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2003-06-16
1:16 p.m.

Reason number five hundred and sixty four on the list of why I am feeling older: I love documentaries.

This is a very recent development for me. I didn't use to like documentaries at all. I found them very boring and long and very boring. My love affair with the documentary film is right up there with my newfound admiration of NPR, non-fiction books, and news programs on channels other than MTV. (I used to call "The Week in Rock," "the news.") National Public Radio. Non-fiction reading. It's all very grown-up, if you ask me.

I guess it all started with the Michael Moore. I was a fan of his when I saw him speak a couple of years ago, but "Bowling for Columbine" really sealed the deal for me. I love that movie. The message he was sending out was amazing, and the fact that I saw it in a crowded movie theater with an audience who appreciated it made the experience even better.

I have since seen a handful of the popular documentaries and thought that they were all really good. Sure, "Comedian," "The Kid Stays in the Picture," and "Standing in the Shadows of Motown" are all documentaries with a show-biz theme, but they are not fluff. They are still documentaries. I have decided, though, that if I am really going to declare to the world my love of non-fiction film, I should at least try to see some that go a little more in-depth.

That's why I am looking forward to "Winged Migration," and "Capturing the Friedmans." The film I saw yesterday, though, really rocked my world. Let me just begin by saying that I rarely cry at the movies. So, you can imagine my surprise when I found my eyes filling up when I saw "Spellbound." Who knew a movie following eight kids on their way to the National Spelling Bee would move me to tears? I was not alone, either. I could detect sniffles from other people in the theater. (Just so you think I'm not some sort of emotional freak.) The movie was just so good. I laughed, I cried, I'm surprised I didn't pee my pants.

So, there you have it. I love documentaries, and now I apparently also cry at the movies. I am getting old, and also maybe turning into a woman...