see mj write: day 2 {your favorite movie}

my little sister was in elementary school when she recreated, on paper, the scene from her then-favorite movie. the teacher was so concerned that a child as young as she was would draw a picture of a man being decapitated while riding a bus that she called a conference with my mom. yes, my sister's favorite movie was speed and that was her favorite scene.

it seems my sister and i inherited polar opposite genes when it comes to movie choices.

i've never considered myself a movie critic. i'm pretty easy to please when it comes to the big screen. make me laugh. make me smile. throw in a little bit of excitement and wrap it all up with a happy ending and you've got yourself a more-than-pleased maren.

i can count on three fingers the number of movies that have made me cry. i will not share this list.

i've never fallen asleep in a theater, but you could bet good money i'll fall asleep watching any movie - good or bad, happy or sad, comical or action-packed - on my couch. it really doesn't matter what time of day or night it is, either.

i have very few rules: 01. keep it clean {there's nothing more annoying than a perfectly good movie ruined by awful language or just once scene that we all could have done without}. 02. don't cast ugly people {i don't pay to see a movie movie just to watch real life...if you want me to fall for the handsome prince, he better be handsome}. 03. wrap it up - no loose ends. 04. three words: happily. ever. after. again, i didn't pay for real life {unless it is a true story, in which case an unhappy ending is acceptable, but not preferred}.

because my rules for success are so simple, it makes narrowing down a favorite {again, singular} a tough job. i have a whole list sitting in front of me. and i know i'm forgetting some. but i promised myself i wouldn't wimp out and post a whole list. i will choose just one.

and the winner is...

Anne of Green Gables.nope. this isn't an april fool's joke...that was yesterday. i have to admit, part of me is bummed that i didn't decide on a cooler movie. but the other part of me knows just how much of a nerd i am and is freely willing to admit that this is {*one of} my favs.

i remember first seeing it at my great aunt zelma's house. aunt zelma had blue shag carpet, a sparkly ceiling and the perfect basement for playing sardines. and since zelma had no children of her own, we all kind of adopted her as our 2nd grandma. zelma had a lot of money, which is how she got anne of green gables in the first place. her pledge during the pbs telethon was high enough to receive the VHS of both anne of green gables and anne of avonlea. that's a lot of money, people. money that i, as a 7 year old, did not have. and so she gifted them to us for christmas.

i had already read the books, but seeing it on film was more than i could handle.

anne shirley - anne with an e - is just perfect. she's kind and funny and honest and smart. she does talk a bit much, but i was so shy as a child, that i wished i had a bit of that trait in me.

i may or may not still have a crush on gilbert blythe.

i will visit prince edward island before i die.

i wanted to hate marilla, but deep down, i knew that cuthbert blood made her a softie.

i did hate rachel lynde {you have to hate somebody, right?}.

matthew. oh, matthew. {**spoiler alert**} i can't not love him. he bought anne her beautiful blue party dress for the love. and his last words???, "i never wanted a boy. i only wanted you from the first day." his death is the only thing that could possibly take this movie off my list.

diana barry was kind of ditsy, but a perfect complement to anne. had they been born in 1981 you better believe both would've had one half of a heart shaped necklace dangling from their necks.

i could go on. but i won't. let's fast forward, instead, to twenty-something maren. i was married and not nearly as wealthy as the aforementioned great aunt zelma. so, there was no way in hades i was going to ever have a pledge high enough to afford these films. that was until my very own prince charming found both a.o.g.g. and the sequel on dvd at walmart {the only saving grace for that insane store, if you ask me}. no pledge necessary.

it's safe to record it in the layton family history as one of his top 5 gifts. ever. and that includes the wedding ring. i think it was painful for him to gift them to me. it was probably more painful for him to purchase them, in public, in broad daylight. someone could have seen him. if that isn't true love, i'm not sure what is. it's like he's my very own gilbert blythe.

it's been fun to watch anne all over again as an adult. the characters are the same, but i hear different words. as the credits roll, i feel i can accomplish anything i put my mind to. anne's confidence is contagious. despite her early years, first impressions and what the world thinks she should be, she is strong and beautiful and smart and witty. adversity is a part of life, but not the end. people are more important than things {you learned that the hard way, huh carrots?}. it's okay to be spontaneous and put yourself out on a limb {or on a rooftop}.

i want to learn more and do more and be more.

and i'm a little less afraid to learn and do and be, because, like anne says, "tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it."



{*the rest of maren's movie anthology:}
action: the bourne trilogy
disney: beauty and the beast
musical: annie/the sound of music
christmas: elf
better ending than its book: my sister's keeper
love story: pride and prejudice
sports: remember the titans
dumber for watching, but can't stop laughing: dumb and dumber/napoleon dynamite
know i love but need to watch again: dead poets society
quotable: the princess bride/meet the parents
broadway turned movie: phantom/les miserables
overrated: avatar
never seen: original star wars trilogy/indiana jones {gasp!}
dumbest ending and way too long {even edited}: braveheart
will never watch again: dark knight
historical fiction: saving private ryan/pearl harbor
must see twice: sixth sense
from a book: harry potter and the...{all of them}/pride and predudice
honorable mentions: enchanted, dan in real life, somewhere in time, while you were sleeping, finding neverland, oceans eleven...and more.