Fourth Annual Mustache Marathon: Week 2



Welcome to the second week of the fourth annual Mustache Marathon.  This annual marathon that I do in November is focused on what is in the title: mustaches.  The idea is that I spend November watching a bunch of movies in which actors don mustaches of some sort while portraying their characters.  The style of mustache does not matter.  All that matters is that they have the mustache.  I am celebrating facial hair for the month, so having facial hair is a must.  Except for that time I watched Road House because Sam Elliott was in it.  There was no mustache on him in that movie.

Yes, I spend November watching movies that almost always predominately feature mustaches.  If you looked at the post that I put up last week, I saw three mustache movies.  Two of them featured people who usually appear in the annual marathon.  Hulk Hogan was in the movie Thunder in Paradise, and Tom Selleck was in the movie Quigley Down Under.  This week I added one more of the usual people into the mix with Charlie Chaplin.  I also brought in a couple of newer movies to add some more recent mustaches into the playlist.  Three movies were included in the Mustache Marathon this week and I am now going to write a bit about each of them.

Modern Times
I have included Charlie Chaplin in each iteration of the Mustache Marathon.  Prior to holding these annual marathons devoted to upper lip follicle decoration, I had seen none of his movies.  But any discussion of mustaches in relation to film needs to include Chaplin.  His mustache is a staple in film facial hair.  You cannot think of one without the other.

Modern Times could very well be my favourite of the four Chaplin films that I have seen so far.  It has everything from a great story to great set pieces to great sets and great laughs.  It was all that I could have hoped to get out of a movie and more.  Every second of the movie was captivating and leading to more comedy and story.  I know that many people look at The Great Dictator as the masterpiece of Chaplin, but I would say that Modern Times also deserves that distinction.  The movie is perfect in every way.

The Grand Budapest Hotel
This is the most mustachioed film of 2014.  Nearly everyone in the movie has a mustache.  Just look at the poster.  There are mustaches everywhere in that poster.  Ralph Fiennes, mustache.  Jude Law, mustache.  Bill Murray, mustache.  There are mustaches all over this movie and it was a movie that I needed to include in the fourth annual Mustache Marathon.

As for the movie itself, I enjoyed it a lot.  The quirky nature of Wes Anderson worked well in the R-rated universe set up in the movie.  The jokes landed, the acting was great, and it was an interesting ensemble film all around.  I would love to revisit this movie soon and enjoy it all over again.


22 Jump Street
You’re sitting there wondering why I included this movie in the Mustache Marathon.  I know you are.  The two leads don’t sport mustaches.  Neither does Ice Cube.  How about all of their college friends?  Nope.  Professors?  Nope.  But then you realize it.  You know why this movie is in this marathon.  Nick Offerman.  That’s right, Ron Swanson is in this movie sporting his now trademark mustache.  And it is glorious.

I thought the movie was alright.  That’s about on par with the first one.  There were some great, funny moments, but overall the movie didn’t really stick with me.  I enjoyed it.  I mean that.  Yet I don’t think I’ll be rewatching it or thinking of too many parts of it in the future.  Something cool.



So that concludes the second week of the fourth annual Mustache Marathon.  It was a week full of comedy.  Two of them are movies that I enjoyed immensely and would love to watch again.  The other was an entertaining bunch of laughs that ultimately felt meaningless.  They all had mustaches, though, and that’s all that matters.  This is a month about mustaches.  The mustaches were good.

Come back next week and I’ll write about two or three more mustache related movies.  I have a couple of regulars who still have to show up at some point.  What movie featuring Burt Reynolds will I watch this year? How about Sam Elliott?  Will I toss in another Marx Brothers film to get some more Groucho?  These are things that you’ll find out about in the coming couple weeks.  November is halfway over.  So is the mustache marathon.  But there are still two weeks of mustache movies.  I’ll make them count.

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