Robert Hofler, Variety senior editor and interviewer/author/editor of Variety’s “That Movie Changed My Life,” has compiled a disparate and diverse list of celebrities, artists, politicians, and the regrettably famous who have discussed the movies that have most influenced them.  Gathering the thoughts of so many significant (and sometimes not-so-significant) figures to discuss a single topic can be both enlightening and entertaining.  Unfortunately for the reader, this collection seems so obsessed with getting as many interviewees as possible that any truly appealing content is never allowed to develop and what is left amounts to little more than an indexed list of the favorite movies of 120 people.

      Even with its limited scope, some unexpectedly enlightening comments do emerge from the book.  America’s Hee Haw version of pop-psychology, Dr. Phil McGraw ruminates on why he never connected with the 1963 Paul Newman Texas-based western Hud.  “I grew up in that part of the country.  I was around […] the oil and the cattle and the ranches and the blue jeans and the cowboy boots and the Cadillacs.  It didn’t have an impact.  If you live it every day, it’s just life.  It doesn’t expand your horizon.”  Without actually stating it, Dr. Phil has declared his taste in movies is directed toward escapist entertainment and fantasy, even if that fantasy includes Play Misty for Me and Judgment at Nuremburg (films he enjoyed).  It would have been appealing for the book to explore what kind of viewers gravitated towards films that are separate from their lives and which viewers enjoyed works that functioned as mirrors of their existence.  Sadly, Variety misses this rare opportunity to make Dr. Phil interesting.

      Another unexpected set of comments come from walking Viagra experiment gone terribly wrong, Hugh Hefner.  The idealistic romanticism expressed in film, especially in Old Hollywood seems to continue to inspire Hefner.  He believes that “[t]he America that the rest of the world cares about comes from movies.”  He cites Casablanca as the film that perfectly encapsulates this idealism, especially because of the “unrequited” nature of the love story.  It seems all the more intriguing that someone whose libido has been so… satiated throughout the decades would choose to speak about unrequited love and how that love makes for a powerful story.  Again, the actual book’s format of extremely concise interviews makes any expansion on this topic impossible, thus cutting another interesting topic short.

      What the book does offer is a fascinating glimpse into the mind of politicians.  Figures like Ted Kennedy and Howard Dean both single out To Kill a Mockingbird as inspirations, while Newt Gingrich cites Civil War epics like Glory and Gettysburg along with Quo Vadis and its portrayal of Christian martyrs.  Politicians claiming to be inspired by the unbending moral purity of Atticus Finch or people that have actually been executed for their beliefs provides a rather uncomfortable (and seemingly unintentional) window into the horrendously inflated egos such individuals possess.  In contrast to this, John McCain (an admitted film buff) picks some curious choices for a preeminent conservative and famous Vietnam veteran.  He feels that The Manchurian Candidate is particularly powerful, noting that it was taken off screens after the assassination of President Kennedy.  He admires All the King’s Men for its portrayal of corrupt, self-parody of a populist Huey Long and admits Elia Kazan’s biopic Viva Zapata! sparked a personal interest in the Mexican revolutionary portrayed by Marlon Brando.  Why a Republican politician should be so fascinated by films about leftist leaders or, in the case of The Manchurian Candidate, extremely critical of conservative politics is, once again, not touched on by Variety. 

      Rather than being a fascinating look into how art and popular culture can shape the worldview of even the very powerful and influential, Variety’s “That Movie Changed My Life” is a catalogue of wasted opportunities and, in the case of profiles of people like Kirsten Dunst and Danielle Steel, wastes of time.  Much of the commentary is either trite or so well-worn that it doesn’t register as an original thought.  No one needs Donald Trump to tell them that Citizen Kane is “sophisticated,” more trenchant and valuable observations could be provided by any random person seeing the film for the first time.  For worthwhile commentary on movies, acquire one of Roger Ebert’s numerous published collections.  For entertaining remarks from celebrities about movies, watch Conan O’Brien’s takeover of The Tonight Show.