Friday Films: What Movies Do You Always Go Back To?

Today is my birthday. I'm twenty-four. I'm spending the weekend in Pittsburgh, where I'm going to a Decemberists concert and seeing the city. I've never been there before, so I'm really excited.

Today's Friday films is going to be brief, but it's important: I want to talk about movies you go back to, which ones you seek refuge in when things are overwhelming or not going well. These are the movies that you will sit and watch almost any time, but in tough times, they become even more. I hope I'm not the only one who has movies like this. In the spirit of High Fidelity, here are my top five:

1. The Royal Tenenbaums: This movie just gets better and better every time I watch it. The scene where the camera pans across the wreckage of the wedding and ends with Chas saying to Royal, "I've had a really bad year, Dad," and Royal saying, "I know" just completely kills me every time. There are so many amazing moments in this movie, but I think this one is my favorite.

2. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: A relationship in reverse, from its dissolution to the hopeful beginnings, this is one of the most audacious takes on the romantic comedy ever made. I think this is a movie I keep going back to because it's hopeful, despite the theme of a relationship that doesn't work out: they find each other again.

3. Annie Hall: I've mentioned this movie in a previous post, but I have to talk about it again because it's so good. Infinitely quotable, tragic but hilarious, and Woody Allen at his best. Unlike Eternal Sunshine, this one doesn't end on a hopeful note, but the resolution, in which Alvy directs a play where he gets back together with Annie, is a really interesting comment on the power of art to give us the ending we wanted.

4. Almost Famous: A fifteen-year-old journalist travels with a rock band, possibly based on the Allman Brothers Band, as they gain fame and fall apart. I've loved this movie since high school. There's an exchange that I love, in the middle of the scene where the band and its groupies (sorry, band-aids) sing Elton John's "Tiny Dancer" on the bus:

"William Miller: I have to go home.
Penny Lane: You are home."

5. High Fidelity: I know, I mentioned it getting ready to write this top five, but still: it's a great rock and roll movie. It's about obsession, nursing past wounds, and being ready to grow up versus wanting to maintain the rebellion of your youth. It's kind of the perfect movie to go back to, because some days I feel bad for Rob, and some days I feel like Rob. Some days it's both.

So now I'm turning it over to you. What are yours? You don't have to say why (but you're more than welcome to), but what are the movies you keep going back to and that you will keep going back to? What movies feel like home?