So, first of all, being single on Valentines Day is AWESOME. I’m not going to be one of those bitter single people complaining about being alone on Valentines Day because it’s actually one of the best days to be single! I’ve never cared much about the details on this holiday, and have always just embraced the simplicity of it. When I’m single, I love ordering some Chinese and watching a cheesy 80’s flick like Say Anything. When I’m dating, I just want to do the same thing, but all while sharing good conversation and snuggling up on the couch. That’s just how I roll.
Not that being in a relationship and being in love isn’t absolutely amazing because it is. It’s just that Valentines Day is kind of ridiculous. It’s one where you have to say, it’s just Valentines day, let’s keep it cheap and just do cards and a nice dinner, but then you feel bad not getting something, so you do anyway, and it ends up being expensive.
I honestly don’t know much about the history, so I did some research, and this is what I pulled from the first paragraph on the Wikipedia page, “Nothing is reliably known of St. Valentine except his name and the fact that he died on February 14 on Via Flaminia in the north of Rome. It is uncertain whether St. Valentine is to be identified as one saint or two saints of the same name.” I know Wikipedia is not the best or most accurate resource, but I didn’t care enough to do any more research, and it was enough to confirm my beliefs. I’m okay with it.
No one wants to spend a ton of money on a Hallmark holiday, so everyone’s pissed off except big businesses and strippers. Actually, strippers are probably pissed off and sad too or they wouldn’t have chosen to be strippers. However, if you’re a stripper and this is your one night off to be treated with respect from your partner, then I support your Valentines Day. Maybe we should change Valentine’s Day to Respect The Stripper Day, or Strippers Night Off. Or better, Save The Strippers. One more: Stripper Awareness Day.
I came up with a list of some Anti-Valentines Day movies to watch for the single folks! I hope you enjoy the list, and get to watch one or all this month…
1. Heathers: An 80s cult classic about a girl named Veronica that tries to be friends with the three most popular girls in school, all named Heather. She starts dating this charming badass named JD, and together they find clever ways to murder the assholes in the school and make them look like suicides. It’s a dark comedy. You’ll love it.
2. Jawbreaker: Where “Carrie” meets “Heathers.” The three popular girls in school try to do a surprise kidnapping on their best friends birthday (who is also the prom queen), but rather than just tape her mouth shut, they stick a jawbreaker in her mouth and then tape it shut. Smart, right! So, she dies, and they all try to cover it up. The nerdy girl in school knows what happened, so they make her popular. She gets a huge ego… it all turns into a mess. You get the pic. Rose McGowen and Rebecca Gayheart (Noxema girl) are in it. Again, what’s not to love?
3. Wristcutters: A Love Story: I frickin love this movie so much! The kid from Almost Famous is in it. He is so depressed since his girlfriend left him, so he “offs” himself. The whole movie is him at the place where people go after they “off” themselves. He makes some friends and gets a job, and then he finds out his ex is there too. So, the movie is him on a journey to find her, and his friends tag along. One of the things I love most about the movie is that one of the main characters is based off of Eugene from Golgol Bordello and the movie features a lot of their music. It has a cute and quirky ending. Oh, and Will Arnett and Tom Waits are in it. Do I need to say anything else?
4. I’m also going to add Almost Famous in there. I love this movie so much and Philip Seymour Hoffman is in it. This is one of my most favorite movies ever. It takes place in the 70s, and about this kid that inherits his sisters hippie music collection when she leaves home. The movie features music from Tommy by The Who and Simon & Garfunkel as music he starts to fall in love with. His dream is to be a reporter and writer for Rolling Stone, so he gets this gig to go on tour with a band called Stillwater. It’s all about his journey, his experiences, and the people he meets on the way. He develops a crush on a groupie who calls herself Penny Lane, and you see where this is going. You don’t want to miss the scene where Russell Hammond is on a roof and yells, “I’m on Drugs!” and jumps off into a pool. He lives and then they all sing Tiny Dancer on the tour bus, which is a scene that might bring you tears. Plus, you get to see Zooey Deschanel as a flight attendant for a second.
5. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind: I know I keep saying this, but this is one of my most most most favorite movies ever. It’s about two people that fall in love, then their relationship spirals downward, and they have a messy breakup. Then, they go to this company that exists to erase bad relationships from your memory so that you don’t have to suffer through a breakup. The movie takes you through the process that happens as the memories come to the surface and then get erased. There’s a lot that happens in the movie, so I don’t want to give it away, but the moral is that you can’t fight or erase love. History repeats itself. It’s an amazing roller coaster of emotions, and you can’t help but root for this couple even though you want to hate them.
6. Once: I added this at the last minute. Maybe you’ve heard of The Frames or The Swell Season, but if you haven’t, where have you been? I went ahead and added their Tiny Desk below. It takes place in Ireland and about this guy who’s a musician but works in a vaccum repair shop, and then he meets a girl who sells flowers and she conveniently needs her vacuum fixed. He finds out that she can play the piano and has a sweet voice. They decide to make an album together, and he starts to fall in love with her. They become really close and spend a lot of time together, but she has a kid and a guy that she’s kind of involved with. You want them to be together, and I think they do too. The movie touches on how sometimes the circumstances just aren’t right, but leaves you feeling that maybe one day they will be. Don’t worry, I didn’t give anything away. Also, the couple in the movie was dating in real life at the time this was made, so you can really feel the chemistry. It’s an amazing movie, but the music is so good it makes it worth it alone.
Kelli Hastings says
I love this and how your posts are getting so funny! I’d add Empire Strikes Back to the list. It’s the love story of the Star Wars trilogy and it’s the best directed of all of ’em. The best scene is the kiss between Han and Leia when they are stranded on a giant asteroid. Plus there are light sabers and lots of Yoda’s yoga-like teachings.
Monica Stone says
That’s awesome! realized my list didn’t list any foreign films and now I have a whole new list in my head… so, there will be a part 2 next week! Thanks for sharing… could definitely use some Star Wars on this list! Thanks for the kind words 🙂