Around the World in 80 Kisses Blog Tour

Around the World in 80 Kisses: Smooch Stop #9

The International Kissing Club by Ivy Adams is the story of four best friends: Piper, Cassidy, Mei, and Izzy--the misfits of Paris, Texas. Their whole lives, they’ve dreamed of escaping small-town life and seeing the world. So when Piper is the victim of an embarrassing prank that goes viral online, she gets the idea that the girls should escape via the school’s international exchange program, in search of fun, love and internet redemption.

Emily McKay along with writing partners Shellee Roberts and Tracy Deebs writes under the pseudonym Ivy Adams. They shop, gossip and watch movies in Austin, Texas.

Top Ten Movies to watch when you’re home alone sick.

I have to preface this blog with a story. Back when my hubby and I were newly married, I had to have eye surgery for a detached retina. Most people who detach a retina doing something cool and active, like sky diving or rappelling. Not me. My big hobbies are reading and baking and yoga. So I have no idea how I detached a retina. The surgery wasn’t bad, but the recovery is two weeks of “taking it easy” (i.e. lying on the sofa) and dilated eyes—which means no reading! Ack! No reading? Two weeks lying on the sofa without books?

So sent hubby out to rent me some fun romcoms to watch while I recovered. Those were his instructions: “fun romcoms.” He came back with Romeo + Juliet, Le Miserables, and Rob Roy. Seriously. That was his idea of fun romcoms. I don’t know if he just has a different idea of fun or if he didn’t yet know the meaning of the term romcom. And just for the record, only one of those movies made it onto my list.

The Good

These are the movies that will just cheer you up when you’re sick.

You’ve Got Mail – Romcoms just don’t get anymore charming. Plus, Tom Hanks shows up to take care of her while she’s sick. How cute is that!

The Little Mermaid – ‘Cause you just can feel down when Sebastian sings Under the Sea.

Anne of Green Gables/Anne of Avonlea – Hey, if you’re sick, you have time to wade through six hours of movie to get to a single chaste kiss ... it’s so worth it!

Pride and Prejudice – I’ve gone on record as admitting that I’d watch this story if someone was performing it with sock puppets. I just love Lizzie and Darcy in any form. So bring it on, whether it’s the Colin Firth BBC six-hour extravaganza or the more recent Keira Knightly version. Or Bridget Jones. Or even Lost in Austen (if you haven’t seen this yet, get thee to a Netflix! It’s totally charming). Or you if

want to stretch, try the YA retelling, Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging. Or, hell, you’re sick—watch all of ‘em!

The Bad

Here are the movies that you secretly want to rewatch every time you’re just a little bit blue. If you’re like me, it’s embarrassing. These movies are my secret shame. But I’m home alone, right? And I’m sick! No one can criticize my pedestrian taste under these circumstances!

Die Hard (All of them) – ‘Cause when you’re sick, sometimes you just want to see Bruce Willis blow shit up. That’s all there is to it.

The Twilight movies – These are movies I could never, ever, ever let my husband know how often I watch. I have them on iTunes and watch through Apple TV. I live in fear that someday Apple will add a feature that let’s you see what has been recently watched. But if I was sick, I couldn’t be held responsible for my bad taste in movies.

Shaun of the Dead/Hot Fuzz – Because Simon Pegg and Nick Frost are frickin’ hysterical. When you’re feeling your most zombie-like, you can start with Shaun of the Dead, then when you start to perk up, move on to Hot Fuzz. Warning: Don’t watch these once your cold has moved into your lungs. You don’t want to be coughing up a lung and laughing your ass off at the same time.

The Ugly

The ugly cry, that is. If you’re having a phlegm-fest anyway, you might as well have a good cry while your nose is already red. One note of warning: drink plenty of fluids. You have to really hydrate to make it through these movies.

Out of Africa – This is my go-to cry-till-you-wanna-puke movie. We all have one, right? Well this is mine. I can’t even tell you why. Once, when I watched it and there were others around, I cried so much someone asked if I needed them to call the doctor for me. True story. Now it’s strictly a home alone kind of movie. Plus, Meryl Streep gets syphilis in the middle. So, no matter how bad you feel, it’s still better than syphilis, right? Oh, and this is Robert Redford when he was still youngish and pretty hot.

Romeo + Juliet – Guns, tripping acid, and suicide, oh my!

Harry Potter 7.1 & 7.2 – From the beginning of 7.1 when Hermione obliviates her parents until the final battle with Voldemort, it’s just a sob-fest all the way through. (And btw, that scene with Hermione isn’t in the book, ‘cause it happens “off screen” ... and it’s one of the few moments where the movie is clearly better than the books.) Plus, there’s the great Snape-sob-fest. At the theater, I cried so much I had to time blowing my nose with the explosions. By the time it’s over, you’re crying not just because Fred died (or was it George?) but because ... it’s over! The movies based on the best books ever written ... and it’s over! It still breaks my heart. Is there some sort of HP anonymous group therapy I can join?

Leave a comment telling me you’re favorite movie to watch whilst abed and be entered to win the Around the World In 80 Kisses daily and weekly prize and also become eligible to win the Grand Prize, a Kindle Fire. For a list of all our Smooch Posts you can visit and earn more entries to win, visit us here.

Next Smooch Stop: Friday, December 9th at Mundie Moms