"One Direction: This Is Us" -- the concert film following the lives of Harry Styles, Niall Horan, Liam Payne, Zayn Malik and Louis Tomlinson, otherwise known as One Direction -- literally changed my life. A bit dramatic? Maybe. But let me attempt to explain myself. I am an 18-year-old college student, and most girls my age spent their Labor Day weekend off at parties getting drunk. Well, not this girl.
I went out at about 10 o'clock at night... to see "This Is Us". And let me just say, the best party on campus was right there in that movie theater with just me, my two close friends and only about 10 other people.
From the minute the film started there was never a dull moment. This was probably the first concert film since "Jonas Brothers: A 3D Concert Experience" where I sang the entire time. The movie had its funny moments and its serious moments. I also really felt like I got to know the guys better. For some of the guys there was always this dark mysterious vibe I got from them, but the movie showed me that they are really just normal, crazy, sometimes immature, nice guys. But the thing that struck me as the most surprising about this movie was how much it made my appreciation for not only One Direction, but all boy bands in general, grow.
Now, I use the term "boy band" very loosely. I don't necessarily believe that boy bands have to match outfits and have choreographed dancing. That being said, after seeing "This Is Us" I went back to my dorm feeling very nostalgic. After raiding the dusty dark crevices of my iTunes account, I discovered some of the old "Boy Bands" I used to be completely obsessed with, like NLT and Varsity Fanclub.
And after having a massive jam session to rival all jam sessions I came to a realization. I'm not a fan of One Direction because they're hot and have amazingly beautiful accents (although that is a plus!). I'm a fan of One Direction because they are something I want to tell my children about, when my kids are listening to whatever band is popular in their time I want to dig into the dark crevices of my music and jam out to old 1D songs. I can't say how long I think One Direction will be around, because I know it won't be forever. But I do know that their music will last a lifetime, and this movie confirmed that.
I know this isn't the movie review you were probably expecting, but hey, here's to the girls who still jam out to boy bands on their Saturday nights. You are not alone.