Streaming on Netflix
Metadata: 2004 | PG-13 | 1h 37m
Genre: Romantic Comedy (Can I get a 'Amen'!?)
Why did I watch it: It's always a good time for some old fashioned nostalgia.
You might also like: Do you ever find yourself wondering where have all the rom-coms gone? Search no further than the early 2000's. Netflix also has A Cinderella Story (2004), Along Came Polly (2004), and How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days (2003) right now. For a recent rom-com, check out The Big Sick (2017) on Amazon Prime.
What I wouldn't give for some wishing dust that knows my "heart of hearts" and will "make all of my dreams come true." These days, I spend more time wondering just what my dreams even are. It's weird to be at an age that you used to have expectations for, you know? This movie offers such a cathartic vessel for processing those emotions (and come on, we all have 'em, right?). Jennifer Garner filmed this movie in the middle of her hit show Alias, in which she played a hard-hitting spy whose closest companions are pain, fear, danger, and betrayal. The actress inhabits the character of Jenna Rink, a 13-year-old who is magically transported into her 30-year-old life and body, with joyful abandon—and I think it's obvious that this role was a welcome change for her! You can relate, right? Wouldn't it be nice to approach adulthood with the clear vision of childhood, and without concern for all the...bills?
It had probably been eight or so years since I had last seen this movie, and this time I had some thoughts about it that I know I didn't have as a college student. Allow me to share a few of them with you:
Why are Jenna's 13-yr-old eyebrows sooo good?
Why in the world does that sweet girl want to grow up so quickly??
How in the world did Jenna get to be a big-time magazine editor by the age of 30???
What wouldn't I give to live in pink bungalow????
Magazine editor-in-chief is a weird role for Andy Serkis, who is best known as Gollum, and more recently Snoke and Klaw. Like, what?
My 14-yr-old sister is undoubtedly rolling her eyes as she reads this. But that's okay with me. I'm still riding a high from watching this movie, which transported me blissfully to simpler times—while also reminding how nice it is not to have to worry about the things I worried about in middle school. Sure, I have to think about, like, planning for retirement now, but thank God I'm not worrying about stuffing my bra or whether the mean girls like me or weighing the pros and cons of doing somebody's homework for them. Life's not bad, you know? And how lovely it is to indulge in a movie full of funky outfits, fun group dances (Thriller, anyone?), and quippy middle school comebacks. Most of all, I'm grateful for a gentle reminder not to rush life. It will all happen in due time.
Enjoy!
Grace
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