On the last day of the conference my roommate forced me to take a walk. I mean, invited me to take a walk. Whatever. We took a walk.
Greenville, South Carolina, has a beautiful, charming downtown district, and if you walk far enough (like, a dozen blocks or so), you’ll even find a park with a waterfall and suspension bridge and ducks that you’re not supposed to feed. After three days inside an airport and hotel, I was grateful for the chance to spend a little time in the beautiful weather, peeking in store windows and sitting next to a river rushing over rocks and between buildings.
It also killed my feet to walk that far in not-so-supportive shoes. So when we walked by an ice cream shop a second time on the way back to the hotel, I was all for stopping in for a scoop. And a waffle bowl.
As Dawn and I sat and ate our ice cream, we admired the giant, colorful paintings on the wall. Each one was a portrait of a celebrity, and we were facing one of Alfred Hitchcock.
The conversation that came next was predictable. To me. Because it happens all the time.
Dawn started listing her favorite Hitchcock movies.
I admitted I haven’t seen a single one.
She was shocked and dismayed.
Odds are good that if you told me your favorite movies, I won’t have seen them either. I do like movies. I do! And I’ve seen lots of them. Just…not that one. Or…that one. Nope, not that one either. I KNOW! Ev.er.y.one. has seen THAT ONE. Everyone but me.
My best friend is constantly gasping – in shock? outrage? horror? I DON’T EVEN KNOW – at my lack of movie knowledge. She loves movies. She’s seen a lot of them. And, like I’ve told her so many times, she should really just start a list of the movies I need to watch because HOW COULD I HAVE LIVED THIS LONG WITHOUT WATCHING IT?
I looked up a bunch of articles about the movies one must watch…before you go to college, turn 25, turn 30, turn 40, or die. I looked at serious movie sites like AMC.com and popular sites like Lifehack, HelloGiggles, Buzzfeed and Thought Catalog and also some sites I’d never heard of. For good measure, you know.
It doesn’t matter which list I read. With the exception of “10 Chick Flicks to Watch Before You Die,” every list made it clear I have not seen the most popular or best or everyone’s favorite movies.
But, you know what? I’m okay with that.
Does it seriously crimp my pop culture referring style if I admit I haven’t seen Goonies or Shawshank Redemption or Pulp Fiction? Maybe. Do I get tired of being looked at like I must have been trapped in an underground bunker, Kimmy Schmidt-style, to have missed Swingers and The Usual Suspects and Stand By Me? Of course. And maybe my entertainment street cred is at risk if I confess that I also haven’t seen a single Godfather movie or Annie Hall or The Big Lebowski. I think I’ll survive.
Really, even though it’s a tad embarrassing, I’m not actually sorry that I haven’t seen your favorite movie. I’m not sure why I have this gap in my cultural knowledge, and I promise I can quote Dirty Dancing and Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and Rain Man with the best of them. But, FINE, if you want, we COULD start that list of movies I really DO need to see one of these days.
Let’s make a list! What movies should be on my must-watch-someday list?
This post is part of the 31 Days Writing Challenge. To read all the posts in this series, click here. And to learn more about this challenge or to find more series to read, visit Write31Days.com. Apple photos courtesy of my brother, James.
Shawshank Redemption really is a must. It is such a good story. But I will also add that many of these I haven’t seen either. I was not allowed to watch PG-13 or R movies until I was old enough for them, and I don’t think I ever filled in the gaps. (Relevant for yesterday, I have never seen any Back to the Future movies.)
My personal favorite movies are The Princess Bride, Finding Nemo, and The Wedding Singer, and I am going to bet you’ve seen them.
Yes, the movie rating thing is part of my gap, too. Even now I don’t like watching R-rated movies, so I’m just not going to watch some of those “classics” everyone else has seen. But YES! I HAVE seen all three of your favorites! Success! ;)
i am just freaking out right now….b/c i found your blog from a link Aliza Latta shared (here: http://alizanaomi.com/a-collection-of-courage/) and i was reading through your 31 days of writing… and i LIVE in Greenville, SC and i think it’s just so fun that i stumbled upon your blog & you were in Greenville! crazy!
but anyways… downtown is so gorgeous! i temporarily work downtown right now & walk by the waterfall/ducks everyday! and i totally feed those ducks so shhh don’t tell anyone! :)
and i can totally relate to this post, because i am always THAT girl who hasn’t seen the movie too! even the classics like wizard of oz, steel magonlias (i finally saw the play last year so get off my back! ;), and so many more. people are always so shocked & outraged… it’s crazy! but i’m totally okay with it too! :)
Hi Robyn! I’m so glad you came to visit! :) Your town really is lovely. It’s funny how worked up people get when you tell them you haven’t seen “their” movie, isn’t it?! Although…I’m a big ol’ hypocrite, because I’m SO tempted to demand that you stop whatever you’re doing right now and WATCH THE WIZARD OF OZ. :D Thanks for stopping by! I look forward to getting to know you!
My family never really watched a lot of movies (though I watched a TON of TV growing up). I’m not sure why – we just didn’t!
My husband’s family, meanwhile, LOVES movies. If I had $1 for every time I heard, “You haven’t seen ___?!” ;-) I wish I could participate in these conversations but even if I spent all my free time watching movies, I could never “catch up” since they know dialogue by heart, too. Sometimes I just wait patiently while they round-robbin quote a scene until we’ve moved on to the next topic. :-)
Maybe you should start throwing old-school TV quotes at them! ;)
True story movies: Schindler’s List, Freedom Writers, We are Marshall. Funny movies: Mrs Doubtfire. Drama: Ablaze, Eight Below, Day After Tomorrow. I do watch sci fi and some horror, but I won’t list those. I don’t keep up with the popular movies and I usually wait til I can get them on DVD
Great list! I have seen two of them. :)
Return to Me? Love that one.
Oh, oh! I’ve seen that one!! :)
My husband has ants in his pants and struggles with sitting through movies, so I have been to the movies 4 times in the last 7 years… and I got rid of Netflix because we never ended up watching anything in its entirety. I think we got about 1 hour into The Hobbit movie (which I was sure he would love!) before he got up to go tinker in the garage.
My best friend is a Netflix freak, and she has seen EVERYTHING. So, this post made me laugh because it’s my life…. after year 2 of being friends to “married me,” she learned to stop asking. No, I have not seen it.
I got a copy of the last Les Miserables movie for Christmas a few years back, and it’s collecting dust in my TV cabinet along with Frozen. (I am sure I am the only person on earth who has not seen Frozen.)
I have, however, seen every episode of American Pickers and Pawn Stars. Short is where it’s at with my man. :)
Don’t tell…but…I haven’t seen Les Mis either. I thought I was the only one!
Goonies?!! Say it ain’t so!!
Ok, kidding. I totally get it bc I’m the same with so many movies. But I will admit, I do like it when someone shares a must-watch-movie-I-missed because there are so many and for Pete’s sake, who has the time to fit them all in and how would I choose anyway?!!
So true – the list is JUST TOO LONG! :)
Well, I hear ya, I get it. I finally broke down and watched The Christmas Story because I couldn’t take one more holiday season of people be shocked that I hadn’t watched it. Okay, its cute, but I will probably never watch it again even though I really like the leg lamp!
My favorites that I would pass along to you – The Princess Bride – Goonies (yes, it is worth it) – Sixteen Candles – Stand by Me – P.S. I love you – The Breakfast Club – Amelie – Men In Black – YaYa Sisterhood
Just to name a few. And good for you for not being sorry about movies you haven’t seen. I bet you were out doing life instead.
Best, Lina
I haven’t seen Christmas Story either, Lina! But I have seen several of your favorites, so there’s that. I’ll put Goonies, Stand by Me and Amelie on my list! :)
A light-hearted favorite in our home is You’ve Got Mail. (I love how Nora Ephron did the witty banter.) It’s kind of our official cozy, autumn movie—one of those that, to us, is still fun to watch even after seeing it several times. :)
Oh, I loooove You’ve Got Mail! I could watch it once a week and not get tired of it!
I haven’t seen most of those movies you listed, either… and I’M NOT SORRY. (Most “popular” movies are kind of terrible! Even the classics.)
What about Hitch? That’s one of my favorites.