Product: Endless Love [VHS] (1981)
Rating: 1.0
Chick Flick - Obsession, Addiction, and Free Will
I enjoyed Brooke Shields in The Blue Lagoon, so I ordered a VHS copy of Endless Love to see more of her. This movie has a low-budget quality to it, including grainy picture with poor sound. Others have laid out the plot and I agree with those who pointed out the weaknesses, which made it difficult for me to watch all the way through. Sex and love can get confusing, because before long a pair-bonding type of addiction occurs. Too bad this basic message gets lost in the crazy plot of this chick flick.My experience of dating the girl next door (both of us previously married) is one example of the addictive nature of a sexual relationship: I always had reservations about her and they grew as the relationship continued. After more than a year of this, I moved to another apt to test the relationship and we began dating others. Much to my surprise, I found I was stuck on her (i.e., missing the sex), even though I knew she wasn't right for me; and it took quite some time to get over it. If we had just dated without going all the way, it never would have lasted as long as it did.So I learned the hard way: the longer you can hold off on sex, the more likely the relationship will be based on love (this may in fact explain why so many marriages fail). For those who haven't seen this movie, don't waste your time. And for those who want to understand why sex is addictive, I recommend the book by Helen Fisher: Why We Love - The Nature and Chemistry of Romantic Love. In it she talks about the addictive effects of dopamine and norepinephrine, which get released when we do many pleasurable things and can be confused with emotions. Also more recent studies have shown oxytocin to be the hormone of attachment and empathy, i.e., the pair-bond that is well known in biology. Thus decisions we make early in a relationship can limit our "free will" in the end.