Movies always make me want to do ridiculous things.
I saw True Grit last night and immediately left the theater thinking I should really know the proper method for extracting venom from a snake bite. I’d hate for someone to die because I don’t suck it out the right way.
Sometimes I play the ending of Live Free or Die Hard over and over in my mind wondering if I would be able to work up the courage to shoot through my own body and into a terrorist’s in order to gain the element of surprise and have an epic win.
The worst offender by all counts is The Notebook, which was singlehandedly responsible for me breaking up with my high school boyfriend. Well, that and he was a weak speller.
I just can’t be with a weak speller.
But I recognize this hold that movies have over me and have taken the necessary measures in my life to avoid disaster. My Netflix queue is a very carefully chosen art. Watching too many movies within a certain theme can lead to some seriously bad life decisions. Unfortunately, Dave is just as easily inspired by them. I accidentally followed up Into the Wild with The Last of the Mohicans last week and I’ve been spending the last two days trying to convince him not to leave society for a simpler, more noble life in the trees.
My queue is not the only thing that pressures me. In fact, I have a very strained relationship with Netflix overall. At first I invested in it because I only get basic cable and can rarely justify spending 20 hard-earned American dollars to go see a movie. It seemed like a good, sound investment. And at first, I admit that it was. I am a Netflix watching machine. It comes in the mail, Dave and I watch it regardless of whether or not we’re in the mood, and we send it right back. I can chew up and spit out about 10 discs in a month.
The real problem is Instant Netflix (let’s call it Devil Candy). Devil Candy is like a fun bonus feature that you get for having a membership. For no extra fee, you can go online and watch all sorts of movies, cartoons, and TV shows. Sometimes there are a bunch of old stupid ones that nobody cares about, and sometimes you’re nicely suprised by how fast something relatively new is available.
When I first started Devil Candy, I had to put a disc in my PS3 in order to access its mystical wonders. Sometimes, this was enough to prevent me from partaking in its pleasures. Because regardless of how much I like a good movie, it’s probably still not enough to make me get up from the couch when I’m really comfortable.
Unfortunately, Netflix later announced that the disc was no longer needed and that Devil Candy was available simply by turning on my PS3…which has a remote I can use to start it. My life has been a downward spiral ever since. Last week I stayed up one night and watched 18 back-to-back episodes of Arrested Development.
Notice this is not a “we” scenario. See, Netflix started as a way to have a cheap date indoors with the love of my life. Ever since Devil Candy came out, it’s just me curled up on the couch pumping out as many episodes as I can before Dave returns. It’s a sinful, self-indulgent parade of worthlessness and it must be stopped.
Then again maybe not. After all, I’m going to have to have something to do while he’s out in the wild, living in an old VW bus and fighting to stay alive as the Last Mohican. ♣
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The Jackie Blog 
I literally laughed out loud when I read the weak speller comment. That is so funny. I completely related to this post. Thanks for the constantly entertaining stream of posts.
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Your netflix watching addiction has only served to replace your old addiction. WoW. ;-P
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