He asked me not to mention it, so of
course I must begin by saying Mr. Ruane’s hair had a special pumpkin spice shine
when I entered his 7th period study hall. Teaching not only English
10 Honors, but AP Lang and English 11 as well, catching him on his free time
can prove difficult. Luckily, I am a veteran in the field of hunting down
English teachers for a chat. It’s impossible to count on one hand the number of
times I have spotted Ruane from down the hall and planned my mode of attack to
corner him and ask his opinion on an 80’s horror film or quiz him on a Kevin
Smith screenplay. He never fails to disappoint with his responses either. When I
sat down at his desk, he had already propped his elbow up to support his head,
giving me his full attention to question him on what I love most; Movies.
Aine Geraghty: So, we always have
conversations about movies. What sparked your love for, or interest in movies?
Kevin Ruane: I think the time period in
which I grew up to be honest with you. I come from a time of The Goonies
and Back To The Future, where it wasn’t, you know these crass type of American
Pie, Project X, it was more, you know “Oh man I wish that could be me”, a time where
movies could actually transport you to a different place, or get the
imagination going, Like a Star Wars or an E.T. I think, truly I
grew up in an awesome time with regard to movies.
AG: So what is your favorite movie and why?
KR: I would say my favorite movie…at first guess it’s Back To The
Future just because that’s been around the longest for me. It’s just the idea of
time travel is cool, 80s is awesome, and then the idea of, really, who wouldn’t want to be in the
same setting as your parents to see what your parents were like as teenagers,
what they were like when they first got together, as my parents were high
school sweethearts to begin with, I think that would be cool. And just the idea
of any type of time machine is just awesome. But as I matured, I also fell in
love, as we talked about earlier, with the movie The Emperor’s Club, which is a Kevin
Kline movie. He teaches at a private school, it was shot right here at Emma
Willard, and the whole idea about having values, having morals, and how that
guides you, I mean, obviously as a teacher that rings true more than anything
else. But, when I think about movies its got to be Back To The Future.
AG: Who is your favorite film director?
KR: Film
director…I never really focused
on that, only because of the fact that, you know I always look at the talent.
It’s kind of like
those award shows, when they bring up the producers, who cares? Nobody cares
about the producer or the writer, it’s who can actually deliver that message. But,
I guess I would have to say something along the lines of, I do like Richard
Donner. You wanna talk about the guy who brought The Goonies to life as
a result, because that was originally a dream that Steven Spielberg had. And
also, he made the first Superman. And I mean, that’s probably one of
my earliest child memories, is sitting on my stomach with my head cropped up in
my palms and watching Christopher Reeve run across the street, rip open that
shirt, go into the spinning doors and fly up in the air. I can remember that as
if it were yesterday. So clearly Richard Donner gave me the two movies that pop
out certainly in my younger and more vulnerable years.
AG: Has there ever been a film thats
changed you life, or your views? Anything like that?
KR: On what? Political views? Point of
view?
AG: I guess on how you view anything; the
world, how you live your life, how you're spending your time in this world, if
you’re spending it
right.
KR: No, because I think ultimately when
it comes down to it, movies are just meant to distract and do nothing else. It’s supposed to give
you that little catharsis where you don’t have to think about anything. Theres
certainly been movies that I’ve seen that have made my stomach turn, have made
me uncomfortable, for instance I couldn't even get through 12 Years A Slave.
Not because it was an important topic, but just the fact that that’s the way things
actually went down, that’s the way people actually behaved, that was just, to me, so
reprehensible that I couldn't bear to get through it. So, there are movies that
have an impact, but change the way I think about things? No.
AG: So, being a teacher and liking
movies, who is your favorite cinematic teacher?
KR: Hmmm, that’s a good question.
You’ve got Jack
Keating, you have William Hunter. See that’s interesting, you’ve also have
someone like Al Pacino, who wasn’t a teacher in Scent Of A Woman, but
the idea that he takes this kid under his wing and he fights for him, so he
acts as a teacher in a sense. I would say I do like Kevin Kline’s character William
Hunter, but I know I could never be like that because he’s far too composed,
where I have my fits of rage or whatever the case may be, so I would say I’m more resemble Al
Pacino’s character in Scent
Of A Woman, but I would like to certainly be more like William Hunter in The
Emperor’s Club, certainly.
AG: So speaking of Jack Keating from Dead
Poets Society, he has this quote in the movie where he says “We don't read and
write poetry because it's cute. We read and write poetry because we are members
of the human race. And the human race is filled with passion. And medicine,
law, business, engineering, these are noble pursuits and necessary to sustain
life. But poetry, beauty, romance, love, these are what we stay alive for.”
Do you agree with
this quote?
KR: Oh absolutely. And I mean, I don’t even like poetry.
It’s fun because I don’t like it, but I
know I have to teach it differently, as in teach it as a code, as in there’s a code that we
have to break or a message that we have to break. But I love anyone who talks
about the idea of passion and having heart and having zeal in doing something.
That doesn’t exist anymore today. Everyone wants the easy way out, everyone wants
the quick fix, no one wants to pay their dues anymore. Look at shows like The
Voice, look at America’s Got Talent. You have people who
spend their entire lives performing in dumps and poorly lit bars, and now all I
have to do is go on a show and get
famous. I don’t think there’s that passion, so anytime I hear someone talking about passion and
drive, you’ve got me hooked. Most definitely.
AG: I know, from being in you class as a
sophomore, that you ask us what we believe the best movie quote is. So in your
opinion, what is the best movie quote ever?
KR: Good one. I like everything that Herb
Brooks (Kurt Russell) said in Miracle. I mean, he was just such a great
educator, he was a master of psychology, knew how to get inside people’s heads. He was
good, but if there's one thing that truly stands out to me, there’s a quote in The
Emperor’s Club where they present Mr. Keating with a plaque, and they read from the
plaque and it’s just a beautiful, beautiful message and he’s very overcome
because he believes he has kind of lost some of these kids. He lost one kid,
couldn’t get the message
across to him, but he was so focused on the one kid he couldn’t get that he didn’t realize the
impact he had years later in the lives of these young men, turned successful
adults. And it’s something along the lines of “A great teacher has little personal
history to record. His lives fall over, travel, spill into other lives,”
and really just the
message is very, very beautiful. So that to me is a very powerful quote. I like
it when his student reads it to him.
AG: Are there any movies you know every
line of by heart?
KR: Yes.
AG: Which ones?
KR: My good friend, Jim Vardaro and I, we
can go back and forth. That used to be kind of one of the games that we would
play, just to have an entire conversation in the office only using movie lines,
and people would get confused. But movies like Back To The Future, Uncle
Buck, Best Of The Best, Big Trouble In Little China, not word by word, but Wayne’s World the majority of
quotes we would go back and forth with. Something like Christmas Vacation,
just those little snippets, where if you were sharp, it’s a literary
exercise in allusions. If you can pick up on those allusions, allusions make
you smart. You're speaking a language that not everyone can understand and that’s what we would
have a lot of fun doing.
AG: What is your favorite genre of
movies?
KR: I don't like action so much because
action is just explosion nowadays, I don’t like that. I do like dramas. Comedies
are okay, but I think they're starting to lose their comedic effect. And there
have even been romantic comedies that I’ve sat through that I don’t mind. But I would
say certainly drama now, at this point, because you could say something along
the lines of Stand By Me, which is an awesome movie. You could say it’s a coming of age
story, but a drama is what it is and I think we are more apt to connect with
something dramatic then we are comedic or something action-pact. That’s why I think drama
is where I find myself now.
AG: If your life was turned into a movie,
who would you want to play you and who would you want to direct it?
KR: Well, I would be played by Denzel.
And who would direct it?
AG: Just to be clear, Denzel Washington,
correct?
KR: (Smirks.) Not Denzel O’Shaughnessy, no.
Denzel Washington. And I would say it would have to be…
I would say it
would be directed by my mother. She’s been with me the longest, she knew me
as all this stuff was happening. And I would hope that because of the way she
raised me, that even if we get to the college years or when I’m not around, she
would still understand how I would respond and react to certain things because
she should know me better than anyone else. I think my mother would be a good
choice to direct.
AG: So because we have all these
conversations all the time about movies, and it inevitably always ends up at The
Lost Boys and you mock me for that, what is your favorite monster and/or
slasher film?
KR: I do like The Monster Squad. The
Monster Squad is great. I like the movie Scream. It’s not as great as The
Monster Squad, but I think it’s the history behind the fact that we’d never seen
anything like it before. I think we were maybe in middle school when we
went to see it, and that was the first big group date that we all went on where
there are like four guys, four girls, so it was that kind of idea. So I think
the idea that that was kind of the guise that we used to go out on these dates,
because you can’t go on a date one-on-one, it’s got to be safety in numbers. So I think
I remember that because of the connotation associated with that. But I do, I
like The Monster Squad.
AG: Going back to the conversation we had
a few days ago, I’m changing it up a little bit. So who would win in a fight, Ellen
Ripley (Alien) or Major “Dutch” Schaefer (Predator)?
KR: Dutch.
AG: Dutch? Why?
KR: More resilient. More fierce. Less
emotional.
AG: Less emotional? I think Ripley kept
herself together quite well.
KR: Mmhmm.
AG: She’s also in space. She wasn’t on home turf, he
was on home turf. She was on an alien ship, he was at least on Earth.
KR: So what did you ask me the question
for if you already know the answer?
AG: I don’t know the answer. I’m just presenting
you with other options.
KR: (Laughs.)
AG: Are there any movies that have come
out within the last year that you think are worth seeing?
KR: I’m interested when sequels come out, like X-Men,
because I remember years and years and years ago when the first one came
out, so I always like to see how something evolves. But as far as like a drive
to have to see something, (Shakes head.) I’m more so driven now by shows that are
coming out. I love Ricky Gervais. I’ve always loved Ricky Gervais. And I
absolutely adore the British Office and I adore Derek. Absolutely
amazing series on Netflix, I mean laugh, cry, it hits everything. Of course there’s the movies that
came out with Denzel that looks good, but I just feel like it’s all a
regurgitation. Like, there was a trailer I saw for a movie that’s already out, I
think it’s called Non-Stop,
or something like that, with Liam Neeson, who’s awesome, who's like the coolest guy
ever. I mean, talk about an action star. But, it was pretty much just Taken,
but on an airplane. He’s got so much skill and so much acumen in what he
does, now he’s just gonna be a gun-toting, throat-chopping man? I don’t know, I just see
it kind of as the same thing over and over and over again. Like they are
redoing Dumb And Dumber, or they are making a sequel to that, which is a
catastrophic mistake. Even the trailer looks abysmal. I think there’s this constant
need to do a reboot, that term is “Lets do a reboot.”
Why? It doesn't
make any sense. Lets let the wine age a couple years before we open the cork
and enjoy it. I don’t think that’s happening anymore.
AG: Because you don’t think a lot of
movies are that great anymore, what do you think the ingredients to a good
movie are?
KR: I think first and foremost, the time
period, the setting, and the kids in it. And when I say kids, when I think
about, whether its The Mighty Ducks, whether I think about Stand By
Me, whether I think about Back To The Future (teenagers), or even
something like The Sandlot, kids are always the good idea. Kids are
always good protagonists. Look at South Park. I mean, it’s satire at its
finest because the idea is that kids are honest. So to see a world throughout
the eyes of kids, when they are in the sandlot trying to get the ball from “The Beast”, that’s funny to me. That’s true, and I think
it resonates because it takes us back to a time when we were younger, or at
least when I was younger, talking about going outside and playing and exploring
and finding things. I like that idea as opposed to the jaded adult who's
heartbroken and sad. I think that idea of innocence is kind of nice to see and
I really don’t think that exists anymore.
AG: Are there any movies that you flat
out hate?
KR: The Notebook and Titanic.
AG: Any specific reason why?
KR: Ya, because the women are no good in
those movies. In The Notebook, she cheats. She cheats on a nice guy. She
doesn’t even tell him the
truth.
AG: And he was nice to her.
KR: He was great to her! He was
everything a good guy should be and she didn’t care, so I think that idea is bad. And
look at Titanic. Whenever Titanic is on I always stop and watch
it because, again I remember seeing that with, you know, someone. It wasn’t even a girlfriend
or anything like that, but I just remember a time when that was almost close to
the end of high school, so I think about that time and what was happening. But
no, she was engaged to a scumbag, ya, but when she dies she went to Titanic
heaven. Where was her husband? At the pearly gates waiting for her and she was
making out with a bum she slept with once. It’s bad news, she’s no good.
AG: Do you have a movie that’s like, so bad that
you have to watch it? Like one of those ones that is so good because it’s so bad.
KR: Probably something like Teen Wolf.
I mean, that’s about as goofy as it gets. If there were a teen wolf today, in 2014,
if he changed first period, third period he’d be out of school on home instruction
because he’d be bullied so hard. That’s not the way that things were. But then
the whole idea of come from behind, be your own person, it’s so cheesy, it’s so goofy that you
can’t help but say “Oh my god, in what
world would this kid be cool?”
AG: So you mentioned The Goonies
and The Sandlot earlier. Of the two, which do you think is a better
movie about kids and their summer adventures?
KR: That’s a good question. I think they are both
good because both serve the purpose. Obviously, I like the idea about the kids in
The Goonies doing something for the greater good, trying to help their
parents and the idea is that, I think this goes way back to the John Hughes,
who I love by the way too, I love John Hughes. You go back to the idea that he
understood kids better than anyone else. He got what they were going through.
So, to have these little kids trying to be saviors for their community is
awesome. But I think one of the sad things about something like The Sandlot is
toward the end it shows what happens when they grow up, so you always wonder “Oh, you can’t be those little
kids forever.” So I think summer, I mean really that was a perfect summer movie
because of what brought them all together that summer. But I think the idea of
these guys getting together in The Goonies and fighting against Big
Brother and his big banks and everything like that, and coming together each
with their own eclectic skills, that’s why it always stands out to me.
AG: Speaking of “coming of age”
movies, of all of
the coming of age movies, which one do you like best?
KR: I’m trying to think, I mean I like the idea
of something like The Mighty Ducks 3, where they always relied on Coach
Bombay, he was always there, he always had to do his thing. And, you know, you’ve got the new guy
who comes in, who takes over, that they don’t like. And at the end of that movie
there was a scene when Gordon Bombay kind of just looks back over his shoulder
after they've done what they needed to do without him, and he just kind of
smiles and walks away kind of knowing that his job is over. He did exactly what
they needed and he gave them what they needed to be successful and then just
kind of left like that. I like that kind of idea where the teacher ultimately
has to cut the cord and sever those ties and just hope that he did a good
enough job. And that’s the image that I’m always reminded of, that they can do this on
their own now.
AG: Going back to a totally different
topic, what is-
KR: So we’re not going back to anything? That’s just a totally
different topic, that’s your transition.
AG: I totally talk so great. What is the
best transformation movie, talking supernatural?
KR: What do you mean?
AG: Like werewolf, vampire
transformation.
KR: Oh, not like She’s All That?
AG: No. (Laughs.)
KR: Oh. I think those Mummy movies
do a nice job, where he is just this kind of acrid, decayed, arid type of
thing. I mean that’s the technology itself, but I always thought those transitions were
good.
AG: About how many movies do you own?
KR: So Netflix doesn’t count? Even
though I own that account.
AG: No.
KR: I would say that I own, I don’t know, probably
pushing one hundred. And I watch a fraction, I would say even like double
digits, low double digits is what I watch. They’ve just been gathering dust.
AG: What is your favorite Disney movie?
KR: The Mighty Ducks would be
Disney, wouldn’t it? But I think Heavy Weights is pretty funny. Do you mean
like Disney animated?
AG: Anything Disney.
KR: Heavy Weights is pretty funny.
Is Pixar Disney?
AG: Yes.
KR: I do like The Incredibles. But
I would say that Heavy Weights is probably my favorite.
AG: Because we are slowly approaching
Halloween, and this question is either a yes or a no for most people, are you a
fan of Rocky Horror Picture Show?
KR: Never seen it.
AG: Never seen it?!
KR: Uh-uh.
AG: You’ve got to see it.
KR: No because I don’t like musicals. It’s a waste of time.
I would much rather watch…they used to have on, and they brought it back a little while ago,
that Elvira girl. She used to show like those b-movies at like midnight, and oh
my god they were so bad, they were so terrible. Like Mystery Science Theater
terrible. But no I’ve never ever seen that.
AG: Have you seen Tales From The Crypt?
KR: It was alright. When I think about
Rocky Horror Picture Show, I think about Tim Curry, which makes me think either
Clue or The Worst Witch. One of the first Halloween movies I ever
saw.
AG: Do you like Hocus Pocus?
KR: Mmm, never seen it.
AG: God.
KR: I’m busy being a guy.
AG: Hocus Pocus has nothing to with
being a guy or a girl.
KR: It’s three witches.
AG: Ya, but it’s focused on a kid
who is a boy.
KR: Ehh, if I wanna watch witches I’ll just watch The
Crucible.
AG: The Crucible was weird though. Winona
Ryder, I love her, but she was not good in that.
KR: I know, she was evil. Oh, I see what
you mean.
AG: If you could only watch five movies
for the rest of your life, which ones would you choose?
KR: I would say The Dark Knight Rises.
Not that great of a movie, but I like the idea that you’ve got to know when
to hang it up, you gotta know when to walk away. I would say, obviously, The
Emperor’s Club, Back To The Future. Stand By Me was always good. And then, I
would say The Karate Kid, only because he gave us all such a bad name
with the garbage that he did.
AG: Of course you don’t mean The
Karate Kid with Jaden Smith, right?
RG: No, no, because that’s the Kung Fu
Kid.
AG: Oh I didn’t even know.
KR: Ya.
AG: What is the best sequel ever made?
KR: Back To The Future 2.
AG: Favorite cinematic couple?
KR: That’s really good. Only the silver screen
right, not the small screen?
AG: Any screen.
KR: I would say not Pam and Jim, but I
really like Dawn and Tim from the British Office. That he tried, she was
with someone, she liked him, the timing wasn’t right, and then ultimately when it was
right, boom because they are perfect compliments of each other, for each other.
AG: What is your favorite movie character
ever?
KR: I might have to say Superman, isn't
it?
AG: A particular Superman?
KR: Reeve. Christopher Reeve. The only
Superman.
AG: What is the funniest movie you have
ever seen? Other than Monster Camp.
KR: (Laughs.) Other than Monster
Camp. The one that I think makes me laugh the most, I don’t know if it’s the funniest but
it gets the most laughs out of me, is probably Wayne’s World. That’s coming to mind
right now just because it seems like it’s a laugh a minute in that movie.
AG: There’s a lot of like, hidden jokes.
KR: Ya! Exactly. I like something that
you’re going to have to
be a little bit more clever.
AG: So what do you think the best movie
soundtrack is?
KR: Rocky. Probably even Rocky
4 to be more specific.
AG: If you were to win a movie trivia
contest, what would the topic have to be?
KR: If it’s 80’s, I’m winning it. If it’s sports films, I’m winning it.
AG: And because this is the end of our
interview, you’ve been lovely Mr. Ruane, what is the best movie ending ever?
KR: Oh, great question. Well the one that
always makes me cry would be Field Of Dreams. I think that’s just a very
sensationally powerful ending that only guys get emotional for.
AG: Why do you say only guys?
KR: Well because the idea of a guy who
lost his father, had a strained relationship for his father, when it comes down
to it he did everything for his father. And at the very end when he says “Dad, you wanna have
a catch?”
and the father gets
emotional, starts to tear up, I mean guys aren’t meant to show emotions. We’re not meant to do
that, so when we see that happening, it’s, oh god, it’s tough to get
through that one. There’s no man alive who should be able to go through that scene without
having some semblance of an emotion. Can’t do it, it’s impossible. I defy anyone to do it.
On that note, I left his 7th period study
hall, wishing him a pleasant rest of his day. It wasn’t unit la few days
later though, when I was packing up my things from my 6th period Lang. class
that he popped in to solidify one of his answers. Reminding me that I asked him
what his favorite movie quote was, he explained that since with 10 AP students
decided they didn’t want to work, he had come to the conclusion that his favorite one
was Kurt Russell’s character in Miracle say “Get a whistle.”
I’m sure his students
will discover zoo enough that with Mr. Ruane, they have everything “on the line.”
