Angelina Jolie took her kids to the movies over the weekend. Originally, it was reported that Angie, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox and Vivienne went to see Tomb Raider. That would have been a nice story – “Angelina Passes the Torch to Alicia Vikander”! Or “Angelina Approves!” It’s the easy story. The better story is that Angelina Jolie actually took her kids to go see Love, Simon.
JustJared is quoting a fan who tweeted that they sat behind Angelina Jolie and five of her kids at the theatre. In the photos, there are only four of the Pitt-Jolie clan accounted for. Are Maddox and Pax too cool to go to the movies with their little sisters and brother? I’m obsessed with what kind of teenagers each of the Pitt-Jolie kids are.
If there were five kids with Angelina, did one of hers get to bring a friend? I’m also obsessed with the kids who get to be friends with the Jolie-Pitt kids. It’s one step below being friends with Blue Ivy. Do these kids know how blessed they are?
Back to the point – I think it’s a better story that Angelina Jolie took her family to go see Love, Simon, a teen rom-com about same-sex love because we know how important it is for kids to grow up seeing images that reflect the world around them and that make them feel less alone. As Lainey wrote in her intro yesterday, this kind of mainstream film didn’t exist for so many gay teens growing up. My friend Brian saw Love, Simon over the weekend and he said that it was especially emotional because he needed that film when he was a teenager. He wished he had it when he was the age of the Jolie-Pitt kids. In Brian’s words, it was his A Wrinkle In Time – the movie that would have reassured his younger self that he was enough and that he was going to be OK.
Even if none of Angelina Jolie’s kids can identify directly to the coming-of-age love story in Love, Simon, their views of love will not be as narrow as the rom-coms we grew up with. I hope parents everywhere are taking their families to see Love, Simon.
I’m seeing Love, Simon tonight. I think I’m going to cry my face off. Do you think Angelina Jolie is a crier? She’s got this (unfair) cold-hearted reputation but my bet is that a good movie can turn Angie into a weeping mess. Did Shiloh have to hold her hand and pass her some tissues? Why wasn’t the person sitting behind them tweeting about the volume of Angelina Jolie’s tears? Priorities!
