I Want to Be Your Ideal Man: Grease (1978)

Most Romantic Moment #4

I Love this musical. My best friend Carson and I were obsessed with it when we were eight years old. We used to watch it over and over, knew every song by heart, and could do the hand jive in our sleep. Grease was definitely the word.

So the movie is set in the 1950s, you know one of my favorite decades.

Sandy is from Australia and visiting the American beach for summer vacation (winter in Australia). She meets Danny is also away at the beach and the two meet and fall head over heels for each other. But Sandy has to back home, with both thinking they would never see each other again.

School’s back in session, and we see Danny is the hottest and coolest guy in school.

He and his gang are ready to finish their senior year when he gets the biggest surprise of his life, Sandy is in school. Can this designated bad boy and good girl make a relationship work?

Throw in a car racing challenge, dance contest, Frankie Avalon, and amazing songs.

Most Romantic Moment: I Will Do What I Can to Get You Back

So throughout the whole film we see that Danny is all about “his reputation”.

Sleeping around with girls, not caring about what happens to them but just using and losing…

See ya!

However when he meets Sandy that changes. At first he tries to keep to his “tomcattin” ways, but realizes that’s not what he wants; he wants Sandy. But how to win her back?

Hmm…

As Sandy is a cheerleader, he decides to go out for a team sport going from greaser to jock. (Which was a big deal then. Remember Daryl in The Outsiders and how he was able to cross over into Soc territory if he wanted to because of football? Ponyboy too was offered that as well but he wouldn’t give up his cigarettes for track). But Danny doesn’t really mean it, he’s just doing it to try and win Sandy back at this moment. But because he doesn’t put his whole heart into it, he messes up again and again; ditching her for another girl to win the dance contest and giving her his “ring of commitment” in order to make out.

Men

But none of these work, Sandy is a high quality girl and she won’t have some pretender, she needs something real.

So Danny realizes that if he loves her, he needs to stop the pretending and kidding around. He is going to have to do something really drastic to show Sandy he truly cares about her.

So he decides to quit the T-Birds

Now contrary to what some bloggers say, he is not just putting a “cardigan on”. The sweater is a symbol that he is completely changing his life. By changing the T-Bird leather jacket to the cardigan with his “letter for track” on it, he’s not only saying that he is giving up the “fast” lifestyle, the parting with all these other women, the reputation of never settling down; but that he is going to be something more stable and trustworthy. Something that she can rely on and that will be there for her.

As he tells the other boys, he grown out of that, and is instead looking forward to a future with Sandy, not just a “playdate”.

“Danny Zuko: Oh c’mon you guys…You know you mean a lot to me…it’s just that Sandy does too. And I’m going to do anything I can to get her…“ 

After all, what’s comfortable, can be worn anywhere, and something that makes you feel relaxed, supported, and warm…a leather jacket or a cardigan?

To start Romance is in the Air:Part IV from the beginning, go to I Can’t Pretend, I Have to Be: Casual Sex? (1988)

For the previous post, go to Business is Business, But Your Happiness is More Important: Borrowed Hearts (1997)

For more on Grease, go to Why Were You Driven Away?

For more musicals, go to Marry Me: Gigi (1958)

For more period films, go to I Choose You: Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day

Why Were You Driven Away?

19) Something That You Miss

I really, really, really miss the drive-in.

As you can guess, in my home town the drive-in closed.

Noooooooooo!!!!!!!

Sadly, the man who owned the drive-in, didn’t actually own the property. Every year the landlord would raise the rent, until the guy said forget it. It’s not worth it anymore.

Noo!

It then became a swamp meet, but eventually closed down and is nothing but a former shell.

In fact, not only did my town’s drive-in close down, but all the ones in the area. You have to drive an hour and a half away to get to one. And it’s not just us, drive-ins everywhere are closing down and I don’t know why, they are awesome.

I love the drive-in, bringing a bunch of people in a car and watching the film under the stars. Having a ginormpus screen! Oh, it’s just the coolest. We need to bring those back. We need to make this happen everyone.

Until then, let me leave you with this very memorable drive-in moment. 🙂

To start the 30 Day challenge from the beginning, go to Musical Madness

For the previous post, go to By Boat, By Train, By Foot, By Plane

Fulfilling the List: A Walk to Remember (2002)

Romantic Moment #3

A Walk to Remember (2002)

***Spoiler Alert***

So I am not a big Nicholas Sparks fan;

I didn’t like Message in a Bottle, oh don’t get me started on that girl!

I was also not a fan of The Notebook (I totally would have picked James Marsden) and I’ve never been interested in his other works.

I don’t think this really added to the story.

For years people had been trying to get me to watch this movie, and every time I said no.

Even though I love the song Hawk Nelson wrote for the movie, I still wouldn’t watch it.

Tempting but no

Even though I absolutely love Shane West, nope, nope, no.

But that all changed when my friend kept begging me to watch it. I finally gave in and that was one of my best decisions EVER! I loved the movie.

I went on to read the book which I also loved. Those two are one of the sweetest things I have seen/read. It is full of so many romantic moments, it was hard choosing just one.

So the film is about two people, Jamie and Landon. Jamie is one of the popular boys in school, no sorry the popular boy as he is the best looking.

Shane West, oh man are you good-looking.

Sorry, back to the film.

So Landon has been acting up a lot recently, mostly because of his anger at his dad for leaving the family for another woman. He and his friends convince a guy who wants to be a part of their group to do a dive after drinking; causing him to be seriously hurt (while Landon slightly injured); afterwards he gets in trouble and has to do community service/help in the school.

Enter Jamie. Jamie is the minister’s daughter, good in school, loves astronomy, and of course is picked on for being the preacher’s daughter, smart, for the clothes she wears, etc.-you get the idea.

Landon ends up spending a lot of time with her as he finds himself  having to tutor alongside her; as well as star opposite her in a play.

Landon finds being in the play out of his comfort zone, and asks Jamie for help. She agrees but on one condition, he can’t fall in love with her.

Later when Jamie tries to talk to him in front of his friends, he pulls a Danny Zuko and acts like he doesn’t know her. Jamie of course is upset.

So later when he comes to her for help, wanting them to be “secret friends” to protect his reputation she shuts him down.

The time for the play comes and Landon, even though he doesn’t want to admit it, misses having Jamie around. When he sees her performing he is just blown away.

Afterwards, he tries to date her but she still isn’t sure about trusting him. When his friends play a cruel prank on her, he not only defends her against his friends but encourages and supports her.

How romantic

They start dating and fall in love. 🙂 But unfortunately, things do not always stay as happy as we hope. It turns out that Jamie didn’t want Landon to fall in love with her because she has cancer, and no earthly treatment can cure it.

Most Romantic Moment: I Want to Make Your Dreams Come True

So throughout the film, Jamie talks about how she has a list of things she wants to do before she dies. Some are basic and easy, while other much grander. The list is:

1. Get married in the church where her mother and father were married
2. See a miracle
3. Have a star named after her
4. To be in two places at the same time
5. Get a tattoo
6. Befriend someone she doesn’t like
7. Spend a year in the peace corps
8. Make a medical discovery

When Landon had to first do the community school service, she checked off number 6; but since then she hasn’t had the chance to do anything else (and as the later reveal of her pending death it looks like she might never cross everything off).

Aw, man.

But after Landon and Jamie begin dating, he decides that he is going to try to help her check off as many as he possibly can.

He takes her to the state border (#4):

Getting her temporary tattoos (#5) as her dad wouldn’t let her have a real one:

And buying a star, naming it after her (#3):

While all of these are absolutely adorable and really show how Landon has changed and how much he loves her, the best part is when he fulfills #1.

So romantic

So as Jamie is dying with very little time left, Landon asks her to marry him.

I know how romantic is that? He knows how much that means to her, the first thing she ever dreamed of doing was being married in the same church as her mother and father with her father officiating. He knows that out of everything this is her biggest dream, and he helps her fulfill it. What a dream guy!

It’s just so romantic how much he loves her! This made me want my own Landon. Why, why, why- are the best guys fictional?

And to make that moment even more romantic not only did he fulfill her #1 goal, but the other most important on her list; #2

So romantic

Such a great film!  I highly recommend it! I watch it over and over.

To start Romance is in the Air from the beginning, go to Boom Box of Love: Say Anything (1989)

For the previous post, go to You’re My Exception: He’s Just NOT That Into You (2009)

For more on A Walk to Remember, go to Number Two Look Just Like You

For more Nicholas Sparks, go to I Love You Anyway: The Notebook (2004)

For more films based on books, go to Feast Your Eyes On My Accursed Ugliness: The Phantom of the Opera (1925)