I’ve just seen The To Do List (and will be reviewing it this Thursday) starring Aubrey Plaza (29) as Brandy Klark (18) who is a goody two-shoes on a mission to lose her virginity and tick off a whole host of other sexual related activities while she’s at it. I wish this film had come out when I was at school/college because it’s essentially a manual for teenage girls, which is a) genuinely funny and b) rather quite useful. I’m not saying that you have to adhere to this manual but it’s good to know that other people are talking about these kinds of things without it being a stigma.
Brandy’s dad is a judge, which is mentioned a lot in the film but has no bearing on anything except perhaps that he is scary and intimidating to any would-be suitors. It reminded me of being on a school ski trip, organised by my dad who was a teacher at my school. It was the last night and I was dancing with a boy I liked but he kept glancing at my dad and (so unromantically) talking about him. It all got too much so regretfully, that was the last of him (I don’t mean I killed him, we just didn’t dance again). Dads are such a buzz kill (sorry Dad if you’re reading this) but this film would have told me that it’s normal to have all these cringe moments inflicted on you; it’s a rite of passage.
It got me thinking about films that I used as a manual when I was growing up and still do, i.e. valuable life lessons I got from watching movies…
1)Dirty Dancing – It’s ok to fall in love with someone who you’re not going to spend the rest of your life with. Even if it’s just a summer.
2)Mean Girls – Girls can be mean.
3)Bend it Like Beckham – Being an Indian tomboy and liking football can actually work in your favour later on in life. Which is nice to know when it’s been a bit of a barrier at earlier stages.
4)She’s All That – Sometimes, just sometimes, the nerdy girl gets the guy. Even if she has to have a revamp.
5)Big Fish – Dads talk utter rubbish.
6)You’ve Got Mail – Just because I hate a boy, doesn’t mean that I won’t fall for them later on. This happened at least twice when I was 15 but this might have been the raging hormones that rendered any and every boy attractive.
7)Lara Croft: Tomb Raider – Almost all men are pervy when it comes to Angelina Jolie. On the way to the aforementioned ski trip, my P.E. teacher paused the Tomb Raider video when you see some side boob, “for the lads”. I also learnt the phrase “side boob”.
8)Bridget Jones’s Diary – Even if you expose yourself in the most horrific, cringe-worthy ways, someone will still forgive your hopelessness. I once refused a leg up over a fence from a boyfriend and ended up hanging upside down with my skirt impaled on a railing and my bare bottom on show. Both this experience and Bridget Jones were reminders that thongs are stupid inventions.
9)Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion – I need to have achieved something amazing by the time my school reunion rocks around because I do not want to end up like these two…
10)The Break-Up – Men can be awful. But you can get on with your life without them.
I realise that some of these demonstrate that not only was I a girl with a one track mind but that I was also a bit geeky. But luckily it’s all changed now!! Ahem… Feel free to add your own @BBCR1Rhianna
