It's Oscar time!

right, not the most important day ever... as we myopic Hollywooders believe... but in lieu of snark I'm the lone blogger, I think, out there (of course not, there's like a billion of us) who is actually going to write something... wait for it... sincere.

How tres 90's of me, huh? Snark, when done right, is hilarious. When not... tiresome. But I'll trade snark for HIS GIRL FRIDAY or HOLIDAY banter anyday. I will. Rosalind Russell (and Kate) you are a goddess.
In my no snark mode, someone slipped me a copy of Diablo Cody's next script, JENNIFER'S BODY and I was going to do a Cody vs. Coen Bros faceoff on my hometown and all the Minnesota-isms she gets wrong (saying Spam and farms and Sinclair Lewis style "Main Streets" are in "North Country" is just wrong. It's central and southern Minnesota. That's like saying Boston "Southies" are from Beacon Hill or the Sopranos didn't inhabit North Jersey but Park Avenue... it's just wrong. Every Minnesotan knows that "up North" is the land of trees, mosquitos, trees and more mosquitos. That and Bob Dylan's birth place. The Coens brilliant FARGO gets the colloquialisms right too, "growshries" is brilliant... Cody calls Minnesota "bible thumping" (I think she has it confused with Iowa) and a character in JB actually says "y'all." Never, not even in White Bear Lake, have I ever heard a Minnesotan utter the word "y'all." The likeliness of that happening in MN is about as likely as Garrison Keillor pimping the Fitzgerald Theater.)
But then I decided that would be mean and too snarky so I decided to spend my new mom, nap till you drool, wee morning hours to post something meaningful.
I digress.

In honor of the Oscars I present, "MOVIES THAT CHANGED MY LIFE"
This is a real list, in a real way, not just some clunker that drags out IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE and how I got misty eyed and learned to love living in bumf-ck nowhere story (ok, a bit of snark there but sorry, it's true. I don't get IAWL! I just don't.)

Anyway, here are a few I can think of, the caveat is they have to be films I watched as an adult within the past 10 years or so:

FARGO
never looked at the Dayton's ('memba that?) parking ramp the same again. Or new homes or hearing "you betcha" in line at Byerly's. Total masterpiece that film.

OFFICE SPACE
I nearly ROstickytheatreFL when I saw this. I swore, then and there, to get out of the cubicle and suburban madness that "oh my god blink and you missed it" can happen in a flash. You slide into it, like a wormhole and suddenly you wake up and you're 30-something eating at a Chili's and you're like... what... HAPPENED!???
So... once upon a time I lived in the 'burbs. I packed up and moved... no, not just to the city... but to Los Angeles. THE city our own Police Chief once said resembled "Beirut."
the change: Yep. Crazy. Well Midwest-crazy anyway on a scale of 1-10 about an 1100. People in the Middle West view Los Angeles and Beirut as interchangeable. Upon telling them you're moving there voluntarily the look on their faces is like you just said: "Oh my god. I hate mayo and I think I ran over your cat."

CLOCKWATCHERS
Same as above. Only now more fervently I vowed to escape cubicle-dom. Or at least do something a bit more passionate. I grew up in the theatre (as a young actress) and like I said, I went through the "adulthood wormhole" and somehow found myself working in a cube and eating at TGIF's. (Granted I had a "cool" job but all jobs stand for one thing... JOB = Just Over Broke.) Bahduhdum. Seriously.
the change: Eventually ditched the cubicle only to flail about gasping for air and inhaling double lattes as I try to make this writing thing work. Not. Okay, well, maybe a little. But I drink decaf.

50 FIRST DATES
loved it. I don't know why (we're women, we're inexplicable, we love Hillary, and we're proud) no, gender issues aside... I don't know... this movie solidified it for me in one flashing brilliant moment I decided that I desperately wanted to be a mom. Well, it wasn't a "decision" that sounds very analytical/male. It was... a PANG. I felt it, a heart-pang deep in my chest. I suddenly started crying. This doesn't happen to me often and the words were right there: "I want a baby."
the change: Yep, well... as we screenwriters say "Cut to:" me, a few years later and well the pic on the sidebar speaks for itself! She's a sweetiepie.

Why LA? Why California? Always been my dream to be a part of the movie biz. I was in the theatre and NYU studying drama and well... there's this little movie:

THE WORLD'S GREATEST LOVER when Gene Wilder proclaims to Carol Kane, "that's it! we're selling everything, changing our names, and moving to Hollywood!" I'm paraphrasing but the DH and I still quote it to each other.
the change: we, um, did that. Well, we didn't sell everything which was a biyatch when you're crossing the Rockies with a Penske truck and car tow and you lose your brakes on a downward turn and well... your Penske has to be towed off the mountain. Well, we should've listened to Gene and sold everything. (Cue FX girl screaming, "We're flatlanders!")

HOLIDAY lesser known Kate Hepburn-Cary Grant flick that is a delightful gem. Yes, I said "delightful" and "gem" but it's true. There's a great speech Hepburn gives about staying young at heart and true to yourself. Can't find it online.
the change: vowed to do both.

last but not least is not exactly... pleasant but... well sometimes life isn't.
A few weeks ago I watched
FAST FOOD NATION
which is a must see and not for the faint of heart.
I like Julie Delpy's take too but I couldn't deal with all that... stuff...going on. But had to.
It's gutwrenching.
the change: no more fast food for me (I've been known to drive-thru a MickeyD's or Carl's) and no more beef. I tried the full-out vegan but only lasted a few days. (Hunger and WHOLE FOODS in SM at rush hour don't mix.) At any rate, in light of the recent beef recall seems like maybe, not a bad decision and... you know, once in a blue moon it's good to think about what you ingest. And hey, I'm not one to preach, like I said, I liked my fries and Frosty's but... anyway... food for thought and stumbled upon this Zen site which gave me further inspiration. So take a look if you're looking for inspiration (the site, not the movie, which is inspiring in a different way, say, heartbreaking way).

What movies are on your list?

Anyway, all this means that sometimes... the years of struggle in the arts, as a writer or whatever, is worth it. Movies matter. Or they can. They can change people. They can touch us deeply and allow us to look at ourselves, moments of our lives, our fears, hopes, wishes, and deepest desires. Robert Osborne said it best and I'll close with his quote.

Wow! You made it this far! Thanku! I did 2 (and with a busted spellcheck no less... thanku Blogger!)

As I walk the streets of this city, stories unfold from every corner. They call out from shop windows, bars, and crowded avenues. Movies bring those stories to life, they reach out and grab you, holding you captive with moments frozen in time... reflections of life's experiences."-Robert Osborne - TCM