Content Warning: This section discusses the death of a parent.

Nothing Like the Movies explores the importance of confronting one’s past to heal and grow through the protagonists’ actions. Both Wes Bennett and Liz Buxbaum have fraught relationships with their pasts. At the start of the novel, they attempt to dissociate from their trauma, heartbreak, and pain to embrace the future. Wes feels “absurdly giddy about [restarting] school” because he believes that returning to UCLA is his chance to forget the pain of the last two years since his dad’s death (11). Liz, meanwhile, tells herself that she’s not the same person she was after breaking up with Wes because she wants to focus on “getting a job in music licensing” (18). The characters are thus attempting to distance themselves from their pasts in an attempt to move forward. However, the frequent narrative flashbacks into the characters’ memories from the last two years prove that ignoring their pain precludes them from healing, forgiving themselves and each other, and moving forward.

Once Wes and Liz learn how to confront their pasts and articulate the pain they’ve experienced, they can better reconcile with each other, overcome their grief and guilt, and embrace renewal.