B is for Big and Bridget Jones’s Diary

While I’m sure many people will put The Big Lebowski on this list, I’ve narrowed the B category to two important films:

Big: I was honestly shocked to find out that my college freshman students didn’t know the movie Big – especially since it’s on cable in Florida all the time. I would think most people would love the tale of a boy who wants to grow up too soon and ends up just being what most of his new-found peers find as an eccentric genius. The heartbreak his family and friends go through in losing this boy to the adult world makes the audience think of the rest of the teens out there who end up being used to gain corporate numbers in toy making (and the like.) Isn’t the giant piano scene enough to make someone want to watch this movie?

Billy: So you got a job, where you play with all these toys.
Josh: Yup!
Billy: And they're gonna pay you for that?
Josh: Yup!
Billy: SUCKERS!

Bridget Jones’s Diary: I was much more excited about this film last month when I found out that I was a Jane Austen fan girl just waiting to be unleashed. Based loosely on Pride and Prejudice, Bridget Jones isn’t perfect but she doesn’t realize that this is what makes us and Mark Darcy (no I didn’t realize the name was Mr. Darcy or that Colin Firth played them both – I’m slow!) love her. What she is, is funny, and she documents her battle to lose weight, stop smoking, deal with her crazy parents and catch the object of her desire, Daniel Cleaver. After watching this so many times, I understood the battle between Wickham and Darcy in Pride & Prejudice a bit more (while it’s not an exact retelling, the confusion in Lizzy regarding who was telling the truth was a bit more understandable.) The basic story of a girl who can’t see what’s right in front of her is one that most females really like. It’s a modern day English romance (starring an American who may or may not have nailed the accent.)

Mark Darcy: I like you, very much.
Bridget: Ah, apart from the smoking and the drinking, the vulgar mother and... ah, the verbal diarrhea.
Mark Darcy: No, I like you very much. Just as you are.

Technorati Tags: Bridget Jones,Big,Tom Hanks,Renée Zellweger,film,movie,atozchallenge,a-z,books,Austen

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