Shellee Roberts | Classic movies to watch on a rainy day
When I was in the 8th grade I had to do a project that
covered the decade of The Great Depression which was, of course, depressing.
Hoovervilles, Dust Bowls, The Grapes of Wrath. Gah. The details of this
project are mostly forgotten except for one thingโmy introduction to the movies
of the Golden Era of Hollywood. I saw Gone With the Wind for the first time and
was enthralled. Iโm fairly certain I was the only 13 year old who had her mother
take her to find an A-line, ankle-length skirt and practiced walking pigeon-toed
to make it sway the way Scarlett made her hoops go side-to-side.
After my Technicolor romance with the Old South, I moved on to the exotic,
smoke-filled Rickโs Cafรฉ of Casablanca, then screwball comedies, the epic battle
of the sexes, and, of course, the sentimental romances. At the time I was
probably more enamored with the debonair leading men of the 1940s than those I
was paying to see at the theater with my friends. My grandmother and I had a
running argument over who had been more handsome: she said Gary Cooper, I said
Cary Grant. I think we both won.
In my new book, CRAZY,
STUPID, FAUXMANCE, the third in the Creative HeArts series, my
seventeen year old heroine, Mariely, dreams of going to Hollywood and becoming
an actress like her cinematic idols Katherine Hepburn and Bette Davis, and
unlike her peers who want to go to parties, her idea of a perfect date is
snuggling under the covers on rainy day watching black-and-white movies.
So, if you find yourself on a rainy day snuggling under the covers with your boo
(or a pint of Ben & Jerryโsโno judgment) might I suggest watching one of my
five favorite classic Hollywood flicks. Enjoy!
The Philadelphia Story โ On the eve of her second marriage,
socialite Katherine Hepburn is doing her best not to have second thoughts when
her first husband, Cary Grant, and a snooping reporter, Jimmy Stewart, both
arrive on the scene. Whom will she choose? Does she have to? This movie is so
yar!
It Happened One Night โ The original screwball romance starring
Claudette Colbert as an heiress on the run and Clark Gable as a newspaper
reporter who smells a story. Itโs delightful, and was considered racy for its
day for a classic scene of Colbert hailing a ride by raising her skirt and
showing her leg. Side note: Clark Gable, under contract to MGM studios was
โloanedโ to the film, which he didnโt want to make, as punishment for, uh,
snuggling under the covers with their biggest star, Joan Crawford.
North by Northwest โ Advertising executive, Cary Grant, runs from a
spies out to kill him in a cross-country case of mistaken identity in this
Alfred Hitchcock classic. If youโve watched Mad Men but not this movie, check it
out to see the original Don Draper.
Westward the Women โ I love this movie about a wagon-train full of
mail-order brides making their way across the Wild West to start new lives, led
by a rugged, no-nonsense wagon master who ends up losing his heart to one the
very same rugged, no-nonsense women he thought would never make it. Even if
youโve never seen or liked a Western, this unintentionally feminist film will
have you cheering for these rag-tag ladies the whole way.
Gone With the Wind โ the Grand Dame of cinema, this film is
breathtaking in scope, drama, and beauty. But bring snacks, and you might need a
nap at intermission, because it is looooong. Scarlett and Rhettโs tragic love
story deserves all three hours though, and I still cry whenโSpoiler AlertโMellie
dies (IRL her portrayer, actress Olivia de Havilland, is still alive--and this
movie premiered in 1939!!).
There are three things (besides her family) that Shellee loves more than
Netflix: Dr. Pepper, OTPs, and book boyfriends (I'm looking at you, Gilbert
Blythe).
Shellee has been told that her life goal as a writer should be to
win prestigious awards that will grant her literary immortality, but as an OG
'shipper (like, seriously, Tad and Dixie--my first hardcore ship) all she really
wants is to create two characters that people love so much they give them a cool
mashup name.
Shellee spends her days living the dream with her family in
Austin, Texas--and by living the dream she means waking up at the crack of dawn
to go to work, chauffeur, walk dogs, do dishes, and fold laundry. At night she
gets down to real business, basking in the warm, blue glow of her computer
screen and bringing the stories in her head to life on the page...or watching
Veronica and Logan fan videos on YouTube till 2am.
Disclaimer: This Entangled Teen Crush book contains a kickass heroine, a
boy so hot heโll make you shiver, and a falling-in-love story fit for the big
screen. Youโll want to settle in and have the popcorn ready.
After
Mariely Hinojosa and Cabot Wheeler both break up with their significant others
at the same party, Mariely sees a way to get even with both of their exes.
Everyone knows that the best way to get over a breakup is a hookupโa fake
hookup, that is. Three weeks, all fun, no strings, and definitely no heartbreak
at the end.
But somewhere between the sweet hand-holding and
melt-your-mind kisses, their fake relationship starts to feel less like an act
and more like the real thingโฆbut Marielyโs a free-spirited girl from the other
side of the tracks, and Cabotโs the hot trust-fund guy from the Hills.
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