Hook (1991)

Nearly every Friday evening our house fills with the smell of freshly popped microwave popcorn, the “movie butter” kind, we fire up the projector in our basement and the kids and dogs all find comfortable spots on our huge pit sofa, snuggling down with pillows and soft blankets.  Before we pop in the chosen movie, we do go through a rigorous voting accord to find whose movie has been chosen to be viewed. Each family member is allowed to choose a movie and then we all vote on them.

Recently my movie was democratically elected to be watched and that film was 1991’s Family hit, “Hook”, starring Dustin Hoffman, Robin Williams, Julia Roberts and Bob Hoskins. I didn’t realize that showing my family “Hook”, including my three sons, would result in me crying on and off through out the film because I was just so touched and saddened whenever Robin Williams was on screen. Every one of course loved the movie, how can you not? The choreography of the stunts, Robin Williams’ and Dustin Hoffman’s performances, the Lost Boys, even Julia Roberts as Tinkerbelle has grown on me over the many years since I first saw it.

Other wonderful things about Hook are the score by John Williams (always a stunner), Bob Hoskins as Smee (one of my favorite characters) and Dante Basco as the incomparable Rufio! (We are hoping to get a cat sometime in the future and I am really hoping that I can convince the kids to name it Rufio.) And honestly, some of the score can illicit tears from my eyes within a few notes.

I really cannot recommend watching Hook enough, especially if you haven’t seen it, love Robin Williams or love the story of Peter Pan. Stephen Spielberg did a Bangarang! job with it and I’ll never tire of watching it and getting swept away to Neverland. Every time. 

“To live, would be an awfully big adventure.” 😢