Two wayward travellers stuck in a Geo with a guy named Vic.

Back in 1999, my friend Rodney made a VHS.  Yes, Chile, a V-H-S of six bootleg, ashy films on a 18 hr. videotape. (Those things that go into V-C-R’s, Y’all).  I distinctly remember popping the tape in one late evening.  Because it was bootleg the sound was off & I kept having to *gasp* get off my rear end to adjust the volume.  Manually.  About 30 minutes into the film my Ma came out of her bedroom in a giant huff, shrieking at me to turn that such-and-such television down, and ranting on about my being an inconsiderate daughter.  Even then, I smiled, aghast, humored –this was an argument we rarely had given that neither of us watched much television, almost never late at night and never loudly.  The movie intrigued me so much, I watched the rest of it with my face practically pressed up on the glass so I could hear.

The next day, I watched it again.  And then the next month.  And then when DVD’s were a thing, I bought it.  And then the other night, I saw that it found a happy home on Netflix -hurrah! This movie has grabbed me.  First off, the cinematography is dope!  It is thoughtful, intriguing and engaging.  The film was perfectly cast.  And I mean, every. single. actor. gives a spot on performance.  A slew of funny one-liners hillariously delivered? Check & check. The score is spot on.  But beyond all that, I love how it resolves.  Fine, call me a sucker for Hollywood ending, but this is not typical Hollywood ending, it’s an ending that makes sense because the writing is do doggone good.

The line I repeat often in Sandra Bullocks’ exact intonation:

Rent-A-Car Lady: There are no more cars… you should have called as soon as you got off the plane. *plane crashed*

Sandra Bullock:  Ya, you’re right. Sorry. I wasn’t thinking about that when I was unconscious and bleeding from the head!

The line that’s stuck with me for 16 years:

Ben: Bridge, ya know, I mean, what I always thought was that there was this one, one perfect person for everybody in the world, you know, and when you found that person, the rest of the world just kinda magically faded away and… and you know, the two of you would just be inside this kind of protective bubble. But there is no bubble, or if there is, we have to make it. I just think life is more than a series of moments, you know, it’s… it’s… we can make choices and we can choose to protect the people we love and that’s what makes us who we are, and those are the real miracles! Stop me when it becomes glaringly obvious that I have no idea what I am talking about…

Watching this again -after a 8 yr. hiatus- gave me all the feels.  The teary in-the-middle-of-a-divorce feels, y’all.  Let’s just say, it hit me in a new way, both the weight of my choice to leave but also, the grace inherent in confusion and sadness.

The film is Forces of Nature starring two of my favorite teen-years actors: Sandra Bullock & Ben Affleck.  It’s on Netflix so go check it out!

Last but not least.  Here is a random picture of young(er) Ben Affleck.  Because, well, he’s hot.

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I’m joining with a herd of other bloggers who are writing for 31 days on one subject.  I chose 31 days of brevity: short posts on non-confrontational, non personal, non soul-bearing topics…hopefully.