James Bond

No quote.

What is it about James Bond that makes people like to watch him? Right now, I'm typing and watching AMC's month-long Complete Bond movie festival. It's The Man with the Golden Gun, not one of my favorites, but here I am watching it all the same.

I think part of it is the travel aspects. He's always in some exotic location. In the past two I've watched, I've had the odd experience of actually having been in some of the same places he's in. It's kind of neat to be able to say, "Hey, I saw that."

Another draw has to be the gadgets. Especially starting with the Roger Moore movies, Bond just had cool stuff. I think it satisfies that little kid with the overactive imagination in all of us. Who didn't want a car that could turn into a submarine or suddenly sprout wings or skis? Heck, I still want that.

As I've gotten older, one thing that sometimes amuses and sometimes annoys is the cheesy double-entendre. Sometimes I wonder how the actors ever delivered those lines with even the slightest straight face. For that matter, I wonder how the actresses who were playing the evil women with the sexual names ever managed to get through that inevitable scene where they introduce themselves. I think the all-time worst character names were Pussy Galore and Plenty O'Toole. I mean, COME ON. Those actresses were underestimated if they could deliver those lines without even a bit of irony.

That, of course, is the whole basis of the Mike Myers Austin Powers series. That's another post, of course. Well, I guess I'd better go. I have laundry to dry and no Bond magic toy to do it for me.