On one hand the story presented on screen in such a way that women might have a “maybe this could happen to me” moment, so one might argue romantic comedies are hopeful and inspirational to singles everywhere. You might find yourself trying the personals or online dating sites because it worked in “You’ve Got Mail” and “Must love dogs” or maybe you start planning a vacation, because women in the movies always meet the love of their life on vacation, right?

The devil’s advocate in me, while being a fan of “chick flicks” also thinks they are only made to point out how alone and desperate single women can be. Sure, we all want it to happen just like in the movies; to have some handsome, rich guy to come in and sweep us off our feet and make everything better because apparently we are incapable of making ourselves happy. Sorry that was a little bitter, but when we are inundated with movies showing women who aren’t truly happy until they find “the one”, it is basically telling all single women that they need to get married or forever become the lonely cat lady down the block.

Most guys hate romantic comedies, well hate is a strong word, more like they do not enjoy most chick flicks and I see their point. Women often want men to act the way they do in the movies, and guys have not seen enough of them to know what that even means. I found myself agreeing with Vince Vaughn’s character in “The Break-Up” during the scene where he and his girlfriend (Jennifer Aniston) got into a fight because she wanted him to want to do the dishes and he had no idea what she was talking about.

As women, I will fully admit, we sometimes have our expectations set to high when it comes to dating and relationships. We want a guy to bring us flowers for no reason, to be able to read our mind and finish our sentences, and I blame the romantic comedy. Men and women are programmed differently, that is blatantly obvious, but no man is going to know you want poetry, flowers, or even the occasional load of laundry washed if you don’t tell him. After all men have not spent their entire lives waiting on white knights to rescue them from castle towers, they are too busy blowing things up and saving the day to worry about romance.

I love romantic comedies, I really do, but too many in one weekend can make a single girl jaded. Will I quit watching? Of course not, despite the fact I am a self professed tomboy, I am still a female and the romantic comedy gene is embedded in our DNA. It’s unavoidable; I will continue to watch “chick flicks” and I will continue to cry at both the sad parts and the really sweet ones as well. Maybe romantic comedies are not the bane of my existence after all; I’ll save that title for most Sylvester Stallone movies.

3. Dream for an Insomniac (1996)
This movie is a little known romantic comedy starring Ione Skye and  Jennifer Aniston with an array of quotable little ditties which are the things Hallmark cards are made of. For example “Anything less than mad, passionate, extraordinary love is a waste of your time” is great for giving a friend advice and “There are too many mediocre things in life to deal with and love shouldn't be one of them” is good for a break-up.

2. Pretty in Pink (1986)
Jon Cryer may play in as many television shows or movies as he likes, but he will forever be Duckie to me. With such classic quotes like “I'm off like a dirty shirt” and  “Drinking and driving don't mix, that's why I ride a bike” what’s not to love about the Duck Man. Now with every teen movie, you must have the sappy one-liner such as “If somebody doesn't believe in me, I can't believe in them.”

1. Empire Records (1995)
I have no qualms about admitting that Empire Records is probably my most quoted movie. Rory Cochran, as Lucas, can say just about anything in this movie and be funny, “Always play with their minds”, “Who knows where thoughts come from? They just appear” and “What's with today, today?” are my personal favorites. However” I don't feel that I need to explain my art to you, Warren” and “Shock me shock me shock me with that deviant behavior” are quite popular but the most often used line would have to be the classic line “Damn the man. Save the Empire.”

While I continue to hold The Boondock Saints and The Karate Kid in the highest regard, as they share the top spot on my All-time favorite movies list; I don’t quote them as often as the movies I’ve noted today. I should say, for the record, that Anchorman, Super Troopers, and Dirty Dancing were all honorable mentions, but didn’t quite make the cut. So scan your DVD collection, ask your friends and let me know what your most often quoted movies are.

Here is where we are usually left with a cliffhanger, the suspense of waiting all summer to discover “Who shot J.R?” and the like. Now frankly I get aggravated by the “to be continued…” that is inevitably shown on the bottom of the screen in little white letters while one of my favorite characters may or may not be dying in the car I just saw explode or if he/she was the target of the shot just fired. Season finale cliffhangers are usually immediately followed in my house, by screaming things like “No freaking way” or “Are you kidding me?” at the television and possibly tossing a throw pillow.

I understand the basis behind the cliffhanger and it often serves the intended purpose of break room discussions, blog and chat room debates and generally keeping people interested of the show until it returns in the fall. Though I will say things could go both ways; being that if the show wasn’t interesting enough to maintain viewers all season will some big marketing explosion and whodunit of a finale keep them watching after the question has been answered.

If you are not invested in the characters and the show then chances are you don’t really care who gets murdered. On the other hand, would loyal fans of a show be as excited and continue to tune in if the writers were to wrap up the season finale in a nice little bow and all the questions were answered? Personally even if I knew which of the team was blown up on Criminal Minds or how Mack is going to get out of his predicament on CSI: NY, I would still be tuning in next season.

The downside, in my opinion, to the cliffhanger is if they get it wrong; if the writers kill off the wrong character, which granted the actor may be leaving for personal reasons or whatever, but if they kill off a character that is well liked by the fans without any sort of hint of possible departure, i.e. pregnancy, possible retirement, fictional job relocation, you then run the risk of putting a bad taste in viewer’s mouths and they may not return past the season premiere.

As most television shows premiere their finale episodes and the debate rages on, I’m left thanking the cable gods that some of my favorite shows are just beginning. If it weren’t for My Boys, So you think you can dance, and The Closer, I would be forced to watch the ridiculously horrific “reality” shows debuting this summer. I guess I’ll put the remote down, pick up a book and wait for fall.

Now as part of my friend duties, I do what any good friend would and I support my friends. It doesn’t hurt that supporting my friends equates to going to a show, where I get to hear the music I love, drink and hang out with my friends, which after all is not a bad way to spend a night. However, when I talk about my friends or if someone asks what I did the previous weekend, I have heard the “G” word and that’s where we have a problem. That’s right, they call me a groupie.

I shudder at the “G” word. I am offended by the word and it is not to be used in a sentence associated with my name unless the phrase “is not a” comes before it. I am friends with guys who happen to be musicians and that, my friend, does not a groupie make. Actually I don’t know if true groupies even exist anymore, well except for those girls on Rock of Love. Merriam-Webster actually defines the word groupie as:

1. A fan of a rock group who usually follows the group around on concert tours
2. An admirer of a celebrity who attends as many of his or her public appearances as possible
3. enthusiast, aficionado <a political groupie> <golf groupies>

Technically I am a fan of bands, and yes I do go to shows in the area but 9 times out of 10 I’m also friends with the band so it’s less about stalking some famous person and more about spending time with friends. When you are staying at the bass player’s house with 4 other people after a show and he’s making breakfast the next day for everyone, you are a friend first and fan second.

Now I’m not friends with every band I go see and I still get really excited to see certain bands, much like I did seeing New Kids on the Block when I was 10 yrs. old, but that just because I’m a music junkie and an all around giant dork. I simply get offended by the term groupie because of the connotation; I’m not flashing the security guy so I can get backstage and perform sex acts on coked-out hair bands. We are not in Almost Famous, and I am NOT a groupie.

I love music; I always have and always will. It may be the music that brings me to a show, but it’s the friendships I’ve made and the people I’ve met that will make me change my plans or go out of my way to go see my friends. I’m not a groupie, I’m just lucky.

Creating a piece of cinema that people will quote for the next 30 years requires intense research. Personally my VHS collection alone is enough to make most people roll their eyes at things I actually spent money obtaining while others simply shake their heads and tell me they haven't even heard of most of them; which either way is fine by me. When I watch some of my favorite 80's movies, occasionally I giggle at the bad acting, mock the horrible special effects, or spend 30 minutes trying to explain to someone who has
never seen the movie that it was in fact, at one time, a very good movie. Once the research is done, you can move on to the basics for making a classic 80's film.

In order to sustain ridiculous cheese, first you have to start with a soundtrack filled with classics that as soon as it starts would have people saying " Oh man, I love this song". Frankly a movie can become a hit simply based on a great soundtrack, i.e. Purple Rain. How many really bad movies had insanely good soundtracks? Did you see Purple Rain? Probably not, but you owned the soundtrack on cassette. The hardest part would be deciding which artists, many of which continue to tour and make money off their lone hits of the 80's, to put on my fantasy soundtrack. Maybe I'll make it a 2 disc set so I don't have to leave anyone out.

First we started with music and now we move on to wardrobe, I mean the 80's were a decade of fashion so bad that it was good. We proudly wore jelly shoes, tight rolled jeans, Hypercolor shirts, with 90 plastic bracelets on each arm and 5 inch bangs. Cinema has some fashion crimes we should never commit again i.e. Lea Thompson's crimped hair in Howard the Duck or Jon Cryer's entire wadrobe in Pretty in Pink. In order to keep our movie classic though, we are going to have to dust off the taffeta, zip up the Members Only jackets and find a can of mousse.

So with a soundtrack and wardrobe ready to go, as well as years of research; now all we need to do is cast our movie. Ideally I'd throw my favorite actors that populated many movies of the 80's back in the mix, however while Judd Nelson at age 26 effectively played a high school student in The Breakfast Club, at almost 50 I don't think it would work anymore. We would have to pick 20-someething actors because casting people who are actually the age they are playing is just ludicrous. Don't get me wrong, I'm still casting Molly Ringwald as a teacher, John Cusack as a dad, Jeremy Piven as the gym teacher, Michael J. Fox as principal, Phoebe Cates as a waitress, Ali Sheedy as a mom, Mary Stuart Masterson as a hip store owner, and Eric Stoltz as the quirky science teacher just because I can.

Now after an open audition, we've casted our film which fits with our perfect muscial backdrop and classic fashions; once we hit your standard teen movie settings like the mall, high school dance, and the beach we are well on our way to 80's movie success. I'm hiring Cameron Crowe to help me write the script, John Hughes to co-direct and I'm sitting on a gold mine. Instead of trying to make a new, hip teen movie as an homage to the 1980's, I'm going back to the basics and making a genuine 80's teen movie. No new cars, new clothes or new music here; yet somehow I think I've stumbled on to something totally original.

DWTS is good enough for mom but I’ve never been a fan of ballroom dancing, though I respect it as a style. Step It Up and Dance, hosted by Elizabeth Berkley, is just sad with the weird challenges and overall cheesiness. Dancelife was a little different in that it was basically a reality show about dancers trying to make it in the business, which while it offered a new spin on a dance show; I always wanted more dancing.     

Admittedly I came into the game late with SYTYCD as I didn’t catch on until Season 2, but Seasons 2 and 3 have been phenomenal and more than made up for my lack of Season 1 (which I have watched thanks to the wonderful world of Youtube). Instead of watching people who have never danced before try not to look foolish in ridiculous costumes, I’d rather spend my time watching young dancers, with incredible talent; get the opportunity to live their dreams. Just to refresh everyone’s memory, Nick Lazzarini won Season 1 with Melody Lacayanga coming in second place. Now after my Youtube time, I have to say that Nick is a very talented dancer, but my favorite was Blake McGrath, who by the way was on Dancelife so it all worked out for him. Fast forward past Season 1, and we have Cat Deeley as our new host replacing Lauren Sanchez and a new crop of young faces ready to impress.   

My favorite dancer of Season 2 was runner up Travis Wall. While a contemporary dancer at heart, Travis could pull off any style with ease due to a tremendous amount of natural talent. Natalie Fotopoulos was probably my favorite girl from Season 2, because to me she possessed all the key elements: style, looks, talent, and energy though Heidi Groskreutz, was also incredibly talented. In a close race, Benji Schwimmer (Heidi’s cousin) edged Travis for the title of America’s favorite dancer and my love affair with second place began.

In Season 3, I knew from the beginning that Danny Tidwell was going to win, not only was he Travis Wall’s adopted brother and grew up in a dance studio, but he was insanely talented and incredibly good looking so I was a fan from the start. Neil Haskell, my other favorite guy of Season 3 took 4th place, with Lacey Schwimmer (Benji’s sister) receiving 3rd place, and Danny was runner up to Season 3 winner Sabra Johnson.   

Season 4 should be just as excited and entertaining as previous seasons and frankly, as long as Mia Michaels is a choreographer I’ll be tuning in. While SYTYCD hosts some incredibly talented choreographers, as far as I’m concerned there is no one better than Mia Michaels. The woman won a freaking Emmy for her choreography after all.

While we have to sit through a very American Idol-esque couple of episodes which highlights some of the best and worse auditions, once the dances and voting will get underway, the level of talent and our entertainment value will rise. So mark your calendars for May 22nd and get ready to see who thinks they can dance.

I enjoy being an easily amused individual who doesn't "act her age". Not only do Ienjoy it, I embrace the level of maturity I lack in everyday life. What is so fun about being "mature" anyway? Mature people pay bills, have responsibility, hate their jobs, cuss in traffic and look forward to 5 o'clock; I do all of that because it's part of being an adult.

However, while I have no problem being a responsible adult, it's not something I thoroughly enjoy most of the time. I don't giggle while paying bills, smile while sitting in traffic, or look forward to medical checkups and morning staff meetings. I do enjoy road trips with my friends, ordering a kid's meal if the toy is cool, grabbing a coloring book if I'm in the mood, playing in the toy aisle and finding entertainment from time to time on both Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. And while I know I could be brushed off as someone who doesn't want to let go of their youth, I choose to see myself as someone who embraces the sillier parts of life.

I'm single with no children, much to the dismay of my mother, who in comparison had been married for almost a decade with 2 children by the time she was my age. My daily life doesn't revolve around baby-sitters, mortgages and college funds. Instead, I'm trying to decide what concert I will attend this weekend, which out of town friends to go visit and that I've sent off the next student loan payment.

Do these things make me less mature? To some people, I'm a slacker who refuses to grow up. But what do they know? The days of the Cleaver's and Brady's are dead and gone. The unwritten rule stating we should go to college, get married, buy a house, and have kids by 30 is no longer the norm. Sure, plenty of people still follow that life plan and that's fine and dandy; but many people are bucking tradition, which I think is rad. Yes, you read that correctly. I used the word "rad." I'm bringing it back, so help me out and use it in conversation later today.

OK, that was off topic. Back to those crazy pseduo-adults.

Maybe the college graduates of today don't get married until 35 or 40. Maybe they skip college to become an intern and work their way up the corporate ladder. Maybe they pass on the family and white picket fence for a stylish urban loft and a job that allows them to travel the world. Where is the problem in all of this?

There is no right or wrong way to live your life. I don't recommend aspiring to become a homeless crackhead, but as long as you are happy, who am I to judge? I love my life, and despite not being where I saw myself at this age, I couldn't be happier (well, not unless I won a million tax free dollars - nonetheless I'm content).

So maybe I'll never read the New York Times and I probably won't own an iPhone anytime soon. Yet somehow, I will manage. I'm still waiting on someone to tell me what "acting my age" really means; apparently I didn't get a copy of the manual that provides details on how one's behavior should change with each passing birthday.

There are all sorts of things I could toss out right now: "You're only as old as you feel" or "Age is nothing but a number." While both make my point about age and maturity, I could also just turn to the next person telling me to act my age, put my thumb to my nose, wiggle my fingers and stick out my tongue. How mature.