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October 24, 2005
Sometimes You Just Need a Good Sappy Movie
Girls rarely get to see a movie that focuses on growing up female. For that reason, even as an adult, I find it refreshing when a movie like "Because of Winn Dixie" comes out. A magical children's movie with wonderful themes about isolation, friendship, and love, the film follows Opal and her adopted dog Winn Dixie as they try to find their place in the world.
The movie is set in small-town Florida - a Florida few people really know unless you grew up in the state. I know that when I tell people (i.e., tourists) that most of the places they go are not even half the story of what Florida is like, they stare blankly at me. "Because of Winn Dixie" made me smile (and cry, ok, I'm a sucker for sentimentality) because it takes a standard coming of age story and creates magic from the seemingly banal. The misfit characters rediscover the meaning of community - and it is all because of Winn Dixie.
Posted by smashmonster at October 24, 2005 08:15 PM