Movie Fun: And the Winner Is . . .

Thanks to all of you who participated in my movie fun contest. The winner is one of my dearest friends--Julie from Columbus--who is also my person of honor in my wedding. And it makes sense that we would love the same movies because we've been friends since ninth grade. That's a lot of history. Congratulations, Julie! Your prize will be arriving soon.

And the answers:

1. Notting Hill--Julia Roberts plays a movie star (a real stretch!) who falls in love with a London bookstore owner. (You will find that books and bookstore owners recur in my favorite movies.) In a great twist of irony, her character begs the "regular" guy to love her.

2. Sleepless in Seattle-- Movies about young widows and widowers with children have also been a favorite of mine. Here Tom Hanks's character explains to a radio talk show host how he fell in love with his now deceased wife and why losing her has left him sad and empty.

3. You've Got Mail--What could be better? Meg Ryan has my fantasy career: children's bookstore owner in NYC. And here she speaks for all true book lovers about how amazing children's stories can be.

4. Jerry MaGuire--A young widow (Renee Zellweger) falls in love with the pre-crazy-still-with-Nicole Tom Cruise (Jerry MaGuire) that I once liked very much. I felt like the writer of Renee's character, Dorothy, read my mind. Dorothy wears this great black dress on her first date with Jerry, and what woman wouldn't be swept off her feet by this compliment?

5. Shakespeare in Love--Shakespeare. Romeo and Juliet. Clever quotes from Shakespeare plays incorporated into the script. England in the 1600's. Need I explain further why I loved this movie so? And this is Gwyneth Paltrow's character waxing eloquently on her desire for that great love that everyone wants (and that I have found!).

6. Toy Story--It's just the most ingenious, creative movie made for kids and adults ever. And those little creatures in the toy game at the Pizza Planet are hilarious!

7. Elf--Will Ferrell and this movie crack me up every time I watch it. It's become a Christmas standard along with #9 at our house.

8. Steel Magnolias--This was the last movie I ever watched with my sister Kristi before she died, so it will always hold a special place in my heart. We sat there and sobbed together, and a few months later, I comforted myself with the thought that Kristi had experienced "thirty minutes of wonderful," and so had everyone who had been privileged to love her.

9. It's a Wonderful Life--I just love this story. If you've never watched it, you must not let one more Christmas pass without seeing it.

10. Lord of the Rings/The Two Towers--Not really one of my favorites, and definitely not my favorite of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, but I love this line because it's spoken by my favorite character, Sam Gamgee, and Katie and Jonathan would repeat this line, in rhythm, more times than I can count.

11. Beauty and the Beast--The best Disney love story, hands down, with Belle being the best Disney princess. She's beautiful AND smart AND loves reading books. You'll never catch Cinderella or Snow White with a book--and definitely not Ariel.

12. Pride and Prejudice--Elizabeth played by Keira Knightley has to be the best! And how insightful and honest of her to recognize her own flaws holding her back from her true love, Mr. Darcy.

13. When Harry Met Sally--It's New Year's Eve, and Harry realizes that he does love Sally. And when he finds her at that New Year's Eve party, feeling as miserable as he does, this is what he says to her. And he proves once and for all that men and women really can't be "just friends." And Sally, played by Meg Ryan, quickly comes around and acquiesces to Harry; even though she's mad as can be at him, she can't help but love him.

14. Pretty Woman--It's a great moment. Both Viv (a former prostitute who knows she can do better) and Richard Gere's high-powered, wealthy businessman realize at the same time that he's just as bad off as she is. And you just know that together, they're going to work out all of those issues and have a great marriage. Yet another Cinderella story.

15. Horton Hears a Who--Again, not one of my favorite movies, but definitely enjoyable. And this line is uttered by a little fluff-ball creature named Katie. We all said this line at our house for at least a couple weeks after seeing the movie.