“A woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle.”
The moment I heard about The
To Do List I had plans to go see it. Aubrey Plaza’s humor is enough to make
me watch any movie or TV show, but add to that the fact that it is about her completing
a sex to-do list? There aren’t even words.
After I saw the film, I realized that showing this film to a
teenager would be the perfect way to avoid the awkward sex conversation that
all parents fail at. I learned about sex three ways: playing Barbies, playing
the Sims, and the menstrual cycle talk my elementary school gave to 4th
grade girls. I don’t think my parents even talked to me about sex. My mom sort
of did when I started taking birth control. But it was nothing like Aubrey
Plaza’s character had with her mom.
I would like to be that open with my children, but I don’t
see myself ever being comfortable enough to hand my daughter a bottle of lube
or my son a pack of condoms. Something I’ve felt I would say is, “If you aren’t
comfortable going into a store to buy lube, condoms, or the morning after pill
yourself; you aren’t ready to have sex.” But truthfully the reason teenagers
are uncomfortable buying these products, or even asking their doctor about
birth control is that we are taught not to talk sex. Sex is for married couples
or just adults in general. But every adult did it before they were adults, so
what’s the big deal?
The To Do List is
sex positive. It shows boys being as emotional about sex and relationships as
much as girls are said to be, and it shows girls being just as nonchalant about
sex and relationships as boys are supposed to be. It’s honest about
expectations and questions about what sex is like when you are still learning
about it. It’s okay that you didn’t have great sex the first time. And I love
that it ends with her having an orgasm with a boy she actually likes, not the
creepy “perfect” guy.
Watching this movie with my son or daughter will be awkward
for them, but I think they’ll thank for me it. It’s hilarious and it will show
them how I feel about sex and how to talk about it without me having to go into
the horrifying details that remind them I have sex with their father.
I give The To Do List
a perfect 5 out of 5. Leave comments
and thoughts about my rating and the film itself in the comments.
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