If you really loved me, you would.

Oldest Boy asked if we could rent West Side Story.  His dance and music teachers at school have been playing clips from the movie in class.  He convinced Middle boy that it was about gangs and he'd really, really, really like it.  I love old movies, especially musicals, so I was thrilled.  We found a copy at Blockbuster and grabbed Karate Kid II as well.

We watched the first half of West Side Story last week, on a school night.  On our way home from skiing Saturday afternoon, assuming they had forgotten about the Jets and the Sharks, I reminded the boys we could watch Karate Kid II.  Oldest Boy said, "Can we watch the rest of West Side Story first?"  I was so pleased.  Middle Boy was not.

We showered, got in pajamas, made our popcorn and cocktails, and finished West Side Story.

Middle Boy disappeared towards the end of the movie, but he watched longer than I thought he would.  We heard the hum of an electric pencil sharpener coming from his room. [He loves to draw with colored pencils.]

I was sitting with Chris.

Me:  Let's pretend you're Tony and I'm Maria.

Chris:  Sure! [wheels turning]

Me:  Tony has nice hair and a full mouth.  Would you consider a little filler in your lips?

Chris:  No. [buzzkill]

Me:  would you consider hair extensions?

Chris:  No. [double buzzkill]

Me:  Will you at least sing "Maria" to me?

Chris:  I can't sing.

Me:  Yes you can.  Come on.  Do it.  Please...

Chris:  No.

Me:  What about "Somewhere"?  That's so romantic.

Chris:  No.

Me:  Fine.  I'll sing my parts and your parts. [clearing throat]

Oldest Boy:  Dad, sing "Cool" or the "Jet Song".  Those are good!

Chris:  This isn't going how I thought it would.

Me:  My mother almost named me Maria you know...

Comments

[February 9, 2009 |]

I used to love, love, love West Side Story. they are putting it back on broadway but they are having the latino gang (the sharks?) speaking only in Spanish so it is bilingual. very cool.

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[February 9, 2009 |]

Maybe Oldest Boy likes West Side Story so much because you give him cocktails to enjoy while watching it. I know if my Mom fed me booze, I'd sit through just about anything - even From Justin To Kelly.

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[Sam]

i know this isn't the point, but, i loved the sound visual of the whir of an electric pencil sharpener in the background.

[Chris]

Deidre - Wow. Hadn't heard that. I no habla, so that would be a bit frustrating for me. Big Gringa here.

Sherri - Good point. Maybe next time we'll just give the kids a little Amp instead of the Jungle Juice.

Sam - It's all the point, Samantha. I appreciate you noticing. :)

[vodkamom]

Were you people ALL drinking during this??

[February 9, 2009 |]

I love musicals. I seriously doubt I could get my husband to even muster up middle child's level of enthusiasm.

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[Chris]

Vodka Mom - Maybe... Maybe not. ;)

Kate Coveny Hood - I remember that you like musicals. Chris is a pretty good sport.

[February 9, 2009 |]

Ugh, I'm with Middle Boy. I absolutely hated West Side Story, they made us watch it in high school and I thought I'd pull my hair out.

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[February 9, 2009 |]

My husband adores old movies and loves introducing them to our older daughter.

How sweet!

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[Cheri @ Blog This Mom!]

Bwahahahaha! I lurve you.

[Braja]

You were kidding about the filler and hair, right? Right?

[February 10, 2009 |]

Ah - love West Side Story!

What a funny story!

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[February 10, 2009 |]

When I sub for middle school choir, I have to show them musicals (since I am clueless about singing). They do not go over well with the middle school crowd! Most of them sharpen pencils.

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[Chris]

Bobbi - Well then, you can help him sharpen pencils if you ever join us for family musical night!

Mama Bird - Luck you and lucky daughter!

Cheri - I lurve you too. :)

Braja - Of course! I was just trying to have some fun. Like I tell Chris, "Lighten-up Francis!" ;)

Lady Fi - Thanks!

Debbie - I don't understand... What's not to like?

[February 10, 2009 |]

There's fudge at the end of the mountain!? Now I have a real reason to walk down this mountain.

I haven't watched West Side in a long time. It's still a great musical.

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[jessica bern]

I loved that movie. Maybe if you rent the sound of music you can sing, "I am 16 going on 17" to him. I bet he'd love that ;)

[February 10, 2009 |]

You visited my blog a while back, so I decided to return the favor. I looked around a bit. Saw the post for "Mary," well, I'm a Mary- ha ha ha. The dog looks adorable. I should look so good in that outfit. We had a rendition of West Side Story at school. I thought Maria was so very romantic. I never wanted to be her, just voyeuristic on my part. ~Mary

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[rahrah!]

Perhaps you should switch to old Westerns. I'm thinking Chris would enjoy watching McClintock - you know where John Wayne spanks Maureen O'Hara.

No singing, filler, or extensions required.

[Chris]

Jennifer - Yes! The fudge is fantastic too.

Jessica - Done it.

Mary - Thanks! Yes, Mary is our dog. I think we're all a little voyeuristic... (I'm impressed you could spell that.)

[February 12, 2009 |]

All I can think is what a gorgeous TV cabinet. I noticed it in your Christmas tree photo but didn't realize until these photos what its true purpose is. Gorgeous.

And boy, I love being nosy into other peoples' lives through their j-pegs, don't i??

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[February 13, 2009 |]

I'm impressed as hell that you got them to watch any of it! Even if I was serving banana milkshakes (what passes for a little drinky-winky with these guys)I think my guys might be too much their father's children and balk at watching a musical.

My college roommate's boyfriend summed it up once, and I've always quoted him since:

"The only problem with a musical is that they sing too much."

That said, I have made my kids listen to "Annie" (original cast), "A Chorus Line" (also original cast), and "Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" (sadly, not the original), so obviously I'm not the problem in this equation. (Psst! It's my sports jock husband, who listens to talk radio who's the infidel - SSSssssssss!)

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