I watched this on HBO few weeks ago and it is still disturbing me. There is something about this movie, the bigger issue, that stays there at the back of my mind, making me say to myself: Okay Cekmi, just let it out, no matter how blasphemous it would sound to your readers. So, here we go.

Firstly, I love Jennifer Gardner, a lot. Her acts in Alias are simply stunning and heartbreaking. Secondly, I just love those stories which involve anything going to the past or to the future. It is a very electrifying and exciting concept. It demands the attention to every little detail in the past or present that matters and could cause something significant in our lives. How could I forget Back to the Future, Terminator, Timeline, just to name a few (but not Star Wars, sorry folks). This obsession of going to the past or future gives me such goosebumps. It makes me appreciate the small things of my present life that may affect bigger things in the future. I see the bigger picture, rather than being stucked to the labyrinth. Cause-and-effect principles seem bigger and alive.

Now, what makes me so uneasy with 13 Going on 30 is the ending part of it: the 13-turn-30 Jenna got back her not-so-impressive-in-the-first-impression boyfriend (in a reincarnated life) whom she dumbed before during her childhood (in a pre-reincarnted life). She managed to get what she wanted of what was not supposed to be hers in the first place. It is not fair! Everybody should be given this chance in their lives. Meaning, if we are given these rare opportunities to see how ruined our lives are in the future, I bet the world would be a better place for us to rejoice, not to suffer. Then, what is fair? God should enable us to see our future, our Hell or Heavan.

All right ustazs, it sounds profane and apostate, but imagine, a lousy driver, after seeing himself crippled in a hospital after a tragic accident, will definitely drive carefully. A shopaholic, after seeing herself fully bankrupt in the future, would save every penny she earns. Imagine, a lazy student in English class, after seeing himself rejected for every interview session he attends in the future, will start writing blogs in English. Oh, imagine I am 13 and given a chance to travel to see my life at the age of 30 (which is now!), and then go back to my teenage years. What would I do to fix things in my life?

I would learn how to kick a ball
I would be a very good brother to my siblings
I would send letters regularly to my childhood friends
I would say “thank you, I love you” to my mum everyday
I would replenish my novel collections every month
I would put three different universities in my top three choices in Borang UPU
I would pursue my first degree in Bachelor of Language & Literature
I would never mingle with Dunhill dragons
I would be a member of a fitness club right after graduation
I would not sign the application form for a credit card
I would not listen to any salesman who persuades me to buy a Proton
I would be patient enough to save money before going for any personal loan
I would ask Jimi to teach me how to see a movie with a not-so-dumb mind

But hey, I am not 13-going-on-13 Jenna. The truths are always ugly. Pass.

Labels: cekmi's lunatic philosophy