Movies for Preservationists

Those of us who are movie lovers can usually point to a favorite category of films that appeals to our tastes. In my younger years, I was drawn to those truly awful (and I do mean awful) sci-fi movies of the 1950s (there is no accounting for one’s choices). 

But as I matured, so did my preferences in movies. I now find myself partial to the black-and-white screwball comedies of the 1930s and 1940s with their whimsical take on life and events. Combine that preference with my preservationist leanings, and it is no surprise that I enjoy watching movies that combine the best of both worlds.

The first is The Money Pit (1986), starring Tom Hanks and Shelley Long, which is a preservationist classic if ever there was one. Though not an older film, it can genuinely be appreciated only by those who have experienced first-hand Murphy’s Law with respect to vintage home restoration – “If anything can go wrong, it will” (along with the corollary, “At the most inopportune time”). Every project in the movie seems to be a money pit, soaking up the owners’ hard earned funds as simple tasks evolve into monstrous nightmares of complications and unexpected repairs.

It is easy to relate to these comedic events in your own restoration efforts. Perhaps you are removing the molding around a door to readjust its misalignment when you accidentally cut an electrical wire that you didn’t know was there. Or you sit down on the toilet one day, only to have it slowly sink an inch or two through the wood which has been slowly deteriorating over the years.  That things will go wrong during a home restoration is a given, which is why Murphy’s Law is the mantra for a do-it-yourselfer.

Even the humorous Jack Benny can find little to laugh about when his wife (Ann Sheridan) convinces him to buy a dilapidated farmhouse in the 1942 comedy, George Washington Slept Here. Once again, everything seems to go wrong at once, leaving the couple to second-guess the decision to buy what initially seemed like the perfect, get-away-from-it-all house in the country.

Undertaking a vintage home restoration can entail a number of challenges and not everyone is up to the task. Events that that occur during the process can seem funny in hindsight but are seldom humorous at the time. Every participant can share amusing anecdotes about the events that precipitated the “gnashing of teeth” and the draining of the pocketbook. Simple tasks that were only going to take two hours somehow morph into major rehabilitation endeavors once the walls are opened and the defects exposed.

It should be pointed out that house nightmares are not limited to older homes.  When Cary Grant and Myrna Loy decide to buy a house in the country (Mr. Blandings Builds His Dream House, 1948), they elect to demolish the hopelessly decrepit structure and build new. This way they will avoid the pitfalls inherent in home restoration. But they soon discover, much to their distress, that errant decisions can lead to problems even in new construction.

Lest I give the wrong impression, let me point out that returning a vintage home to its former grandeur brings a sense of triumph and importance that is hard to find in any other venture. Knowing that you are responsible for the continued existence of a vintage treasure conveys a sense of pride and accomplishment. It makes the plaster dust, accidental cuts, and long days worth the effort

Or you could just watch the movie.