Nerd Pride Radio

So one of my favorite podcasts posited a question that I have NO idea how to answer for myself currently, though my wife had no problem. The question is this: Imagine you are starting a new relationship with a significant other who does not know you at all. (Suspend disbelief as to how this situation arose) The only way you can describe your personality to them is to provide them 5 movies to watch that you think describe you.

What are they?

(For reference, my wife's answers were:

1. Mona Lisa Smile
2. Julie and Julia
3. My Big Fat Greek Wedding
4. Amelie
5. Mary Poppins)

Hmmm. In no particular order, maybe totally right:

Rashoman
Kiki's Delivery Service
Empire Strikes Back
Repo Man
Princess Bride

Monty Python's Holy Grail
The Harry Potter Movies as one long marathon so that it only counts as one
Planet Earth series as one long binge
The Lord of the Rings trilogy as a binge
The Nightmare Before Christmas.

1. High Fidelity - I'm an asshole, selfish, and self-absorbed. I'm also a work in progress, and not totally unrecoverable. Except Velvet Underground is a little overrated.

2. Heat - Human nature, in all its grotesque and beautiful fucked up bullshit, motivates me more than anything else. Also, Michael Mann is a minor god.

3. Hellboy - I'm going to be weirdly obsessive over bizarre and often uninteresting topics.

4. Rent - I love musicals. I have a weird history with music. I'll have lots of weird stories relating to music. And it is either this or Moulin Rouge. This one has Jesse L. Martin, and everybody should love him, because he's goddamn awesome.

5. Bridesmaids - It's funny as hell, and it is a reminder that SNL didn't stop being good in 1979 by any stretch. It's also one of my favorite comedies of the last 2 decades.

Urga, My New Gun, Volver, Dr. Strangelove, and The Wizard of Oz.

Ron's list cracks me up. Real Genius, Godfather II, Wrath of Khan, Heat, and Willow.

Also how amusing that both he and Jeff would come up with Heat for this purpose, out of all the options.

Shakespeare in Love
Magnolia
Mystery Science Theater 3000: The Movie
Spirited Away
Aaaaand...um...probably one of the Lord of the Rings movies.

Rushmore
25th Hour
Casablanca
The Station Agent
The Big Lebowski\

Been thinking about this on and off. Here's my top 5 for now.

High Fidelity definitely. Though I've tried my best to tamp down the judgmental hipster in me. Oh, how I tried to like Radiation Ruling the Nation just because the guys in the film liked it. I'm hands down the supporting character Dick in that movie.

Juno. I see parts of myself in all the major characters in that film.

Amelie is a great pick. I'm stealing that from Bluedevyl's wife. I'd like my life to be that whimsical.

Wayne's World, in the way that Sam in Freaks and Geeks showed his new girlfriend The Jerk and when she didn't like it at all, it changed his whole view of her.

Sunrise, even though the guy in it is at times, oh less than sympathetic, it's an allegory of the triumph of love.