[It's pretty obvious that the average CollegeCandy reader has some very strong opinions. Opinions that she likes to share with everyone on the site. We love a strong woman (unless she happens to be charging at us with her fists raised), so we thought we'd give her a real forum to discuss her thoughts, feelings, and perspectives. Every Friday I'll be featuring a hot topic (like fandom!) and leaving it up to you, the readers, to duke it out. So, read it and get your debate on in the comments section below!]

We’ve all killed a few hours (*cough*Calculus*cough*) imagining that amazing guy that would somehow walk into our lives – you know, the one with the suave of George Clooney, the charm of Joseph Gordon-Levitt and the abs of Ryan Kwanten (hello, Jason Stackhouse!) – and magically turn all those microwave-ramen-days into a romantic comedy dream. Turns out though, most of us actually believe he exists.

OK, maybe not quite as awesome as we dreamed, but still, according to a new, poll two-thirds of us believe that our soul mate is out there and that we’ll find him some day.

On the one hand, I totally get that. Assuming that you didn’t spend your formative years as part of a remote tribe in the depths of the Amazon (and probably even if you did), you were probably raised on movies, TV shows and books filled with epic love stories. And if all of those quirky girls can find THE guy who will love them and make life a fairy tale, why shouldn’t someone nice and normal (mumbles) like me be able to do it too. Sure, we realize it’s not going to play out exactly like the movies, but it’s not really the big kiss-in-the-rain-to-the-tune-of-a-Top-4o-love-song scenes that matter, it’s the love. Moreover, those stories always make it seem like the girl who “settles” – who picks a nice, smart, handsome guy who loves her but isn’t “the one” – is making a huge mistake and ruining her happiness forever. No, we’re not all four years-old, we know that all of those tales aren’t real life, but they do on a subconscious level, form our ideas about what love should be. Read More »

Sick of the cliche Kate Hudson/Matthew McConaughey rom-coms chock full of extended movie montages? Sigh. Me too. (Unless I’m PMSing and in the mood for a good cry.) Well prepare yourself for something new, ladies.

Nice Guy Johnny, written and directed by Edward Burns, answers the question on every girl’s mind. How far would you go for love? Are you willing to quit a job you’re passionate about so that you can make more money ? What would you be willing to give up to be with your significant other forever? Finally someone asks these hard hitting questions in a way that doesn’t fit into the typical rom-com formula. Read More »

Looks like Lindsay’s heading to the clink.

Rom-coms even your boyf will enjoy.

It’s all about the (adorable) cork this season.

Wanna look like Gaga? It might be dangerous!

Ever wanna know what it’s like to sleep with Hugh Hefner?

Before The Bachelor, there were these low-budget dating shows.

In an ongoing attempt to make my life as awkward as possible, I have begun an intimate texting affair with a complete stranger.   Well,  he’s not a complete stranger. I did meet him at a bar in the beginning of the month. Unfortunately, I met him after I chugged six liters of vodka, took 17 Jager bombs, and injected 9 kinds of tequila straight into my veins. There’s nothing like waking up in your bathtub with trackmarks on your arm and a text from a strange number asking “where did you go, I thought we were getting married.”

My mind went through the events of the previous night. I remember hazing myself into drinking a gallon of alcohol. I remember flailing my arms, jumping up and down, and pretending like that was socially acceptable dancing. I remember making my friends (as well as nearby strangers) take tons of close-up pictures with me. And finally I remember meeting a guy in a red flannel shirt and promising I would marry him. Not too shabby for a Monday night. Read More »

I wonder if that looks good under a cotton tshirt?

NYU students have taken over!

Bikini waxes hurt everyone.

Rick Santelli hates Obama’s housing plan.

Celebrities with twins you never knew existed.

Octomom says no to reality show? Yeah right.

Is leopard really back?

The carb lowdown.

Best beer glass ever.

How cute is Kim Kardashian’s dress?

Julia Roberts is dunzo with rom-coms.

Eat healthy all week!

I wonder if that looks good under a cotton tshirt?

NYU students have taken over!

Bikini waxes hurt everyone.

Rick Santelli hates Obama’s housing plan.

Celebrities with twins you never knew existed.

Octomom says no to reality show? Yeah right.

Is leopard really back?

The carb lowdown.

Best beer glass ever.

How cute is Kim Kardashian’s dress?

Julia Roberts is dunzo with rom-coms.

Eat healthy all week!

It was a Saturday night. We were out for a girls’ night, just looking to have dinner and loosen up with the sort of movie we can’t drag our boyfriends to. Under the influence of estrogen and bad decisions, we decided to go see what looked like a cute movie, just something to keep us in the spirit of femininity.

Wrong. All wrong. Wrong movie, wrong time, wrong situation. In all fairness, I kinda knew what was coming, having heard about the book well before the movie was even in the works. I didn’t like the idea of it then, but somehow between two weeks ago and last Friday, I decided that I needed to see the movie with the bestie as a girls’ night out scenario. Here’s why I advise that everyone without ironclad self-esteem skip the movie, at least until you can see it in the comfort of your home.

1. If you’re into escapism through upbeat movies, this is not the one for you. After two hours of ‘He Just Not That Into You’, not a single one of the main characters’ plot-lines even resembled positive. I was literally crawling out of my seat trying to salvage the remainder of a happy evening as commitments combusted, relationships crumbled, and ruthless reality checks conspired to sink the Girls’ Night. The only reason I made it through is because I had to see if the writers would actually throw the audience a bone and make a happy ending. Read More »

(We’re back with another weekly installment of G.W.W.E. [Guys We Wanna Eff]. It’s official: the winter doldrums have set in, and who better to cozy up in bed with than Harry Connick, Jr.?)

Very few stars these days can legitimately claim to be top-notch actors and musicians, but Harry Connick, Jr. is certainly one of them. A stylish crooner with a killer smile to boot, Harry puts the swagger in suave. His dinner-jacket-and-slacks style makes me want to slip into my best little black dress, some Chanel No. 5, recline on a velvet chaise…and eff his brains out.

Originally a professional jazz pianist, Harry got his big break arranging the soundtrack for everyone’s favorite rom-com, When Harry Met Sally. Seriously, hottie Harry’s eff-me-tender tunes made WHMS my number-one rainy-day chick flick, hands down. His work even won him his first Grammy! To date, he’s released several albums of music, from jazz to Christmas classics. Harry’s the kind of guy who will take you by the hand and sing your sweet little soul to the heavens of effable merriment, a true gent if I do say so myself.

Of course, his acting career has truly taken off over the past few years. His guest-starring stint on Will and Grace had me so glued to the television (Sexy Harry? My fave sitcom? Almost better than a good, long eff.) that I totally bought the series on DVD to relive every effable moment at my convenience.  Meanwhile, he’s broken out onto the big screen, with starring roles in Hope Floats, P.S. I Love You, and his latest release, New In Town, which opens today.

And of course, Harry wouldn’t be a great eff if he didn’t have a heart. He’s been a huge supporter of disaster relief programs in his native New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.  Yes, I know he’s married with children, but I’ve gotta say, if you ever need some (effable) relief of your own, Harry, you know who to call.

I fancy myself quite a connoisseur of romance. I am a girl who has seen nearly every romantic comedy in existence, whose reading materials of choice consist of happily ever after type articles and books, and who is able to read a romantic undertone into nearly every song she hears. I suppose to say I am a romance connoisseur is an understatement; I am a love-junkie.

It can, and has been argued that the fine line between the real-life reality and expectation of romance, and the “fiction” type I hold on to seems to be a line I have blurred—possibly to an unrecognizable point. To put it simply, I think I might have a problem.

My name is Rory and I am addicted to romance. I am addicted to the idea of romance—the indestructible, all consuming passion for another person. I have fallen in love with every romantic gesture, declaration, and scene from every romantic comedy, I have swooned at every love song written, and I have melted with every romantic note or Hallmark card I’ve seen. I have used romantic comedies, sitcom relationships, happily ever after ending stories and love songs to develop my idea of love that is, well, completely and utterly unrealistic. Read More »

What is a classic? Some consider the word in its most traditional form when using it in the context of film: movies made over fifty years ago, usually in black and white, usually overflowing with critical and popular esteem.

I like to think of the term in a broader sense, disregarding the time in which it was produced and whether or not it won any awards or are on any ‘best-of’ lists. No, a classic to me is something that has or will stand the test of time because of its brilliance, or its entertainment value, or its strong characterization, etc. And a movie like Shaun of the Dead has all of these things and more.

At first, it may seem like a silly zombie movie, but Shaun of the Dead, in all of its silliness, may actually be one of the most perfect movies ever made.

Shaun is a lazy television salesman, too caught up in the routine of his life to notice that he’s on the verge of losing his girlfriend, he’s neglecting his family, and, oh yeah, there is a horrible zombie outbreak. Fighting off the zombies in his favorite pub, The Winchester, Shaun has to come to terms with his own mortality and the loss of the people that he loves. At its heart, Shaun of the Dead is a movie about accepting one’s adulthood, and all the varied and often scary implications of that.

Going back to the idea of ‘classic’, if we apply the idea of the ‘classic’ movie or literary structure to the film, it has very strongly delineated acts and the main character, Shaun, goes through an inner emotional journey that reflects and is affected by his greater outer journey. This is some Chekov-level sh*t. Read More »