Rob's Recs: The best cardigans in movies, ranked

Let's button up the holidays with this definitive list of cinematic sweaters.

Recently I went to an AMC Scene Unseen screening, where they show a sneak preview of a “mystery movie,” where nobody knows what the movie is until the opening credits roll. I had a suspicion it would be George Clooney’s inspirational sports drama “The Boys in the Boat,” and I was right.

The movie opens Christmas Day, and it was kind of a letdown, honestly. It’s about a Depression-era university rowing team that competes in the 1936 Olympics that’s painfully earnest and leaves no sports movie cliche unused. But as my mind wandered during the movie, it was captured by something else.

The sweaters.

My God, the sweaters in this movie are fantastic. Joel Edgerton as the coach wears a crisp navy cardigan with the school emblem on it over a shirt and tie. Callum Turner as the destitute rower wears a gray shawl-collar sweater throughout the film – even though it has a hole in it, I’d wear it in a heartbeat.

Crewnecks, V-necks, cardigans – everywhere I looked there were great sweaters. It made me look forward to when the rowers got out of the boat and back on shore, because they’d bundle up in wool. Probably not Clooney’s intention, but it got me through the movie. 

Especially that cardigan. I have a closet full of cardigans (or, as one friend calls them, “Grampa sweaters”), ranging from a bulky J. Crew one with big wooden buttons to a “edgy” black Converse one I bought at a thrift store. I even have a couple of knee-length cardigans from Banana Republic, in case I want to see if I can get away with wearing a bathrobe to work.

So, it inspired me to come up with a list of the best cardigans in movies, including some recent holiday releases. Because those movie theaters can get a little chilly in the wintertime.

8. “The Holdovers” – I saw this last weekend with my mom, and was honestly expecting a little better cardigan game from a movie set at a New England prep school in 1970. But Paul Giamatti wears V-necks throughout, and cardigans appear fleetingly, like the institutional navy one that campus cook Da’Vine Joy Randolph wears, or the sad oversize green one that Dominic Sessa’s institutionalized father wears. But the standout is the tri-colored striped cardigan that the hippie-haired football star played by Michael Provost wears in one dinner scene.

7. “Maestro” – Leonard Bernstein could get away with a lot in his life. But his most daring venture may be the eggnog cardigan he wears over a cream turtleneck he wears in the scene where he’s being interviewed by Josh Hamilton. Only a true maestro could pull that off.

6. “Black Panther” – Michael B. Jordan’s Killmonger may be the most fashionable Marvel villain ever, as shown by the cape-length brown cardigan he wears in the film.

5. “Good Will Hunting” – New England university culture strikes again! In this case, I’m partial to the unpretentious windowpane button-down that Robin Williams wears in class. It’s very approachable.

4. “The Boys in the Boat” – see above

3. “A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” – This is a little bit of cardigan stolen valor, since Tom Hanks is just copying the iconic look that Fred Rogers wore on television for so many ears. Also it’s a zip-up, and I’m a cardigan purist who thinks buttons are a must. Still, Hanks looks great, and that cardigan exemplified comfort and compassion for generations of little kids.

2. “Grease” – Similarly, Olivia Newton-John’s canary-yellow cardigan she wore early in the film during “Summer Loving” was a fashion metaphor for Sandy’s innocent and purity – which, of course, was dashed when she became a permed bad girl at the end of the movie. I could have loaned Sandy my “edgy” Converse cardigan.

1. “The Big Lebowski” – The GOAT, obviously. Much imitated, never matched, that patterned Pendleton shawl-collar cardigan that Jeff Bridges’ Dude wears really ties the movie together.

If you think I committed a cardigan sin and put a sweater on this list that doesn’t belong there, or have other nominees, let me know! Happy holidays!

Rob’s Recs: I had such a wonderful experience interviewing Herb Frank, the 89-year-old founder of concert promoter Frank Productions for my first solo Cap Times cover story in several years. I met Herb and his son Fred in Herb’s condo overlooking Lake Mendota, and for an hour Herb regaled us with great stories, like the time Elvis almost got into a fistfight or the time Johnny Cash tied him to a chair onstage. It was such a delightful trip down memory lane, and a window into a different time.

I also had a great interview with the founders of Mama Digdown’s Brass Band, a New Orleans-style brass band that has been livening up Madison (indoors and outdoors) for 30 years now. How a group of UW-Madison students not only embraced the music, but earned the respect of actual bands in New Orleans, is quite a story. 

My friend and colleague at the Cap Times, Lindsay Christians, interviewed Carrie Coon about the second-season finale of “The Gilded Age.” Coon spent several years in Madison attending school and acting on stage, including several seasons at the vaunted American Players Theatre in Spring Green. I was most excited that Lindsay passed along my question about Coon’s role in the upcoming “Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.” It turns out busting DOES make her feel good!

For physical media lovers in Madison, it’s a big moment as Strictly Discs founder Ron Roloff and his wife Angie announced they retiring and selling their indie record store this year. The store is in good hands with new owner Rick Stoner, but it really hit home for me when the Roloffs released their 23rd and final “Holiday Groove” CD. Each year since 9/11, Ron Roloff has curated an eclectic Christmas music album, burned it on CD and given it away to customers. I’ll be spinning this final installment, which ranges from LCD Soundsystem to Captain Beefheart, all holiday weekend. Stop by the store and pick one up, and wish Ron and Angie a well-earned retirement.