Young Love & Romantic Comedies

I have a lot of young friends and often find myself hearing about the good, the bad and the ugly of young love. I give it my best shot to listen and not be preachy, but try to mention a few ground rules and prerequisites (which is a blog entry all in itself!) and then we talk about other basic principles such as:

* Shopping won't mend a broken heart; it will leave you still heartbroken and now broke.
* Once a cheater, always a cheater.
* What you see is what you get - marriage isn't a magic wand!

Having a love for romantic comedies, I find myself using them as examples when I have these talks. Surprisingly, there are some good principles to be found in the boy-meets-girl flicks we're all so fond of:

* Only illusions have no faults. (Sabrina)
* "What if?" is hard to live with. (Sleepless in Seattle) This one has a biblical basis, "Open rebuke is better than secret love. Proverbs 27:5
* Sex is not the same as intimacy. (When Harry Met Sally)
* Getting your heart's desire may not look like you thought it would. (Under the Tuscan Sun; 13 Going on 30).
* The old ways still work. (Blast from the Past).

There are the films which affirm predestination, though they may refer to it as fate or simple destiny, etc. Some of my favorites are:

* Return to Me - When you watch this one, check out which characters are introduced as if the camera is descending from the sky. Hmmm
* Only You - This great little movie has the added bonus of a young Robert Downey, Jr.
* Honorable mentions: Just Like Heaven, The Lake House, Mr. Destiny.

Sometimes I have to point a girl in the direction of Runaway Bride or Sweet Home Alabama if they start talking about needing to change who they are to get or to keep a guy and if necessary, I quote lines from movies that deal with authenticity such as Hitch, Music & Lyrics and Spanglish.

While the bad boy may be intriguing, it's the nice guy you want - as shown in Notting Hill, The Princess Bride and The Wedding Singer just to name a few.

Don't settle for "Mr. Right Now" just because you want to be married or in a relationship. "Mr. Right" may pop up unexpectedly (You've Got Mail, French Kiss.)

Now, dear readers, what are some of the gems of wisdom you've gleaned from your favorite chick flicks?