(Image courtesy of Hanna-Barbera)The alt cinema blogs of The State Press are combining forces this week to tackle two of the most important aspects of the season: A great beer and a classic holiday movie that is sure to make everyone feel great.
Good beer reviewed by Zane Jennings:
More so than most weeks, I am thankful for this week. Why? Not simply because it's the week of the best feast of the year, but this month I simply get to enjoy a smooth, American brewed brown ale called "Moose Drool" without watching a cinematic atrocity. Don't get me wrong — I love bad movies — but the relief afforded is a nice luxury.
Read more about good beers and bad movies here. Also, here.
The Good Beer: Moose Drool Brown Ale
Initially, I had no idea what beer I was going to review. Which beer reflects Thanksgiving the most? Is there one? My pondering led me to a more organic decision: Take the recommendation from those I am thankful to have around. This is the nature of this month's beer: Moose Drool from Big Sky Brewing, a name I am not sure I would have the confidence to pick up at the store, fell into my fridge at the generosity of a classmate and friend.
As with all recommendations, I am even more thankful this brew was excellent, so as to avoid the awkward "Um... yeah" moment.
A brown ale, Moose Drool is dark as all hell, but it drinks so nicely that upon first gulp I could not help but smile. It had a hint of sweetness to it, but it was no betrayal to the constitution of the drink. At 5.1 percent alcohol by volume, it's a pretty light experience.
What made me so happy about this beer was really the ease I had with drinking it. Admittedly, some beers require closer consideration for understanding how good they are. As opposed to hop-heavy beers like the IPAs I previously reviewed, Moose Drool was never an experience where I was sipping and consciously thinking — it just was. In contrast to most beers that simply drink well, however, Moose Drool tasted great. And for me, this combination of taste and drinkability was what connected it to Thanksgiving.
A time for friends and family to convene, take a break from the stresses of the month, and appreciate one another should always be cherished as a special moment. When choosing nicer beer to celebrate the occasion, it's hard to nail down a drink that will satisfy both the desire to have something great, but also something a little different from the day-to-day. With this in mind, I wholeheartedly recommend picking up a sixer of Moose Drool and plopping down in front of the turkey.
Sadly, my journalistic partner was not able to take part in the tasting, as he is not 21 years old, but keep your head up, Will — in a year or so you'll know exactly what to nab!
The Classic Movie: "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving"
I was glad to accept the invitation to do a "cult film; bad movie" mash-up, and, upon my arrival to Zane’s house, he told me we would be watching “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” — one of my holiday favorites.
After a tour of his lovely home, Zane extended hospitalities further, offering me some water and a square of his couch, and began to set up the movie.
While they're setting up, read a few cult movie reviews here and here!
Originally released on CBS in November 1973, “A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving” was the 10th TV special installment of Charles M. Schulz’s “Peanuts” comics. It tells the story of Charlie Brown and his close companions hectically arranging a Thanksgiving feast for some friends from across town. Although both Zane and I had seen the film multiple times, we settled in to relish this essential piece of any Thanksgiving Celebration.
One of the first things that caught both our eyes was the drab backgrounds of the outdoor scenes. Blue skies appear once or twice, but a majority of the film is set in hazy grays. All the leaves have fallen off the trees, leaving behind thin brown trunks and branches. I never noticed this realistic interpretation of autumn before this viewing; I assumed that all the “Peanuts” cartoons were set to blue skies and shining suns, except the Christmas special, of course.
Next, something caught not our eyes, but our ears — the jazz contributions of Vince Guaraldi; Zane said that he always likes to listen for the music in all of the specials. This specific installment has a rare vocal track called “Little Birdie.” It plays as Snoopy and Woodstock prepare a table and chairs for dinner. During a fight between a personified chair and Snoopy, Zane mentioned that the scene was so much better than the fights between Peter Griffin and the giant chicken.
The thing that I find most interesting about the “Peanuts” cartoons is the almost complete absence of adults. The fact that all of the children’s parents are willing to let their kid’s go to Charlie Brown’s for Thanksgiving is pretty hilarious. Charlie Brown also has a conversation with his grandma, who, of course, is nothing more than a “Wah Wah” voice on the other end of the phone, leading to all of the children climbing into the back of a car that we can assume is driven by unseen adults.
There is something very refreshing about watching a film full of uncorrupted children during the holidays. It reminds us that, many times, our troubles seem much worse than they actually are. As Lucy muses, “What’ve I got to be thankful for? All it does is make more work for us at school,” we realize that if similar concerns are our biggest worries, maybe we don’t have it so bad after all.
Tell the reporters what cult movies and good beers you enjoy at zjenning@asu.edu and wruof@asu.edu or follow these goofs on Twitter @humanzane and @willruof
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