Jul
2
Beetlejuice is on right now and it just reminds me how movies can cure all. I am a firm believer in the power of Hollywood, because nothing can calm me down, make me laugh, make me cry or make me feel comfortable and secure like a movie. Is that weird? Whatever. YOU’RE WEIRD.
(What’s really weird is the new Activia commercial about “skeptics” filming themselves for two weeks to see how Activia has changed their lives. . . . what exactly are they going to film to prove that Activia has made their digestive system . . . regular?)
But I’m sitting here text messaging David about it and we were talking about how different it is to watch the movie now from when we were little. Like, this is still one of my favorite movies, but I used to watch it over and over and over when I was little. Mom had it recorded on a VHS with one of her homemade video labels. I think Water Babies was on the same tape and all I can remember about that movie is that I loved it and that I used to routinely shout “C’oh blimey!” with Mom like the chimney sweep did when he poked his head out at the beginning.
Herro, tangent.
Anyway, I don’t ever remember being scared by Beetlejuice. Were any of you? You lurky lurkers, you. Part of me feels like I should’ve been, but I never was. I loved the calypso part and I loved Catherine O’Hara because my God. She is genius in this movie and she has the best quote ever: “And I will go crazy AND I WILL TAKE YOU WITH ME!” And I could sit here all day and mention my favorite scenes and lines and characters and describe Michael Keaton’s glorious amazing-ness in every second of the movie, but I won’t. Because I can not do this movie justice and you should go watch it right now and oh it’s the part where he sees the strip joint and dude Alec Baldwin was so young and OKAY STOPPING.
So David and I were talking about the movie and how neither of us were really frightened by it, but then he told me about how he had nightmares for a year because of the bat in Disney’s The Great Mouse Detective. Oh man, do you remember that movie? God, I loved it and I used to watch that one over and over, too. But I don’t remember being frightened by the bat either. Or having Scream affect me too much like it did David.
I’m trying to remember any nightmares I had because of a movie and I just keep drawing a blank. Sure, some movies scared me and still cause me to jump on my bed and keep all limbs from hanging off the edge so whatever’s under there doesn’t grab me, but I think most of that was just an overactive imagination. Like, for most of tonight, I’ve been home alone. So instead of holing up in my bedroom, I’m out here in the nice open living room with the loud ass TV so that if anyone or anything decides to sneak on in the house, I won’t be the lone white girl giggling on her computer as it sneaks down the hall. No, I’ll be the one having the heart attack in the center of the house, but at least I didn’t have to wait for it.
Movies were a defining moment in my childhood and still are, really. Mrs. Doubtfire was how Mom explained the family changes to me when I was six-years-old. A Little Princess was a movie I used to sit, slack-jawed and starry-eyed, in front of for hours. Beauty and the Beast was the first movie I remember seeing when I was little and I stared out the window, up at the night sky on the way home, singing the songs in my head.
And Beetlejuice, even at five years old, was a movie that inspired me to be an actor. It’s just such a vibrant movie. It’s full of color and quirky music and Tim Burton’s cinematography. The characters are in 72 dimensions, weaving this storyline in such a way that you feel like you’ve been sucked into that miniature town as well. I am constantly using this movie to describe what I mean when I say why I want to be an actor. Because people love to watch this movie when they’re having a bad day and need to escape for a while. And I can’t wait to be the actor in those movies for people.
You know which part makes me go “GOD, I want to be an actor” the most? When they call Beetlejuice near the end of the movie and he’s dusting his jacket off as they say his name one, two times and then the third time, he cocks his head and says “It’s showtime” with his hands up. Just thinking about it gives me chills. CHILLS. Awesome movie moment. He’s just so in character and it’s just so . . . GOOD. And yes, I know. I’m weird. You’re weird. And you’re probably charging your camera right now so you can video tape your bowel movements and send them in to Activia. That’s how weird YOU are.
The joy I feel when I get to go home and lay down and start a movie? It’s equivalent to having the one you love tell you they believe in you and are there for you. It’s like the ultimate comfort. It’s a best friend all wrapped up in a DVD that wants to take you on a journey and tell you it’s all okay. It’s an unconditional love because that movie is there for you. And when it’s done? You can rewind it and go right back to that joyful feeling you had an hour and a half ago. But for me, that joy stays forever. And I’ve seen so many movies now and watched so many over and over, that when I’m having a particularly bad day? I can play several movies from start to finish in my head to calm myself down. I can not wait to be in movies that do that for other people. I can not fucking wait.
So now that I’m feeling all inspired and shit, some of my favorite images to inspire you no matter what you’re doing:
And because I just realized that this entry makes ZERO sense and is basically my brain matter spilling out of my enormous, elephantine ears, that last one was just to round it all up. And because it makes me pee my pants every time.
(PS. I just randomly save these images off the intarwebz, so I has no credit except . . . lots of Tumblr sites . . . )
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