40in40 – The Cider House Rules
My Netflix rating: 4/5 stars
After watching this movie, I attempted to write a commencement speech. I thought the story of Homer Wells and his foray into the “real world” would inspire me to write my own motivational story. This is what I came up with so far:
Students of the Class of 2009, Go out and see the ocean.
And… that’s it.
I wanted to say something along the lines of, “The world of a grownup is vast and endless. Opportunity is at every corner and the possibilities are limitless. Be sure to catch a glimpse of all of that before finally settling down. Be sure to see the ocean at least once to get some perspective.” And in saying so, I wanted to be as funny as Conan O’Brien. And as inspirational as J.K. Rowling.
But, you see, I’m obviously not as experienced as either of those two. In order to commission others to be grownups, maybe I should have a few more notches on my own belt. Like Rowling, I could talk about the benefits of failure, but I have had few. Like O’Brien, my exciting rise to the top could be a focal point, but I am still very lowly. It seems that the life of twenty five year old movie buff isn’t really worth talking about.
[beat]
The Cider House Rules was an excellent story. It was a decent two-hour feature film, but it was an excellent story. We followed a young man, Homer Wells, who was graduating from the orphanage to discover what else is out there. Before he even gets to his destination (that word seems so definite, although we understand that there really is no final destination), we sees the far-stretching ocean. See? That’s good story telling. Before we get to the plot, we see all of its potential first.
In many ways, the movie was like the two commencement speeches mentioned above. Hell, it was like every commencement speech we’ve heard and remembered. “Go out and experience the ‘real world.’ Don’t be afraid of failure. Go and hook up with a hot girl.” I’m sure that last point was part of Conan’s story and I wouldn’t be surprised of Rowling had a similar experience as well. But, I digress. In many ways, the movie was like the two commencement speeches mentioned above. Hell, it was like every commencement speech – wait, you’ve already heard this. But then again, you’ve heard every commencement speech about a dozen times. They’re all the same, aren’t they? Hold our attention for just long enough, long enough to deliver a good life lesson, a life lesson that’s entirely forgettable once we’re in the real world.
But in one way, the movie is not like the other lessons. I have one knock on the story of TCHR: why the hell does Homer Wells go back to the orphanage? If this was really a talk you heard at graduation, it would go something like this, “…and after all of that, young graduates, I have one last piece of advice. Make sure you come back here. End up right where you left off. Crawl back to your hometown because the world out there is gonna chew you up and spit you back out. Don’t worry, we’ll welcome you back with open arms because we know it’s scary out there. That’s why we never tried ourselves!” How can this movie celebrate such a sad ending for Homer Wells? Isn’t there some pity for a person whose fate leads him to the one place he can never seem to escape? Even the poor apple pickers get to travel up and down the East Coast…
Alas, before we judge everyone else, let’s try and remember the moral of the story. Out there, for everybody, is a calling for greater success. Not just “great success,” but “greater” success. We can always achieve more. Regardless of our circumstance, wherever we end up, we can do and be more. But, in order to realize that, we need to get out there first. Homer Wells came back to the orphanage a changed man, after learning a great lesson. The world doesn’t end at the city borders; it stretches far out into the horizon. And, sometimes, it does circle back to the same point, but it’s a different world after you’ve been around it once or twice. That’s why we, you and I both, need to go out and see the ocean.
“I’d love to go with you guys, but I have to move on.” –Homer Wells
Shoutout to Jenn for inspiring me to try and write a commencement speech.
Filed under: 40in40 | 1 Comment
Tags: cider house rules, commencement speech, conan o'brien, gay wizards
Good work Tom. You said it right, homer came back a changed man.