I need you now like I need you then

I'm not really a big movie buff. I rarely go out to the movies, I never rent them, and usually the only time I ever end up seeing one is 4 years after its release when it winds up on TBS or something. The last movie I saw in the theater was Constantine, and that was just because my friend Steven had free passes. So, occasionally someone will invite me out to see something (this happens like twice a year at the most) but otherwise, no sour patch kids and popcorn for me. I'd name some of the movies that I've never seen, but you'd be shocked and probably lose a lot of respect for me (well if you had any to begin with). So I won't do that. But I do like watching movies, and I even have a few favorites.

Out of all of the genres out there, my all time favorite movies are the 80s high school ones: Weird Science, Heathers, Footloose, Lucas, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Some Kind Of Wonderful, and of course the John Hughes/Molly Ringwald Trilogy, Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, and Pretty In Pink. Those are the ones that I grew up watching on Saturday and Sunday afternoons. I love the music, the hair, the clothes, the slang, and the storybook endings. I don't care what anyone says, I love it when movies have ridiculously happy endings, even if they would never actually happen in real life. Who cares? It's not supposed to be real life, it's a movie.

In my favorite movies, I love how there's always that song at the end that brings the whole thing together and leaves you with a nice, warm, fuzzy feeling. Like in Sixteen Candles when Samantha is feeling bummed because (yet again) everyone has forgotten about her and left her at the church. Then the Thompson Twins' song If You Were Here starts playing, and bam, there's her crush Jake Ryan. Sure in reality, there is no way in hell that the hottest senior guy would even look twice at a sophomore. But wouldn't it be cool if he did?

In the movie Pretty In Pink, OMD's If You Leave plays throughout the entire prom scene, but you don't really notice it until Blane tells Andie that he loves her and walks away. And even though you think Duckie should get something for pining over Andie for all those years, you're happy when she runs after Blane. That's who she really wanted.

While the newer batch of teen movies aren't nearly as good as their predesscessors, some are still fun to watch. When Clueless was released in 1995, I remember it being a big deal because of 1. Alicia Silverstone and 2. the massive amounts of slang used in the film. There were even articles written to help people understand terms like Jeepin' and phrases like, "He says you gave him a toothache."

Directed by Amy Heckerling (we have her to thank for Jeff Spicoli and Fast Times at Ridgemont High) the movie was full of awesome one liners, humorous situations and delightfully vapid, yet entertaining conversations. I remember that the mom of one of my friends thought I was silly for liking Clueless so much. Sure it wasn't going to win any Academy Awards, but it was funny and cute. And even though it seemed a little weird, it was awesome when Cher and Josh got together in the end. The final scene takes place during Ms. Geist's and Mr. Hall's wedding and when Ms. Geist gets ready to throw the bouquet, General Public's Tenderness starts to play, and you just know that Cher is gonna catch it.

Have I lost all of my indie cred now? Ok, well I'll get it back. Finally, I want to talk about Rushmore. Wes Anderson is of course a genius and you just knew that everyone in this movie was going to be fantastic because Wes brings out the best in his actors. Jason Schwartzman was great as Max Fisher, a 15 year old boy who is more concerned with extracurricular activities at his school (Rushmore Academy) than actually doing any school work. He becomes infatuated with a teacher at Rushmore, Miss Cross, and tries his best to get her to fall for him. Obviously, nothing romantic was going to happen between Max and Miss Cross, or else it would've been a completely different kind of movie. But Max sure thought he had a shot.

When you're younger and you develop feelings for someone much older than you, you entertain the fantasy of being with them, and a part of you actually thinks that you might have a chance. But when you look back on it later (a little older, a little wiser) you realize how ridiculous you must've looked. You think about all of the silly things you said and you wonder how you could've ever been so naive and delusional. But life is about learning, and the experiences you have make you who you are. Even though Max had put all this energy into getting Miss Cross to fall in love with him, at the end he realized that he was far too young for her, and nothing was ever going to happen between them. When you learn a lesson the hard way, it's not so fun, but it makes a bigger impact on you, and that's what's important. Although you still can't help thinking of all the time you could've saved if you only knew then what you know now.

This scene is great

Miss Cross: Well, you pulled it off
Max: It went ok. At least nobody got hurt
Miss Cross: Except for you
Max: Nah. I didn't get hurt that bad

Then Miss Cross asks Max to dance and as the two walk to the dance floor, The Faces' Oh La La echoes Max's thoughts of wishing he knew before what he knows now.

So here's to all those movies that end with a great song. And to the ones that make you feel good when you're finished watching them. Don't let anyone give you shit for liking happy endings, no matter how unrealistic they may be.