Saturday Morning Chatter - Movies

Good Morning!! If you're just tuning in, you are reading the first installment of a weekly post about whatever is going on around me. Yes, I have a weekly blog that contains daily outfit looks, beauty posts, wishlists, and trend alerts. But, I'm not just about those things. I'm a mom, a wife, a dabbler in the home decor arena, a DIY enthusiast, an Etsy shop owner, baker, want to be cook, movie lover (although I never get to watch them), beer lover, wine drinker, and watcher of FRIENDS on Nick @ Night! And with this weekly post, I just want to talk. Talk about everything. Talk about nothing. Talk about my family. Talk about my friends, but not in a bad way. Talk about how many chocolate chip cookies I've eaten this week and wishing I hadn't made them! What you want find here is a discussion around religion, politics, or worldly events. I'm not knowledgeable enough to talk about them and who really wants to read about them outside of all the news. Not this girl!

So for this week, I thought I would talk about movies. With the SAG Awards taking place this weekend, it's only appropriate. I've only seen one nominated movie, Into the Woods, so I can't talk about those actual movies. I thought I would focus on the ones I have loved over the years. Happy and sad. Romantic and comedic. Movies that got me through rough patches, made me laugh when I wanted to cry, and helped me cry when I needed a good one. That's what I love about movies. They're like a good friend. They can get you through the good and the bad.

I was watching Peggy Sue Got Married the other night. I'm not sure how that wasn't ever nominated for an award. It was awesome! One of my favorites, although until earlier in the week, I had forgotten all about it. But that Nicolas Cage and Kathleen Turner, what a match! I remember watching that movie as a young teen and wondered what it would be like to be a teenager in the 50s. You got to wear awesome clothes (the hoop skirts were the best), listen to some great music, and have amazing basement parties complete with a boyfriend who was the lead singer of a boy band. I remember thinking how cool it would be to one of the couples in the movie and wondered if they liked kissing each other, had to follow the script and kiss only when it said, or if they were truly allowed to act like boyfriend/girlfriend and kiss when they wanted. When you're a young teen, I guess you think about kissing...a lot! God help me with this in years to come! 

There are the classic 80s movies that I literally rented over and over again. Remember when you could go into a video store, rent a movie, and then take it home to watch. Remember the cute little slogan "Be kind, please rewind." Such simpler times. But I digress. I'm pretty sure that I rented, and re-rented, Sixteen Candles and Pretty in Pink every weekend. Or if not every weekend, I alternated every other weekend. To date Jake Ryan or Blane ("That's a major appliance, not a name.") was a dream. St. Elmo's Fire, still a classic, was a little too old for me so I didn't watch it as often. And The Breakfast Club didn't really come into my life until much later in my teens. Still could relate, but not a frequent renter. All of those movies have quotes that are still relevant today, even their issues, and I love that my husband and I can banter back and forth with all the same favs. I just hope I can share them with my son when the time is right. "What's a happening hot stuff?" Classic!

Then there are those B rated movies where famous actresses claim they wish they had never appeared. Okay, that just burns me up, because don't we all need to start somewhere? And without those B rated movies, they wouldn't be where you are today, right? Take Sarah Jessica Parker for instance. She says she wishes she had never starred in Girls Just Want to Have Fun. Really?!? I loved that movie and wanted to be her or Janey. Who didn't want to be her? She got to dance, dance with that really hot guy, and win a spot on Dance TV. I remember dancing in my room and pretending I was her. The only thing I couldn't do was the gymnastics. Then there's Picture Perfect with my gal Jennifer Aniston. Another actress who states she wishes she had never made this type of movie. Okay, again, what's not to love about that movie? It got me through my single phase. I seriously watched it nightly. Or weekly at least. A girl in her late 20s, I'm guessing, just trying to make it in the world. Dresses a little quirky, told she's not serious enough, finds love in the most unusually of circumstances, loses said love, then wins him back. All things I was so hoping would happen to me during that stage of my life. True story, I was watching the movie one afternoon, making my bed (something I never do), and getting ready to head off to work (I worked retail), and my phone rang. It was a boy. A boy asking me on a date, not my husband, and I couldn't believe my luck. It has to be the movie, right? Seriously, this movie was my single girls therapy.

Then there are those movies that helped get me through the rough times. Okay, not really rough, but those days where I needed a good cry. I always look to Bridges of Madison of County. When she has her hand on the car doorknob, and he's staring at her in the rain, I always yell at the screen "Open the door. Open the door." No, I'm not one to promote adultery, but she loved Robert. And her own family never really loved her. Why shouldn't she go! I will always yell at the screen! Then there's Titanic. True story. The first time I ever saw the movie, I bawled. Seriously bawled. The second time I saw it, yes I saw it more than one time in the theater, I cried so hard that a man came over after the movie to make sure I was okay. I didn't realize I had cried so hard and apparently I had the shoulder shudder. You know the move. You cry so hard that your body shakes? Well, that's what happened to me and apparently it was enough to cause a stranger to be concerned. I cry every time I watch it. I never fails. I also cry (happy and sad tears) when watching Somewhere in Time, The Thorn Birds (made for TV but still a movie), Say Anything, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Sweet Home Alabama, A Walk on the Moon, and Sleepless in Seattle. 

And lastly, there is the category of movies that just make me feel good. The movies that make me belly laugh, remember a different time in my life, or simply play in the background while I clean or cook. Clueless is hands down my go-to movie when I need something silly. A movie that I adore and can watch over and over again. Dirty Dancing because I just feel the need to do the merengue. When I need that laugh that comes from my toes, I turn to O Brother, Where Art Thou. Not everyone's cup of tea, but a movie we can't get enough of! Hilarious! "Oh George, not the live stock."

Okay, so there's on last category that my life would not be complete without and that's the romantic comedy. The movies are as follows: Down to You, A Lot Like Love, The Proposal, Never Been Kissed, Serendipity, Fever Pitch, The Twilight Saga, and Pretty Woman. Those really only scratch the surface, but you get my drift. Romance, romance, romance!! 

So that's it. My nod to all the movies that have shaped me, provided therapy, carried me through thick and thin, or simply made me happy. They aren't all award worthy movies and they don't have to be. They are all awarded "Andrea's Seal of Approval" and will continue to feed my soul. Now I just can't decide which one to pop into my DVD player. 

In the words of Daddy Warbucks, "Let's all go to the movies."