ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A wave of pensive nostalgia, pangs of pride, and profound envy has washed over a local father as he watched Cool Runnings with his son for the first time, lamenting that “they just don’t make movies like this anymore.”
Glen Fairburn, a 48-year-old mining sector employee, had been meaning to introduce his son, Lachie, 10, to the 1993 cultural offering for years but had always assumed the kid “would rather stare at his bloody phone.”
However, last night, with no sport on TV and the house suspiciously tidy, Glen finally convinced Lachie to give it a go.
Within minutes, Glen found himself seething with jealousy.
“Imagine being able to watch this movie again for the first time,” he said.
He looked on as Lachie absorbed the three-dimensional characters of Derice, Sanka, Yul Brenner, and Junior.
“The twists, the laughs, the heart. This kid doesn’t even know how good he’s got it. With all the shit out there for kids these days. The only thing out there worth watching was Bluey.”
While Lachie chuckled at Sanka Coffie’s antics, Glen leaned against the kitchen arch-frame, reminded of a time when movies didn’t need convoluted cinematic universes, reboots, or superheros with super powers.
“The story just works,” Glen continued.
“No CGI, no cheap nostalgia bait, just four blokes from Jamaica and a coach with a chequered past trying to prove they belong. And it’s mostly true. Plus you get the bit at the start about them having their dreams ruined by Junior in the opening sprint. It’s just champagne.”
More to come.
