I LOST MY MIND AT OLD FRIEND PHOTOBOOTH IN NEW YORK CITY by Larry Baumhor

Steven Spielberg, 'The Fabelmans' cast on How the Film Hits Home

The Fabelmans and My Son

by Larry Baumhor

(Copyright 2022)

   How do you determine that you watched a movie that is a masterpiece of filmmaking, that will win many Academy Awards, that will be preserved in the Library of Congress for eternity? 1: In one scene you cry. 2: In the next scene you laugh. 3: You become entranced; your mouth is open and your jaw is dropped. 4: You forget about time and that you’re in a movie theater. You’re inside the movie and don’t know what you’re doing there. 5: The movie ends and you don’t know what happens. 6: When you realize the movie is over, you stand up applauding and shouting, “Spielberg, Spielberg, Spielberg!” 7: You take the bus home and look out the window and see yourself flying adjacent to the bus wearing the same black jacket you have on. 8: You stand up on the crowded bus and chant, “Fabelman, Fabelman, Fabelman. Happy Thanksgiving.” No one says anything as if you were a lunatic. 9: The bus stops at a red light across the street from the bus stop. You stand up and ask the bus driver to let you off. She doesn’t respond. You chant “Fabelman, Fabelman, Fabelman. Happy Thanksgiving.” No response. You start to sing to the bus driver:

“What the world needs now is love, sweet love

It's the only thing that there's just too little of


What the world needs now is love, sweet love


No not just for some, but for everyone.

Lord, we don't need another mountain


There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb


There are oceans and rivers enough to cross


Enough to last 'til the end of time.

What the world needs now is love, sweet love.”

   The bus driver continues to trim her nails at the red light and will not even look at you. 10: The bus lets you off and you begin to chant again to the passengers stepping onto the bus, “Fabelman, Fabelman, Fabelman. Happy Thanksgiving.” A passenger responds Happy Thanksgiving. 11: You decide to walk a mile home and you walk up to a car with two passengers and chant “Fabelman, Fabelman, Fabelman.” What the world needs now is love sweet love. The driver and passenger move on without looking at you. 12: While walking home the song “You make me feel like dancin,’ I wanna dance the night away,” pops into your head. You do a pirouette, fall down and get up as if nothing happened.

The Fabelmans, Official Trailer

   If you score six out of the twelve aforementioned statements, you watched a masterpiece. I was 12 for 12!
   Sammy’s parents Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and Burt (Paul Dano) take the impressionable Sammy to the movie The Greatest Show on Earth.

The Fabelmans, from The New Yorker

   The movie ends with a monstrous train crash leaving an indelible impression on Sammy. Sammy’s parents buy him a train set for Hanukkah. His father Burt allows Sammy to use his 8mm camera to film a train crash. And this begins Sammy’s adventures and genius in filmmaking, a la Steven Spielberg.
   Sammy eventually receives better film equipment and begins to film his family and casts his friends and sisters in his movies. Sammy makes a dynamic movie about his school class trip to the beach. The movie is shown at the school and all of a sudden Sammy becomes likable to his non-Jewish classmates who often bullied him with antisemitic remarks.

   My prediction: The film will win the Best Picture of the Year. And the Oscar goes to Steven Spielberg for Best Director. The Best Original Script is none other than Spielberg and co-writer Tony Kushner. The Best Actress will go to Michelle Williams who is breathtakingly stunning (not in looks) but in her portrayal of Sammy’s mom. Other awards will go to Sammy, either Gabriel LaBelle or Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord, who plays the younger Sammy. We can’t leave out sister Reggie (Julia Butters).

From left Keeley Karsten, Gabriel LaBelle, Steven Spielberg, Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord and Julia Butters attends The Fabelmans at the Toronto Film Festival, AFP photo

Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy, from Variety

   David Lynch plays director John Ford in a cameo appearance. I had no idea it was Lynch as he was wearing glasses with one eye patched, not to mention the cigar he was smoking filled the room like tear gas.
   Ironically, the Fabelmans remind me of my relationship with my son Andrew who in his late twenties and early thirties won six Emmy awards as an executive producer at Major League Baseball Network. 

Andrew with 3 of his 6 Emmys. Photo by Larry Baumhor

   When Andrew was ten years old, I gave him my boombox to turn off the sound to sporting events and broadcast the games, like Sammy’s father gave him an 8mm camera to film. Thus, the fairytale begins for both Sammy and Andrew. I saved the tapes. I helped Andrew apply to colleges on the east coast. Andrew became the Director of Broadcasting at American University. Although he was accepted at the Newhouse School of Broadcasting at Syracuse as a transfer student, he finished his college career at American. He was the announcer for basketball, soccer, and lacrosse games.

Andrew broadcasting at American University
Book and photo by Larry Baumhor

   Andrew had his own radio and TV sports shows. I have the tapes and produced 300 resume packages when Andrew was a senior and mailed them to potential employers. His first job was broadcasting baseball in Greensboro, North Carolina, then broadcasting basketball in Woodward, Oklahoma, moving on to producing at ESPN and then to Major League Baseball Network. Like Sammy’s parents who eventually were divorced, Andrew’s mother and I separated when Andrew was three years old and within a few years were divorced. Both Andrew and Sammy Fabelman used their art to sublimate conflicts within the family.

   I am inspired to make a film using my camera/video. I am recruiting actors and actresses. I’m looking for creative people, not necessarily experienced actors. If interested call me at (215) BAUMHOR or email me at larbam@aol.com. What are you making a film about? I don’t know; we’ll figure it out.