When I was a little girl, the most exciting part of my Friday afternoons was going to the video store with my mom. After she picked me up from school she would help me choose whatever movies that I would like to watch over the course of the weekend. Growing up in Savannah I always dreamed what life outside my bubble was like and used watching films as a way to escape before I became old enough to discover what life was like on my own. Being awkward and different wasn't easy for me. I was the 1st girl to get "boobies" and was a C cup in the 5th grade. It seems I was blooming before everyone else, and most of all I had dark hair and fair skin, a far cry from most of the other girls that surrounded me who were tan and blonde, much like Barbie. The first time I rented "Welcome Home Roxy Carmichael " It spoke to me, in a language that I could definitely relate to. Released in 1990. below is the plot description as given by wikipedia.
"The film's main character is a 15-year-old girl named Dinky Bossetti (Ryder). Dinky was adoped as a baby. She appears to have little acceptance in her social circle, although it is not obvious which came first - her antisocial attitude or her being rejected by her peers. Her adoptive mother is disappointed that the daughter she chose has no interest in "feminine" things, such as makeup and nice clothing. Her classmates ostracise, taunt, and throw things at her regularly. Dinky finds solace in her "Ark," a small cabin-boat beached on a lake shore. In and around the boat Dinky has collected a menagerie of abandoned animals.
As the story begins, Dinky is befriended by a new school guidance counselor, who recognizes her intelligence and spirit. Dinky becomes convinced that she is the abandoned daughter of Roxy Carmichael, a minor movie star who left town for Hollywood 15 years ago after giving birth to a baby girl out of wedlock. Miss Carmichael has been invited to return to town to assist in the dedication of a new municipal building, and she has accepted. The news of her return stirs up old jealousies and insecurities: old schoolmates start acting in irrational ways, while Denton Webb (Jeff Daniels), the husband she abandoned when she left town, becomes so obsessed by the idea of her return that his wife moves out. As the date for Roxy's return draws nearer, Dinky becomes more and more desperate to prove that she is Roxy's daughter, visiting the star's childhood home (which is maintained as a museum), and obsessively questioning Denton about what happened the night she left, believing that Roxy will take her away to a new life. On the day that Roxy is due to arrive, Dinky packs her suitcase and arrives at the welcoming ceremony in a beautiful dress. A limousine draws up, but a man gets out with a note of explanation: Roxy has not come back. Before the limousine can drive away, Dinky runs after it. Denton catches up with her and tells her the whole story (having realized the reason for Dinky's obsession with Roxy): although Roxy did have a baby, and did leave it with him, the baby died. Roxy is not Dinky's mother. Left with nothing, Dinky is rescued by Gerald Howells, a popular boy who has become increasingly interested in her. At first, Dinky is suspicious of his interest, but the end of the film shows them together in a relationship where she finally holds the upper hand as things return to normal in the town.
The elusive Roxy Carmichael
Roxy Carmichael is never fully shown in the movie, nor is there ever any explanation given for her fame (with the exception of a reference to "The Roxy Carmichael School For Cosmetology And Drama"). We do learn that she once dated a musician who wrote a song about her which became a nationwide hit. He gave the air rights to Roxy, so she "gets paid every time the song is played" on the radio; this is apparently the source of her considerable wealth."
I remember one particular scene in the movie when Dinky put pink laces in her black combat boots, as a way of finding her own "feminine path", without giving up her strong tough girl side. The next day I did the same thing as a nod to the movie that now became the only one I wanted to watch every friday afternoon. I rented the movie out so much the guy who owned the video store gave it to me eventually. I still have this VHS and am suprized the tape inside of it hasn't broke. Its very symbolic to me, I'm different, and I have grown to accept that. I'm girly, I love pink , but I'm still tough. It took me a while to grown into my own skin, and when I was 10 yrs old I had this movie and the vision of the people who made it to thank. I hope to one day help other young girls love who they are inside. Because if you love who you are everyone else will too.
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