Welcome to this week’s Grateful Heart Monday entry! For today, I’d like to express my gratitude for a new movie I just watched on Netflix that moved my heart quite a bit that’s titled, “I Used To Be Famous.”
Starring Ed Skrein as Vince and Leo Long as Stevie, the film begins with a down on his luck musician, Vince, trying to find his way back to stardom with a life that once had him lead singing for a boy band named Stereo Dream. While his former boy band co-singing lead Austin (Eoin Macken) somehow managed to keep his stardom alive, Vince has disappeared into a state where people only seem to make fun of him now as he shuffles from one public square to another with a keyboard and various equipment relegated to playing short melodies that no one really pays attention to. That is until one day a teenage boy (Stevie) sits down on a bench behind him, pulls out some drumsticks, and begins playing along with Vince’s melodies. As a crowd begins to show up and listen, some even taking their phones out to film, the combination of the two proves to be a huge success. Unfortunately, Vince quickly learns that while Stevie is obviously gifted, he’s also autistic, as Stevie experiences a complete meltdown with the loudness of the crowd around him. When Stevie’s mother swoops in to whisk him away, Vince is convinced that Stevie is his ticket back to stardom. What he doesn’t know though is how Stevie may very well become something he needs far more in life, that being a person who can help heal his broken soul. And just maybe along the way Vince may be an amazing teacher to Stevie as well to help him become the drummer prodigy he’s meant to become.
I’m truly grateful for formulaic movies like this. “I Used To Be Famous” is most certainly one of those tried and true formulas that pull at the heart strings quite easily as you watch it. It’s films like this that I need lately as I find my heart often shutting down in the emptiness I feel and the loneliness I continue to experience in life. I tend to think that if I didn’t consciously do things on a daily basis to keep my heart open such as watching movies like this, I’d probably resort back into a life of addictions to cope with this pit of despair I always seem to feel within me.
While “I Used To Be Famous” wasn’t necessarily ground-breaking material, it definitely was a film that absolutely demonstrated a very valuable principle in life that I believe is true. A principle that shows how finding fame and fortune isn’t what truly matters on this planet and that what really matters more is having a life focused on helping others, living selflessly, and placing other’s needs, wants, and desires ahead of oneself.
I needed a good reminder of this principle and am thankful for discovering this great gem of a film on Netflix, as my heart unquestionably felt far fuller and more open after watching it, something I most assuredly needed.
Peace, love, light, and joy,
Andrew Arthur Dawson
