B Movies Blog

Hello, Movie Mavens! Welcome back to the B Movies Blog. Today, we’re popping another edition of Lights, Camera, Albums into the ol’ VCR. 

It’s finally time for a brand-new edition of Lights, Camera, Albums!

And, we’re coming back strong, baby. 

If this is your first LCA, we’re happy to have you, but let me explain… 

Lights, Camera, Albums, or LCA, is one of our most popular series wherein I pick an album and pair each song on its tracklist with a movie. 

There are times when the connection is super obvious and then there are times when you’ll just say, “Uh huh,” and abruptly change the subject. 

Regardless, this series is a lot of fun, and I hope you enjoy it. 

We’ve covered a variety of bands and artists before, ranging from Chappell Roan to My Chemical Romance, so if you like this piece, I definitely recommend checking out the others. 

Surprisingly, I can’t think of too many disclaimers off the dome. 

As always, I suggest doing your research on all of the movies we include in these pieces to avoid any potentially triggering content and/or having a trusted person watch these movies first. 

Additionally, we only do the standard versions of albums on LCA, so we’ll end things with “Don’t Smile.” 

Alrighty, that should do us for introductions and disclaimers. 

Without further ado, I present to you Lights, Camera, Albums: Sabrina Carpenter’s Short n’ Sweet:

“Taste” as The Way We Were 

What really sold me on this pairing is how strong-willed Katie is (Barbra Streisand). I think Katie would’ve said something like this to Carol Ann (Lois Chiles) after Hubbell (Robert Redford) cheated on her before moving on. 

“Please Please Please” as Selena 

This was one of the first pairings I made for this LCA because it reminds me of Selena (as portrayed by Jennifer Lopez) and Chris’s (as portrayed by Jon Seda) relationship (as portrayed in the film). Selena stands up for Chris to her father (as portrayed by Edward James Olmos) because he has a bit of a reputation/the bands he’s played for have a bit of a reputation, but she sees the good in him. 

“Good Graces” as Hocus Pocus 

Okay, so HEAR ME OUT. Winifred (Bette Midler) is shown to be the epitome of a scorned lover, as we see what she did to Billy (Doug Jones) for cheating on her. I think this song speaks to her duality because even though she ridicules her sisters, it’s clear she loves them. However, it’s also abundantly clear that if you cross her, she’s coming for blood. 

“Sharpest Tool” as Bridesmaids

For some reason, this was the hardest set to pair. But, after some vigorous Googling, everything finally came together. Annie (Kristen Wiig) is hooking up with Ted (Jon Hamm), who is truly one of the worst guys on the planet. He isn’t necessarily unintelligent, but it’s clear that he’s not going to commit to her, even though she keeps coming back, much like the guy Sabrina is singing about. 

“Coincidence” as Bring It On 

We all know I love this movie (as evidenced by the gay fanfiction I wrote), so I’ve been keeping it in my back pocket until now. I can 100% see Torrance (Kirsten Dunst) singing this to Aaron (Richard Hillman) after finding out that he’s not only been cheating on her the entire time he’s been in college but has been telling girls that she’s his sister…and then Missy (Eliza Dushku) comforts her, and they passionately kiss. At least in my version. 

“Bed Chem” as Zack and Miri Make a Porno 

I thought Zack and Miri Make a Porno worked really well with “Bed Chem” because Zack (Seth Rogan) and Miri’s (Elizabeth Banks) friendship transitions into more after they film their sex scene. Plus, a horny song calls for a horny movie. 

“Espresso” as Death Becomes Her 

I knew I wanted to put Death Becomes Her in this piece somewhere (even though we’ve already used it) as a nod to Sabrina referencing it in the music video for “Taste,” and it finally clicked with me. “Espresso” has Madeline (Meryl Streep) written all over it. She steals Ernest (Bruce Willis) away from Helen (Goldie Hawn) and would indeed be working late because she’s a singer, aka in a Broadway show at the beginning of the movie. 

“Dumb & Poetic” as Banana Split 

There are a few movies I had in mind for this one, but alas, we’ve already used them in other pieces. Some honorable mentions being The DUFF, Lady Bird, and Lisa Frankenstein. THEN, I remembered that I had rewatched Banana Split recently, and I thought about how Nick (Dylan Sprouse) is on the pretentious side, and April (Hannah Marks) and Clara (Liana Liberato) both make fun of him for it. 

“Slim Pickins” as Bridget Jones’s Diary

If you’ve ever read and/or seen Bridget Jones’s Diary, I think you can see exactly where I’m coming from on this one. Bridget’s (Renée Zellweger) diary entries read a lot like the lyrics of “Slim Pickins,” and, in my humble opinion, speaks to the reasons why she gets involved with Daniel (Hugh Grant), even though he’s awful to her. 

“Juno” as Knocked Up 

This song is my least favorite song on this album because it makes me feel a little icky since Juno is about teenage pregnancy. Therefore, I wanted to age the song up a little bit with the movie Knocked Up. Granted, Alison (Katherine Heigl) and Ben (Seth Rogen) didn’t mean to have a baby, they end up together in the end.* 

*Additionally, I do want to mention that Katherine Heigl criticized this movie, and it impacted her career for a while, and I think that’s awful. Her points, in my opinion, were valid, and I’m glad that her career has had a resurgence. 

“Lie to Girls” as In a Lonely Place

As Laurel (Gloria Grahame) and Dixon’s (Humphrey Bogart) relationship progresses, it becomes clear that Dixon has a lot of issues. However, Laurel continues to make excuses for him until the bitter end, when she stops lying to herself and admits what he’s truly capable of. It makes the lyric “I’ve never seen an ugly truth that I can’t bend” all the more poignant when you think about it in the context of this movie. 

“Don’t Smile” as Back to Black 

As much as I absolutely hate this movie, “Don’t Smile” immediately made me think of Amy Winehouse (as portrayed by Marisa Abela). She and Blake’s (as portrayed by Jack O’Connell) relationship is so tumultuous and ends on such heartbreaking terms that I couldn’t help but think of her when I was listening to this song.