Movies I’ve Made My Husband Watch
Because you will not understand what the heck I’m ever talking about unless you’ve seen these movies.
Soulmates aren’t born, they are made.
My husband and I grew up in remarkably similar households. Big families. Home schooled. Weekly classical music lessons. We both may or may not have owned/worn Lord of the Rings-themed costume items.
There was so much that we didn’t have to explain to each other when we started dating and ultimately got married. But as similar as our life experiences have been, every family is unique, and every member of every family is unique.
This is why it became necessary for me to put my husband through the process of watching all the movies that were so important to my formative years, that he had not seen as yet. The process started while we were dating and is still on-going. I share a (non-exhaustive) list below:
Jurassic Park
Why he needed to see it: Jurassic Park is probably THE most important movie on this list. I just can’t overstate how integral this movie is to who I am today. Apart from Star Wars, it is the movie I quote from most frequently. How could I wake up every morning next to a man who would not understand when I said something like, “The T-Rex doesn’t want to be fed — she wants to hunt” or “life finds a way” or “Dodson! We’ve got Dodson here!” as well as so many, many others? Growing up, me and my siblings watched Jurassic Park too many times to count. It gave me my abiding affection for dinosaurs. It taught me about the illusion of control and also that T-Rexes can’t see if you don’t move.
His reaction: How he had gotten to this point in his life without seeing Jurassic Park is a mystery to me, but when he did finally see it his reception was all I could hope for. He gets it. And therefore, he gets me.
Karate Kid
Why he needed to see it: Mr. Miyagi is kind of my hero. He’s in the same category as my other hero, Ben Kenobi, and my other other hero, Yoda. Wise but eccentric old geezers that put cocky young people through humiliating and seeming-pointless exercises will always have a place in my heart. In fact, I like this movie so much that I had a Karate Kid-themed birthday party once. When I was 19. So as you can see, it’s kind of important that he understand where I’m coming from on this one.
His reaction: Reading between the lines, I think this was all a little too ’80s for him. I went through a phase in late teen-hood where I had a morbid fixation with all things ’80s. He did not. Although he found the movie enjoyable, I don’t think it’s on his top 10 list of movies he hopes we’ll watch again sometime.
Star Trek II, III, IV and VI
Why he needed to see it: Let’s be clear — I do not claim to be a Trekkie. If I did, all the real Trekkies would sniff me out as an imposter and burn me at stake or beam me down to some God-forsaken alien penal mining colony. BUT I did grow up with the movies and they hold a certain nostalgic value for me.
His reaction: Star Trek IV (that’s the one with the whales) was the only one he could honestly say that he liked, and mostly for comedic value. Sad. And yet, he’s come a long way: we are now working our way through the original TV series together and he’s enjoying it quite a bit.
Jackie Chan’s “Who Am I?”
Why he needed to see it: If you only watch one Jackie Chan movie, it has to be Who Am I? (with Legend of the Drunken Master being a close second). The wooden shoe fight in Rotterdam. That super-flexible villain who does the standing splits just to show off. Jackie Chan doing his iconic “go stand at the top of a hill hopelessly yelling into the wind as the camera circles several times”. Jackie donating all the money from a nefarious weapons deal to the “Save the Children” foundation. It’s all here, folks. Since I am a big Jackie Chan fan and this was the movie that started it all, of course he had to watch it.
His reaction: Watching this movie for the first time as an adult is a pretty different experience than watching it as a kid. I actually, honestly used to think this was a really sweet action flick and me and my brothers definitely spent a summer doing faux kung-fu and pretending to be spies as a result of watching it. Still, he appreciated the corniness and some of the fight scenes.
Almost Angels
Why he had to watch it: Everything I know about the Vienna Choir Boys is based off of this movie (most of it is probably a lie). Also, who wouldn’t want a movie which revolves around the harrowing tragedy of a young boy’s pubescent voice change?
His reaction: Why you make me watch this?
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