#4 SEARCHING FOR BOBBY FISCHER (Erika's Choice)

Clearly, I'm still on a "Films Of '93" kick. Much like Manhattan Murder Mystery, Searching For Bobby Fischer was one of those films I saw as a kid that I thought would bore me, but didn't. All I knew about chess at the time I saw SFBF in the theaters was that Screech on Saved By The Bell was excellent at it. The reason I wanted Dave to see this film was not for its great structure or for the excellent child actor Max Pomeranc who I'm sure (forgive me Dave) grew up to be quite a babe. I wanted to show my bf Searching For... because this movie deals with something Dave and I do a lot: try to give the other an out.

Netflix's description:

After watching speed chess in Washington Square Park, 7-year-old Josh Waitzken (Max Pomeranc) gets hooked on the game. Josh's father (solidly played by Joe Mantegna) learns that his son is a chess whiz and decides to hire an implacable chess master (Ben Kingsley) to coach the boy. When Josh is entered into high-stress competitions, what was once a pleasant hobby turns into a source of anxiety and indignation, forcing dad to reassess his decision.

Aside from the fact that this movie takes place right outside my college dorm at NYU, I love that it's based on a true story. I'm such a sucker for that. Rewatching this film would be the equivalent of taking Dave to a restaurant I ate at and loved as a kid. It's not all I remembered it to be. Either my tastes have changed, or it was never as good as I my memory of it (and what in life ever is?).

The amazing thing about sitting down to watch this movie is that Dave and I played out the same thing that we tend to do in our relationship which was the reason I wanted to make him see this film in the first place: we tried to give each other an out. It had been a long day and a long Memorial Weekend. I knew Dave had other plans after and I had work to do, but we really wanted to watch this movie to send it back and get another on our Netflix list. We kept trying to make the other happy by offering to reschedule the viewing until we realized we both wanted to watch it.  We are very much like those incredibly polite cartoon gophers. We do a lot of "Oh, no, no, no! You first. I insist." "No please. You must go first." It's a bit ridiculous.

And while Dave may have just found the movie "fine" or "okay" (I can't remember his exact one word review), I felt accomplished that he now had a frame of reference every time I (SPOILER ALERT) offer him an out, a the chance to take the draw and share the championship when we're trying to decide whether to put the kibosh on dinner plans or not.

SPOILER ALERT FINAL SCENE BELOW: