Dating Lessons From Movies

Movies, like all art forms, tend to draw their inspiration from real life. Romantic movies are great for taking complex lessons in love and boiling them down into convenient feature-length cautionary tales. Here, then, are some of those of those movies that teach some pretty good dating lessons.

DATING LESSONS FROM MOVIES #10

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY

THE LESSON: Men and women can't have a platonic friendship

A rom-com staple, When Harry Met "tells the cautionary tale of what sex can do to an otherwise unromantic relationship between a man and a woman.

When Harry (BILLY CRYSTAL) and Sally (MEG RYAN) drastically change the dynamic of their long time friendship by adding the physical element to it, both parties wonder whether their relationship could ever be as simply good as it used to be.

To be fair, guys do tend to have a pretty bad reputation for mucking up perfectly decent friendships by making the proposition of "taking it to the next level."

Women, on the other hand, seem to be a little better at being able to settle for friendship, they having invented the line "let's just be friends." If only real life were directed by Rob Reiner.

DATING LESSONS FROM MOVIES #9

ALFIE

THE LESSON: Even the woman who seems perfect at first will eventually drive you nuts

What's it all about, then? Let's throw a disclaimer out there: Guys, Alfie is not a role model to aspire to. Unless you are, in fact, MICHAEL CAINE or even JUDE LAW, you cannot treat women the way Alfie does and expect to get far in life.

The very definition of a chauvinist pig, Alfie (Caine in the excellent original, Law in the lousy remake) is the worst kind of player, bouncing from "bird" to bird without any kind of regard for anyone but his own randy self.

Eventually, though, Alfie does get burned, finding the cracks in the women he falls for and realizing how his shallowness may have doomed him in the long run. While Alfie is really quite a lout, guys may be able to take heed from this lesson, striving not to find the perfect woman, but rather the best woman for them.

DATING LESSONS FROM MOVIES #8

MY BIG FAT GREEK WEDDING

THE LESSON: When you marry, you marry the family

No, the lesson of" Big Fat Greek Wedding" not that the majority of Greeks are lamb-roasting, crazy people. Instead, writer/star NIA VARDALOS demonstrates through a barely fictionalized version of her own life story how large a role a family can play in every step along the road to, and after, a wedding.

In this case, Toula Portokalos' (Vardalos) fianc'e Ian Miller (JOHN CORBETT) is forced to endure all her family's peculiarities and ethnic traditions as he attempts to ensure them that marrying a WASP isn't the end of the world. This movie shows why it's a good idea to stop by for supper at the parents' place before popping the question.

DATING LESSONS FROM MOVIES #7

THE 40 YEAR OLD VIRGIN

THE LESSON: It's okay to wait

Teaching the lesson that abstinence is cool better than the Jonas brothers ever could, The" Year Old "is an assuring flick for late bloomers, showing them that sex is not the be all and end all.

In one of his break through roles, STEVE CARELL plays Andy Stitzer, the titular 40-year-old who works at a big box electronics store and collects action figure.

When Andy's co-workers find out that he's still holding on to his V card, they embark on a mission to get him de-flowered. Andy, however, doesn't do it for the sake of doing it and waits until he meets the right woman (KATHERINE KEENER).

Recommended books (downloadable pdfs):

Tyler Durden - Update From Field
Dr Joy Browne - Dating For Dummies

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