Daniel Klos wrote to pose an interesting question…
Regarding your recent post on It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World (I think I have the correct number of "Mads" in there), I know it's your favorite film, but if you saw it today for the first time as a 67-year-old man in 2020, do you think you would like it? Meaning, how much of your affection for it is because of the film itself, and how much of it is because of the circumstances surrounding it when you first saw?
This is not meant to cast judgment on your taste in film. Just curious if, divorced from your history with the film, it would be something that would appeal to the current you if you had never seen it before.
It's hard to imagine me making it to age 67 without seeing a movie that starred Sid Caesar, Jonathan Winters, Phil Silvers, et cetera, et cetera. I loved that kind of comic performer before I saw Mad World and I loved them more after I saw it. It's definitely a product of its time but also an important part of my childhood…and if you're thinking I might not be able to completely separate those two things, you're right. But I love seeing those performers and I love seeing them interact.
For those reading this who don't know: I saw this movie for the first time on 11/23/63. It was one day after Lee Harvey Oswald murdered John F. Kennedy and one day before Jack Ruby murdered Lee Harvey Oswald. There was a lot of emotion in this country that Saturday. My parents were given tickets by some friends who'd purchased them in advance but were too depressed to leave the house. We took them because my parents were too depressed to stay home and watch the sad coverage on TV. So that underscored my first viewing of It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World.
That was part of my experience that night but probably not a major part. It was a life-changing experience when I was eleven and I can draw a line between that evening and who I am now. I think I would like it very much if I saw it for the first time today but I'd sure ask, "How the hell did I miss this 'til now?" And I might not be the same 67-year-old person enjoying it.