Chick Flickery...
I went to a chick flick Thursday night. The Farmer was still out of town, and it was a good night for a girls' night out, so I got to go to dinner and a chick flick with the girlfriends.
I usually eschew chick flicks because I don't like to have my emotions manipulated to a point where I find myself thinking: "Oh...it's so sad that they are both married to other people. They should be together..." or "Leave Mr. Responsible -- you need to go with the Charming Cad because he's so romantic..." or, worst of all, "Now THERE'S the kind of guy every husband should be...full of romance EVERY DAY..."
{Snort!}
Chick flicks are not equal to real life...but so many of us want them to be...and as a result, they foster a lot of discontent. Being vulnerable to, and fundamentally opposed to, discontent, I avoid the risk.
I rarely read chick lit either...same reasons.
But I can handle the rare exposure to emotional manipulation, and mostly, I wanted to spend the evening with the girlfriends so I went and saw "The Vow".
And I thought Rachel McAdams didn't make a realistic traumatic brain injury victim -- but she sure is a cutie pie, sweetheart kind of gal. And Channing Tatum was a good representation of the requisite hunk, and was pretty consistent in his portrayal of a forgotten husband. As much as I could pick their performances apart, I admit that they did a good enough job of manipulating my emotions that I felt incredibly sad thinking about how TBI can obliterate a loving relationship. Truly, a tragedy.
But for me, the best line of the movie belonged to Jessica Lange, who portrayed Paige's (Rachel McAdams) mother when she said something like: "...I chose to stay with him because of all the things he did right, instead of leaving him for one thing he did wrong..." A perspective unusual to chick flickery, and so refreshing to note it present in the story.
I left the theater not feeling too bad about the hours I spent there...A good message was gleaned, perhaps more than one.
But that will be it for chick flicks for me for a while...I wonder if the girlfriends might want to go see "Act of Valor" next...
I usually eschew chick flicks because I don't like to have my emotions manipulated to a point where I find myself thinking: "Oh...it's so sad that they are both married to other people. They should be together..." or "Leave Mr. Responsible -- you need to go with the Charming Cad because he's so romantic..." or, worst of all, "Now THERE'S the kind of guy every husband should be...full of romance EVERY DAY..."
{Snort!}
Chick flicks are not equal to real life...but so many of us want them to be...and as a result, they foster a lot of discontent. Being vulnerable to, and fundamentally opposed to, discontent, I avoid the risk.
I rarely read chick lit either...same reasons.
But I can handle the rare exposure to emotional manipulation, and mostly, I wanted to spend the evening with the girlfriends so I went and saw "The Vow".
And I thought Rachel McAdams didn't make a realistic traumatic brain injury victim -- but she sure is a cutie pie, sweetheart kind of gal. And Channing Tatum was a good representation of the requisite hunk, and was pretty consistent in his portrayal of a forgotten husband. As much as I could pick their performances apart, I admit that they did a good enough job of manipulating my emotions that I felt incredibly sad thinking about how TBI can obliterate a loving relationship. Truly, a tragedy.
But for me, the best line of the movie belonged to Jessica Lange, who portrayed Paige's (Rachel McAdams) mother when she said something like: "...I chose to stay with him because of all the things he did right, instead of leaving him for one thing he did wrong..." A perspective unusual to chick flickery, and so refreshing to note it present in the story.
I left the theater not feeling too bad about the hours I spent there...A good message was gleaned, perhaps more than one.
But that will be it for chick flicks for me for a while...I wonder if the girlfriends might want to go see "Act of Valor" next...
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