Quirkyalone: It’s a mindset

Zeitgeist | Imaginary Bitches (A Review)

Aug 28, 2009 - Written by Deborah Hymes  |  Filed under: Dating, Friendship, Movies, Pop Culture, Relationships, Single Life, Video

Choosing to remain single in a coupled world is sometimes a lonely gig, never more so than when all of your close friends are smugly cocooned in their couple-bubbles. It can make you feel like the last single person on Earth.

As once-single friends morph into couples, it often becomes irritatingly apparent that they no longer understand the challenges or  perspectives of singledom. You sometimes feel like hitting them over the head, yet you still love them and yearn for common ground to maintain your friendships. This painful conflict is played out to hilarious effect in the engaging Web series Imaginary Bitches.

Eden is the last single girl in her circle of friends, refusing to compromise her standards simply to have a boyfriend. After an amazing date with a guy she really likes, Eden calls each of her friends to share her exciting news, but they’re only interested in talking about their relationships. Increasingly dispirited with each aborted call, Eden discovers, to her astonishment, that she has conjured an imaginary friend named Catherine—a friend who’s avidly interested in discussing all the details of Eden’s date.

But Catherine proves to be less a “friend” than a total bitch, with something nasty to say about Eden and all of her real girlfriends. That’s right, Eden herself is not exempt from Catherine’s bitchiness. Furthermore, Catherine is soon joined by a second imaginary bitch named Heather. The imaginary bitches quickly establish their presence in all of Eden’s relationships, leaving her to deal with the fallout even as they help her sort out her friendships and her love life.

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Must-See Quirkyalone Movie of 2008: Happy Go Lucky by Mike Leigh

Nov 29, 2008 - Written by Sasha Cagen  |  Filed under: Uncategorized

Leave it to the British to create the most quirkyalone movie of 2008. If you haven’t seen Happy Go Lucky, starring the (could there be a quirkier actress) Sally Hawkins, you must run, not walk, to your local independent theater. The movie is more character-driven than plot-driven, as we float through life with a 30-year-old primary school teacher with a sturdily sunny demeanor.

What would Poppy do? That’s now what I will ask when I’m confronted with irritating situations or difficult people. Poppy is unlike anyone that I’ve ever met, but there’s something about her approach to life which I aspire to.

Quirkyalone money quote from the film: Poppy’s younger sister, who is pregnant, married, and living in the suburbs, lays into Poppy, telling her she needs to grow up and start by investing in a mortgage. “I just want you to be happy,” she says. Poppy responds, “I am happy. I love my life. I have a great job, amazing friends, yeah, it can be tough at times, but that’s part of it.” “I am one lucky lady,” she says, “and I know that.” Why it such a breath of fresh air–even revelatory-to hear a single woman count her blessings on film? Is it because we never hear that in popular culture, or because we don’t actually believe that single women can love their lives? I believe Poppy’s character.

Happy Go Lucky was everything that the Sex and the Movie claimed to be and was not. Both movies are about female friendship, but in the Sex and the City movie, all that Carrie and co. ever talk about is men. In Happy Go Lucky, the characters talk about all the things that run through women’s minds, I should quit smoking, or one of my students is violent, and what should I do, and are we grown up yet? Men and fashion are not the only reference points for life or fun. They go out dancing and make fools of themselves, collapsing into pools of girliness. The row boats in the park and talk about life.

I am still pondering the movie 24 hours later. Have you seen Happy Go Lucky? What did you think? I’m curious to hear from other QAs.