15 December 2010

a post I didn't intend to be about movies but turned out to be

I recently started working with the young women (12-18) at church. I was driving two of them home last night when one of them told me that she's only read an entire book once in her life. She was very pleased with herself for doing as well as she has in school without actually reading. I was asking her about the book she had read and why she didn't like reading.

MBC: Have you ever tried listening to books on MP3 or something instead?
Non-Reader: Why would I do that?
MBC: Gasp.
Non-Reader: It takes too long. I just watch the films of the books.

I was so devastated for her.

AND I had just finished watching The Grinch with her, which was a special kind of torture. When the girls invited me to watch with them, I assumed they meant the wonderful classic film of my childhood, but we actually watched the NEW Grinch, which is stinky. The only upside was that we were watching at my sweet Lydia's house, so I saw the movie with a little ginger-haired girl tucked up beside me, whispering, "I love her. I love her pajamas." And she insisted we do hip bumps and air kisses before I could leave.

The day before viewing The Grinch I watched another lame Christmas movie, yes even Home Alone. I was babysitting for a sick neighbor and her 4-year-old son finds Home Alone hiLARious. Her 3-year-old daughter also finds it funny and told me it's about spiders. The 3-year-old thinks her new bicycle is magic, though, so what does she know?

Actual good Christmas movies would include the following:
Christmas in Connecticut
A Charlie Brown Christmas
Under the Greenwood Tree (it starts at Christmas)
The ORIGINAL Grinch (except for the part where he gets stuck in the chimney and slithers around the tree in a creepy way)
A Christmas Story
While You Were Sleeping

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

And the Muppet's Christmas Carol! (I forgot that While You Were Sleeping started at Christmas. Now I want to make a list of movies that have Christmas in them, but aren't really about Christmas.)

- Kjerste

ldsjaneite said...

I love that you count Under the Greenwood as Christmas, too. :-) Isn't that how "Little Women" started to become a classic Christmas book/play/movie.

I also second Muppets' Christmas Carol--it's my favorite version of that story. Though I'm pretty happy with anything Muppets....

Lunicrax said...

The original Grinch is pure genious. And I can genuinely claim that, because I only saw it the first time 2 years ago as a grown-up, and completely adored it.

Muppet's Christmas carol, yes, and The muppet's Christmas (the one with the icy patch). Two musts. And if you ever visit Sweden during Christmas, there's the Donald Duck Christmas special that is a serious Swedish Christmas tradition! :D

Anonymous said...

You should be nice to us "Non-Readers".

Love

Your "Non-Reader" Dad

Maren said...

In a tutoring session with a high school boy I am working with we were discussing Farenheit 451. I asked him off-hand if he had ever read a book that affected his life... assuming everyone had a million examples. He said, "No." I almost cried. How could he have reached 14 without reading anything that meant anything to him? The world is a frightening place.

Brooke S. said...

ew! The new Grinch!

I would also add to your list, if you are a fan of this type of thing, A Blackadder Christmas. In a reversal of Dickens' Christmas Carol, Blackadder starts out nice but by the end the ghosts have inadvertently convinced him that he will end up penniless if he doesn't get mean. It's quite funny.

Courtney said...

I love While You Were Sleeping and watch it every Christmas. I would add Miracle on 34th Street to your list.

Annie M. said...

I will ALWAYS think of you and our freshman year of college when I watch "While You Were Sleeping!" I think we watched it, what, 20 times during final's week??? :)

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