As Good As It Gets

I was reminded of Helen Hunt as I was reading my issue of Vogue this month. You know the one with Blake Lively on the cover. I was reading this short little article on Brenton Thwaites. They described him as a “heartthrob” and I replied back to my Vogue doesn't that imply that people know who he is?

Now, I did recognize one movie he was in. He played Prince Phillip in Maleficent. I do remember him in this movie. But, he is not a heartthrob. He's cute. But, heartthrob implies so much more then that. Sleek, muscular, young, boyish good looks, otherwise known as Zac Efron. Brenton Thwaites has not made heartthrob status yet. Although, more of us will know who he is soon. He's starring in the lead of the movie The Giver opposite Meryl Streep and Jeff Bridges.

This also brought attention to his participation in Helen Hunt's directorial pursuit Ride. A movie that general concept is of a mother traveling to California to be with her son after he drops out of school to become a surfer. In her quote she dismissed him as the right choice for the character, but that he had the drive need to really pull it off.  

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If you are under the age of eighteen, you are probably still wondering who Helen Hunt is. She is a talented actress, writer, and director. I forgot how much I missed her until I was reminded of her. Lately she's been staying out from in front of the camera. Instead doing more behind the scenes work.

I have been in love with Helen Hunt, since I was a child, and I watched the Sarah Jessica Parker movie Girls Just Wanna Have Fun on repeat. I still watch this movie. All I wanted was for Helen Hunt's character, Lynn and I to be best friends. It was a goal in my life. I didn't realize that she was thirty years older then me. I didn't understand that the people in movies from the eighties had actually aged. Just like I thought Olivia Newton-John and I were really close in age when I was obsessed with Grease. It killed me when these delusions were shattered.

You definitely need to get around to seeing Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. It's a good old fashioned dance movie, where the daugher (Sarah Jessica Parker) has to sneak out of her house in order to attend dance rehearsals (assisted by friend, Helen Hunt) in order for her to win the Dance TV competition. Where she inevitably falls in love with her dance partner, ala Dirty Dancing. Shannen Doherty is also in this movie. If you're scared off because you saw Footloose. Do not be afraid. It's inimitably better.

What you really know Helen Hunt for is her lead role in the sitcom Mad About You as Jamie Buchman. This is where you hit yourself for not knowing who she is. This show is iconic. It's so iconic they had a crossover episode with Friends. Now you can kill yourself. 

But, I get it. Not everyone watches TV. So, let me list just a few movies she's been in. Just off the top of my head I see, Twister, What Women Want, As Good As It Gets. With Helen Hunt, though, she never is quite good enough, because she always manages to improve upon something I already thought she conquered.  

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I was blown away with her performance in The Sessions (And it still irritates me that she lost the Academy Award to Anne Hathaway, and I love Anne Hathaway). Now you might not have seen this movie. This is one of those Sundance movies, but I just love the concept. It's about this man who's been paralyzed by polio and has hired a sex surrogate (Helen Hunt) in order to lose his virginity.

I'm just obsessed with this movie. You should see it. I mean it almost won an Academy Award. What more do you need. As Helen Hunt continues slaying thirty years into her career, it won't be long before one of her own movies becomes an Avatar level blockbuster. Whether it be Ride or another venture ten years from now. It will happen and when it does. I will be the first to congratulate her.