I'm a 24 year old UCLA grad (class of 2010) and I loved this film. I love how at the beginning, the director shows the audience Sam's life chart--a chart she made showing what she's accomplished thus far in the field of science and in her personal life(i.e. "first science experiment" and "first kiss" "first breakup" etc). Her life chart also shows what age she would like to accomplish certain goals. Among this list is "get an updated wardrobe," "travel," "get married," "get a pet," "assistant professorship at Harvard," and "tenure at Harvard." I laughed when I saw this chart because I feel like my friends and I have similar charts and even if some of my friends don't have it on paper, I know we have at least talked about what age we intend to accomplish certain things. What I love about this film is its originality. This film is more than just a cute love story. This film is about a woman who has a passion for science and discovery. She has always felt strongly about the subject and certain about its methodology, until she cannot prove her theory which she needs in order to graduate from her doctorate program. When she has trouble in the lab, the doubt she feels about her experiment carries over into her personal relationship with her boyfriend, Ben. Sam likes to ask questions she's cautious and analytical. She wants to find a reason for everything. In one scene, her mom says "How do I know?...You've been asking that question since you could talk. It makes for a great scientist, but it's ruining your life, Sam."This is a great film about letting go of control and the need for proof. Like her boyfriend Ben says, "You don't need proof, you need faith." I used to hate science (I was awful at chemistry) but this movie made me feel so amazed at women in science. Watching this film actually made me curious about science much more than any article in TIME magazine could. I loved watching Sam create a lab in her own kitchen. For the first time ever, science looked fun to me. Through watching the movie, I understood why she was so passionate about it. There are so many great things about this film. I love the casting. I love that the main character, Sam, is not your picture-perfect-Blonde. I'm so tired of seeing movies where this super gorgeous girl gets the super hot guy. I think THAT is pretty predictable. I think the fact that Sam is a natural beauty and she still got a hottie like Sam says a LOT more. It says that he's attracted to her beauty and her passion. The fact that he proposed to her and was so certain about his feelings for her shows that SHE (even if she's not the next supermodel on the cover of Maxim) is the one for him. It shows that Sam being Sam (idiosyncrasies and all) is what makes her The One for him. At one point in the movie, when Sam is talking to a guy at the bar she says something like she suspected she was attractive but that she never received the attention you hear about "a man brining you flowers and all of that." Yet, at the end of the film, the audience realizes (just as Sam does) that what turns out to be more romantic than "flowers and all of that" is the fact that Ben loves that Sam checks her "sleeping stations." He accepts her, supports her dreams, and loves her for who she is.
I love the details that the director/writer focused on. For example, at the beginning we see a picture of Ben and Sam wearing yellow plastic ponchos in the rain. To me, this picture speaks a thousand words. It says that they are co-adventurers, which is exactly what Ben believes him and Sam to be. I love that Sam's mom is a hypochondriac. The fact that her mom is neurotic helps make Sam's upbringing not-so-perfect, which makes her more relatable. Plus, part of her own struggle probably has a lot to do with how she was raised and the types of thinking she was exposed to for the majority of her life.
I love this movie mainly for the following reasons:
The characters were so real and relatable. The actors who played them were fantastic.
The film made me feel respect for women in science
The film made me think about my own relationship and that I should be grateful that I have a boyfriend like Ben and I shouldn't push him away and I should just learn to "let go" and "have faith"
The film was written and directed by a woman. I am truly inspired!
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