ebert & roeper, watch out

In the "probably a waste of money since I never go out and rarely watch t.v. but it makes me feel cool" department, I subscribe to Entertainment Weekly. Over the summer, I read their review of Knocked Up (which they loved) and decided I wanted to see it. (I think I was trusting them mainly because they include a section on books, and since this makes them seem to me to be quite literary-minded, I felt they would steer clear of gross and/or juvenile humor.) I decided I wanted to see it so much in fact, that when my mom and I were planning on going to a movie, I not only recommended the aforementioned one, but also invited my cousin. My 14 year old cousin. There was some debate about the content of Knocked Up and it's appropriateness, given those attending, but I stood firmly behind EW, quoting how "extremely funny" and "fresh" they claimed it was. And so we ditched Hairspray and went to see Knocked Up.
Apparently, during my careful (and I use the term loosely) reading of EW's article, I missed all mention of the main topic of the movie; namely that the girl gets, well, knocked up. I also missed any discussion they may (or may not) have had about some very explicit scenes depicting this. I also missed the memo that said (*spoiler alert*) there is some incredibly graphic footage of a woman giving birth. (As in, more graphic than anything I've ever seen, and I've actually given birth.) Needless to say, the movie was totally inappropriate for a girl barely in her teens, my mom was mad at me, we were all embarrassed, and none of us enjoyed the movie. (On the plus side, I don't think we have to worry about that particular cousin getting pregnant before she's 30. If ever, really. Seriously, the movie made me reconsider having another kid. "It really looks like that?! Ewwww." I know, some women use mirrors and stuff, but honestly I'm more of a believer in the "there's a reason it happens that far from your face" philosophy of child birth.)
Anyway, after months of feeling guilty that I dragged them to a really bad movie, I finally got the chance to make it up to everyone. Yesterday my mom, my aunt, her daughter (the same traumatized cousin of the Knocked Up fiasco), my sister-in-law and I decided to have a girls' night out. The movie of (my) choice? Dan in Real Life. I know Steve Carell is not usually the go-to guy when trying to pick a funny-but-not-stupid-or-gross movie, but, again I had read in EW that this was a different role for him and that the movie was excellent. Once more, I blindly trusted the magazine and...

this time...

they were absolutely right. The movie was cute, sweet and funny, and coolest of all, it was filmed n Rhode Island so we got to do the whole "I know where that is!" thing while we watched it. We had a really great night, which culminated with drinking hot cocoas with my mom and my sister-in-law, chatting and gossipping until midnight. It was a lot of fun, so after all that rambling I'd like to say... I'm very thankful for my family. I have an amazing mother (which I knew and have actually been admitting to the last few years). I also just recently acquired a wonderful sister-in-law. She and my brother were married at the beginning of October, and I'm really glad they found each other. He was one of those guys you never think is going to settle down, and she was an old friend of the family. The fact that they even started dating was pretty surprising to us all, but in a good way. She's and I have a lot in common (although she doesn't knit. Yet.) and I have a great time hanging out with her. So, Kate, if you ever read this, I love having you as my sister and I'm thankful to Cupid for setting you up with my little brother. :)

One last spoiler: In Dan in Real Life, Dan's teenage daughter says something like "Can't that wait? Aunt Sally's going to teach me how to knit." I was not expecting this mention of knitting and it caused me to involuntarily do the whole fist-in-the-air-while-shouting-"YESSSS!" thing. Right in the middle of the theater. Geeky, I know, but it gets worse. I was wearing my handknit sweater at the time. I have a feeling my family thought I chose the movie based solely one that one knitting reference, which is just silly. Now, that quote and the seemingly handknit (and absolutely adorable) hat the littlest sister wore in the car as they drove to RI? Those two together make a perfectly respectable reason to go see this flick, but going to a movie just to hear someone mention knitting or wear a handknit article is ridiculous. If that's all I wanted, I could just stay home. I mean really, isn't that what the internet is for?