Confessions

This was supposed to be the intro for my next review. It turned into its own entry.

The summer I was 11, my house met HBO. One night, my baby-sitter introduced me to the wonders of the channel … and my guiltiest pleasure ever, Girls Just Want to Have Fun. I watched this pre-stardom Sarah Jessica Parker and Helen Hunt dance flick, on average, once a week for months. I created a “picnic” in the den for my sixth viewing. I made my mother judge the dance routines and was offended when she didn’t think Janie (Parker) was the best. (“Too much gymnastics,” she said. Hmmph!) I held the tape recorder by the TV to record the songs and created routines to them. Yes, I was obsessed.

More than 15 years later, I made my Little Sister, then 12, indulge in the joys of Girls Just Want to Have Fun with two of her “aunts.” The three adults enjoyed it even more than she did. I am only somewhat embarrassed to admit that I’ve seen this movie more than any other and that, at 31, I still watch it once a year.

Perhaps my weakness for Girls Just Want to Have Fun explains my love of teen dance dramas. Save the Last Dance, Take the Lead, Stomp the Yard … I’ve seen them all, in a theater no less. Fortunately, my friend Brooklyn Jen has an even greater appreciation for them, so she was more than game to see the latest entry in the genre, Step Up 2 the Streets.

Oh, that review? See the upcoming post.