I watched the movie Failure to Launch where Sarah Jessica Parker plays the role of a professional dater who specializes in getting men to move out of their parents house. In the movie she is hired by a guy’s parents (the guy is played by Matthew McConaughey) to basically give them the confidence to leave the nest.
I know it seems a bit like a stretch, but it was a cute movie and there was one element of the movie that really stuck with me. Sarah’s character says that in order to get a guy to like you there are three things that must happen.
1. The guy must be able to help the girl with a problem of some sort. In the movie she pretends that her dog is dying and she’s very sad about it. Boo hoo.
2. The girl must meet the guy’s friends who need to like her enough to give an approving nod. A game of paintball was enough to get her the nod in the movie.
3. In order for a guy to really fall for a girl he needs to teach her something. In Failure to Launch he taught her to sail. Ahoy matey.
I had a similar experience not too long ago. I was meeting up with a guy at a bar. When I arrived he already had a drink and was back playing pool. I stood in line at the bar for something like 15 minutes and got nowhere. There were so many people the massive line just didn’t move.
He came up, pushed his way through, and within a couple of minutes had gotten me a lovely Bud Light. Piece number one of the formula finished.
We then headed over to the pool table where he had already started a game. I watched him play and complimented him on his “technique/ass” whenever I felt it was appropriate.
When it was time for the two of us to play together he kindly made suggestions on my game. I feigned disappointment in my abilities to “break” and asked him to show me how he does it. Gladly, he walked over and gave me the lo’ down.
Phase two completed.
Two Bud Lights and a game of pool later, a group of guys walked up to my date and began high-fiving him and then pretend hugging like guys do. I was a little thrown off to realize that I’d be meeting friends of my date, but after a couple of minutes I realized that it was a good thing. My date liked me and had brought in his entourage to confirm I was worth liking. The third item on the list was checked off.
I guess my situation isn’t really all that similar to the movie. I mean, he didn’t live with his parents, he certainly did’t look like Matthew McConaughey, and there were not paintballs or sail boats around. But he did manage to help me with my dilemma at the bar, help me to resolve my billiards “problem,” and introduce me to his friends.
Moral of the story: All of your love life dillemas can be resolved through chick flics and the Dating Tales profile writing service.
Related posts: