_01.jpg)
Well, my dear blog friends, I am finding myself eating my words a wee bit with regard to nearly everyone's favorite Alfred Hitchcock film---Rear Window. As many of you already know, I have admitted to not liking that film. Yes, I know I am completely out of step with nearly every classic movie fan on the planet, but I just don't like it. Oh, it has never been one of my 1-star, "hate it" films; rather, since my first viewing of it 3 or 4 years ago, it has been a 2-star, "don't like it" for me, for the sole reason that I just don't happen to think a peeping Tom is a worthy ambition. (It seems rather sex predator-ish to me.) I could never root for a man who spied on this neighbors, and I kept wondering how I would feel if one of my neighbors looked through his binoculars at every house on the block. I am even out of step with my own family, as they like the film; when I complain about the peeping Tom aspect, my always-joking son tells me "it is the neighborhood watch program in action."
With yesterday being the 30th anniversary of Grace Kelly's death, our family decided to enjoy one of her films last night. Though I was hoping for The Country Girl (and, thus, a William Holden fix), the majority of my family was clamoring for Rear Window. Being the trooper that I am, I decided to go with the flow, and you know what---I actually found myself moving from 2 to 3 stars. I still don't like the fact that a Peeping Tom is a "hero," and I still would be greatly unsettled if one of my neighbors was focusing his binoculars on my house, but I recognize that the story is interesting and exciting, that the direction is fantastic, that the chemistry between the leads is perfect, that the wit of Thelma Ritter is terrific, and that Grace Kelly is her classy, elegant, beautiful self.
So, my friends, I wanted to let you know that when it comes to the beloved Rear Window, I am eating my words just a little bit. While it will never be my favorite Alfred Hitchcock film, the fact that I've gone from 2 stars, "don't like it," to 3 stars, "like it okay" is rather huge. I'm not quite so out of step anymore.