Favorite Movie

People get really uncomfortable when you ask what their favorite movie is. Of course you can't pick just one. You can't even pick just one within a specific genre.

I was in a meeting today where everyone was asked to name their favorite movie as part of a "getting to know you" exercise. Everyone qualified their answers:

"I love SO many movies..."

"I don't have a favorite, but..."

"My favorite changes every day, so today I'd say..."

"Matrix. No, Sound of Music.... wait, can I change my answer to The Departed?"

Look, people, we realize you like more than one movie. Relax. Just throw a title out there.

Of course, the problem is that in this kind of setting, what you select defines you as a person because no one in the room knows you. You will forever be "the tall girl in editorial who likes mafia movies," for example.

Of course, I was nervous about naming just one movie. My first reaction was to go general, pick a safe bet out of my giant list of favorites: Godfather. Gone With the Wind. Then I decided that was too stereotypical. Maybe I'd say the Big Lebowski, the Princess Bride, or True Romance.

None of those movies defines me, though Princess Bride comes close, I guess. I typically judge a movie to be a 'favorite' if I could watch it repeatedly. For that reason, I ended up copping out and saying "something by Quentin Tarentino." Quentin Tarentino is a pretty well-liked moviemaker, so it was general enough, but made me feel unique enough because his movies may not be the go-to pick of many females. And for sure, I could watch Reservoir Dogs, True Romance, Pulp Fiction and Kill Bill over and over. Hell, I even like the movies Tarentino simply lends his name to like The Protector.

But had I chosen just one of the aforementioned obscenity-laced blood baths, what would that have said about me?