Jenny and I go to the Cinema.

I had promised Jenny a “1 to 1” trip to the cinema which is always really difficult to organise as the other kids always want to come along as well.  So I chose a movie that I thought would only appeal to Jen, “13 going on 30”,  I was not really looking forward to the film, but was really looking forward to the time with Jen.  As it turned out we both really enjoyed the film, and not for different reasons.  The film synopsis follows:

Jennifer Garner (Daredevil, TV’s “Alias”) and Mark Ruffalo (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind) star in this hilarious flash-forward romance about a pre-teen girl who goes from geek to glamorous. With the help of some magic wishing dust, 13 year-old Jenna Rink (Garner) becomes 30 and gorgeous overnight, with everything she ever wanted, except for her best friend Matt (Ruffalo). Now, this grown woman must create some magic of her own to help the little girl inside find the true love she left behind.

Whilist its true that there was a romantic theme to the film, I think what Jen and I liked most was that the girl re-invented the woman, sort of as follows:

1. 12 year old girl knows her own mind but is starting to be seduced by the need to be popular
2. On her 13th Birthday she is desperate to get the “6 chicks” to her party, they end up letting her down in a big way
3. Just after her let down, she wishes herself 17 years forward to herself at 30, and finds that she has achieved all her ambitions, she becomes a member, in fact the leader of the, “6 chicks”, becomes editor of her favourite, (when she was 13), magazine, get the hunky boyfriend etc
4. However her 13 year old self, starts to dislike her 30 year old life, she no longer takes calls from her parents, misses family christmas, is rude and ignorant, betrays her magazine to further her success etc.
5. The 13 year old re-invents herself by re-branding the magazine.  More on that later
6. She tracks down her best friend from when she was 13, who she was very cruel to, he falls for her all over again but in then end stays with his existing girlfriend because he says, “he made decisions he has to live with” …
7. She goes back to being 13 again and decides to live her life, rather than chasing an empty dream
8. She marries her best friend

Ok, slightly different from the official version, one of the cutest bits of the film is how she re-brand the magazine.  This is a teen magazine, it goes something like this:

1. Clothes
2. Shoes
3. Makeup
4. Boys
5. All fashion models

She realises that this is the rubbish she pushes at kids every month, its the stuff that got her hooked on the empty life she ended up with at 30.  She talks to kids, she get her old best friend, (who is mad on photography), to help out, she re-images the magazine, to focus more on:

1. Real people that kids can relate to and admire
2. Team spirit
3. Family
4. Success in meaningful areas, sort, music etc
5. ….

She says to kids its all right to be normal, to enjoy simple things, to have friends and family, to help each other, to not have enough money and to make do, to work hard etc.  Thats what I took away from the film.