2. Pride and Prejudice
My old roommate once described the story of Pride and Prejudice much as Family Guy guy describes the story of Star Wars. Rather than "Something, something, something dark side. Something, something, something complete", Pride and Prejudice is really "Something, something, something Mr. Darcy. Something, something, something marriage." And that's 100% true. The story is straight forward and simple and old school English. It's time for Lizzy Bennet to wed, as well as her three other sisters, who all end up getting married before her. She;s stubborn and independent and Jane Austen did something no woman had really done, successfully at least, before this. She made the tom boy the central character. Instead of having her be the stereotypical swooning, soft focus, glamor lit beauty like every other love story written before it, Elizabeth Bennet is tough and cool and a little standoffish. She's kind of like Shakespeare's Shrew, the Julia Stiles before her time. (If Clueless borrowed from Austen, it's clear that Austen borrowed from Shakespeare. See how good inspiration works?) The film starring Keira Knightley did something I think a lot of fans of the novel had doubts about. It took a long story full of all the twists and turns of love, and wrapped it up in two hours. My wife, as well as most girls I know, love these long winded, seemingly unending BBC miniseries adaptations of these works. I get it, they're so accurate to the book that they're perfect. But they're long and boring and no guy is going to sit with you for six hours to "fully appreciate" the struggle of a girl in love in the 19th century. (Thus, "something, something, something marriage.") Joe Wright's version is absolutely stunning. Solid performances all around, an incredibly beautiful score by Dario Marianelli, and enough gorgeous production design and cinematography to shake a stick it. Because it's a solidly constructed film with a tight script that does away with all the tedious details that would normally bore a guy, what we're left with is a simple story full of classically beautiful British women, charming rich British dudes, horses, big houses, sweet suits, fancy dresses, and adorable accents. Pride and Prejudice is not just one of the best chick flicks, it's one of the greatest love stories of all time. It will always be important and meaningful because a lot of us struggle with big families, lots of our siblings getting married before us, looking down on us for being the black sheep, wondering when we'll find that special someone, when we'll stop being so stubborn and just settle down. But real folks don't just settle, we find that unique person who helps us embrace our uniqueness and we fight for them, despite putting them through the ringer in the process. (Much as Lizzy does with Darcy.) If you haven't seen it because you've been afraid that it's just some hoity-toity British movie that acts upper class and makes guys look stupid by wearing ascots and riding dressage, get your head out of the sand, it's time to press play on this one.