It’s funny that, years ago, if you wanted to watch a movie, you literally had to leave your apartment and walk to a nearby video store. Now we have so many streaming options you are left totally paralyzed by all your entertainment choices on a Friday night. Thanks to Netflix and Rogers On Demand and the fact that we’re in the midst of the Golden Age of Television, it’s hard to keep up. If you can’t remember the last time you saw a movie in theatres or feel kind of blah about keeping up with the Oscar hype, you’re definitely not alone. But that doesn’t mean you can’t fake it til you make it. Here is the lazy girl’s guide to faking movie knowledge. Your secret is totally safe.
Change the subject
It’s awards season and someone is definitely going to try to engage you in a convo about all the nominated films. They want to chat about every movie each director made and they even bring up last year’s trendy movies like Boyhood and Birdman. If you learn the art of changing the subject, you can master any discussion and come out looking normal. When someone says something, just start with, “Oh that reminds me, I wanted to tell you about…” and then switch to an entirely unrelated topic so that you don’t run the risk of circling back. Bonus points for getting the other person so riled up they forget all about Leo and his bear.
Swoon (a lot)
It is a universally acknowledged truth that George Clooney is super hot. Same with Ryan Gosling, Leonardo DiCaprio, etc. Every time someone brings up one of these attractive actors, you should swoon. Once your friends or whoever you’re talking to see that you’re on the same page, they’ll forget that you haven’t seen The Revenant yet (and have zero desire). This is a great strategy because you’ve probably seen at least one movie that these famous actors have been in, so you can always lie and say you just re-watched Titanic.
Brag about your TV addiction
Okay, so you might not have seen any films lately, but that doesn’t mean you’ve been in a pop culture desert. Another form of entertainment has stolen your heart and that’s TV. You watch literally everything from reality shows to classic sitcoms like Friends and Seinfeld to All The Netflix Shows which are in their own category at this point. When someone brings up a movie, just ask if they’re seen Jessica Jones* yet. That will change the conversation super fast and soon everyone will be sharing their TV addictions and you’ll be in the clear.
*insert other applicable show here
Bring up Meryl Streep
She has to be nominated this year, right? She always is, and besides, she’s basically the queen of acting. A Meryl Streep reference is always a good idea. If all else fails, bring up how much you loved Julie and Julia (or at least one-half of it). You can’t go wrong.
