Why the hell do I do this? Part Deux
Alright; so I'm a guy, I like guy things... mostly. I'm a giant computer game nerd, I like watching sports, I play Basketball, etc.
But... Sigh, every once in a while, I catch myself watching... er...um... "chick flicks."
Now, some of these movies are damn good movies, and as a guy who's at least somewhat comfortable with being sensitive, I have no shame in admitting that I enjoy these movies.
An example of this kind of movie would be "Love Actually." This is a chick flick, but it's really damn good, so good that it's able to grab a guy who gives it a chance and keep him entranced even through the ending that's so unbelievably feel-good that normally I'd want to make a snide remark; but I just can't... it's just so magical. : )
Now... Unfortunately, you may have noted that I said some of these movies are damn good movies. Others.. well... not so much.
An example of this kind of movie would be "The Cutting Edge." This is also a chick flick, and I dunno how, (I'm starting to think demonic incantations in the soundtrack) but I somehow have to watch this movie everytime it's on.
To put into perspective just how "sac-masculinous" this latest instance of being put under the evil spell of TCE is, I offer this tidbit of information:
I dunno how many of you folks out there are baseball fans, but a very serious game between the Yankees and the Red Sox just ended; with all kinds of drama and playoff implications and all that guy stuff that I'm into.
One would expect that I, as a red-blooded guy, would be glued to this game for its entirety, ignoring all proverbial "golden calf" distractions, and in cases of extreme fanatical devotion, ignore even the ultimate temptation, sex, in favor of watching this game.
So why in God's name did I miss large chunks of this very important game because I was flipping back to being helplessly entranced by the prospect of watching, for like the TENTH TIME, D.B. Sweetney and Moira Kelly trade verbal quips (and AAHH! Figure Skate!!!) in a poor adaptation of the Bard's Taming of the Shrew?!
What the Hell is wrong with me?!?!
And, even more disturbing, why wasn't I smart enough to TiVo the Yankee Game while simultaneously indulging in my guilty pleasure?
Speaking of poor retellings of Taming of the Shrew.. I also can't help but watch "10 Things I Hate About You" (same movie, but with Julia Styles instead of Moira Kelly, and with approximately 98% less Figure Skating) when it's on either.
Maybe I have a thing for bad Shakespeare remakes.
Anyways, I know I'm not alone in having horrible guilty pleasure movies.
Another that makes the list for me is "Airborne," about a high school surfer from California who has to live with his cousin Wiley (pre-famous Seth Green) in cold-ass Cincinnati; which is not really a bad chick flick... it's just a bad flick.
But it has a guy and a girl and stuff so it doesn't fit into the other categories of guy bad-movie guilty pleasures; which are:
1) really bad war movies like anything with Dolph Lundgren, and
2) just about any sports movie, ranging from the good (Rudy, The Natural, Bull Durham) to the really bad like Unnecessary Roughness, about a Texas University football team that has to completely rebuild when all their players are suspended for steroids, so a rag-tag team consisting of horrible stereotypes, Kathy Ireland as the female soccer player who's the team's kicker, Sinbad, as the hip professor that still had a year of eligibilty left, and Scott Bakula as the 35 year old high school football star that had to work his family's farm so he never got to play in college.
Yeah. So I like bad movies. Blame it on me getting a really bad case of mononucleosis in High School, and the only hours I was awake during the day happened to be the time when the only movies on HBO/Cinemax/The Movie Channel were The Next Karate Kid (starring a pre-famous Hilary Swank) and sigh.. Sidekicks (starring a post-famous Pat "Noriyuki" Morita, and Jonathan Brandis)
Alright... I'll stop before I put people to sleep.
But... Sigh, every once in a while, I catch myself watching... er...um... "chick flicks."
Now, some of these movies are damn good movies, and as a guy who's at least somewhat comfortable with being sensitive, I have no shame in admitting that I enjoy these movies.
An example of this kind of movie would be "Love Actually." This is a chick flick, but it's really damn good, so good that it's able to grab a guy who gives it a chance and keep him entranced even through the ending that's so unbelievably feel-good that normally I'd want to make a snide remark; but I just can't... it's just so magical. : )
Now... Unfortunately, you may have noted that I said some of these movies are damn good movies. Others.. well... not so much.
An example of this kind of movie would be "The Cutting Edge." This is also a chick flick, and I dunno how, (I'm starting to think demonic incantations in the soundtrack) but I somehow have to watch this movie everytime it's on.
To put into perspective just how "sac-masculinous" this latest instance of being put under the evil spell of TCE is, I offer this tidbit of information:
I dunno how many of you folks out there are baseball fans, but a very serious game between the Yankees and the Red Sox just ended; with all kinds of drama and playoff implications and all that guy stuff that I'm into.
One would expect that I, as a red-blooded guy, would be glued to this game for its entirety, ignoring all proverbial "golden calf" distractions, and in cases of extreme fanatical devotion, ignore even the ultimate temptation, sex, in favor of watching this game.
So why in God's name did I miss large chunks of this very important game because I was flipping back to being helplessly entranced by the prospect of watching, for like the TENTH TIME, D.B. Sweetney and Moira Kelly trade verbal quips (and AAHH! Figure Skate!!!) in a poor adaptation of the Bard's Taming of the Shrew?!
What the Hell is wrong with me?!?!
And, even more disturbing, why wasn't I smart enough to TiVo the Yankee Game while simultaneously indulging in my guilty pleasure?
Speaking of poor retellings of Taming of the Shrew.. I also can't help but watch "10 Things I Hate About You" (same movie, but with Julia Styles instead of Moira Kelly, and with approximately 98% less Figure Skating) when it's on either.
Maybe I have a thing for bad Shakespeare remakes.
Anyways, I know I'm not alone in having horrible guilty pleasure movies.
Another that makes the list for me is "Airborne," about a high school surfer from California who has to live with his cousin Wiley (pre-famous Seth Green) in cold-ass Cincinnati; which is not really a bad chick flick... it's just a bad flick.
But it has a guy and a girl and stuff so it doesn't fit into the other categories of guy bad-movie guilty pleasures; which are:
1) really bad war movies like anything with Dolph Lundgren, and
2) just about any sports movie, ranging from the good (Rudy, The Natural, Bull Durham) to the really bad like Unnecessary Roughness, about a Texas University football team that has to completely rebuild when all their players are suspended for steroids, so a rag-tag team consisting of horrible stereotypes, Kathy Ireland as the female soccer player who's the team's kicker, Sinbad, as the hip professor that still had a year of eligibilty left, and Scott Bakula as the 35 year old high school football star that had to work his family's farm so he never got to play in college.
Yeah. So I like bad movies. Blame it on me getting a really bad case of mononucleosis in High School, and the only hours I was awake during the day happened to be the time when the only movies on HBO/Cinemax/The Movie Channel were The Next Karate Kid (starring a pre-famous Hilary Swank) and sigh.. Sidekicks (starring a post-famous Pat "Noriyuki" Morita, and Jonathan Brandis)
Alright... I'll stop before I put people to sleep.
posted by Frange at 2:25 AM
5 Comments:
Wow, I'm getting spammed!
I must've made it!
Laughing even as I secretly hope no one knows about my own personal bad movie complex.
A good movie is a good movie, and "Love Actually" is definitely that. Nothing wrong with a good chick flick now and then ;)
Thanks for still checking.
I might have given up on me by now. :)
So, can you beat The Cutting Edge for guilty-pleasure movie crappiness?
I have to admit that a lot of the dialogue in 'chick flicks' is actually pretty well written.
I know it wasn't the focus of the blog- but I feel compelled to comment on your high school sweetheart nonetheless.
I would imagine just as low self esteem led you to stay with her because you didn't think anyone else would want you, it was probably the same lack of self worth that led her to lie and act erratically. Most likely because A. she disliked herself so intensely she felt compelled to create someone else and B. she needed to distance herself from the love and affection you showered on her, which she never trusted despite your best efforts. If she wasn't ever honest, then no one could ever honestly reject her- only her behavior. That and she was crazy.
It's no excuse, but it's a reason.
I wouldn't be surprised if now that she is all grown up and has been through a few years of therapy she has let go of that need to lie and embraced herself for who she is. In doing so she may have developed a very deep sense of compassion and empathy. Maybe she became a nurse or something like that.
I'm sure she still thinks of you often and wonders how you and your family are- no doubt your parents were always very good to her also despite how she mistreated you. Hopefully she'll stumble upon this blog someday- I know she'd be overjoyed that you finished your extended schooling and are by all accounts successful and fulfilled. With any luck she won't go into some long winded narcissistic rant that is really just an attempt to make herself feel better. Probably she beat herself up for a long time over the way she used to be- not only because of the way she hurt the one person who was patient with her and cared for her, but I'm sure there is that small twinge of regret over what might have been. Hopefully she has moved past that, accepted her past for what it was, and hopes you have found as much happiness as she has.
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