Let's remedy the situation.

Does anyone ever play this game? where you mention a book or a movie or whatever--a flavor of Doritos--to a friend, and the friend shakes her/his head and says, "I've never read/seen/eaten that." And you're all, Whaaaaaa? And they're all, I know.

Sometimes the game develops a defense/offense flavor, as in:

Me: You've never seen Rushmore??????

Friend: Yeeeeeaaah, but you've never seen [X].

and then you're all, Well-played, Friend. Check, and mate.  

But seriously, there are plenty of movies I should have seen and haven't. Books I would enjoy but haven't read. What are they? You know, probably, but I may not.

Here are a few that are on my mind:

1. my son feels strongly I should see The Weather Man, starring Nicolas Cage. He has been saying this for literally years. (He has also been asking me to read Ender's Game, which I have now accomplished.)
2. My friend (see above) feels I should have seen Closer and also The Door in the Floor. The first, I think we didn't see because it looked depressing and upsetting. My son basically pshawed this reasoning away this morning (we were driving around, getting stuff taken care of so he could send off his visa application so he can jet off to China in a month).

"You guys are weird," he said. "You see sad and upsetting movies all the time."

True enough, I had to concede. "But you have to gear up for them," I said (in our defense).

"That movie was probably in theaters for a month. You couldn't gear up for it in a month?"

He wasn't even trying to say that he thought it was that great, just that it was up our alley. True enough, again. Well-played, Friend. Check, and mate.

So that's three movies that go on the list.

In a related matter: I cannot reconstruct the logic by which we did not watch West Wing. Another friend is watching this now on Netflix and is admiring its writing and acting and pretty much everything about it, which I recall was what people admired about it--everything, that is--when it was on television in the first place. But nope, we didn't watch it. Why? I don't know. What else might we have been watching instead? Who can say.

Anyway, the point is this: what books, television shows, and/or movies should I watch that you think I may not have seen? I'm making a list. I'm gonna check stuff off of it. I need your help!

As a favor to you, I'm going to tell you that you should see The Kings of Summer, The Way, Way Back, and Twenty Feet From Stardom. All are currently at the Salt Lake Film Society (some of them are elsewhere), and you won't regret them. Plus: movie A/C, which is the best A/C, because there is a movie to go with it, and possible popcorn.

Don't forget: help me rectify my terrible, unforgivable oversights! In the comments!