So you've been planning some redecorating this weekend but the weather is wet, wild and windy. How do you keep up your enthusiasm for fixing up the house? Watch a movie on home improvement of course!
Here's a few DVD titles you might want to watch while you wait for the weather to improve:
1) The Money Pit - 1986. Tom Hanks and Shelley Long star in this laugh a minute home improvement tale. Tom Hanks gets a mansion for a bargain price and then decides to renovate. His cool investment rapidly turns into his worst nightmare. Hanks complains time and again about the cost and the delays but the site foreman just smiles, confidently promising "two weeks". Watch the Movie Trailer here
2) Fawlty Towers - 1975 "The Builders" Episode. Over his wife's objections, Basil hires his usual firm of incompetents to do some carpentry work in the hotel lobby. Of course everything goes wrong. Basil tries to keep the peace when his wife confronts the builder with an umbrella. One of the best Fawlty Towers episodes. Watch a You Tube clip here
3) Under the Tuscan Sun - 2003 Starring Diane Lane as an unhappy writer who uproots her life to renovate an old villa in Tuscany, this feel-good film is loosely based on the memoir of the same name by Frances Mayes. Romantic, set against a background of classic Italian architecture and the lyrical Italian countryside, Under the Tuscan Sun is the perfect movie getaway. Watch the Trailer here
4) The House Sitter- 1992 Steve Martin's girlfriend turns down his proposal and refuses his gift of a new house. A charming con woman, (Goldie Hawn), creates chaos when she moves into the still-vacant house and pretends to be Steve's new wife. Steve and Goldie produce a lot of laughs as they try and keep the lie going - a highlight is the neighbourhood party where it all falls to pieces and Steve tries to sing a version of the Lullaby "Tura Lura Lura". Watch the Trailer here
5) Multiplicity - 1996 Sometimes, it's hard to get everything done with just one pair of hands. Construction worker Doug Kinney (Michael Keaton) never has time to do the things he wants to do—that is, until a helpful scientist offers him the use of his cloning machine. Before he knows it, there are a total of four Dougs, each causing his own brand of accidental mayhem. Watch the trailer here
6) Mr Blandings Builds His Dream House -1948 A classic movie with Cary Grant as a New York ad man, sick of the city and ready to relocate to an idyllic residence in the suburbs. But, as this movie demonstrates, renovations can quickly get out of hand. A scene from "Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House," Mrs. Blandings (Mirna Loy) takes great pains to convey to the contractor the exact, precise colors she wants the various rooms painted. Watch the clip here
7) Home Improvement - The TV series 1991 to 1999 Famous, family, friendly humour with Tim Allen. A classic TV series. With some great catch phrases like Al's "I don't think so,Tim" and Tim's primitive grunts as he struggles with a philosophical concept! The classic car crushing scene is among some of the many mishaps on this riotous video clip. Watch it here
Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, 0800 42MSPAINT (0800 426 772), mark@2mspainting.co.nz