top ten comfort movies of my childhood

so this might be something that you can totally tell from reading this blog, but i like what i like. and what i mean by that is, when i like something, i REALLY REALLY REALLY LIKE IT to the point where it becomes almost ridiculous. like bacon. or roller coasters. i will listen to the same song over and over and over, i will watch the same episodes of the same shows over and over and over, i will eat the same meal over and over and over (and over and over and...)

when i was a kid, nowhere was this personality quirk (yes, i said "quirk." not "flaw." "quirk.") more apparent than in my choice of movies. between the ages of, say, 8 and 15, i probably only watched about 10 different movies in total -- i just watched them over and over (and over and over...) i found new movies stressful. i wanted to not have to worry about what was going to happen. and now that i'm all grown up and i try to be normal and try new things, when i'm by myself and there's no one there to judge me i'm back watching the same movies again. and although my tastes have changed (some of the movies on this list are embarrassingly bad) the intention is the same: don't surprise me. just give me the character i love, doing that same awesome thing for all of eternity. the end.

1. airplane - so recently, airplane was on tv. and i tried to explain to cory that this was basically the only movie i ever watched for an entire year, until it got to the point where my mom didn't even ask me anymore what movie i wanted to rent when we went to halifax video (halifax video! come on you old school halifax peeps! HALIFAX EFFING VIDEO!) so he was like okay, let's watch it. then he fell asleep. which totally did not stop me from going "omg, omg, this part is so funny!" or saying "i am serious! and don't call me shirley" along with leslie neilson. but you guys, underneath all that enthusiasm was a little bit of sadness. because that movie just isn't funny anymore. i don't know if it's just because the jokes are dated, or because my sense of humour has evolved (okay, it can't really be the last one, cause i still like stupid movies. lucky for you, will farrell) but i'm pretty sure i was just laughing to cover up my tears. although that part with kareem abdul jabbar and the kid in the cockpit is still pretty funny. and that part when ted striker develops his drinking problem! oh, and that little girl who takes that coffee black, like her men! oh, and... whatever. i can tell you're already asleep.
2. clue - i played clue pretty obsessively as a kid, to the point where i had an elaborate cheating scheme devised that i'm not even going to tell you about because then it would ruin clue for you forever. but the best part of the movie was that they totally cheated, too, because they gave you three different endings! a movie after my own heart. i can remember being 11 or 12 and having to rent clue on beta before i went to babysit the kids across the street, and then actually getting scared while watching it because i was, and still am, a giant wuss.
3. say anything - say anything, along with the other usual suspects (pretty in pink, sixteen candles, dirty dancing) was a slumber party staple when i was in elementary school. (we actually had a slumber party club, called the i love scott club, the sole purpose of which was to have a sleepover once a month and, well, call scott. then watch a movie and eat popcorn. because what else would you follow up calling scott with?!) the only movie that made it past that period, for me, besides a brief stint in first year university when me and my roommates would watch the breakfast club almost every day, was say anything. in fact, it was only a few years ago that i got in an argument with a giller-nominated author about whether or not lloyd dobbler was, indeed, the perfect man. don't freak out, but she said he might not be.
4. speedy gonzales - i've talked about this before, but when i was a kid me and my sister would make cheddar cheese microwave popcorn and watch speedy gonzales. and for a long time i thought we must have had, like, seven speedy gonzales tapes. but no. no. it was just one. one speedy gonzales tape. that we watched EVERY NIGHT. and now, looking back, i wish i hadn't taken it for granted back then because just try to find a speedy gonzales cartoon out there. and yeah, negative stereotypes and blah blah blah but i say, holy crap, he was THE FASTEST MOUSE IN ALL MEXICO! screw negative stereotypes, i was IN LOVE WITH HIM!
5. the princess bride - i remember the first time i saw the princess bride. i was probably about ten and my mom took me and erin to see it at the oxford and afterward we went to mcdonald's on quinpool and i got an animal muppet baby, which was the coolest muppet baby of them all. but to be honest i didn't start re-watching it until later in life. and this is mostly because it's the only movie heather ever wants to watch when she's drunk. obviously we are soul mates. (hey, heather, remember that time we were walking back from the bar and i was like "what do you want to do now?" and you were like "oh, go home and watch the princess bride, but first stop at the grocery store and buy some bacon." yep. soul mates.)
6. highway 61 - here are some things you need to know about the movie highway 61, because i guarantee you have never, ever seen it: a) no one else has ever seen it, either b) you shouldn't see it, because it is, in retrospect, pretty terrible c) it's the only canadian movie on this list d) it has a cameo by jello biafra! which, when i was 14, was the most amazing thing i'd ever seen e) it was the first movie i ever saw at wormwood's (old school halifax peeps? you still there? WORMWOOD'S?) f) it made me obsessed with new orleans for, like, ten years g) i take it back, WATCH THIS MOVIE RIGHT NOW IT IS FUCKING AMAZING. oh, ps, in the craziest coincidence ever, I NOW LIVE OFF OF HIGHWAY 61. thank you, bruce macdonald.
7. rocky horror picture show - a disclaimer: for someone who has watched rocky horror probably close to a hundred times, i have never, ever been to a live screening. which is a total shame, cause i think i would make a kick-ass magenta. i just haven't found a date willing to go out of the house in his underwear. and yes, i know it's a little weird to have this movie on a list of COMFORT MOVIES. FROM CHILDHOOD. what can i say, i was a weird kid.
8. rushmore - oh, rushmore. sometimes i forget how much i love you. then you come on tv and i watch you again and remember. and then, if it's on one of those channels that gets the rights to a movie and then plays them over and over (and over and over...) and sometimes even back to back, i'll watch you until they stop playing you. and then i'll watch your clips on youtube, probably reciting lines along with you. no jokes: i know all the lines from the dinner party scene. and i'm not one of those people who can remember lines from movies, like, ever. also, i know i was not really a kid the first time i saw this movie. but i fell in love with it with a BEGUILING CHILDLIKE ENTHUSIASM, okay?!
9. girls just wanna have fun - back in the days when i was actually capable of looking at sarah jessica parker's facefor more than thirty seconds, i was in love with this movie. you see, these girls did EXCITING THINGS while my life remained INCREDIBLY BORING. why couldn't i sabotage a mean girl's party by handing out invitations to punks at the mall? why couldn't i have a super strict army dad whose ridiculous rules made even just hanging out with my friends an adventure in subterfuge? AND WHY COULDN'T I AUDITION FOR A DANCE SHOW?! oh, right. because in real life, there are no dance shows. well, thank god for dance movies, then.
10. strictly ballroom - ahem. speaking of dance movies. have i mentioned that this one is THE BEST DANCE MOVIE OF ALL TIME? this is because it combines all three of my favourite movie genres in one: it's a comedy! it's a mockumentary! it's a dance movie! IT'S A COMEDANCEUMENTARY!
    
    
    
    okay, now i have this weird feeling that i already did a "top ten best final dances in dance movies" post, but i can't find it. maybe i just thought about doing it? or maybe i just sat here and watched this clip over and over and over (and over and over...) until i forgot what i was doing.