Relationship Tips I Have Learnt From The Movies

Ah, my favourite kind of list- one involving movies!
As I lie here on my brand new, incredibly comfy couch, on a freezing mid-week afternoon working busily during my free periods from school, sipping a green tea, watching Oprah the idea for another list hit me. It goes something like this:

Relationship Tips I Have Learnt From The Movies
1) Love Can Overcome Any Obstacle
Whether your girlfriend has short-term memory loss (see 50 First Dates), terminal cancer (Walk to Remember), overbearing parents (Dirty Dancing), is from the wrong side of the tracks (Honey), your boss (Top Gun) or a total psycho (Wedding Crashers) you can pull it together and prove that love really does conquer all.

2) Singing Always Brings Couples Together
This one is just a given, proven in countless films- High School Musical, My Best Friend's Wedding, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, Shrek, An Affair to Remember. The couple who sing together will make sweet music for the rest of their lives. See also dancing couples- Centre Stage, Strictly Ballroom, Step Up.

3) Blind Hatred Always Turns Into Love
No matter how much you think the guy is a total loser/junkie/derro/creep/weirdo/doofus, no matter how angry/freaky he makes you, you WILL end up together. See 10 Things I Hate About You, Cocktail, Mission Impossible II, Runaway Bride, Georgia Rule, Titanic, In Her Shoes and Casino Royale (actually any James Bond movie- the Bond girls know he's bad and they really don't like him but he is James freakin' Bond! How do you say no to that man!)

4) Even Though The Whole World Is Falling Apart, A Natural Disaster/Other Such Crisis Is The Perfect Time To Strike Up A Relationship
Yes, the world may be in the midst of the next Ice Age (The Day After Tomorrow), experiencing extremely high winds (Twister), under threat of being dominated by evil men(Superman, Spiderman, Batman), about to turn from a ship to a submarine (The Posidon Adventure) or about to be hit by an asteroid (Armageddon). But that doesn't mean we all shouldn't be getting some lovin'! Everyone, quick, stare deeply into someone's eyes, you won't even see the tornado coming up behind you! Yes, it seems a crisis is the time to get together, and often gives you the opportunity to talk to that special guy or girl and most likely save them from a falling object (eg, not a movie, I know, but in The OC when Ryan jumps in front of Taylor to stop her getting squished by the dresser during the earthquake in Season 4 and then he gets that massive shard of glass in his back and it's all so sad but Taylor loves him coz he saved her life :) . Bless.)

5) Awkward Moments= True Love
In real life, if you have an awkward moment with a guy in which he accidentally brushes your hand weirdly or you catch him staring at you, etc., chances are you are gonna stay away. Coz he's weird and all. But in any teen movie you can think of, these awkward (and generally high-school-based) moments become something the lovers laugh about by the end of the 90 minutes.

6) A Drunken Night and the Resulting Encounter You Initially Regret Will Eventually Result in a Fabulous Relationship
OK, so we all know movies aren't the best role models when it comes to accurately representing love, life, sex and what it feels like to be drunk. Let's take this last point- it's not all giggles and stumbling into his arms, as seen in What Happens in Vegas. But, as this is a movie list and as I really need some sleep (it has been two weeks since I first saved this post as a draft, I keep coming back to it and it's now 11pm on a Sunday and I reallllllllllllllllly need to sleep!), let me cut to the chase: margaritas/tequila/other shots + two people who have until this point been "just good friends" + a night of dancing and singing at a bar (See the "Benny and the Jets" scene in 27 Dresses) + night of passion you regret when you wake up the next morning with vomit in your hair, your head weighing five tonnes and the stale taste of vodka still in your mouth will eventually = love you never knew you had and that you never want to lose. Yeah. Right.

7) If You Love Them, Let Them Go. A) If They Come Back, They Love You. B) If They Don't, They Probably Still Love You.
For Part A, see one of a million romantic comedies and other genres, including dramas, such as The Bodyguard, The Notebook, Dirty Dancing and The Wedding Singer).
For Part B, see My Best Friend's Wedding, Casablanca.

So basically all this point proves is that movie love is just as confusing and mysterious and enigmatic and elusive and intangible as real life love.
We all just have to feel our way along, make mistakes, have fun, choose to laugh instead of cry, do the best we can, and keep powering on.
Just like the rest of life, really.

-bubblygirl xoxo