Friday, April 27, 2012

Van Morrison - "Sweet Thing"

The Five-Year Engagement isn't a great movie, but on occasion it poignantly illustrates how a romantic moment can be a bit of a double-edged sword. At first, the memory of the moment fills the couple with happiness, but when the relationship starts to suffer, the memory becomes a cruel reminder of what used to be. Engagement has been compared to Like Crazy, and one element they have in common is that they both use a song to illustrate a specific moment in time for the young lovebirds. In Like Crazy, it's the repetition of Paul Simon's "Crazy Love, Vol. II," a bittersweet post-breakup song that Jacob and Anna first heard when they were falling in love. In Engagement, Van Morrison music is all over the soundtrack, but it's "Sweet Thing" that's the most crucial tune. I love the song anyway, so I'm happy to have an excuse to feature it today.