How Sean got his card back

Netflix was a part of our lives for two years. Seemed like a perfect idea – less expensive than Blockbuster and the DVDs came right to the mailbox. Funny thing, though; I realized the majority of the movies we rented went back unwatched. Then Netflix raised their prices and I said so long little red envelope, hello blue and yellow store.

Last week, Sean went to Blockbuster so we’d have a few movies over the holiday weekend. You may recall he does not have the best track record for selecting rentals; I was very, very nervous about his choices. Michael and Amy went with him so I figured he couldn’t go too far astray. But the movies he brought home made me question the effectiveness of sending the children to do the Mom’s job.

We popped in the first one, Gnomeo & Juliet, an animated feature retelling the story of Romeo and Juliet. Only the warring families are families of gnomes. Gnomes, y’all. I was skeptical, but it turned out to be pretty cute. It is a kids’ movie, so Gnomeo and Juliet don't end up dying, which was a relief to Rebecca.

Sean, 1. My skepticism, 0.

I was pretty sure that score was going to be even Steven after watching his second pick, Larry Crowne, a Tom Hanks/Julie Roberts feature. I love both Hanks and Roberts but had heard the movie didn’t get good reviews. It was even on the list of The Biggest Box-Office Turkeys of 2011. Seems the biggest complaints were it was too nice and that the average age of the movie-goer was well above 35. Well, I like nice and I’m well above 35, so it sounded like a good fit. And it was. It was a cute rom-com that featured people with good, solid friendships and a guy with a positive attitude despite setbacks that would crush most. Another reviewer said it wasn't "gritty" enough. Oh, heaven forbid we spend 90 minutes watching someone (fully clothed) make good but hard choices without a gun or robot. We could even watch it with Michael and Amy, and to find a PG-13 movie we can watch together is a feat (One “f” word earned it the -13. Otherwise it would be a solid PG.)

Sean, 2, Christy, 0.

I'm not a fan of being wrong, but in this case I am just fine with it. Hope this means his picking duds streak is over!