Binge Watching Brittany Murphy
Next month, we’re launching our THE ARTS edition about books, movies, music and art that inspired us as TCKs! Here’s a sneak peek!
I was living in Costa Rica when the actress Brittany Murphy died. My sister and our two best friends, who were also sisters, were dog-sitting that weekend for a neighbor. We stayed at their house and watched all the chick flick movies we could get our hands on. While sitting on the bed, my sister exclaimed, “Oh my gosh! Brittany Murphy died!” to her computer screen. I was never one to keep up with pop culture and didn’t know actors or actresses names, so my sister started listing all the movies she had appeared in until there was one I knew. When she said Uptown Girls it finally clicked. I had seen the film for the first time on a flight, from where to where I couldn’t tell you, but I remember that I loved it. I adored her quirky character, how she wasn’t afraid to be herself even when she was kind of a mess.
After hearing that she died I started watching more of her movies. With each plot, more different than the next, her authentic self shone through. In each movie she stayed quirky, and seemed ignorant to what people thought of her. The thing I loved most was that in so many of them she’s in a different city, in a different country. My favorites are Uptown Girls, The Ramen Girl, Love and Other Disasters and Clueless. While these are all good choices to binge watch in one weekend (or one day), they also suit different moods.
Uptown Girls is good for when you want a little emotion, or to feel better about yourself—you’ll be more put together than Murphy’s character. Or if not, it can be inspiring in that if she can get her life together, so can you! It’s a sweet story about her nannying for a sassy, disciplined girl while Murphy’s character is free spirited, and tries to break down her walls.
The Ramen Girl is my favorite one to watch when I have wanderlust (which is almost always). It goes like this: girl follows boy to foreign country, boy leaves girl there, girl falls in love with country (or food of said country) and decides to stay. While I love a good love story, I love an independent woman in a new country story best, even better when it’s set in Japan! Culture shock, different languages, and food make for the most relatable movies to watch when I just want to dream about packing up and moving.
Love and Other Disasters: London, fashion, British accents and romance... need I say more?
Last but certainly not least, Clueless. 90’s movies are some of my all time favorites to watch, and this one has it all. Great music, the wardrobes and styling are iconic, and the quality quotes are endless. Murphy doesn’t play the main role, but she’s still just as funny as ever. I’ve watched it so many times that it’s now background noise when I’m cleaning or cooking, where I make sure to yell, “As if!” at the right parts.
Brittany Murphy will forever be missed. The more movies I watch that she stars in, the more I feel like I relate to her, or at least the characters she plays. So go get some popcorn or ramen and sit down for a day of her movies. You won’t be disappointed.