It’s the holiday season. So sue us if we wanna spread a little love in small, easy-to-digest chunks. Starting today.
Most Underrated Moment of the 2004 Season: Pokey Reese’s inside-the-park home run. Prior to the playoffs, there were only three moments across the 2004 season that made me grip the telly with both hands and actually attempt to force my tongue through the screen. This was one of them. A harbinger of the unstoppable awesomeness to come, and a moment that, I’ll admit, I just don’t give enough love to. So here you go.
Most Underrated Martin Scorsese Movie: You’re only human. You think Scorsese, you think GoodFellas. Or Raging Bull. Or Taxi Driver. You can’t help it, that’s just how you are. But I’m here to tell you that After Hours, a dark valentine to New York City nightlife, may well be the single most underappreciated film in the Scorsese canon. Simply put, it’s the story of a proto-typical ’80s working stiff named Paul Hackett — brilliantly embodied by Griffin Dunne — who heads to SoHo for a date with a strange girl — an alluring and downright creepy Rosanna Arquette. But after the date comes to an abrupt and somewhat shocking conclusion, Paul finds himself literally incapable of getting back home as he’s forced to contend with a number of outrageous hurdles, including a Monkees- and mousetrap-obsessed waitress, punk rockers who try to shave his head, burly transit cops, angry bartenders, and a vigilante mob in an ice cream truck. Oh and let’s not forget the climactic scene in which Paul gets encased in paper mache and stolen by Cheech and Chong. Still not convinced? Dude, it’s got Teri Garr, the ultra-fine Linda Fiorentino, Bronson Pinchot, the parents from Home Alone — that’s right, Catherine O’Hara is in the house. Hell, Scorsese himself pulls a cool, quick cameo as a spotlight operator in a nightclub. Just pick it up tonight, and I promise you’ll never look at a set of housekeys the same way again. Oh, and here’s the trailer:
Most Underrated Moment of the 2005 Opening Day Ring Ceremony: Okay, it didn’t happen on-air or even in the ballpark, but the story of how Curt Leskanic showed up at Fenway without a jersey, then had to run to the Souvenir Store to buy one, then had to cut everyone in line to make it inside in time? That’s the sorta stuff that makes me wish the guy stuck around for another year. If for no other reason than the stories.
