A Match is Made…kind of

We called it Concentration. Others know it as Memory, where you lay out a deck of cards face down, then search for matches. The memory part was to keep track of where the cards were. Say I turn over a nine and a jack.Not a match – waa waaaa. Next I turn over a two and a nine. Now where was that first nine? Third row, fifth card from the right? Yesss! You get a rush – a match is made.

I read a film review that talked about how silly it was that the main character was repelled by Paul Rudd. It went on to say that Paul Rudd is adorable and impossible to dislike. I wholeheartedly agreed. But then I got to thinking, ‘Am I just playing Concentration?’ There’s my brain, shuffling through all the images it’s been fed – hmm…white male…dark hair…light eyes…where have I seen that…superman? Yesss! I get a rush –a match is made. And it’s at this point that life gets interesting. Do I know Paul Rudd? No. Did the film critic know Paul Rudd? Unlikely. So why did we attribute such lovable qualities to him? I have no idea whether Paul Rudd is a great guy, but why am I pre-disposed to think he is?

Here’s another doozey. You know those satin Mad Men secretary shirts, the ones that tie at the neck in a cute bow? (Guys, stay with me) I have a couple, and when I wear them,guys always compliment me. I also have a pair of strappy black high heels, and guys never fail to compliment those shoes. But as a rule I dress more timelessly, not a lot of trendy stuff. Odd thing is, guys only compliment me when I wear something trendy. I have yet to hear a guy say ‘you are rocking that pencil skirt’. Why the change? Are they playing The Game? Now where have I seen that shirt…on Mad Men? At the mall? Buttoned over enormous bosoms in Maxim? Yesss! A match is made.

Now for the cosmic question – what’s so great about Paul Rudd or secretary shirts? To be honest, not much. At least, not for someone who has never met the former or worn the latter. So what explains the rush we felt when Alicia Silverstone got a clue and went for Josh, as played by Paul Rudd? We knew from the second he appeared that Josh was the guy. Or did we? Could it be that we projected the qualities of someone else onto him? Of course it’s Josh –he looks like Superman and Superman’s the greatest guy ever. Of course that shirt is beautiful – it looks like the ones on Mad Men and those are the coolest shirts ever. Of course I’m gonna marry her. She looks like Zooey Deschanel and…a match is made.