Let your mind go, and your body will follow
This past weekend, I watched one of my all-time favorite movies, L.A. Story. It seemed the fitting end to spring break this year. I haven't watched it in a while, and it came up in conversation Saturday night (I recommended it to someone who lives in L.A. and had never seen it), so I had a hankering for it. I've watched L.A. Story dozens and dozens of times, and I never tire of it. There are only a handful of movies that hold that well for me, among them A Room with a View, Last of the Mohicans, Legally Blonde, Bliss (the Australian film, not the American thriller) are among that select group.
But L.A. Story, there's something about it that just affects me in a way other films don't. On the surface, it's a silly, sweet romantic fantasy, with a variety of sight gags, some great cameos (Patrick Stewart FTW as the maitre d' at L'Idiot!), an homage to Shakespeare, and a number of references one may not get right away. (Two of my favorites are the graveyard scene from Hamlet, with Rick Moranis as the gravedigger, and the visit to the Museum of Musicology, which always cracks me up.)
I find myself identifying so much with Harris K. Telemacher (the lead, played by my dream man, Steve Martin). Harris is in a dead end job (he's a "wacky" weather man, even though he has a PhD and could do so much more), in a dead end relationship, leading a dead end life with the beautiful people, only he doesn't know it until he meets a British journalist (played by his then-wife, Victoria Tennant) who throws everything upside down. Harris is stubborn, and needs the advice of a talking freeway sign to give him the help he needs. At one point, the street sign takes over their car and instructs Harris to "kiss her, you fool!" which he finally does. And as he does, he sees into her thoughts, where she struggles with her own fears, and tells herself to "let your mind go, and your body will follow".
Both characters are at a crossroads in their lives and it takes some supernatural intervention to smack them upside the head. When she asks him what if she left L.A., his reply always gets me: "All I know is, on the day your plane was to leave, if I had the power, I would turn the winds around, I would roll in the fog, I would bring in storms, I would change the polarity of the earth so compasses couldn't work, so your plane couldn't take off." And that's the magic of the movie for me. That one moment encapsulates it all.
Now, obviously we don't have talking street signs and desire can't change the magnetic poles of the earth. But when we are sufficiently motivated by love, we can make such great changes in our lives. It's just that for some of us, it's a painful journey to realize that potential. I haven't quite gotten there yet, although every now and then I feel like maybe I'm just a little bit closer than I was the day before.
But I remain hopeful, even while being just a little bit scared at the same time. That's not an easy feat for such a cynic as I. This past week was an interesting week for me. There were moments that were really exciting, and moments that were deeply frustrating. But I feel a little bit like there was a watershed this past week for me. Time will show if that is really the case or not (and I hope so; I'd like to think this time I get to have something good happen).
Yesterday I had a quiet day to myself. It was much needed after this past week. And what better way to end the week than to watch L.A. Story (I also watched A Room with a View, it seemed fitting as well.) I watched to engage in a little escapism, to enjoy the sweet story, and to honor the magic that can be found around us in the most chance encounters. And to hopefully allow myself to be open to a little magic of my own.
But L.A. Story, there's something about it that just affects me in a way other films don't. On the surface, it's a silly, sweet romantic fantasy, with a variety of sight gags, some great cameos (Patrick Stewart FTW as the maitre d' at L'Idiot!), an homage to Shakespeare, and a number of references one may not get right away. (Two of my favorites are the graveyard scene from Hamlet, with Rick Moranis as the gravedigger, and the visit to the Museum of Musicology, which always cracks me up.)
I find myself identifying so much with Harris K. Telemacher (the lead, played by my dream man, Steve Martin). Harris is in a dead end job (he's a "wacky" weather man, even though he has a PhD and could do so much more), in a dead end relationship, leading a dead end life with the beautiful people, only he doesn't know it until he meets a British journalist (played by his then-wife, Victoria Tennant) who throws everything upside down. Harris is stubborn, and needs the advice of a talking freeway sign to give him the help he needs. At one point, the street sign takes over their car and instructs Harris to "kiss her, you fool!" which he finally does. And as he does, he sees into her thoughts, where she struggles with her own fears, and tells herself to "let your mind go, and your body will follow".
Both characters are at a crossroads in their lives and it takes some supernatural intervention to smack them upside the head. When she asks him what if she left L.A., his reply always gets me: "All I know is, on the day your plane was to leave, if I had the power, I would turn the winds around, I would roll in the fog, I would bring in storms, I would change the polarity of the earth so compasses couldn't work, so your plane couldn't take off." And that's the magic of the movie for me. That one moment encapsulates it all.
Now, obviously we don't have talking street signs and desire can't change the magnetic poles of the earth. But when we are sufficiently motivated by love, we can make such great changes in our lives. It's just that for some of us, it's a painful journey to realize that potential. I haven't quite gotten there yet, although every now and then I feel like maybe I'm just a little bit closer than I was the day before.
But I remain hopeful, even while being just a little bit scared at the same time. That's not an easy feat for such a cynic as I. This past week was an interesting week for me. There were moments that were really exciting, and moments that were deeply frustrating. But I feel a little bit like there was a watershed this past week for me. Time will show if that is really the case or not (and I hope so; I'd like to think this time I get to have something good happen).
Yesterday I had a quiet day to myself. It was much needed after this past week. And what better way to end the week than to watch L.A. Story (I also watched A Room with a View, it seemed fitting as well.) I watched to engage in a little escapism, to enjoy the sweet story, and to honor the magic that can be found around us in the most chance encounters. And to hopefully allow myself to be open to a little magic of my own.