Never having to say I'm sorry for loving "Love Story"

“This is really cheesy,”I tell my friend before the movie starts. “But I love it.” And on both counts, I’m not wrong. It is cheesy – probably one of the most predictable, maybe campy, movies there is. And I do love it. I remember the first time I saw “Love Story.” I was a freshman in high school, staying at my Grandmother’s house over spring break. We had rented it on DVD from the local library and played it on one of those magical, crackly old TVs with a large, circular on and off button. And from the first few seconds of the score, I was hooked.

I don’t even like romance movies. In fact, I hate most of them. But “Love Story” is different. “Love Story” tells you that it’s okay to be a hopeless romantic. “Love Story” tells you that life is sad and beautiful all at the same time. It is funny almost as much as it is heartbreaking. The audience knows Jenny is going to die from the first few seconds of the film – it is, after all, a “story about a girl who died.” But that never stops you from feeling blissfully happy for the two characters as you watch them fall in love.

One of the best scenes by far is the opening.

“You look stupid and rich.” 

- “Actually, I’m smart and poor.”

Or

“Barrett like the hall?”

- “Yes.”

“I’m having coffee with a Harvard building.”

Or even

“Renaissance polyphony.”

- What’s polyphony?”

“Nothing sexual, preppy.”

The dialogue is corny and blunt, yet you can’t help but be drawn into the lives of these characters. Many people are bothered by Ali MacGraw’s performance in the film, but I’ve always liked it. It fits the character. As the film goes by, you start to think that maybe if you watch the whole thing, the story will end another way. But of course, it doesn’t, and you remember Oliver’s words at the beginning and feel just as heartbroken as you had expected.

It’s not a movie I like to watch often. I saw it first my freshman year of high school, and it hadn’t crossed my mind until last month during my freshman year of college. It’s also not a movie you get something new out of the more you watch it – the message is the same every time. But that is okay with me. There’s something special about “Love Story” and I don’t think I’ll ever be able to put my finger on it. Maybe love like Jenny and Oliver’s doesn’t exist anymore and I like the feeling of wistfulness it gives me. Maybe it’s never existed, and it’s just Hollywood telling us loneliness is a negative. Or maybe I’m just being dramatic! Nevertheless, in four years or so, I’ll get in my car, drive to the library, and rent the DVD once more.