1967's In Like Flint is the sequel to the previous year's Our Man Flint. Both are spy movies, played for laughs. Coburn gives the sort of performance that captivated me as a preteenager. That experience was a great icebreaker when I found myself standing next to Coburn at a Hollywood after-party. I told him I wanted to be Derek Flint when I was younger. He turned his head to look at me. "Still do," I said. He flashed that incredible James Coburn smile as our respective friends came to collect their plus-ones.
The masculine sexual overtones of the title, In Like Flint, give away the plot. A feminist movement threatens to oust the male population from its ruling capacity. Remember, this was 1967. Things are quite different now. Right?
The pairing for In Like Flint should be something flinty, if that's not too on the nose. A Chablis would be ideal. You can hardly go wrong with that as your ask at the wine store. If you feel more comfortable looking for an actual label, try a Chablis from Louis Jadot. That's about as reliable as it gets in the $20 range.
Coburn scored again in 1967 with The President's Analyst. When we think about the President having an analyst, our thoughts may go to "What analyst? I don't need an analyst! But if I did have an analyst it would be the biggest, most beautiful analyst the world has ever known." And probably blonde.
Although technically a psychiatrist, Adam Arkin's Stanley Keyworth on The West Wing is what I would like the President's analyst to be. Trustworthy, loyal, and loaded with sarcasm. And, able to solve your mental health problem in 42 billable minutes.
Analyst runs a bit longer, but it doesn’t seem like it. Imagine the secrets an analyst to the president would have. Imagine how many people would like to get those secrets. Imagine the lengths someone would go to for that information. Coburn's character imagines all that, and more. His tangle with The Phone Company is the stuff of which nightmares are made. Of course, today we sweat out what Google knows about us.
Pairing a wine with James Coburn could be as easy as saying "Cockburn's Port." Of course, that works better when you actually say it instead of reading it in print. How about a wine called The Therapist? Imagine how I felt when that fell into my lap. Slate Theory makes the white blend of Muscat Blanc and Muscat Canelli in the Texas Hill Country. $32 gets you well.
Hard Times was Walter Hill's 1975 debut as a director. The film not only has Coburn, but Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, and Strother freaking Martin. The names look great on a marquee or a one-sheet, and the performances are fantastic.
The Depression-era, bare knuckles streetfighter portrayed by Bronson fit right in with Coburn's hustler, a guy by the name of Speed. The south Louisiana setting worked well and critics liked the film enough to scrawl out some kind words about it. The general public was even kinder, giving up their hard-earned dollar bills to see it.
How could we not enjoy a good ol' Temecula wine with Hard Times, particularly when it is a Bare Knuckle Malbec? Wiens Cellars has it for $65. Don't sell Temecula short. There are some high quality wines being made in Riverside County.
