sarah · dessen

I saw Music and Lyrics, with Drew Barrymore and Hugh Grant, and it was VERY cute, I have to say. Perfect? No. But what is? And while they seem like a kind of odd couple (isn't Hugh a LOT older than Drew, really?) it still worked. A perfect movie for Valentine's Day, and the entire small popcorn I devoured was just a bonus. Nice.

However, I am convinced I am still kind of cursed, movie-wise, if only because the movie lurched to a stop not once but twice during the showing. The first time, the lights came up, then stayed on once the movie started again. I was one of about, oh, ten people in the theater, and we all just sat there, waiting for the lights to dim again. They didn't. Eventually it became clear that no one else was going to let the theater people know, so I did. About fifteen minutes later, it stopped again. We all sat there. It started up again, but the little slide show of ads and movie trivia was superimposed over the film. Again, nobody moved. This time, though, it fixed itself. Thank goodness. Going to the movies should not be this much work!

There were a lot of things I really liked about this movie, but I think my favorite aspect was all the eighties flashback stuff. I don't want to ruin it for anyone, but just trust me, if you grew up with Wham! and A Flock of Seagulls on MTV, you'll have a certain affinity for this story. I saw a headline on Google News yesterday about this movie. It said: MUSIC AND LYRICS APPEALS TO THIRTYSOMETHING ROMANTICS. And here I thought I was so hip and cool. But oh, well. Still worth your money, in my opinion.

On a more serious note, I saw an article in the paper the other day about the new National Teen Dating Abuse Hotline. which was recently created by The National Domestic Violence Hotline and Liz Claiborne, Inc. Because my book Dreamland concerns an abusive relationship, I hear from a lot of girls who are, or were, in similiar situations, and it's so hard to know how to help. Domestic violence is more common than you think, and it's not so easy to just walk away. So if you, or someone you know, is in a relationship that is violent or abusive, please click on this link to go to the hotline's website for info and numbers you can call to get help.

Finally, it's February 15th. More than half the month is over! For those of you digging out from under all that snow and ice from yesterday, this is probably little comfort. But still. It counts, right?

have a good day, everyone!