Sunday, May 11, 2008

movie families

Sometimes to unwind, Jamie and I watch of movies of varying quality.  Don't judge; most of them are on TV, so we don't pay for them.  However, we have observed some disturbing trends.  The following movies that we have seen recently contain a family game of touch/tackle football:

Dan in Real Life

The Wedding Crashers

Just Married

The following movies that we have seen recently contain a scene where a family bursts into spontaneous song with piano accompaniment:

Must Love Dogs

Dan in Real Life

And more we can’t remember.

Ok, Jamie’s family is athletic, and they never play family football.  They occasionally go sledding and take walks.  My family is musical, but we do not hold spontaneous sing-alongs.  Sure, people burst into song frequently, but we don’t ALL join in.  Occasionally a rehearsal for a church song will end with a jam session.

So the question at hand is this: whose families do these things, and why are they always in movies?  The football thing mostly seems to be a useful plot device to play out sexual tension or a character’s unathleticism.  The music thing is a good chance to demonstrate how good of singers the cast are.  But seriously.  Who does these things?

Also, readers are encouraged to beef up these lists to improve the "trend" argument.

3 comments:

Julie said...

"You've Got Mail" has a scene where people are singing all around a piano...but it is at a Christmas party. Does that count? My guess is you aren't counting musicals. :) If I think of anything else, I will help your theory.

kristen said...

Breaks into Song:
*My Best Friend's Wedding (one of the best movie scenes EVER)

Touch Football:
*Friends (I know it isn't a movie but they played every Thanksgiving and I always thought it was weird)

Maria said...

i'm not sure how i got here, but here i am and compelled to post.

my family plays a farely rough game of football every thanksgiving, even though some of us are far from athletic and we'll often have a game of volleyball or tennis if it's summer.

i can't speak to the singing though - when my cousins and i were all involved in a middle or high school band we did often bring our instruments to family gatherings and have a jam session. i think we're VERY weird for doing that. thought that then, and think that now.