Movie Recommendation

Okay, can I just tell you, this movie is just fantastic. Ya know, every once and a while, I find myself catching a romantic movie. And as a guy, I can usually take just a few of those generic romantic comedies on, usually on dates, or with well, girls. Most of the time I'll see a show merely for the sake of the respect of affection I have for the girl I'm seeing it with. But, man oh man, lots of them are just, well predictable and simplistic. I mean really. I swear they all seem to follow the same formula, well at least lately. Still, they are light hearted, whimsical, fun, cheesy, most of them lack a decent plot, but they all end well and they make ya think, well isn't love just special. Warm fuzzy and all. That's nice and all, and some are pretty good. For instance, Groundhog Day freakin' rules all romantic comedies, it's got this wonderful combo of moral depth and fun that is just plain cool. It's genuine. (quick write that down, there will be a quiz in just a moment) Return to Me is pretty good too, I love the old geezers. I would seriously go hang with those guys. Plus I thought the story in Return to Me was pretty unique. (unique, write that down too) But most fall short of the dang good movies those two are and most are basically weak excuses to go on a date. Btw, quick question, who takes a girl on a first date to a movie anyway? That just doesn't make sense. Wanna know what the best first date is? Walking. Pick a place and walk. You'll see why after ya read the rest of this.

But anyway, back to movie stuff. So, remember those two things that I said to jot down, what were they? Yeah, genuine and unique, and Before Sunset is both of them and how. Seriously, I was really impressed and surprised by just how the movie plays out. It's probably unlike anything you've seen in the theaters lately, especially when compared to the recent romantic offerings Hollywood has churned out.The movie plays out as one long intriguing conversation between two people, one from America, and one from Paris, who ran into each other in Paris 10 years ago in their youth and clicked right off (Apparently this is actually a sequel of a movie called, Before Sunrise, which came out back in 95'. And this show has the same actors, same director, and they got together and said, what if we actually brought them back together after 10 years, what would happen, what would they talk about)

So 10 years ago, they spent this incredible day together, the kind of day people long for all thier lives, and then the guy has to leave on his plane and they decide to meet later, but never do. Until now, after most of their lives have past. Well their conversation is one of the most sincere things I've ever seen in a movie. It just seems so real, like it's not actually a movie that was written and scripted, and directed and cut and spliced. It really seems like they just filmed a whole spontaneous conversation. And it's one of those conversations, it goes everywhere, God, the world, past relationships, careers, memories, hopes, dreams, failures, they cover it all, and you can just see them just opening up to each other in a very real way, coming to terms with not having done what they should have done a long time ago, of living with this gnawing 10 year old regret. It's captivating watching it unfold, and the stuff that is NOT said, my heck, the non verbal looks, the near touches the other doesn't see, it's like some of the best parts of this "conversation". It's kinda amazing to see a movie capture it as it really happens, but this is how people fall in love. And through this long conversation around Paris, seriously, it's like there's a couple takes and the camera just follows them as they walk and talk, you get to really know them as they are getting to know one another again. You will connect with these characters because they are portrayed so beautifully through this genuinely conceived conversation. It's subtle, it's powerful, it’s interesting, it’s funny, and sweet, and all that mushy stuff.

I'm kinda afraid to say it, ya know, being a guy, and the need to grunt through something like this, but it strangely kept me silent and captivated. So, really, if you've never even heard of this, good, it'll come out of left field and knock your socks off. I love it when movies do that. When a movie is rather an experience, as opposed to an observation, that's what a good movie is. And make no mistake about it, this is the stuff. Watch it with all your girlfriends, that special someone, it'll aim right where it counts on the "aww" factor. It's a thoughtful, perceptive, piercing, portrayal of two people who have a chance at finishing what they started ten years earlier.

Disclaimer: Now I will warn ya, my Mormony friends, this is Rated R. There are a few crude references, and a few F words. But the good outweighs the bad by like 99 percent, and on the bad Rated R shows scale, this one is really really harmless compared. Sometimes, every once and awhile a Rated R show trumps the "no rated R" rule and it's okay. Spirit of the law. The movie is worth seeing because it has wholehearted good intentions. Shawshank Redemption is an example of one. Saving Private Ryan is another, so is Schindler's List. So use your discerning powers, and let the Holy Spirit guide.