What is your favorite film genre? Why?

This is actually a hard question for me to answer because I’m definitely not any sort of a movie buff. I’m really picky about the movies I like. Could “chick flicks” be considered a genre? Ha! Actually, I really don’t like all chick flicks either. I don’t mind the drama and emotion, but some are just too ditzy and fluffy… i.e., give me Terms of Endearment over Legally Blonde any day!

Hmmmm…..

Westerns: boooring!

Comedies:  I like some of them, but slapstick is definitely not my thing (I’m thinking in the vein of the Airplane movies, and Something About Mary). Jim Carey, Russell Brand, and Robin Williams do nothing for me. Even the old, classic slapstick routines are hard for me to tolerate; i.e. The Marx Brothers and The Three Stooges. I know, I know—I’m practically un-American!

Action/Adventure films:  I never cared for any of the Arnold Schwarzenegger movies, or the Chuck Norris/Bruce Lee flicks; too much violence for my taste. I think the only time I really like this type of film is when there’s a good chemistry going between the male and female leads. For example, I really enjoyed Harrison Ford and Karen Allen in Raiders of the Lost Ark, and likewise with Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner in Romancing the Stone.

Horror movies cause me way too much anxiety and stress and who need that when you're watching a movie? And besides, after leaving those types of flicks I find myself looking over my shoulder way too much. When I saw The Exorcist with my college boyfriend back in the ‘70s, I couldn’t sleep that night.

Fantasy/sci fi flicks:  I tend to enjoy films that are more reality based, so this genre really doesn’t appeal to me too much either, with the exception of the Harry Potter movies. I did enjoy watching those, maybe because the character development was generally very good in them. Plus my youngest daughter Julie adores these movies and can quote from them, so I enjoy watching her enjoyment!

Musicals:  The story line can be really good in musicals but then those moments are usually ruined for me when the characters break out in song!  I have to stifle an overwhelming urge to giggle. Reality just isn’t like that, and it makes me laugh to see it. Although when I was a kid, I did enjoy “Mary Poppins” and “The Sound of Music.”

The classics:  I’ve never explored these too much and I’m embarrassed to say I’ve never watched Casablanca, It’s a Wonderful Life, Roman Holiday, or An Affair to Remember all the way through. Maybe I would like them if I actually sat down and concentrated on watching them from beginning to end.

In thinking of my favorite movies, I’d have to say that I enjoy films based on a real story, such as Norma Rae, Titanic, and The Blind Side. Or fiction based on a historic era, such as Gone with the Wind and Cold Mountain during the Civil War, or Water for Elephants during the Depression.

And finally, give me a good romance any day. The list of my favorites includes The Notebook, Pretty Woman, Dirty Dancing, When Harry Met Sally, Officer and a Gentleman, and Summer of ’42. Or even a quirky/funny romance like Annie Hall can be found on my favorites list.

I could never be a movie critic. Nothing is more boring to me than sitting through a movie that I don’t like… and I’m picky enough that I don’t like a lot of them!