Because of my obsessive indulgence in movies, I have found myself to be continually underwhelmed and disappointing at every stage of life. Starting high school, turning 16, first party, turning 18 and, the biggest disappointment of all: going to university.
Of course, American schools are totally different to the likes of New Zealand schools. But these movies certainly raised my expectations.
Particularly on the day I got accepted into uni, and the night before my first day of uni. It was all like a normal day for me, thank you very much The Perks of Being a Wallflower, Toy Story 3 and American Graffiti.
(Although, I didn’t actually “leave” for uni, so that may have been why…)
Here are my top five disappointments, thanks to university/college-based movies:
Everyone will look sophisticated all the time
Thank you Big Fish and The Notebook. Despite only having one or two scenes set in university, everyone looks incredible. Okay, okay, they were both set in the 40s/50s, but that didn’t stop me hoping for the best.
Unfortunately, just like the odd non-uniform day at high school, everyone wears their best clothes on the first day of university. But by week two, the sweat pants, ugg boots and the odd onesie begins to creep in. That was disappointing.
Everyone is wise beyond their years
Thanks The Pelican Brief , 21 and Good Will Hunting.
They actually act like adults, studying law and maths! Every movie, I was watching psychologists, mathematicians, lawyers…
Despite only studying communications, I thought I’d be surrounded by people intrigued by ethics and politics. As it turns out, we are no wiser than we were in high school a few months previous, and we don’t suddenly become open minded and smart just because we’ve been accepted into university. I thought we’d all be calling out corrupted corporations, and getting shoulder-tapped for major companies within a year.
Sadly, this was not the case. At all.
There will be a diversity and range of interesting people
Thanks Pitch Perfect.
I never met a fun-loving Fat Amy, a rebellious Beca or a strange Lily. Everyone was just like me: a middle of the road, average Jo, without a whole load of talent for singing. Gutted.
I guess I just assumed everyone would suddenly become cool over the summer, will work out who they are and flaunt it by the time they reach uni. However, there is actually still a hierarchy at uni. In fact, along with our self-confidence, we’ve been demoted back to ‘the newbie,’ like we were in high school.
Big parties. All the time.
Thanks 22 Jump Street.
Okay, you’re probably thinking: “Jodie, there were huge parties, you just didn’t want to socialise.” Or, “Jodie, we had awesome parties but you weren’t invited.”
Perhaps that is true. Nevertheless, I had never even heard a whisper about “that party last night that became a street party where that millionaire’s son bought everyone a round of drinks and I got dropped home in a Ferrari.”
Extraordinary things will happen
Thanks Scent of a Woman, The Social Network and 21.
I never got whisked away to New York by accident after agreeing to look after a blind man. Nor did anything absolutely scandalous occur, like in The Social Network. Nor was I trained up to win big in Vegas casinos, like in 21.
University was a pretty mundane experience actually.
Add the lies Hollywood told you in the comments section below! May do a high school one if you’re interested.
Jodie.
Inspired by true events, this exciting and high-energy journey follows Ben Campbell (Jim Sturgess) as he discovers the world of counting cards and the game of blackjack in Vegas. The huge financial rewards and glamorous way of life that was supposed to be a means to an end for Ben, became an addictive and extremely risky and dangerous lifestyle choice.
This is a fast paced film of high-rollers and well-educated characters, some with intimidating power and control. A once conscientious student becomes wrapped up in the underworld of counting cards which jeopardises his future as a Harvard Medical student as blackjack team member, Professor Mickey Rosa (Kevin Spacey), turns on him.
The soundtrack to 21 is a mixture of popular artists such as Rihanna and MGMT, classic artists such as The Rolling Stones, plus some more of the middle-of-the-road artists like Peter Bjorn and John and Unkle. There are a few R&B songs that I don’t really like, but the best parts are used in the film effectively.
NZ Film Freak 