Fave Friday Five - Chick Flicks

Today let's talk about the 5 chick flicks I could (and do) watch over and over and over. It's sad, actually, but I do love these movies. In no particular order here we go.

1. The Wedding Date - I believe I have seen this movie at least 150 times... ok, it's more than that because I can quote most of it. My favorite scene is when they get to the home they'll be staying at for her sister's wedding. They are shown their room, jump on the "big bed" and the following conversation takes place:

Kat Ellis: You know what pisses me off? I've been spilling my guts all weekend and I don't know a thing about you.
Nick Mercer: [pause] I'm allergic to fabric softener. I majored in comparative literature at Brown. I hate anchovies. And I think I'd miss you even if we never met.

That last line gets me every single time.

2. Sweet Home Alabama - Perhaps Reese Witherspoon's finest work outside of the Legally Blonde franchise. Throw in some Josh Lucas and Ethan Embry (who I fell in love with when he played opposite Reese in A Far Off Place) and you have the makings of a great movie. With classic lines such as "You have a baby. In a bar." and "What do you want to be married to me for anyhow?" "So I can kiss you anytime I want." it continually entertains me. Especially when Melanie's dad says "Praise the Lord! The South has risen again."

3. 27 Dresses - Perhaps I love this movie because I could have a closet like hers full of dresses. The only problem is that I could not fit in 97% of them anymore so I got rid of them. I have worn the Gone With the Wind style dress in a wedding. Thankfully the Beverly Hills Wedding and underwater weddings have never been an issue. Two weddings, one day, one couple, two states...yes, I could write the book on that. But I digress. I think the dynamic of Jane and how she is infatuated with her boss is a scenario I have seen played out with my friends over and over again. And yet there is the perfect guy waiting in the background just waiting for them to notice him. When Jane is registering Tess for items and finds out why Kevin has such a sour taste for weddings, I could totally see myself pulling the line "Wanna go find the ugliest stuff in the store and register Tess for it?" with a friend and not feeling guilty about it. I also love the scene where they dance to Bennie and the Jets because again, I could see it in my own life.

4. The Notebook - It's only fair this movie get a spot on my list as I have not only seen the movie a few dozen times, but I also read the book. Over and over and over again. I rememer my mom telling me if I were to read the book I needed to make sure I could finish it the day I started it. Once again, Mama knows best. I believe I read it while we walked to dinner (roommate guided me like a good roommate would) and into the night. I then read it outloud to her that weekend while she cooked our dinner and did all our laundry. The movie stayed fairly close to the book and did not disappoint.

Best monologue goes to Noah's character: I am nothing special; just a common man with common thoughts, and I've lead a common life. There are no monuments dedicated to me and my name will soon be forgotten. But in one respect I have succeeded as gloriously as anyone who's ever lived. I've loved another with all my heart and soul and to me this has always been enough.

5. The Holiday - Iris's monologue to open this movie touches me in places I don't write about on this blog or talk about with my friends. But as she talks about her desire to be loved by another earthly being I can't help but think of my own life at different stages.

I've found almost everything ever written about love to be true. Shakespeare said "Journeys end in lovers meeting." What an extraordinary thought. Personally, I have not experienced anything remotely close to that, but I am more than willing to believe Shakespeare had. I suppose I think about love more than anyone really should. I am constantly amazed by its sheer power to alter and define our lives. It was Shakespeare who also said "love is blind". Now that is something I know to be true. For some quite inexplicably, love fades; for others love is simply lost. But then of course love can also be found, even if just for the night. And then, there's another kind of love: the cruelest kind. The one that almost kills its victims. Its called unrequited love. Of that I am an expert. Most love stories are about people who fall in love with each other. But what about the rest of us? What about our stories, those of us who fall in love alone? We are the victims of the one sided affair. We are the cursed of the loved ones. We are the unloved ones, the walking wounded. The handicapped without the advantage of a great parking space! Yes, you are looking at one such individual.

But then her adventure begins, my dislike for Jack Black is turned into like, I fall in love with Jude Law's charm as a single father, and want to walk away from it all like Cameron Diaz's character. The charm of the English countryside along with the relationship Iris strikes with Arthur are all so magically and draw me in each and every time.

So, there you go. A really long post but I have seen each of these movies more times than I care to admit. I own them all on DVD and will watch them on TV (including tolerating the commercials) just because I love them. And they take me away to another world where people say funny things, survive crazy life events, and fall in love with their own version of the boy next door. It's the modern day fairytale. Glass slipper excluded.

** All quotes and links provided by www.imdb.com ***