I used to be such a liar.
I constantly lied to myself that I did not like romance. I only did this because growing up with two older brothers compelled me to think that I could only enjoy “sporty” books and movies. I could not be a girl infatuated with princesses falling in love. Yet, I would still catch myself hiding under a blanket with my iPad, watching what I convinced myself I was not allowed to watch.
Growing up, I slowly accepted my adoration for romance. It started with me reading books in middle school that were what I like to call “sporty romances.” Then I was watching love-triangle TV shows, but what confirmed my infatuation for romance was the movie Beautiful Disaster.
Starring the beloved Dylan Sprouse and Virginia Gardner, Beautiful Disaster had me rethinking my standards for romance. This movie follows Abby Abernathy (played by Gardner) who is escaping her toxic life with her dad in Las Vegas. She found herself trying to restart her life at college.
Inevitably, she meets the stereotypical “bad boy,” Travis Maddox played by Sprouse, who is on a mission to make her fall for him. Travis’s master plan involves Abby losing a bet and moving in with him for a month.
Before this movie, I was most definitely on team Cole Sprouse because of his performance in Riverdale and co-starring with his brother (Dylan Sprouse) in one of my childhood shows, The Suite Life of Zack & Cody. Now, after watching Beautiful Disaster, I am, and will always be, team Dylan.
Sprouse does a perfect job of playing Travis. Travis is portrayed as a troublemaker, but ultimately he is the sweetest, best-looking movie star I have seen.
He set my standards so high that my boyfriend should be worried.
I was waiting for my best friend to get off work when I stumbled upon this movie. I had never heard of it and had seen no advertising of it. I did not think it would be worth watching considering I had heard nothing about it even though it came out this year. Nonetheless, I decided to play it as background noise when I did my APUSH homework. When I tell you I did not do any APUSH homework, I did not read a single word.
It usually takes me a while before I get invested in a movie, but within the first 10 minutes of Beautiful Disaster, my glance was taped to the screen.
My best friend is my favorite person in the world, but when she told me I had to leave to go pick her up, therefore making me pause the movie, she became my least favorite person (not actually). I did not want to stop watching. At all.
It is out of the ordinary for us to kick off our hangout with a movie; I was so invested in the movie that I convinced her to finish it with me. Just like me, she became obsessed. The movie officially converted me into a proud die-hard romance-lover; it was a steamy romance with a hint of action, ultimately ending with an unexpected twist. I wish I could watch Beautiful Disaster for the first time again.
