For many of us, movies have their own special place in our heart. Characters are no longer fictional and stories are no longer told, they are lived. Watching a nostalgic movie can bring back emotions, memories and thoughts that we haven’t explored in a decade. We remember looking up to movie characters and idolizing them in our heads. We could care less about the real name of the actor or actress, it was the story that they played a part in that we were fascinated with. In a movie, fairytales can exist, the guy will always come back and friendships are always mended.
For me, there are a few “iconic” movies that shaped my childhood. Watching these, I remember wanting to be like these characters and experience the things they got to experience. I could play back scenes in my head and quote lines as if I were the one preparing to film. I don’t think it’s uncommon to connect with movies in the way that I did, especially as a young kid. I do think it may be a little uncommon to think about it as much as I do and decide to write about it.
Beaches (1988)
Filmed in 1988 with Bette Midler playing CeCe Bloom as the star of the film, this movie became my everything once I hit middle school. It tells a tale of two young girls who accidentally meet each other at the beach and quickly kindle a friendship. As most kid friendships go, they are opposite in almost every way. As they grow up they continue writing to each other to stay in touch. It becomes clear quickly that they are two different paths with differing daily activities. Moving on into adulthood they continue their friendship while battling the ups and downs of life. Career changes, divorces, kids, fights and sickness are all at play while they fight to remain there for each other. *Spoiler alert coming now* Hillary ends up being diagnosed with a terminal illness only a few years after the birth of her daughter Victoria Cecilia. The film ends with Cece taking care of Hillary’s daughter after her quick and unexpected passing, a promise she made to Hillary.
I remember watching this movie in middle school with my best friend at the time and my mom. If you can’t tell by my quick summary, or if you’ve seen this movie before, you know it’s a tear jerker. Between the all to relatable life problems and underlying message about the importance of friendship, tears are bound to be shed. As a sixith grader, this movie made a huge impact on me and quickly became my favorite movie at the time . To this day I can basically quote the whole thing, sing along to all the music numbers and anticipate the scenes I will cry at. My most special takeaway from this film though, is wanting to name my future daughter after Hillary’s daughter. Surprisingly, all of these years later (and a little closer to the option of having children than when I was in sixth grade) I still want to name my daughter Victoria Cecilia. By the time kid is old enough to watch and comprehend this movie, I don’t know if there will even be DVD players around anymore to watch it however, I think the meaning of the movie will still shine through to her. I hope she gets everything she needs from this film just like I did.
…and if I only have boys, well then I guess it wasn’t meant to be. Or I will tweak it 🙂
- Friendships can go deeper than family
- Men can (and will) fuck shit up if you let them
- Sing even when you think no one is watching
Pretty Woman (1990)
For those who have not seen the iconic film that is Pretty Woman, just know that it is basically a typical Cinderella story but with a twist. If I had to guess at what age I first watched this, I would be so clueless on what to say. I am sure though that it was at an age where I did not comprehend what a prostitute was and what their job entailed. Julia Roberts plays a prostitute named Vivian who gets picked up by Richard Gere, a wealthy and established career man named Edward traveling to Beverly Hills for work. To her surprise, she quickly realizes that picking up girls on the street was not his typical weekend activity. She hadn’t experienced any man like him before because he was simply taking her up on her offer to get in the car for directions due to being lost. In her experience men usually looked and treated her for what she was, a prostitute.
You can pretty much guess what happens, they fall in love and live happily ever which consequently gets “Vivian” off the street. As I got older, the more I began to think deeper about it. I slowly started to love it for more than just the underlying Cinderella story. The difference between Vivian and other “working girls” is that Vivian always knew she was meant for more. She describes it as something that she fell into but never saw herself staying caught up in. She did her best to pay her bills on time, avoid the party scene and actively daydreamed about making it off then streets. Vivian was meant for more and she knew it. After her first big payout from her high paying client without even thinking she takes a wad of cash to give to her friend Kit to help get her out of trouble. She doesn’t ask for a favor in return or draft an “IOU”, she just effortlessly gave without being asked. When challenged with learning the in’s and out’s of Edwards fancy lifestyle, she accepted the challenge. She quickly learns how to keep up with a class of people she only walked past on the street. While learning how to do this she somehow figures out how to maintain her humility and humor. When given the opportunity for something more, Vivian doesn’t just take it forgetting about the person she was before. She takes it and incorporates it into the person she already is.
At the end of the day, Vivian and Edward fall in love because he never looked at her like she was a prostitute and his first instinct wasn’t to treat her like one. Alongside Edward, Vivian radiates with confidence and steps into her true self. One who is elegant, intelligent and humble. Vivian and Edward help balance each other out, both learning from each and giving and taking equally.
- Don’t kiss everyone on the lips (especially during sex), thats reserved for true feelings with someone.
- Your circumstances do not define your person.
- Know how to eat at a full table setting
- It’s okay to secretly wish for a night in shining armor.
- Dressing for the occasion has more to do with than just your clothes.
27 Dresses (2008)
Last but certainly not least, we jump ahead a decade or so to my favorite heartwarming rom com. The reasoning behind why I was so obsessed with this at eight years old, I’m quite aware of. I was captivated by all things weddings. I loved to watch all the cheesy wedding shows on TLC and I would print out pictures of the dresses I liked that I saw on Say Yes to the Dress. These pictures would then make their way into a folder that I had tucked away for the day I got to go wedding dress shopping. I’m not sure if it was the fluffy dresses, the colorful flowers or the idea of marriage that had me so enamored with the whole process but, this movie was at the top of my list to watch on movie night.
Katherine Heigl plays “Jane”, a full time executive assistant and part time wedding planner who is always the bridesmaid and never the bride. She like me, was completely obsessed with weddings. So much so that she allowed her calendar to be booked almost every weekend with a wedding to not only attend, but coordinate. At one of the weddings she’s attending she meets Kevin Doyle a writer and photographer who quickly becomes fascinated with her lifestyle. Again, you know what’s coming next…they fall in love and live happily ever after. But not without a few hiccups on the way of course. To me, the iconic scene in this movie is not at a wedding but at a dive bar in the middle of nowhere. Kevin and Jane get lost driving home and up very badly drunk singing and dancing to Bennie and the Jets on top of the bar together. Kevin finally lets his hard exterior crack confesses to Jane how sappy he really is about weddings and why he chooses to write about them. At this point, the epic room stopping kiss happens and the deal is pretty much sealed.
At the end of the film Jane stands at the alter finally a bride, no longer a bridesmaid. She was right about the twenty-seven women whose weddings she coordinated. They all stood behind her (in their ugly bridesmaids dresses) as it was finally her time for love. She had to wear twenty-seven dresses, wait twenty-seven times until it was finally her turn. Once bitter about it, she accepts that her twenty-eighth dress came at the perfect time. And most importantly, her twenty-eighth dress was worn for the right person.
- Passions can be what drives your happiness and success in life.
- Sometimes you have to wait your turn, and your turn might be last.
- Prince charming doesn’t always appear in the way you expect him to.
I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into what these movies man to me! If you have either similar experiences with these movies or have some movies of your own, I would love for you to share them with me 🙂
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