For the next few weeks, we will be counting down our 25 favorite blockbusters! Read all of the entries here.

**21. Guardians of the Galaxy (dir. James Gunn, 2014)**

by Rosalie Kicks, Editor in Chief & Old Sport

When I'm feeling blue
All I have to do
Is take a look at you
Then I'm not so blue
When you're close to me
I can feel your heartbeat
I can hear you breathing in my ear
Wouldn't you agree?
Baby, you and me
Got a groovy kind of love

My Saturday mornings as a young child did not consist of sleeping in, cartoons with a side of sugary cereal or riding bikes around the neighborhood. Instead the alarm would buzz promptly at 7am, I’d slither into my denim overalls and crawl into my mom’s maroon Mazda MPV van with my brother, headed for another fun-filled weekend of slinging vegetables and fruit.

The time spent in the van traveling to our destination–The Northampton Farmer’s Market–was magic. We would stop for a breakfast sandwich at a Mickey D’s or Burger King and listen to tunes. My mother was anything but a music aficionado but the cassettes she did play became extremely comforting to me. She only had three tapes: Phil Collins, Steve Windwood and The Carpenters. These particular albums became seared in my brain. I knew when we hit the second side of a particular tape that it would soon be time to exit the vehicle and enter the vortex of the family produce business.

Recently, I had a conversation with my film pal Ryan Silberstein on the podcast we co-host, I Saw it in a Movie regarding films that give us motivation to keep going. The type of movie that gets ya out of the bed in the morning. There are times on the program in which I agonize over my flick pick (sometimes I can’t even narrow it down and I select multiple flicks, which my husband says is cheating (lmao)), but not this particular week. I knew right away the answer: Guardians of The Galaxy.

I know you’re thinking, what the heck does this have to do with riding around in a van with your mom listening to old lady music and working at a farmer’s market? Welllll… it was not until I had my conversation with Ryan during episode 047 that I realized that essentially Guardians of The Galaxy is about a group of sad, lonely and depressed beings riding around in a spaceship listening to mixtapes and going on kick-ass adventures. Much like my experience of traveling with my mom in her van, sometimes the destination was not favorable but regardless we always had one another to see we make through another day.

Guardians of The Galaxy holds a special place in my heart and has seen me through some tough times. It is the only superhero genre film I have revisited multiple times outside of Donner’s 1978 Superman. James Gunn’s and Nicole Perlman’s storytelling comes from the heart and I’d like to believe personal experience. These five misfits magically find one another and not just find friendship but family and comfort as well.

I may not have enjoyed the place the van was often taking us, but one thing is for sure, I will treasure that time getting there. Between the music and the companionship of my brother and mom it made the journey tolerable but also a significant moment in my life. And now, when I’m feeling blue, all I have to do is take a trip to space spend time with my pals from Guardians of The Galaxy.