How Varisty Blues helped me get a husband

My employed years at West Coast Video provided me with a few dating opportunities, while not always ideal prospects, I did get a first boyfriend out of the deal!  But little did I know that one football movie would change my life forever.  No one would argue that Varsity Blues starring James Van Der Beek, the late Paul Walker, and Oscar Nominee Jon Voight made you want to re-invent yourself or discover the meaning of life.  But for me this movie held the key to my future.  This was a movie that 4 young men from England, coaching soccer in America, decided they wanted to rent from their local video store.  What one of these men didn't know, was that after watching Varsity Blues and going to bed, his roommate decided to watch a porno.  So that when said young man wakes up the next morning, presses eject, then closes the box that he thinks he has put Varsity Blues in, he in fact has returned a porn entitled Horny Hispanic Honey's.

Fast forward 2 weeks later and I am behind the counter returning movies customers had just dropped off, restocking shelves, generally making myself busy when in walks a very cute guy.  I watch as he browses through the racks of videos eventually deciding on something.  I eyeball him as my co-worker is assisting him with his rental when up pops a late fee notice.  He questions it, swearing, in one of the cutest accents I have ever heard, that Varsity Blues was returned weeks ago.  "Not according to our computers." says my co-worker.  At this point my assistant manager takes over and in her hand is the bright yellow box labeled Varsity Blues however inside the box is the now infamous Horny Hispanic Honey's, which she proceeds to say a little too loudly, was returned in it's place.  My inner dialogue says, "You have got to be kidding me!  The cutest guy I have ever seen, and pretty sure is checking me out too, is the porno guy!"  Just my luck....

Cut to a week or two later and porno guy has returned.  He is still very cute and comes up to my counter to rent a movie.  I proceed with the transaction gaining enough courage to ask where is accent is from.  I say, "Are you from Australia?", in which he replies, "No, I'm from England."  (I know, really smooth, we've said one sentence to each other and I'm pretty sure I've offended him)  He walks around the counter, through the detectors, and leaves.  I turn around, to frankly check him out, and I notice that he left his movie on the counter.  So I chase him outside, both of us a little red-faced, and hand him his rental.

Maybe a few weeks later a friend and I are in our local diner.  It's Friday and midnight, I have just ended my shift at work.  As we walk in I notice, in a booth 2 rows down, is my movie guy.  I say to my friend, "Oh my god, it's the guy from the video store."  He and his friend are talking to some other girls we know and here comes the moment that my life is forever changed.  He looks up, we make eye contact, he says something to his friend, they get up and occupy the booth next to us.  We chat for a little while, they walk us out to our car, and the movie guys asks me out.  My future husband, who to this day swears he did not watch the porn and was an innocent bystander, just trying to return Varsity Blues.  So thank you James Van Der Beek for helping me meet the love of my life.  And my favorite story from a video store.
 

14 Years Later!

Wedding Day 2000

Anne Hathaway is my new Samantha Mathis

For a movie-holic a video store could be a virtual candyland of what life is like elsewhere, everywhere. It was here that I realized some girls can have everything....or everyone.  Is it possible to be jealous of someone you will never meet?  Like really jealous to the point of writing a blog about it...I guess my answer is yes.   So here it is:

How Anne Hathaway has become my Samantha Mathis:

Let's start with Samantha.

Pump up the Volume with Christian Slater, sigh...There was a time when Christian Slater ruled the box office. He had this twinkle in his eye that said I'm a bit of a bad boy.  The crooked smile, the hair, the Jack Nicholson-esque voice.  I fell for him first in The Legend of Billy Jean.  Then desired him in Heathers where he was a psychopathic bad boy.  Didn't love Gleaming the Cube, but loved his hair.  He was the little brother you rooted for in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves.  Then came Untamed Heart...romance at it's finest.  Critical acclaim in True Romance another love story in Bed of Roses (Mary Stuart Masterson gets special mention, can anyone say Benny and Joon).  But Samantha got him first.

The Thing Called Love with River Phoenix and Dermot Mulroney.  It hurts that there will generations of girls who won't know who River Phoenix was.  I also never knew that at the time of his death, Samantha was his real-life girlfriend too (20th Anniversay of River Phoenix's death) In his short time he starred in some pretty great movies. Obviously most people know him best from Stand By Me or even as Young Indy in Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.  I fell in love with him in this country-music fan's delight.  It even stars a young Sandra Bullock, but Sandy is not Sam.   Oh no, Samantha Mathis gets him to sing and fall in love with her all while Dermot Mulroney is silently lusting after her too. Seriously not fair.

Little Women came next with Christian Bale.  Like right after Newsies Christian Bale, young and hot.  Right before he hit it big and I don't care what Louisa May Alcott says, Laurie should have been with Jo, not Amy.

I lose touch with Samantha after that, then in 2007 she does a tv movie with A Stranger's Heart with Peter Dobson....who's he you ask?  I have one word for you: Sing.  The perfect 1989 musical about a Brooklyn school, good girl/bad boy, save the show spectacular.  You know how I love musicals and this last number will give you the chills (fast forward to 1:50min) and can be seen in full on YouTube.

It just seemed that some girls get all the luck.  I thought I was done with the jealousy thing.  I grew up, became a woman, got married, but then came Anne Hathaway, oh Anne...you get to sing, kiss, and get naked with just about one of every girl's fantasy and I'm sure she isn't done.

It first starts with Nicholas Nickleby with Charlie Hunnam and Jamie Bell, Ella Enchanted with Hugh Dancy, Princess Diaries sequel with Chris Pine, Brokeback Mountain with Jake Gyllenhaal, Devil Wears Prada with Adrien Grenier and Simon Baker, Becoming Jane with James McAvoy (the look he gives her when they dance makes my heart beat faster as I write this) Passengers with Patrick Wilson, Bride Wars with the adorable Bryan Greenberg, Valentine's Day with Topher Grace, Love & Other Drugs with Jake Gyllenhaal again, One Day with Jim Sturgess, Dark Knight Rises with Christian Bale and this where it hits me.  Anne Hathaway is my new Samantha Mathis.  The girl that gets all the guys.  My sworn film-watching enemy.

 But this isn't real life it's stories from a video store.