Why first-time film viewings with friends are the best

Lorraine Bracco in Goodfellas

This past weekend I had the pleasure of watching two classic genre movies with people who had never seen them before. I watch This Is Spinal Tap with my future wife, Liz Rosado, and I watched Goodfellas with one of my best friends, Olivia Kestin.

Unlike some people who act appalled when someone hasn't seen some iconic movie, I relish the chance to introduce them to something special, because watching it with someone who has a fresh pair of eyes is often like experiencing it for the first time all over again.

It helps that both of these women are adept film connoisseurs -- who love to devour new things and generally approach movies with an open mind. Knowing how great both these films are I knew both ladies were in for a treat. Still, watching these movies with them made me reflect on some elements of the projects that I've either overlooked or taken for granted over the years.

This Is Spinal Tap

This note-perfect comedy doesn't waste a single moment and it remains my favorite mockumentary film of all time. Liz, as I suspected, loved it -- and here are a few things she made me think about:

The music is actually impressive: Yes, the songs are all jokes ("Sex Farm," "Big Bottom," etc.) but they are performed earnestly by the film's stars -- Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer and Michael McKean. The fact that they wrote the songs and played the music lends authenticity to the comedy.

The best moments are the awkward ones: Director Rob Reiner does a spectacular job of letting quiet little asides, and halting pauses play out for maximum comedic effect. Characters misspeak and dig themselves into verbal holes in a way that is both hilarious and utterly realistic.

Rob Reiner had an interesting career going their for a while: Speaking of Reiner, until he became bogged down making middle-aged rom coms, he was a very versatile director. Take this film and pair it with the unforgettable thriller Misery and you'd think you were dealing with a true virtuoso. I'm not sure why his career tapered off in the late '90s, but his work here is sublime.

Goodfellas

Olivia is a burgeoning film buff in her own right, and generally speaking our tastes align, so I fully expected her to like this film. Scorsese if my favorite director, and Goodfellas is arguably among his five best films, so clearly I was on board.

The violence of this film is still shocking: Even for a gangster film, Goodfellas is an aggressively gory piece of work, but always with a purpose which I appreciate. It always has been a visceral experience -- from its nostalgic opening to its cocaine-fueled finale. The movie is so adept at making organized crime seem appealing but also underlining how senseless, and deadly, it can be.

Ray Liotta's laugh: Like the movie it's both unsettling and oddly endearing. Ray Liotta's laugh is too distinct to not be natural and it erupts frequently in Goodfellas in moments that should not be the least bit comical, which is in-and-of-itself, funny. Goodfellas is a hilarious movie about a deadly serious subject matter.

Joe Pesci's performance is pure genius: I've written before about how much I adore Pesci's work as a character actor, and this movie may feature his greatest performance ever. He won the Oscar for his incredible portrayal of pure id -- this is a sociopath who is both scary and frighteningly charismatic. It's fascinating how, despite how vile his character is, his tragic fate always provokes sadness from audiences. This is both a tribute to Pesci and Scorsese as a filmmaker.