Fourth of July

You shouldn’t be reading this. I mean come on, it’s the Fourth of July, go outside and grill something or throw lit Roman Candles into the air and try to dodge them. If you’re from another country… um… Happy Monday? Anyways, the Wife and I thought it would be fun to share our favorite Fourth of July movies with you. They don’t necessarily have to be about the holiday itself, just something we like to watch during this festive time. We want to feature movies that portray the true meaning of being American and the spirit of freedom; all that happy horse manure and we were too lazy to watch a Best Picture this week. If we don’t mention something you like to watch, or if you have any thoughts on the subject in general, please comment below the post. We always love to hear from you.

Hobo Dan: I always think of the original Star Wars films when I think about holiday movies. Yeah, it may sound strange, but do you remember the days before the movies were out on video? They always showed them on TV on holiday weekends (I guess maybe they still do). This was my first introduction to them at all as a child. I still laugh every time I watch the trilogy now on DVD and see scenes that were edited out of the TV version for time. Scenes I didn’t even know existed before 1997 (when they re-released them in theaters). Now days I just wish they’d just edit out all the special edition crap or the prequel trilogy. But hey, they shot off fire works at the end of Return of the Jedi after blowing up Death Star 2; maybe that was on the Fourth of July in a galaxy far far away...

The Wife: My Fourth of July pick is a bit more "traditionally patriotic." I choose INDEPENDENCE DAY! The movie is the epitome of a 90's classic and offers some great action, characters and a pretty cool plot. Sure it has that cheesy vibe, but that's what makes it so great. This is a must watch every Fourth of July...I mean the name is "Independence Day." America saves aliens from attacking the planet and causing the human race to be extinct! The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and Jeff Goldblum make quite the duo as well. Oh! And COUSIN EDDY (Randy Quaid) is in this! Winning! This film also is humorous, but still maintains some degree of emotional depth, which unfortunately is lost in many new action/funny movies today. I enjoy the Love Actually type set-up as well...meaning I like how there are separate character stories, but everything comes together in the end. Independence Day has become so permanently stamped into my Fourth of July tradition that we had to purchase a copy on Blu-Ray over the weekend. The movie just makes me happy!

So there you have it. Along with a family cook-out, our Fourth of July weekend has consisted of a Star Wars marathon and MULTIPLE viewings of Independence Day. We will leave you with this patriotic, pump you up, heroic, epic, WINNING speech: