The following dialogue is from Chasing Liberty which sets the scene for the final swoon moment before "they lived happily ever after" scrolls and the credits roll.
"My father was always at work. Never at home. My mother wanted him to make the
big gesture."
"What's the big gesture?"
"You know 'I'll quit for you. I'll stay home for you, darling.' But he didn't.
Because... Well, people don't really do that, do they?"
I have no problems with Chasing Liberty. I probably watch the movie once every year or year
and a half. It is an entertaining hour and a half. However, it is entertaining and not a lesson on
life, love, and behaving like a President's daughter.
If you are waiting for Prince Charming to perform a grand gesture so you can wear glass slippers
and a pretty dress, I fear you will be waiting a long time. A successful relationship doesn't require
an overwhelming act of sacrifice to be sustainable. A declaration of love isn't more true because
it was dragged on a banner behind a plane. The feelings aren't deeper because they are sung
rather than said.
A cliche which happens often in entertainment is the musician boyfriend writing a song for his
girlfriend. A moment like this may be considered a gesture. However, as someone who has had
two guys write songs for her, I can tell you it isn't as romantic as the movies make it out to be. It
can be awkwardly painful when it leaves you speechless because running away screaming isn't
an acceptable response and neither is pretending to feel the same because of the romance
of the moment.
I hear "I love you" when a guy watches a movie I know he has zero interest in and does it
without complaining. I say "I love you" by listening to his music in the car. I hear "I love you"
when he carries more of the grocery bags than I do. I say "I love you" when I surprise him with
a coffee. I hear "I love you" when he picks a restaurant he knows I like.
If we are always waiting on a grand gesture, we are missing the moments which add up to a
wonderful relationship. A grand gesture sometimes is nothing more than a desperate plea to
save that which is already beyond repair.
