I’m a 90’s baby, after all.

A look at movies & human connection.

Magic. Absolute magic. Light and warmth and fun and a big, goofy smile on my face. That’s what a damn good movie brings me. I just finished watching Ocean’s Twelve and that’s what it left me with, this really big feeling of fun. I don’t know about you, but that feeling is really hard to come by when I watch newer movies. I don’t know why, but I just feel like we’ve lost something.

I actually did a full fledged comparative study, analysing the differences and similarities between new films and films from the 90’s and early 2000’s. I won’t bore you with the details, but I really enjoyed digging into the mountains of incredible movies from back in the day. I feel that it was a golden age for romantic comedies in particular. Yes, we live in a different society today that makes one or two of those old rom-com’s a little painful to watch, but I am always ready to pop my sweatpants on, snuggle up, and re-watch Pretty Woman, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or Two Weeks Notice.

Now that I watch most movies on my phone or tablet, I can do that little ten second rewind. I think I use that button more than I should. Every time I find a striking moment in a movie, a smile or laugh that has a little magic, I rewind ten seconds. In Notting Hill there’s a scene where everyone is at the sister’s house sharing their deeply sad life stories, and then Julia Roberts’ character joins in and we find that her life is unexpectedly depressing too. There’s this little moment of beauty when they all sit and stew in their discomfort before the brother says, “nice try gorgeous!” Everyone laughs, of course, and I can’t help but rewind and study each actors face as their faces light up.

I think that’s what I love about old movies that I just don’t seem to find in newer ones, human connection. I feel like the majority of new movies are so busy trying to sell me a story or a world or explaining why we have to travel back in time to get the thing from the guy. I miss the people in those stories. Stories are fundamentally human, they are a tool that allow us to connect, empathise, laugh. I think I miss the human touch from today’s movies, and all media really. When did we forget that our stories are about us? That’s what I want, what I believe we all want. No complicated plots that set our minds on fire, not more and more unbelievable cars. I want to see the eyes of a mother at her son’s wedding. I want to be reminded that I’m just a person, too.