Since we were kids, we knew the taxman was a bad guy. If we didn’t get the message from the lyrics of The Beatles, or the wolfish version of the Sheriff of Nottingham in Disney’s Robin Hood, then we learned through the very real anguish our parents suffered every year, mid-April. As we grew up, we likely heard comedians joke about the IRS, and every character but Jesus appeared to be unforgiving of any person who’d take a job in tax collection. Occasionally we’d see iconic IRS agents, such as the one Charles Lane plays in Capra’s film of You Can’t Take it With You, but even when memorable and enjoyable, they are still mostly identifiably villains. In Abbas Kiarostami’s first film, The Report (Gozaresh), the “hero” is a tax collector, yet he’s involved in corruption and beats his wife. Still hardly classifiable as a good guy, it would seem.
However, with all the movies made around the world in all the years of cinema’s existence, there had to be some films with likable taxmen, so we dug deep and desperately and just barely found ten such characters (admittedly, some are a stretch). While you struggle last minute with your 1040 today, you might not have much appreciation for a list of good guy taxmen, but we don’t care, because hopefully our celebration of these characters will keep us from getting audited anytime soon. Or, if we must get a visit from the IRS agent, we can hope we’re sent one like these men and woman:
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Unemployment is about to get even worse now that Citigroup has announced it will cut 52,000 jobs early next year. And falsely reported news of a killing in Santa Clara, California (the shooter was fired, not laid off) only adds to the bleak atmosphere surrounding the already upsetting job market. But while desperate times may lead to desperate measures, it’s vital for us to remember what we learned from the films of the 1930s, when the Great Depression caused a nearly 25% rate of unemployment (we’re currently at 6.5%).
Hopeful stories of upward mobility and implausible solutions were popular at the time, though many of them had downsides or inspired the desire for unlikely prospects. Still, there was some guidance to be found buried within the fantasies of Hollywood, and SpoutBlog has compiled this handy list to help you make the right choices during your current or imminent joblessness.
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The holidays are coming, and that either means spending time with your dysfunctional family or escaping them for the movies … where you’re likely to be met by other, fictional dysfunctional families. Already this season, Rachel Getting Married introduced us to the f’ed up faux masala of the Buchman clan, and later this month we get to follow Vince Vaughn and Reese Witherspoon as they’re pulled into their separate quadrants of kin in Four Christmases. Also, for those who think dysfunction is an American tradition, this weekend sees the release of the French film A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noël), which unites the two major premises of dysfunctional family movies by being set during the holidays and involving an ill family member.
With two more weeks left until Thanksgiving, after which we might not want to think about another family, real or cinematic, for the rest of our lives, it’s a perfect time to celebrate those dysfunctional tribes we love the best. Literally thousands of movies feature such families, though, so we’re sure to have left out some of your favorites. Definitely chime in below, and/or join the discussion currently going on over in our Top 5 group.
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