The all-powerful and always-trustworthy Wikipedia encyclopedia lists a guilty pleasure as something “that one really likes but often finds too embarrassing to admit to.” But I’m here to break this stuffy and out-of-date conception. My name is Kate Stanhope and I am the queen of guilty pleasures.
I have no qualms about displaying my DVDs of “The O.C.” and “The Hills” next to such greats as “Traffic” and “American Psycho” in my film library, I’ve been widely known to blast bad pop songs such as the latest Britney Spears single in my car (gimme more!), and whenever I’m in a long line at the grocery store I voraciously flip through Us Weekly.
And considering the close proximity of Hollywood and the sterling reputation of the UCLA film school, the minute a new acquaintance hears I attend UCLA and love films, they inevitably ask the big question, “So what’s your favorite movie?” And I freeze.
I’m not lying when I list off past Oscar darlings such as “American Beauty” or “Goodfellas” to impress the crowd but deep down in my heart of hearts I know “10 Things I Hate About You” and “Old School” belong up there just as much. But for some reason, those are never the titles flying out of my mouth when I’m under pressure.
Maybe it’s that mentality of good old American conformity: just because one snotty, self-important, middle-aged film critic publicly turns up his nose at the latest Will Ferrell release, suddenly every man, woman and child feels the need to hide ticket stubs and keep Saturday night plans on the DL.
But at the end of the weekend, what movie ends up at the top of the box office charts? Not the latest indie limited release or foreign import, but the Will Ferrell comedy it sounded like no one was going to see ““ so why hide it?
As a self-confessed former member of the “big hair and big glasses” club, as a childhood friend calls it, I’m all about looking cooler than I actually am but I still have a dream to one day live in a world where I can recite “Clueless” lines out loud, on a whim, without judgment or ridicule.
There are films, the critical favorites and award show mainstays, that can ““ and should ““ give us insight or make us question the world around us (I personally will always remember the moment I was scared away from hard drugs forever in eighth grade watching “Traffic” on the big screen.), but films can be just as powerful when used for comfort and security.
Many were already well aware that most high school girls are slutty, catty and self-absorbed, but that didn’t make “Mean Girls” any less of a sensation when it came out in 2004. And yes, I’m not embarrassed, I own that movie too.
Junk food can be dangerous to one’s health, but junk movies provide all of the familiarity and comfort without the diabetes. There are only so many views of “Life is Beautiful” or “The Pianist” before an individual’s life perspective turns to be seriously depressed and disturbed. After a long day and a midterm gone bad, there’s nothing like a lighthearted comedy (“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” perhaps) to perk me back up.
There are those films where the impact of the first watch will always stay with us and then those films that are a little easier to digest, that we could watch again and again no matter how many times we’ve already seen it. Pretty much everyone has these old favorites no matter what they will actually admit. And therefore, this business of shame and embarrassment when it comes to something as personal as film choice should come to an end once and for all. So we can all get together and watch “John Tucker Must Die.”
If you think Stanhope is just trying to justify liking “Newsies,” e-mail her at kstanhope@media.ucla.edu.