Forget Paris

I’m not a really big movie person. I’m really behind when it comes to the movies I’ve seen. Seriously. The last movie I saw in the theater? Hmm, either The Holiday or No Country for Old Men. Last movie I saw at home? Oh geez. Billy Elliott earlier this year? Ok, just kidding (well, I did just see it for the first time earlier this year). But seriously? The Family Stone. Last week. Still an old movie. If I were to think of all the movies I’ve never seen but wanted too? Oh god. That’s a long list.

A few nights ago I was at home and feeling in the mood for a movie. Odd. I decided to check out the free movies on OnDemand through my cable company. I settled on ‘Forget Paris’—mainly because I’m a pretty big Billy Crystal fan. And even though I knew very little about the movie, it sounded interesting. I found myself laughing, crying, and going through the emotional journey with the characters. I mean literally, in the midst of the tears, there’d be the perfect joke. It’s a brilliant movie. I found myself sympathizing with Mickey and Ellen—and feeling sad for them. Were they going to make it? (Yes! Call me naive if you want, but I really didn’t know if it would have a ‘happy ending’ or not!) What if they weren’t meant to be together? What if all they were meant to have was just one great week? Why must we “Forget Paris”? Why can’t that be the basis of a relationship? There was a reason they connected in the first place, right?


When it comes to relationships, I’ve long thought…it’s not just timing, it’s all about location. Time and time again, my experience has proven to me, location sure has a lot to do with it. Why is it that you can find someone that you connect with, share an amazing day, weekend, or week with and then it has to end because someone has to go home? I’ve been the one leaving, and the one being left. Neither is easy. It can feel as if you’ve meet your kindred spirit. Someone you really connect with. And it seems as if you’re throwing it all away because of location and timing. What keeps us from giving it a try? Like Mickey and Ellen?

Why not see if you really had something there? Is it that we’re not risk takers? Is it because it’s easier to think it was a fluke than something real? What if everything only seemed so perfect, but wasn’t. What if you were to look past the week, would the dream would crumble? As we saw the story unfold in ‘Forget Paris’, I began to wonder if Mickey and Ellen were meant for each other. I was routing for them, and wanted it to work out, but what if it didn’t. What if their time together was only meant to be for that short period of time, and in Paris?

Maybe there are people that are only meant to be in our lives for a short period of time. What if it’s about what you learned from that person and what you take away from the ‘relationship’? And although you’re not meant to be together, you’ll always have fond memories of that person…and that city…what if? Maybe they were just meant to bring life back into you after a difficult time. Or to make you realize your own true love and passion for something. Do we have to just buckle down and come to terms with the fact that that’s all it was? Sigh.

When it’s all said and done? I still go back and forth. Maybe it can work. Maybe both people just have to want to give it a try. I’m still jealous of Mickey and Ellen—and still holding out that timing and location will both be on my side one day.