie would testify that it was the wife who died because she went nutso. Then this chick dies, too. This is like Close Encounters or Lost, it kind of makes sense until you go back and really think about it...
So...the husband wants his wife dead. He hires some girl (Kim Novak) who works at a department store to pretend to be her so his retired friend with Vertigo can follow her. Then he gets Novak to act all funky, pretending she's being possessed by a dead woman, even going so far as to jump into the Bay. Then Novak, throughout all that goes into creepy speeches, acting possessed and generally weird. This girl must be the best actress ever. If that's the case, I think she could have kept on fooling Scottie, even when he found her later.
Then, acting crazy, Novak climbs the bell tower, knowing Scottie has the vertigo. (That darn vertigo.) Waiting at the top is the husband with the real wife, who gets tossed off the side.
Question. How did the husband get the wife up to the top without getting noticed?
Question. How did the husband and a woman who now looks exactly like his wife get away unnoticed?
Question. The husband must have paid Novak pretty well, why the F is she living in a crap hole and working at a suck job still?
It seems like an awfully long con to kill your wife. You had to find a girl who looked like your wife. Train her to act like her, while telling her all about the dead woman. And this girl has to be a fabulous actress or con artist. Then you have to convince Scottie to take the job, and if he doesn't all the work you did with the girl is useless, unless you find another old friend retired detective with Vertigo. Or maybe if you find an old friend retired detective with another malady, you re-work the plan. Like find an old friend retired detective with a fear of clowns, and you have the girl kill herself at the circus.
Then you have to get the girl lead Scottie down to the mission, at the right time, and hope no one sees you carrying your wife up the 6 flights of stairs, then hope that Scottie doesn't just finish the trip and get all the way to the top(where he'd see you and Kim Novak.) Then hope that no one around sees you or the girl leaving the bell tower.
It makes no sense. The whole film centers around a long con that has so many parts, and so many things that could either go wrong or take too much work, that the film is just utterly pointless. I guess it's about Scottie getting screwed over by the old friend, who messed his head up royally? For emphasis I'll repeat, it doesn't matter what the story is "about" or "what the movie is saying," if the story is stupid the film's meaning becomes meaningless. It's a shame, because this film really was beautiful, and the camera work is groundbreaking. It's a damn shame.