Lesson Nine  Movie and Discussion: (Uptown Girls)

Task  Watch a movie, Uptown Girls, then ask the students to discuss the following questions: Retell the story in your own words. (Description) To comment on the two main characters of the movie. (Express your view points.) To comment on the movie. (How do you like the movie? Give reasons.)  Divide the whole class into several groups, with two groups discussing one question.

Student A’s speech: About the plot  The movie mainly tells us a story between an adult named Molly and a kid Ray. In this story, Molly is a sincere girl but acts like a child. Ray is a school girl with mature thoughts.  Still there is something similar between them. Both of them lack parental love and thus tend to shrink from the outside world.  At the end of the movie, both of them change. They begin to understand each other and to bravely face the real world. It’s a good ending, isn’t it? It seems to me that the movie calls for the care and communication among humans. The more we think about others, the better the world will be.

Student B’s speech: About the movie  I like the movie Uptown Girls. It’s a comedy. You know, we laugh most of the time. I believe the acting is good. Their performance is very vivid.  The movie brings up the issue of human relations. After watching it, I think, firstly, our parents should not only just provide us with material life, but also should communicate more with us. Only in this way can we grow up happily and healthily. Secondly we should learn how to encounter difficulties because the world we’re living in is complicated. Thirdly, we need to care about each other lovingly.

Student C’s speech: About the characters (Molly and Ray)  In the movie Uptown Girls there are two leading roles. One is a beautiful and lively girl, Molly; the other is a quiet little girl, Ray. Though Molly is twenty-two, she behaves like a child. She is always late and always forgets something. Sometimes she even forgets she is an adult, laughing and crying like a child. Compared with Molly, Ray is more like an adult. She keeps everything in order. She is so quiet that I never see her laugh or even smile. She enjoys classical music and looks down upon pop music. All of this shows that Molly is quite emotional and Ray is very rational.  Both Molly and Ray have abnormal family life. Molly’s Dad and Mom were killed in a air crash when she was only eight and a half years old. Different from Molly, Ray has a mother who is a successful businesswoman. She can give Ray almost everything but time. Ray feels lonely. The same problem shortens the distance between Molly and Ray.

Homework  Tell the students to write an essay about the movie and hand in the paper in two weeks’ time.