Hope Floats
Hope Floats: Music from the Motion Picture (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Have you got that one go-to movie that you always watch when you just want something to watch but aren’t sure what? I do. It’s kind of poignant, sappy, sweet and very hopeful. Actually, it is “Hope Floats.” There are a couple of scenes that just make me cry like a baby. But there are a few scenes that make me smile and wish and wonder if some things are actually true. I know life isn’t exactly like the movies, but sometimes I sure wish it was. Then again, sometimes I am grateful it isn’t.
There is something about this movie, though, that catches my heart each and every time. The main male character reminds me of someone from my past who had a piece of my heart so big that I didn’t know what to do with it when he was no longer a part of my life. Harry Connick, Jr. has a way of looking up and giving a sweet smile that makes me catch my breath and think. It takes me back to a moment in time every time I see that look.
I also love the vulnerable insecurity of Birdee, the main character played by Sandra Bullock. I love Sandra Bullock anyway. But she pulled off sweet, vulnerable, and insecure so beautifully and realistically. She said so many wonderful lines during the movie that made me really think.
Here’s some of my favorite lines:
Birdee: “Childhood is what you spend the rest of your life trying to overcome. That’s what momma always says. She says that beginnings are scary, endings are usually sad, but it’s the middle that counts the most. Try to remember that when you find yourself at a new beginning. Just give hope a chance to float up. And it will, too… ”
Conversation between Birdee and her soon-to-be-ex-husband:
Birdee Pruitt: I would have stayed with you forever. I would have turned myself inside out for you.
Bill Pruitt: Birdee, I wouldn’t have let you! People grow. They change. They have to!
Birdee Pruitt: You think that I don’t know that? I know that I’m not what I once was. I know that! But I haven’t changed so much, that I would go and lie to someone that I love. God, I would walk through fire before I’d let them feel like they were nothing! And I would never break up anybody’s home. Because I am not a quitter. I care about my family! I may not be the same person, but then again, neither are you. You’re sad, you’re weak, and you’re… shorter. If you want to know the truth.
Justin Matisse: “Dancing’s just a conversation between two people. Talk to me.”
Birdie and her Mama talking about her soon-to-be-ex-husband:
Birdee Pruitt: You just never liked Bill.
Ramona Calvert: Oh, I like all of God’s creatures; I just like some of them better stuffed. And he’s one of them.
I know life isn’t always like the movies. But there are times when it is. I miss the times when I had a Justin Matisse. Sometimes this movie does give me hope. I suppose hope really does float.
So what is your go-to favorite movie?
Related articles
- Just For Me: My Personal Favorites for a “Just Me Kind of Day” (mylifeisapictureshow.wordpress.com)
- Let Hope Rise Up (aninspiredapproach.com)
survivingmiddleage 
I love this movie! One day I’ll find my Justin Matisse 😉 you will too!
I hope we all have our own version of Justin Matisse. 🙂 I want a man who can make my catch my breath every time he gives that look that Justin gives where he smiles slow as molasses as he is looking up.
I know…. sooooo dreamy!
I loved this movie, too! I am also a Harry Connick , Jr. fan. Love his voice, too. My current go-to movie to feel good is really not a movie, but a DVD of the final 2 episodes of the British comedy, The Vicar of Dibley. In this 2 part finale, the vicar, who is a beautiful plus size woman, meets a gorgeous new neighbor and he falls madly in love with her, just as she is. No reference is ever made to her size. Richard Armitage plays her love interest, and I became an instant fan when I watched this show. I love the fact that the “fluffy” girl got the gorgeous guy, and not some weirdo misfit with a third eye in the center of his forehead! I also love the Barbara Streisand movie, The Mirror Has Two Faces for similar reasons. The larger woman gets a good looking man that loves her just as she is, and doesn’t care if she isn’t a skinny minnie!! Guess you can tell I am slightly “fluffy”, too!:)
I’ll have to check that out. OK, you are definitely a chick after my own heart. How bout Bridge Jones? And when Mark Darcy says he likes Bridget just as she is? I melted. That is another go-to movie. Love some Bridget!