Ramping up to the holiday movie season, I find myself in need of a cozy comfort watch. Luckily, Kathleen Turner and her silver lamé party dress are here to take me back to a time when movies about female mid-life crises were mainstream, and high school reunions were an actual thing people still attended (the horror). This week, we’re flashing back to 1960 via 1986 with Peggy Sue Got Married (Disc/Download).
I love time-travel, I love nostalgia, and I love the 1960s, so of course I also love the time-travel romance Peggy Sue Got Married. However, I didn’t expect my love to grow even stronger now that I’m adult-Peggy’s age. This year would have been my twenty-fifth high school reunion, and like her, I have a bad habit of looking at my life through the lens of what my teenage self expected it to be. By returning to the past, Peggy learns the “mistakes” she made in high school were simply the choices that led her where she was always meant to go. In that way, they weren’t mistakes at all. Personally, I find it hilarious that she goes back in time and invents pantyhose, only for my generation to come along and kill it. If this was millennials’ way of fixing a rift in the space-time continuum, you’re welcome.
Back in 1960, Peggy Sue and her friends fantasized about being housewives on the same cute little street, raising their cute little children. What they fail to mention is that they would probably need a cocktail to get through this cute little boring day. In keeping with the mid-century time period, I’m making a girly drink Peggy Sue and her gal pals might have enjoyed. While watching Peggy Sue Got Married, I recommend drinking a Pink Squirrel.
Pink Squirrel
¾ oz white crème de menthe
¾ oz crème de noyaux
1 ½ oz heavy cream
Garnish: grated nutmeg
Combine ingredients in a shaker with ice. Shake well to chill and combine, then strain into a Nick & Nora glass. Garnish with grated nutmeg.
Director Francis Ford Coppola made this movie a family affair with the addition of nasal-voiced nephew Nicolas Cage, and Miss “I’m way too cool for this production” little Sofia Coppola. Fittingly, Peggy’s ability to see her deceased relatives is where the film’s heart shines through. What wouldn’t any of us give to go back in time and see our loved ones when they were young, vibrant, and alive? You can keep your high school reunions; I prefer family reunions. Cheers!
