There are a wide variety of changes in my life that remind me I am no longer 21. Back in the good ole days, I could be on-the-go non-stop for weeks at a time with very little sleep. Every once in a while, I would take one day to stay-in, and re-charge my batteries. Now in my old age, I need far more than one day of relaxation, I need full weekends, and then that isn’t even enough. Thus, I decided to devote this weekend to some much-needed alone time.
I thought in my isolation I could knock out a lengthy to-do list of annoying chores and pending work assignments. By 7 PM on Saturday night I had yet to accomplish one thing on my to-do list, so I decided it was time to get crackin’. I turned on the TV as background noise, and low and behold, my favorite movie of all time was on: What a Girl Wants. I FUCKING LOVE THIS MOVIE!! All of the sudden my Saturday night was looking a lot more fun.
I am happy to report that at 25, I still love the move just as much as I did in high school. In my older, wiser years, I realized there is some profound shit going on in this movie…so many life lessons to be learned:
1) If you happen to get pregnant, you should tell the guy. Come on, ladies. Luckily, I have never been in this situation, but I can only imagine it is extremely awkward and terrifying. No matter how much of asshole your baby’s daddy is, it is only fair to tell him, right? It is hard to determine the guy’s reaction if they never get a chance to know. If Daphne’s mom had told Henry from the beginning, their whole lives would have been significantly easier. I mean, wouldn’t you be pissed if your mom kept you from your British royal lineage?
2) Your style gets better as you get older. This is probably true for all of us, expect maybe Amanda Bynes; the wigs she has been rocking lately just aren’t really working. While watching the movie, I had so many fashion flashbacks. Amanda Bynes’ character wears her hair up, and then pulls two random strands of hair into her face. Is there a name for that style? Also, remember butterfly clips? Oh, the butterfly clips. I am pretty sure I was solely responsible for keeping Claire’s in business because I LOVED the butterfly clips.
3) Musicians are HOT (and sometimes they even turn out to be good guy). Why is it a universal rule that musicians are unbelievably sexy? Strap a guitar on someone, and they instantaneously transform from a 6 to 10. I still haven’t figured out why, but it is so true. Daphne’s love interest Ian Wallace is seriously the ultimate heartthrob (whatever happened to him?). He seems to defy the cautionary tale that all musicians are heart-breakers. Ian is the ultimate urban myth!
4) If it is meant to be it will happen eventually. One of the most enlightening realizations I have had is that you can’t force a relationship to work. If your relationship is a constant struggle, then it might be time to go separate ways. There are many circumstances outside of love that are necessary for a successful relationship. As is the case in the movie, timing is everything. It took Daphne’s mom and Henry 17 years to make it work. As annoying as it may be, you might need all those life experiences to realize it is finally meant to be!
Watching this movie just made me realize how much more we need to save Amanda Bynes. Seriously, what happened to her?! I swear she is one of the most underrated actresses of our time. There needs to be a What a Girl Wants 2 ASAP. Maybe we can start a KickStarter campaign? ala Veronica Mars.
Leave a Reply