Some Thoughts about Movies

When I was in grad school, I learned that English majors could be very pretentious about their movie tastes. I became very close with a small group of grad students who worked in the university's writing lab, and our conversations often wandered to what were considered "good" movies, and I learned terms like "noir."

The movies were always ones that were heralded by film critics and were often movies I hadn't even heard of or seen. And because I was in my early 20s and hadn't quite reached the state of confidence that, I believe, comes with the 30s, I believed I needed to brush up on my knowledge of "good" movies rather than boldly proclaim, "Hey, y'all. I just LOVED Romy and Michelle's High School Reunion!"

So I joined the girls who met once a week to watch foreign films and pretended I liked them.

I dragged Darryl to movies he and I didn't really care for. It got to the point that Darryl would actually groan when he saw the "Miramax" logo at the beginning of the film because he knew he was in for a real treat. Not.

But I have evolved since then. I'm (much) older, and as cheesy as it sounds, life has taught me that real friends accept you for who you are, not the movies that you watch. In fact, just a couple of weeks ago, my friend Tim posted on FB that he had seen the much-lauded Oscar nominee Tree of Life. I responded with, "I just saw The Vow." (For the record, after hearing the talk about Tree of Life, I'm a bit scared to see it. I think I could be lost for the entire movie.)

Now, I'm not opposed to the critically acclaimed, "good" movies. I rather enjoyed The English Patient. I absolutely ADORED The King's Speech and would probably put it in my Top 10. (Also, I would put Colin Firth in my Top 10. Along with Ryan Gosling, who has nothing to do with The King's Speech.)

Last weekend, I went to see The Artist, not because it was the big winner at the Academy Awards, but mainly because a couple of people told me they thought I would like it. And they were right. I really didn't know anything about the movie other than the fact that it was a silent, black-and-white movie. And honestly, my original thoughts were, "What's the big deal about that? That's just a gimmick." I was so, so wrong. It is such a delightful movie about a silent film star who realizes his irrelevance in an industry that is moving forward with "talkies" and leaving him behind. It is smart, funny, touching, and beautiful. I highly recommend it.

And afterward, go see The Vow. Life's about balance, right?