Leaving Normal: Hot or Not?
Personally, I didn't really like the film Leaving Normal. I thought a lot of the film was overly sentimental and kitschy. The themes were bludgeoning me in almost every scene: cosmic perspective, life as series of events that lead you were you are meant to go, love conquers all, ect. Though I wasn't really into the film as a whole, I really liked Darlene as a character and thought she was the most "real" person in the piece. A quote from the film that really rang true for me was "Just because you're leaving doesn't mean you're not in the same place." I think that quote is very true - many people believe that running away from your problems will make them go away, but ultimately, it just creates more or intensifies the current ones. The ideas the film explores are deep, but they are handled so poorly and unrealistically, I tuned them out about 3/4 of the way through. Overall, I would say it was okay, though I don't think I'll watch it again unless it is for a good laugh.
My favorite film of the class that I hadn't seen before would be Thelma and Louise. I had heard a lot about the film, but never rented it. I enjoyed the movement of the storyline and the empowering female message. I also thought the film aesthetic value of the film was high; the overall filming technique and the all-star cast made it amazing. I also enjoyed Little Miss Sunshine, which was one of my favorite movies before seeing it in class. The dark humor is amazing and I love Abigail Breslin!