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It was nothing like the high school I went to, since mine wasn't in New York and I don't consider myself part of high-society, but the idea that people have bad intentions when it comes to love and friendship isn't so uncommon. After watching the movie and allowing its shallow mindset to sink into mine, I went to college in Boston and immediately started dating a popular bartender. I was a shy little guy, lost in a new city without family or friends, much like Annette. While she didn't want any part of the drama that was Kathryn and Sebastian, I had no problem letting someone who knew the ins-and-outs of the club world take me under their wing. Oh, to be naïve and young again. I was in all the anti-sex-drugs-cigarettes-and-fun after school programs growing up, so rebelling during college should have been expected. If only I put a little more thought into the expectations of who I chose to date. Bartenders of the nightlife don't usually have the best intentions themselves and are surrounded by beautiful people who throw around money (and body parts) to get stronger drinks served faster, which often leads those bartenders to be...

Unfaithful (2002)

Just before this was released, Richard Gere had a string of box office duds. Autumn in New York, Dr. T and the Women, and Mothman Prophecies were all a big yaaaaawns in my book, as they were for most critics. Then came Unfaithful. Not only did it bring the hard working actor back to critical acclaim, it sky-rocketed the career of his costar, Diane Lane. She received an Academy Award nomination for her turn as an unhappy wife who cheats on her husband (Gere) with the sultry foreigner (Olivier Martinez) who helps her up off the street after she falls during a storm. Naturally, they start a full-blown affair and soon they're having sex all over the place. Sounds hot, right? That is until her husband becomes suspicious and hires an investigator to have her followed. Then the real excitement begins!

Most young romances, like the one I experienced, don't last. You need to have a few before you fully understand them, so that when you meet "the one" you are prepared and mature enough to make it last. I always knew my bartender-ex was going to cheat on me. During the two years we were together, I would snoop all over the place and found plenty of evidence that made my suspicions stronger, though it was not always conclusive. When I finally found real proof, it was not what I was hoping to find at all (is it ever?). Did my ex cheat on me with a doctor? Was I cheated on with an accountant? Heck, did my ex cheat on me with another college student? No, apparently what my ex was looking for was nothing that resembled intelligence or an education. I wasn't even cheated on with a nice foreigner who was helpful on a stormy day. I was cheated on with... a stripper. I guess I bored my ex more than Gere bored Lane with marriage and a child. After discovering the news, there was only one thing I could do to make it all better. In times of sadness in despair, I turn to...

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