Couch Theater – March 25, 2021

#Middlebury #Movies #DVD

It’s officially spring! But depending on where you are in our lovely nation, you could be experiencing decidedly un-springlike weather – False Spring, Second Winter or even The Pollening, which is where I am now, covered in a fine yellow dust. The plants and flowers are waking up from their slumber and getting ready to put on a show. If you’re not there yet, here are a few movies featuring delightful greenery to help put you in the mood.

Helen Mirren in “Greenfingers” (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer photo)

“Greenfingers” – Very loosely based on a true story, this little British gem centers around the unlikely tale of Colin Briggs (Clive Owen), a close-mouthed lad serving out his sentence in a minimum-security prison. He accidentally discovers he’s quite successful at raising flowers, and is assigned to be supervisor of the prison garden, along with his cellmate Fergus (David Kelly). Their collective success gets them noticed by local celebrity (Helen Mirren) and a bid at the Hampton Court Flower Show.

“A Little Chaos” – As King Louis XIV’s chosen architect for the gardens of Versailles, Andre La Notre (Matthew Schoenaerts) wants something spectacular. He finds it in the designs of Sabine De Barre, a female gardener and designer, played by Kate Winslet. The pair overcome court intrigue and their own personal demons to create life and emotion and magic from earth and plants and water.

“Edward Scissorhands” – Johnny Depp plays the titular Edward, a humanoid creation of the Inventor (Vincent Price). Tragically, the Inventor dies before he can fix Edward’s hands, which are made from many pairs of scissors. But Edward is wholly innocent and sweet, so when he is discovered in a Gothic mansion and brought into suburban America, he uses his scissor hands to, among other things, trim the neighborhood hedges into elaborate topiaries.

“The Karate Kid” – It’s a rough move from New Jersey to Reseda, California, and Daniel LaRusso (Ralph Macchio) sets out to make friends the best way he can. Unfortunately, the local dojo is populated with no-good bullies, who make a beeline for Daniel. Enter Mr. Miyagi (Pat Morita), who not only takes Daniel under his wing and teaches him self-defense (and self-respect), but has an unforgettable, Okinawa-flavored oasis parked in the middle of what looks like a junkyard, where Daniel gets to train and work.

“The Secret Garden” – “If you look the right way, you can see that the whole world is a garden,” or so says Mary, the main character of this delightful story. Ten-year-old Mary comes to her uncle’s house in Yorkshire as a spoiled orphan who stifles her vulnerability in favor of being a self-centered brat. But at this manor, she uncovers her late aunt’s locked garden and sets about restoring it. In turn, her own soul and the souls of her relatives are restored.

© 2021 King Features Synd., Inc.