Growing Up Is Hard to Do

I slept in so late, it was almost 11 before I got to making Blackberry-Blueberry Pancakes for breakfast. I called Mom while I ran soundtracks from 80s film musicals like Flashdance and Xanadu. Mom was fine; she'd just gotten out of the shower. She spent most of the week cleaning her house and doing her yard. She was about to vacuum in preparation for my stepfather's return from a fishing trip this afternoon. I told her about my plans to dig into my childhood to try to retrieve my creativity; she told me about what the drought is doing to her poor garden, especially her butterfly bushes.

I went to work not long after that. It wasn't too bad. It was quiet enough when I got in that I spent a half-hour shucking corn for produce. (I don't know why people insist on having shucked corn. It's not that hard to do yourself.) It did get very busy later, to the point where there were long lines and not enough help. Good thing my relief, one of the college-age boys, was on time.

When I got home, I changed out of my uniform and had leftover chicken and vegetables for dinner while watching Take Me Home Tonight. A really cute take on one of the 80s favorite movie plots, the "everyone goes to a wild party, does stupid things, and learns something" comedy. Appropriately, it's set in the 80s. Matt Franklin (Topher Grace) has a dead-end job in a Suncoast Video. He really has no idea what he wants to do with his life. When he sees his high school crush in the store, he lies to her about having a great job and ends up going to a party held by his sister's (Anna Ferris) boyfriend. His best friend (Dan Fogler) just lost his job at a car dealership and finagles his way into the same party. All three have some growing up to do, as Matt learns that the girl of your dreams may not be as unattainable as you imagine...and that sometimes, risks aren't as foolhardy as everyone says they are.

For all the bad language and drug use, I thought this was really rather sweet. Fogler in particular has a great time as the best pal whose hijinks - and hair - just keeps getting progressively wackier. I also relate to many of the characters - I'm going through some of the same problems, and I'm well out of high school. For adults who remember this era or college students who are having their own troubles getting out there, this is a little hard to find (it was filmed in 2007 but, for some reason, not released until last year) but well worth a look.