When You Have Several Thousand Free Hours in Front of You, Movies Seem Suddenly More Magical

 

Although Paco maintains this week, when he is FORCED every day to attend the YMCA camp called “Kitchigami,” that “Camp is boring. Camp is boring. I hate camp. Camp is boring. Who wants to swim five days in a row? We had to canoe, and the other kid didn’t do anything, so I couldn’t make it move, and it was the worst time I ever had, and camp is boring, too, and I’m not going tomorrow,”

I have nevertheless just placed MEATBALLS in my amazon.com shopping cart, ’cause who can hate a camp movie with Bill Murray?

The idea for MEATBALLS came straight from one of my besties, when I put out a call for movie suggestions that will hit the mark with our Girl this next year.  BEND IT LIKE BECKHAM proves another winning suggestion.

So, can you help?  Here are the criteria:

–Girl is ten, will be eleven before we return home

–she is an avid reader but not so much a visual kid; thus, she has liked only a few movies in her time, including the Lindsay Lohan PARENT TRAP and Steve Martin’s CHEAPER BY THE DOZEN

–she does not like costumes, fantasty, or historical stuff

–she loves stories of clubs and groups of friends and, yes, camps

Cyber love iced onto one and all who can help me with this brainstorm.

Comments

comments

Comments

18 responses to “When You Have Several Thousand Free Hours in Front of You, Movies Seem Suddenly More Magical”

  1. Jenn @ Juggling Life Avatar
    Jenn @ Juggling Life

    Mr. Holland's Opus, October Sky and Mrs. Doubtfire spring to mind.

  2. monica Avatar
    monica

    Nanny McPhee is adorable.
    The twilight series is what my daughter lives for these days – but she is 12 going on 13.

  3. geewits Avatar
    geewits

    These are PG and PG-13 but I think she will like:
    The Horse Whisperer
    Now and Then
    The Babysitter's Club
    and one my daughter went crazy for when she was young:
    Big Business – which stars Bette Midler, your doppleganger!
    She'll love that one (it also involves twin sisters)

  4. unmitigated me Avatar
    unmitigated me

    Addams Family Values! Hilarious for every age, and it has Wednesday and Pugsley at camp.

    Snotty Girl: Is THAT your bathing suit?

    Wednesday: Is THAT your overbite?

    Plus Joan Cusack, who just slays me in this film.

  5. Becky Cazares Avatar
    Becky Cazares

    I didn't watch many movies at 11, but if I had, I think these would have been favorites:
    Anne of Green Gables
    Ratatouille
    Wallace and Gromit
    Chronicles of Narnia
    Princess Bride
    Count of Monte Cristo
    Sixteen Candles
    Better Off Dead

    Hope that helps!

  6. Meg Avatar
    Meg

    Pretty in Pink (maybe she'll love the music and you'll be happy, too!); Goonies; Matilda (Rhea Perlman & Danny DeVito as Mr & Mrs Wormwood!)West Side Story; Grease might be pushing the envelope a bit….

  7. Meg Avatar
    Meg

    Oh, wait – what about Harold & Maude? A little dark, but so funny and poignant.

  8. Shieldmaiden96 Avatar
    Shieldmaiden96

    I have to second Addams Family Values. If you need convincing check out the Thanksgiving play from the movie on You Tube.

    I have Meatballs memorized. End to end. "IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER! IT JUST DOESN'T MATTER!" Oh, I need to put it in my Netflix queue. I haven't seen it in a while.

  9. Jeni Avatar
    Jeni

    Definitely would recommend "Better Off Dead!" All three of my kids loved that movie and I think all three of 'em still have many of the lines memorized from it too!

  10. lime Avatar
    lime

    i'm way better with books but of the suggestions i saw on FB and here i'd second…

    princes diaries
    princess bride
    mrs doubtfire
    addams family values
    anne of green gables, which is a series that is quite true to the books and really nicely done
    narnia
    wallace and gromit

    i do like whale rider too

  11. choochoo Avatar
    choochoo

    oh, you made me want to sit down and watch movies. To bad I don't have the time right now. When I was a kid, I loved Molly Ringwald movies. Any Molly Ringwald movies. lol.

  12. Green Girl in Wisconsin Avatar
    Green Girl in Wisconsin

    The Princess Bride! She must see it! And The Goonies. What About Bob (Bill Murray).

  13. About Me Avatar
    About Me

    Poison Ivy – 1985 movie with Michael J. Fox and Nancy McKeon (sp?)

    Spacecamp

  14. Becky Cazares Avatar
    Becky Cazares

    Ooh, ooh, just thought of one she'll LOVE. Move this one to the Top of your Queue!

    Fly Away Home

    http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0116329/

  15. secret agent woman Avatar
    secret agent woman

    Not really my area, since I just have boys. But "A Far Off Place" was wonderful – my kids liked it, but so did I. It has a young Reece Witherspoon. And possibly Beetlejuice. And I agree with Lime about "The Whale Rider."

  16. ds Avatar
    ds

    I second (or third, or fourth) Mrs. Doubtfire, The Princess Bride and The Whale Rider, which is a beautiful movie. And because I believe it to be a parent's duty to expose her children early to 1970's British humour, thereby corrupting them for life, how about Monty Python and the Holy Grail (why do I think that Paco would quote that endlessly)? Yes, the CS was warped at an early age–and her cousins even earlier.

  17. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    What about Bad News Bears, the older version? Tatum ONeil is in that one too. We liked October Sky as well (about rockets and mining). I remember watching Herbie the love bug at that age. I think there are newer versions out too.
    Goonies and Babysitter club also are fun.

    Safe travels! Julie

  18. Lady Christina Avatar
    Lady Christina

    Fly Away Home…Absolutely a wonderful movie for her age, and my daughter's age…and my age…

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