Romantic Movies You Can Learn Something From
We've all done it-curled up on the couch when we're at our lowest, a box of tissues and some bon bons our
only comfort, and sat through romantic movie after romantic movie wondering what could have been.
Healthy, right?
Actually, maybe!
Though many a romantic flick may just help to drive the point home that some romance only happens in movies,
if you take a step back, some romantic comedies/dramas have a lesson to teach, and if you're paying attention,
you might just learn a thing or two about your own love life. I've selected a few of my favorites for you-movies
that, if you pause for a second, might just come in handy the next time you enter the dating scene.
Under the Tuscan Sun
Lesson: Love and relationships are what you make of them.
What It's About: Divorced by her husband, Frances (Diane Lane) takes a trip to Tuscany to get
over him only to, on a whim, plunk down a whole lot of cash on a villa and move herself halfway across the world.
What You Should Learn: What she thinks she needs is love, and she looks for it every chance
she gets. What she finds instead is a family she never knew she needed, albeit a makeshift one. Love may make
your life richer, but it doesn't need to be your life. It's the loved ones you surround yourself with that
make your life worth living.
Shrek
Lesson: What's on the inside lasts far longer than what's on the outside.
What It's About: An ogre, in an attempt to save his swamp, agrees to rescue a captured
princess and bring her back to his lord. What he didn't expect was to fall in love.
What You Should Learn: Shrek initially hides his feelings because he doesn't feel like he
can compete with the princess in the looks department. What he doesn't know is that, thanks to a curse put
on the princess, she too looks like an ogre at night. Though the analogy is extreme, what Shrek teaches-and
it's a particularly important lesson for young kids-is that some of the best people you meet in this world
come in what society considers an "unattractive package." It's when you take the time to really get to know
someone that you realize just what's important in a loved one.
Love Actually
Lesson: Want to understand love? Ask a child!
What It's About: Several stories intertwine in this Christmastime classic about love, all
circling around a young boy's first crush.
What You Should Learn: Through good times and bad. In sickness and in health. These are the
promises we make to our loved ones, but how often the simplest emotions are traded for overwrought dramatic
nonsense. Which is what makes this film so endearing. For all the adults doing battle in romance, the simplest,
most pure form of love comes from a school boy's crush on the lead soloist in the choir. Watching him get up the
guts to declare his love is like experiencing your first time all over again. and it's a pleasant reminder of
how wonderful romance can be.
Brokeback Mountain
Lesson: Don't deny your heart.
What It's About: Set in a time when homosexuality was unthinkable-no one talked about it,
acknowledged it. and it certainly wasn't legal in most states-two unlikely lovers (Heath Ledger and Jake
Gyllenhaal) embark on an ill fated love affair spanning decades.
What You Should Learn: Society and emotional hang-ups wouldn't let these two soul mates be together
in their time, and as a result, they never knew true love. which, I would argue, is a tragedy. Any time you can,
listen to your heart. It might be a risky affair, but the potential payoff promises to be worth it.
You've Got Mail
Lesson: Lesson: The Web is where it's at.
What It's About: Two unlucky in love New Yorkers (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan) start perusing the
web in search of friendship/someone to talk to. What they unexpectedly find is an instant connection with a
voice at the other end of a chat window.
What You Should Learn: People tend to discount the possibility of finding love online based on the
assumption that attraction should be instant, in a physical sort of way. But the web is a way to connect with someone
first on a deeper, more intellectual level-the physical comes later. You can absolutely find someone worth having in
your life online, and this is the perfect example of how it's done.
Top