Free babysitting

My parents just left this past week and what did we do to take advantage of all the in-home free babysitting? We went to the movies. Every night. We saw two movies in particular that were worth watching: Little Miss Sunshine and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. As much as I mock the movie industry and all, I must admit that there is something so satisfying about a good movie. It can be so telling and so poignant. Little Miss Sunshine I think is now one of my all time favorites, but of course, I don't want to hype it up. It's a quirky movie about a middle class family and their individual quests to become a "winner." Although they're a band of misfit "losers," their story is so refreshing and uplifting, because ultimately it reminds us that it's not about winning; it's about being true to yourself. As dysfunctional as their family is, I found myself loving each of them and sensing that they truly have what it takes to make a family work. I haven't laughed so hard at a movie since Steve Carrell's last movie - 40 Year-Old Virgin. Oh, and great cast, too. If you haven't seen it yet, you should.

Talladega Nights was another movie with a surprisingly similar lesson about being true to oneself. It also reminded me a bit of the movie Cars in that Ricky Bobby, the stupid cowboy racecar driver discovers who and what are really important in life. "Shake and Bake" exemplifies the entire movie - inane and random. I think it may have been one of Will Ferrell's best performances and Sacha Baron Cohen also plays in this movie as Bobby's French, gay nemesis. Before the movie began, I saw a preview of his upcoming movie, Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan, which I look forward to seeing this fall. So, if you're looking to go to the movies and don't know what to see, I'd enthusiastically recommend these two.