31. Whip It!
A movie that completely captures friendship and a sense of family found outside of your family, both themes that I tend to love in movies and books when I find it. There is a plethora of great performances in this, especially from two favorites of mine, Ellen Page and Juliette Lewis. This is one of my go-to movies when I need cheering up.
Boys Wanna Be Her :: Peaches
32. Almost Famous
Everything about this movie I love, love to the point of wishing I could spend a day in this movie, riding around with the band on Doris the bus, singing-a-long to Tiny Dancer, typing up notes with “the Enemy” and really, really loving the music with Penny Lane. When I’m lonely and sad this is my #1 go-to movie to cheer me up. Though Eternal Sunshine is my forever favorite movie, this is my forever “wish I was there” movie.
Fever Dog :: Stillwater
33. The Breakfast Club
Molly Ringwald and I are the same age, which for me meant that the Molly trilogy fit so completely into my time in life that even now I still feel part of it. I was no Claire, no, I was more Brian than any of them, though like Claire I certainly would have wanted to find myself kissing John Bender. This movie, I still remember vividly seeing it opening weekend with my friends, and thinking finally someone gets it, finally we are up there on the screen (also, it is still one of my all-time favorite movie endings).
Don’t You (Forget About Me) :: Simple Minds
34. Away We Go
I am a sucker for a good love story and I am not a bit ashamed to admit it. That said, there are very few love stories that are not only believable, but one that I find myself thinking “this is a relationship I would actually want to be in“. Burt and Verona, yeah, they have that kind of a love story.
All My Days :: Alexi Murdoch
35. What a Way to Go
Another favorite movie of mine with Shirley Maclaine, and also with a variety of great actors – Gene Kelly, Paul Newman, Robert Mitchum, Dick Van Dyke, and Dean Martin (What a way to go, for certain). This was a recent discovery of mine that my husband introduced to me, that I fell for immediately. A clever premise told in chapters of a life full of changes, ups and downs, and an underlying belief in the persistence of love, even if it is fleeting.
