Tag: movie review

Friday Thoughts & Little Women

Lauren2 Comments

On our drive to work Joey asked me, “are you going to watch the inauguration?”  And you know what?  No, I don’t think I am.  Struggling real hard with watching and reading everything so that I can be an informed critic and not reacting with anger and disgust.  Let me know if you have the answers on that one, because I sure don’t.

In other news: new John Mayer out today!  Friday!  Fun weekend plans!  Lots of people posting Thank Yous to the Obamas ♥  But what I really wanna talk about right now is Little Women, in both it’s book and film versions.

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I finished the book last week and on Tuesday, I forced asked Joey to watch the 1994 version of the movie with me.  He kept saying stuff like “the 1949 version is on Netflix and the 1933 version is on Amazon” and my response was “WINONA OR BUST!”

I could probably go on and on and on and on about how much I loved the book.  How Louisa May Alcott’s writing was playful and entertaining but also chock full of wisdom and life lessons that I think stand the test of time.  I mean, it’s a classic for a reason.  The way she created those four sisters with their own paths and personalities was so incredible to me.

Not gonna lie, I was heartbroken when Beth died and inconsolable when Jo and Laurie didn’t end up together.  I know books don’t always end nice and neat the way you want them to, but I really really wanted this one to.  I would not have been mad at that predictability at all.

As for the movie, I definitely liked it, but I just liked the book so much more.  Christian Bale just rubs me (and Meg and Jo and Amy…) the wrong way.  But I will say I adored Winona as Jo and Susan Sarandon as Marmee.

In conclusion, here’s to the O.G. feminist, Jo March and to Louisa May Alcott for creating her.  It was 1868 and she was writing about a woman who was more interested in becoming a writer than getting married.  And at the same time, about a character that wanted to be a devoted wife and mother, because there’s nothing wrong with that life either.  Hell yeah to that!

Liberal Arts

LaurenLeave a comment

I found myself with an odd “nothing to do” evening yesterday.  As in, I’d already worked out that morning and wasn’t cooking dinner and was suddenly like, “wait, what do I do with myself?!”  So I decided to brave the whole “having to make a Netflix decision” thing and treat myself to a movie.  That was too many quotation marks for once paragraph, wasn’t it?

Anyways, after skipping over a few because “But Joey would like this!” I remembered that Joey watches movies and TV shows without me all the time (I’m still trying to figure out when he even does that!), channeled some independent thinking and chose one called Liberal Arts.  Because A) English major here, B) It was written, directed and starred by Josh Radnor (HIMYM for life!) and C) Because it was about someone who was passionate about reading and literature and thought college was the best.  Um hi, was this movie written just for me?

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Okay, quick obligatory synopsis, so you’re not lost during the rest of my movie rambling.  Jesse (Josh Radnor) is a 35-year-old admissions officer in New York but goes back to his alma mater in Ohio to speak at a former professor’s retirement ceremony and meets a sophomore student named Zibby (ugh, don’t even get me started on that name), played by Elizabeth Olsen, and ends up in a relationship with her.  Until he realizes she’s 19 and he’s 35 and that it’s weird when a 35-year-old is hanging out in the dorms and eating in the dining hall.

But the reason I loved the movie, was because I could relate to that whole loving college and feeling lost afterwards thing that Jesse is going through.  There was this scene where Jesse is explaining why he liked college so much and his answer is something like “This is the only time you get to to do this.  To read books all day and spend time discussing ideas.  In the real world, no one’s really doing that.”  And okay, maybe somewhere people are doing that in the real world, but not in my world and I miss it so much!  And also this part where Jesse is talking to his former professor and he tells him “Nobody feels like an adult.  It’s the world’s dirty secret.”  That made me thing “Oh my gosh, is that really true?  It’s not just me?”  So I guess, to make a long story even longer, the total shock of going from a liberal arts education to the real world just really spoke to me.  And it was nice to know I wasn’t the only one who felt it.

But even if you can’t relate, Josh Radnor is his usual charming self, Elizabeth Olsen is a delight and there’s this incredibly touching side story between Jesse and a struggling student named Dean.  Also, BEST CAMEO EVER by Zac Efron.  And if that’s the biggest take away you got from this post, they hey, I’m not mad at it.