I did one of those “ask your spouse” quizzes with my husband. One of the questions was “what’s her favorite movie?” Jimmy said that my favorite movie was Twilight. I looked at him like he didn’t have any idea who I was. Have I really been married to this man for over 20 years? I don’t think so.
So what is your favorite movie?
Well, for years and years, it was Gone With the Wind. I loved everything that had to do with the “Old South”. I was sure in another life that I was Scarlett O’Hara. I even named my daughter Katie because I just couldn’t imagine naming her Scarlett. You see, my secret would be out then. Honestly, my family probably never owned any land. They were probably white trash sharecroppers. I don’t know that for sure but if I went back that’s probably what we were. But I loved Gone With the Wind. I love a good love story so that was why I liked that movie so much.
But if I was to tell you today what my favorite movie was I would have to tell you I don’t have a clue. Most of the movies I love are romantic comedies. I could watch them over and over. But I thought I would rate the movies that I have watched over the last few years and try to figure out which is my favorite movie.
All right, I just went through them all. And I don’t think that my favorite movie was in there. There were some good movies that I really like but I don’t think my favorite is there. I mean, I could watch the series movies over and over, like Hunger Games and Harry Potter, Pirates of the Caribbean, and yes, Twilight, but none of those are my favorite. I do like Pirates quite a bit but more as an amusement park ride than anything else. And no, I don’t have a crush on Johnny Depp. I do have a serious crush on Captain Jack Sparrow though.
There are the romantic comedies that I really like. Recently I’ve been hung up on The Holiday but I like Joy and Friends with Benefits keeps coming up on cable TV. But I’ll watch anything with Doris Day and Rock Hudson on TCM. I guess those were the original romantic comedies. Oh, and the Tammy movies. I do own lots of family movies but I’m not including those in my list. Except ones like Sister Act and Pitch Perfect and Mamma Mia. I love watching those with my family. But, no not my favorites. I was going to put Dirty Dancing somewhere in my list but really I will watch that entire movie just to see the last 10 minutes. The last dance scene has got to be the best. But, I might count Bull Durham as one of my favorite movies.
I’m not one for suspense movies but I could watch Alfred Hitchcock movies over and over and over again. They don’t scare the daylights out of me but they keep me on the edge of my seat. And most of Stephen King’s movies are too scary for me but if I read the book then I can’t wait to watch the movie. Since we just had the solar eclipse I decided I had to watch Delores Claiborne. That is so suspenseful. Recently I have been watching Sixth Sense on cable. I have to make sure not to stay up too late watching that by myself or I have a hard time going to sleep. Oh, and Gone Girl, but again, not a favorite.
Now there are the go-to movies that I love to watch. The Sting, The Way We Were, Dr. Zhivago, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, When Harry Met Sally, Animal House, 8 Seconds, Love Affair, Funny Girl, Funny Lady. I could watch these movies over and over. In fact, I probably know most of the dialogue from over the years. And then there are the movies that I would watch with my mother on Saturday afternoons, after all the chores were done. She would lay on the couch and I would curl up on the love seat and we would watch whatever came on. I guess that’s where my habit of just watching what was on TV came from. Now, there are some movies that I really won’t watch. I don’t like really scary movies. I don’t like blood and guts. I don’t like stupid movies. But I was sitting and watching The Green Hornet last night, the latest version and I really enjoyed it. Honestly I was too lazy to get the remote to change the channel. I watched the whole movie.
That’s another thing. I don’t like to watch movies that I haven’t seen before. I would much rather watch a movie that I’ve already seen than to see something new. I don’t want to risk not being entertained. I know that sounds bizarre but it’s the truth.
Of course at Christmas time then I get to watch White Christmas, Miracle on 34th Street and National Lampoon Christmas Vacation. It’s just not Christmas without those movies.
But in sitting here I came to realize that there is a movie that I could watch over and over and over again and never get tired of it. And yes, it is a romantic comedy. And, I’m sure it’s not a critically-acclaimed movie. But I think it’s my favorite. Maybe one of my most favorites. I saw it the weekend it opened three times. I was dating then and convinced three different men to take me to the movie. I think that’s the only one I’ve ever done that with. You’re in suspense, right? All right, I’ll tell you. Pretty Woman. Yes, that’s the one. I love that movie. I could watch it and watch it and watch it.
Maybe my favorite movie hasn’t been filmed yet.