I gave a girl "THE TEST" (1 Viewer)

[Iain Lambert]

Nick Hornby has a hotline to the universal male soul, I'm sure. Its what you like, not what you are like thats important.

 

[AllanN]

She tells me that some of her favorites are Shine, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Pulp Fiction, Shakespeare in Love, A Clockwork Orange, Amadeus, Sling Blade, and several others I can't remember because I was still in shock when she said "Shine".

Does she have a sister?

 

[Michael Martin]

A bit off-topic, but closely related to the Test...meeting someone for the first time, and you seem to have a good rapport. This could be someone you are interested in romantically or just a potential new friend/buddy.
You say you love movies, and they exclaim they do, too.
Your hopes rise.
Maybe they even pass "the Test" initially, but as you talk, you realize they are utterly unaware of directors, writers, effects companies, aspect ratios...
Seriously, there are a lot of people who "love" movies but not nearly as many who actually enjoy paying attention to and discussing the structure, themes, influences, etc.
Curiously enough, the woman who sits next to me at work says her husband gave her the Test when they first met, but it was a variation: he named a single movie. The Princess Bride. Lucky for them, she had seen it and loved it, so things worked out from there!

 

[Holadem]

My girldfriend's absolute favorite movie is Princess Bride. Gone with the Wind comes next.
But her movie tastes... suck. They are derivative of her nature: She has an extremely simplistic view of things (black or white), and likes her movies to be that way:
Simple plots, that demand little suspension of disbelief, where the viewer is led by hand by the director. She arbhores (sp?) any kind of thinking during movies. SHe doesn't undrestand that movies are a visual medium, and that she needs to keep her eyes on the screen at all times - like when she gets up to go get a drink or snack without pausing, as long as she can hear... She avoids sad movies, or those with a not so happy ending. She avoids drama in general. She couldn't remember a movie or actor's name to save her life. She is easily lost - she would never be able to appreciate LA Confidential or Usual Suspects if I wasn't there to point things out to her (God bless the remote control and rewind function :rolleyes). She needs to be able to relate to the movies, hence a deep dislike for Sci-Fi... This one is going to make a few of you go beserk... she wants to fast foward through opening credits .
Sounds like a nightmare doesn't it?
Not always: She deeply respects my love for movies and supports it. She wants to watch movies with me, even those she knows she won't like, and that means a lot to me.
A few positive aspects of here presence (as far as movies are concerned of course ): For good or ill, my viewing have become much more diverse: I now watch more light hearted movies or comedies than I ever did, and that is a good thing - I am usally into the heavy, deep, introspective, disturbing drama.
Hmmm, I forgot the point of this post :b. I guess what I am trying to say is this: IMO, you are only kidding yourself if you think that your partner's movie tastes are not a big deal. I am entirely with Vickie on this one. But it can be worked out, if there is enough mutual respect.
Oh... She loves the FOTR and can't wait for TTT!!
--
Holadem

 

[Tom Rhea]

Maybe they even pass "the Test" initially, but as you talk, you realize they are utterly unaware of directors, writers, effects companies, aspect ratios...

Yes, but the key is are they willing to learn. Everybody I know (myself very definitely included) started off not knowing or caring who directed what and who's in it and is that a wide angle lens Mr. Gilliam is using yet AGAIN? and so forth.

As long as somebody is interested in movies as something more than entertainment, but not so artsy fartsy that they can't watch something like Victor/Victoria, I can get along with them. It's the people who don't know and don't care and aren't willing to explore movies they haven't seen before or movies in a language other than English that are not allowed in my house.

 

[JoshF]

My girlfriend gets an A-. While she loves Sci-Fi and movies like Brazil, Delicatessen, Nightmare Before Christmas, etc., she also has the need to watch the occasional groaner (IMO) like She's The One.

Her favorite movie, though, is ET, which I find kind of endearing.

 

[Bhagi Katbamna]

That's strange, since this is a home theater-related forum.

I know, my interest in movies has waned somewhat.

 

[MarcVH]

Um... is there anybody who doesn't like Princess Bride? I don't think I've ever met one...

 

[Lew Crippen]

Um... is there anybody who doesn't like Princess Bride? I don't think I've ever met one...

Inconceivable!

 

[BrettB]

My wife brought home I am Sam the other day. I've contacted a lawyer.

 

[Grant B]

I like the test on "A bronx Tale"
Open her door on your car, if she reaches over and unlocks your, she's a keeper
Too bad with auto locks and electronic everything, it doesn't work anymore

 

[Blu]

My rule of thumb test is simple, I ask if they are a Rick girl or a Victor girl. Most have a quizzical look on their faces as they ponder the wisdom of my question then I show them Casablanca!
Heavy petting and sweaty snugglebunnies usually insues afterwards!

 

[DanaA]

Egad, you've really done it now. Yesterday, my wife came up to me and said she wanted to know if she could buy a specific DVD. I asked, "What DVD." She identified the DVD as Clock Stoppers. As we'd just rented it, I told her, "You know, even liberally, that's a two star movie." She said she knew, but wanted it despite the quality. I asked why. She said it made her feel better. Then, I understood. And, to be honest, what better reason to want a DVD, even if I refuse to list it in my DVD collection.

 

[Brian W. Ralston]

out of the blue, my girlfriend said to me one day, "I don't think I could ever date anyone seriously that didn't like the Simpsons."
Of course....my TiVo records all Simpsons episodes........and I knew then....that she was someone very special.

To this day.......either one of us can start some Simpson's quote....or Star Wars quote........or Star trek quote and we know where it came from and can finish it.

 

[Seth Paxton]

Not always: She deeply respects my love for movies and supports it. She wants to watch movies with me, even those she knows she won't like, and that means a lot to me.

See, Holadem and I are in the same boat.
I'd much rather have my current fiancee than some cheating ho who just happened to also dig great films.
But I won't stop subtly working on my fiancee. She has one very redeeming quality though, she loves a lot of 40's and 50's stuff, especially Cary Grant comedies, for example (like Bachelor and the Bobby Soxer, Monkey Business, or Arsenic and Old Lace). That goes a LONG way in my book.

 

[Mike Broadman]

Does your SO pass "The Test"?

Most certainly not. This weekend at the DVD rental store, she said (and it wasn't the first time), "You want to watch good movies, I just want to be entertained."
WTF?
So I ask, "What, you think I like to view DVDs in an ivory tower while smoking a big pipe and discussing the cinematogrophy with a fake British accent?"
I don't understand this attitude- as if I don't want to be entertained. Well, pardon me if Van Wilder isn't my type of entertainment.
It's even worse for music, which is my real passion: "Why do you have all music without singing? The whole point is the singing."
She and I have an understanding: I accept that I simply have interests that I won't share with her. She "deals" with my supposed pretentions. She sometimes gets a little upset that I refuse to go to the movie theaters (because I refuse to pay $50 to see a movie that I know will annoy me- I know, I'm crazy that way). She sees that as taking it too seriously. Ok, that's fine.
She's still better than lots of girls when it comes to movies, though. She sat through Mullholland Drive with me and was interested, and I even got her to like some Kubrick.
Here's a kicker: she absolutely refuses to see Godfather. She's convinced that it's some intellectual artsy nonsense- where the hell did she get that idea? Oh well, her loss.
She does like those teen movies that I hate so much, and she isn't into Westerns at all. But at least she is willing to try some things with movies- music is completely hopeless.
But it doesn't really matter. If there's a concert I want to see or a crummy movie she wants to watch, we just don't do it together- it's that simple. I don't understand people who try to drag their SO to their events or their interests. I'd rather go to a concert alone then go with someone who is bored- that kills the whole experience.

 

[Lew Crippen]

It's even worse for music, which is my real passion: "Why do you have all music without singing? The whole point is the singing."

Put on Bergman’s The Magic Flute. Film, entertainment, a plot fully as silly as any teen flick (if not more so), music, and lots of singing!

 

[Elizabeth S]

I used to have a kind of "test" with music way back when -- if you liked artists like the Scorpions, Judas Priest and Dokken,
I don't think it's odd to get a sense of someone from the movies they like. The films that "speak" to you have a lot to do with your psychological makeup. And if someone is too dang lazy to read subtitles, that says another thing about them! I DO NOT like so-called "chick flicks" and find the term rather demeaning, as it perpetuates a stereotype. I would MUCH rather see something like "Fight Club". I came out of that movie wanting to punch somebody out -- and I liked that!
I guess the one thing that a SO would have to understand about me is that films are NOT merely entertainment to me. They are something vital which speaks to my mind, my soul and my heart. NO, you do not have to watch them with me, as I'm perfectly content going to the movies by myself. However, NEVER come between me and my films or belittle them.
On a similar note with women only liking romcoms or the like, I would be turned off if some guy only liked brainless action films, for example. I have VERY eclectic tastes, and narrow-mindedness in films would hint to me a similar attitude in other areas.

 

[Pamela]

I have a test. If the guy likes Star Trek, I run like hell.

 

[TheoGB]

I have a test. If the guy likes Star Trek, I run like hell.

What, even if it's only Star Trek II??
(Good test.)