Ready for the rocking chair

Say Anything was on television last night. Not that I ever thought it was the world's greatest movie, but I always had a soft spot for those old-school teen movies. I remember watching them when I was in high school and really enjoying them, even (cringe) relating to the characters or thinking that the film was really saying something. But the other night I was spent most of the movie thinking 'Oh, COME on!' and 'It's HIGH SCHOOL, it's no big deal.' And 'You've only been dating for TWO WEEKS, how heartbroken can you BE?' Man, no wonder my parents never took me seriously when I was a teenager (or at least never seemed to think my personal dramas were as emotionally devastating as I imagined they were). I think I've crossed some kind of threshold to adulthood (notwithstanding my lack of car, mortgage, kids, life insurance policy or knowledge of RRSPs). I didn't even find John Cusack's character particularly endearing - what kind of grumpy old woman do you have to be to not love Lloyd Dobler? This is almost as disillusioning as the day, about six years ago, that I realised I could no longer make it through Dirty Dancing. It really is an awful film, and Patrick Swayze's character seems way too old and creepy to be hitting on teenaged girls. And yet, in 1988 or whenever I first saw it, I LOVED it. And Patrick Swayze. Shudder.