Maggie’s Hotter than Frozen Hot Chocolate, on a Friday in the Fall

During this time of year I find it hard not to think about summer movies of the past. Autumn looms, leaves start to fall and I’ll think of fin de siècle New York, and Michelle Pfeiffer’s Melanie Parker in a madcap movie crafted in Manhattan.The 90s were a happier time, a time when American sweethearts headlined romantic comedies on Independence Day. One Fine Day opened in the UK on the 4th of July 1997. I binged on it all summer, seeing it multiple times.Addicted to Love entered my world the following month. This eagerly awaited Meg movie marking just the latest stage in a tug-of-war between Ryan and Michelle Pfeiffer, one where they were using my heart strings in lieu of a rope.Now I freely admit when people used to ask me the age old question, “who’s your favourite actress” I usually said Michelle, but after Addicted to Love, I was torn. Sure, Pfeiffer’s Melanie was mind-bogglingly beautiful, Yes Ryan’s Maggie was crazy and scatterbrained, but life with her would never be predictable.Maggie or Melanie was a nice choice to pretend to have. Gazing at them as they walked through streets where I’d never been, it was easy to dream of these characters turning a corner and bumping into each other, since they shared the same 90’s New York ethos; the vernacular, the attitudes, the hair, everything.This all fits in with my theory that every film is just part of one big movie, moments from each of them swirling around in my mind until I struggle to tell any of them apart. This may sound a little absurd, but it’s not as barmy as the fact that I just wrote yet another piece on Addicted to Love and One Fine Day.

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