08.28.01
The other day, I watched the movie Singles for the first time in a great while, and somewhere in there, Campbell Scott's character, Steve, delivers the best speech about their relationship to Kyra Sedgewick's character, Linda, except that her answering machine eats the message, and she never gets it.
"Linda, uh, it's me. I had to call you. It's about midnight. I was just having many beers. And, uh, I just wanted to say what I should have said at the dock. I fucking chickened out when I acted casual, like Mr. Casual. I should have said it. You...belong...with...me! We belong together. And what really pisses me off is that, now that we're really talking, you thought i proposed to you only because you were pregnant. What's that about! I mean...hey, this is not the bathroom! And you know maybe if I had said some of these things at the dock it would have made a difference because, but I think we made a big mistake because, we had good times and we had bad times, but we had times. And I would like to start over. I would like to be new to you. I want to be new to you. I want to be Mr. New. So call me back if you want to. But this is the last time I'll call. And, if you really needed to know how I feel, how I really feel, that's how I feel. I love you. And that's something you should know, so I won't bother you again. So, good night. And good bye. And call me back. Good bye."
The gist of the entire speeching being, "You belong with me! We belong together."
This got the gears in my head a-whirlin', reminding me deeply of another Cameron Crowe-written and directed film, Jerry Maguire, that also has a moving, relationship speech:
"Hello. I'm looking for my wife... Alright... If this is where it has to happen, then this is where it has to happen. Dorothy says nothing. I'm not letting you get rid of me. How about that?This used to be my specialty. I was good in a living room. Send me in there, I'll do it alone. And now I just... I don't know... but on what was supposed to be the happiest night of my business life, it wasn't complete, wasn't nearly close to being in the same vicinity as complete, because I couldn't share it with you. I couldn't hear your voice, or laugh about it with you. I missed my wife. We live in a cynical world, and we work in a business of tough competitors, so try not to laugh -- I love you. You complete me."
"You complete me." Similar sentiment from Mr. Crowe, but a different movie, and a slightly different speech.
And then another movie came to mind, Say Anything.
Now, this one sparked a great debate as to what speech in the movie would constitute the quintessentially grandiose outpouring of emotion that would adequately express belonging with, to, or completing the other person.
This was suggested:
"Dear Diane, I will always be there for you, all the love in my heart. - Lloyd"
And I countered with:
Diane: "I need you."
Lloyd: "Tell me something... do you need someone or do you need me?... Forget it, I don't care."
Diane: "I need you."
Except that it isn't so much a speech as a question, and she's the one that is making the romantic overtures.
I was leaning towards the part where Lloyd tells Diane's father:
"What I really want to do with my life - what I want to do for a living - is I want to be with your daughter. I'm good at it."
But again, he doesn't directly tell it to her, and it doesn't convey any real emotional sentiment. No "We belong together because I love you, and you complete me, and without you I am an empty twinkie, a hollow shell, completely devoid of the creamy filling that is your love," or anything of that nature.
And then, I remembered the scene where he stands outside her window in the rain, holding up a boombox that is playing this song by Peter Gabriel:
In Your Eyes
- love I get so lost, sometimes
- days pass and this emptiness fills my heart
- when I want to run away
- I drive off in my car
- but whichever way I go
- I come back to the place you are
- all my instincts, they return
- and the grand facade, so soon will burn
- without a noise, without my pride
- I reach out from the inside
- in your eyes
- the light the heat
- in your eyes
- I am complete
- in your eyes
- I see the doorway to a thousand churches
- in your eyes
- the resolution of all the fruitless searches
- in your eyes
- I see the light and the heat
- in your eyes
- oh, I want to be that complete
- I want to touch the light
- the heat I see in your eyes
- love, I don't like to see so much pain
- so much wasted and this moment keeps slipping away
- I get so tired of working so hard for our survival
- I look to the time with you to keep me awake and alive
- and all my instincts, they return
- and the grand facade, so soon will burn
- without a noise, without my pride
- I reach out from the inside
- in your eyes
- the light the heat
- in your eyes
- I am complete
- in your eyes
- I see the doorway to a thousand churches
- in your eyes
- the resolution of all the fruitless searches
- in your eyes
- I see the light and the heat
- in your eyes
- oh, I want to be that complete
- I want to touch the light,
- the heat I see in your eyes
- in your eyes
- in your eyes
- in your eyes
- in your eyes
- in your eyes
- in your eyes
And I got to thinking about how this was Cameron Crowe's first big write-and-direct effort, and decided that I wasn't so surprised that the ooey-gooey sentiments were conveyed with the lyrics to a song.
I mean, really.
The whole entire complete movie is a love letter to Diane Court from Lloyd Dobbler. Every action, every word, every gesture or look says, "You are the reason for my being. I exist solely because of you. '...In your eyes, I am complete.'"
Well, except that stuff about the other characters, and the various sub-plots.
All the really important stuff is about Diane and Lloyd.
Plus, It moved an entire generation of high school girls to tears and established the solid trend of having really good movie soundtracks, despite the belief that The Breakfast Club accomplished that feat first.
The Breakfast Club had a few good songs, and made every girl want to not only be as cool as Molly Ringwald, but led them all to practice putting on lipstick using their cleavage -- which only really works with those skinny lipsticks and not the normal bullet-shaped varietal.
Besides, Say Anything introduced the whole proto-grunge thing, and set up the lead for Seattle to serve as the backdrop for being the pentultimate in cool.
