The Gap
I recently bought a new copy of Bridget Jones’s Diary on DVD. It’s the new, pretty one with an external sleeve and the heart-shaped cut-out. I was at Target, and it was $9, right next to the West Wing DVDs I was buying for my dad. The thing is, I already own Bridget. I’ve had it for years. It’s one of my most-watched movies. So why do I need a second copy? Because I know my VCR is going to die some day.
Yes. You heard that correctly. I own a VCR. Most of my favorite movies from adolescence through college are on VHS, because who had a DVD player in 1995? Straddling the technology gap has been tricky, though. I know that my tapes won’t last forever, and it’s the knowledge that my VCR is not immortal that keeps me on the hunt for replacement DVDs. Some day, those spindles will grind to a halt, and I’ll be left with no way to watch my scratchy copy of The Cutting Edge. What a sad day that will be.
I find that the best place to find DVDs to replace my tapes is the end of the cashier line at Target: there’s nothing like going in for some toothpaste and finding that $9 Sandra Bullock movie as well, and knowing you’ll now have clean teeth and a reliable dose of cute. Costco’s not bad either, though the stock is unpredictable. It’s a strike-while-the-iron-is-hot kind of situation. Actually, the DVD-replacement business as a whole is primarily a spur-of-the-moment thing. I have no desire to spend hours searching for a $20 copy of something I already own; instead, I rely on serendipity to bring me what I’m lacking. My mission is to finish replacing my tapes before the VCR dies, so as not to miss a single viewing of Miss Congeniality. It’s a race against time and technology, and victory shall be mine. Just as long as Target keeps up the good work.
January 4th, 2007 at 9:28 pm
I have Bridget on VHS as well, and should get my butt over to Target because it has been viewed many, many times.
January 5th, 2007 at 4:44 am
I totally saw The Cutting Edge on DVD whilst Christmas shopping. Had I known, I would have bought it for you. I didn’t know if it still held that certain kind of appeal…
January 5th, 2007 at 11:26 am
Farley, I’ve decided over the course of many, many viewings that Bridget is one of my favorite movies. I will never, ever get tired of the fight scene. “It’s a fight! A real fight!
Heh.
Get thee to Target!
January 5th, 2007 at 11:30 am
Ben,
It’s not so much that I want to watch it all the time, or anything, but what would my movie collection be without it? It was the original. I think it was the first video I ever owned, and I think you know how often I watched it. It’s another pick-it-up-at-Target-for-less-than-$10 kind of movie. As a friend of mine once said, though, “I hope I never outgrow the appeal of The Cutting Edge.” Hear, hear.
January 5th, 2007 at 3:26 pm
Just curious. Were you as disappointed in the sequel as I was? It was like trying to remake the first but not nearly as great.