An interesting question keeps arising on the Turner Classic Movies fan page, so let us settle it once and for all! What constitutes a "classic" movie? Anyone who has talked movies with me knows I love movies from all generations, so I don't think it's a chronological thing. Whether they're recent movies like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, Whale Rider or In America or movies I grew up with like Ghostbusters, Jurassic Park, Roger Rabbit, Neverending Story and Groundhog Day or movies made decades before I was born like Vertigo, Mrs. Miniver or To Kill A Mockingbird, I deem them "classics" because they have not lost their luster. I can watch them multiple times and discover something new, whether it's a nuance in the actors performance I never noticed or a layer to the story that never occurred to me. Frances Macdormand in Three Billboards as well as Gregory Peck in Mockingbird both left my jaw on the floor. Like seriously, just GIVE them the Oscar right then and there. Don't bother nominating anyone else, it's in the bag. Roger Rabbit appeals to me just as much as an adult as it did as a kid, but for different reasons. As a kid, I liked how Roger Rabbit brought all my favorite cartoon characters together, but as an adult I realize it's also about making peace with what you've lost. Neverending Story does the same thing without the bounciness and fun (try NOT tearing up when Artax dies or when the Rock Biter says "they look....like big....strong hands....don't they?" ) If the themes are still timeless, if the story is layered, if the scenes move you emotionally, THAT is what makes it a "classic." Or that's just what I think.

And I'm just joking about settling this once and for all. There's no way on Earth that's ever going to happen.