Rebel Without a Cause?

Here I am again at a Roses of Prose movie topic I know nothing about. I’ve never seen Rebel Without a Cause. Looking at the IMDB summary doesn’t make me want to watch it either. Is that bad? It’s some kind of a classic, right? A cinematic must, isn’t it?

Does that make me a “rebel” if I don’t want to watch it?

There have been other movies that I have simply boycotted. Philadelphia with Tom Hanks is at the top of my no-watch list. I’m a huge, HUGE Tom Hanks fan. I’ve seen every single movie he’s been in… except Philadelphia. Won’t watch it. You can’t make me.

Sometimes I refuse to watch a movie because someone has recommended it a million times. I once dated a dude who mentioned The Shawshank Redemption to me every time we saw each other. It drove me nuts.

“Why didn’t you just watch it to get him to stop, Christine?”

Umm… because that would have been giving in. I don’t do “giving in.” Tastes funny. Not a fan.

I did end up watching that movie years later, after said dude was a distant memory (nightmare?), and loved it. Awesome characters, amazing story, but I had to watch it on my own terms.

See? Rebel.

I’ve protested every movie in the Halloween series ever since I was in eighth grade and stupidly watched the first one at a sleepover party. Razor blades in apples? Sheesh. I was scared to eat fruit for months after that. I’d cut fruit up into tiny, bite-sized pieces until I was convinced the supermarket wasn’t plotting to slice my mouth open.

“You’re kind of a handful, Christine.”

Yep. I am.

I won’t watch any movies that have children dying of horrible diseases. I can watch the news if I wanted to see that. No thanks. Don’t really want to watch things with adults suffering from diseases either. Many people have told me to watch Breaking Bad, which I know is a TV show, but I heard something about the main character having cancer and immediately crossed it off my list.

Childish? Maybe. Avoiding being depressed? Definitely.

I’ll pass on movies that include cruelty to animals or hunting. I would have passed on Marley and Me had I known ahead of time how that was going to end. I almost always skip movies “based on actual events” or ones with a completely unknown cast.

“So many rules, Christine.”

Rules keeps things orderly. I like rules.

So amidst all this movie rebellion, what do I like watch?

Tales that end with happily ever after are Number One. Anything with pirates, saving nature, or Harry Connick Jr. Especially Harry Connick Jr. Comedies, romances, non-scary paranormals, and intergalactic adventures are all perfectly enjoyable. Movies including a cappella groups get two thumbs up. I’ve seriously watched Pitch Perfect more times than I can count. Eighties movies with Molly Ringwald, Andrew McCarthy, Anthony Michael Hall, and the rest of the crew are all on the menu. I could listen to Jake Ryan asking Samantha Baker to make a wish over her birthday cake over and over again. I have listened to him over and over again.

Generally speaking, I love movies that make me feel good at the end. Sometimes army crawling to the conclusion of each day is exhausting. A movie that makes me laugh, fall in love, or escape the real world for a little while is just the prescription to turn a frown upside down.

What makes you rebel against a movie? Which ones do you love? Which ones do you think I’ll love?

Toodles,

Chris

www.christinedepetrillo.weebly.com