If you’d told me back in 2017 that Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle would crack my top three list of movies that year, I’d have promptly spat my movie theatre popcorn in your face due to uncontrollable laughter. I truly wasn’t expecting much from the reboot of the beloved Robin Williams film, but it ticked so many of my boxes without even trying.
One of the biggest surprises was how much I enjoyed Bethany Walker. At the start of the film, Bethany is portrayed as a vapid, self-obsessed teenager wrapped up in her phone, Instagram, and her split from some irrelevant dude named Noah. She lands herself in detention after speeding through a quiz and then interrupting everyone else to call her best friend and commiserate over her newly-ended relationship. When a teacher points out that she’s being inconsiderate and self-absorbed, she mouths off and ends up facing the consequences. The filmmakers definitely could have leaned into Bethany’s “Airheaded Popular Girl” stereotype for the whole film but instead they chose to peel back her layers and reveal a friend that everyone should aspire to be/have in 2020.
Being a good friend might not seem like a big deal, but if you’re trying to level up in all areas of your life, finding a good friend group who will lift you up is absolutely crucial. But if you want to have good friends, you have to be a good friend, and surprisingly: Bethany Walker is a great inspiration. Here’s how:
1. Be engaged
Once she was in the body of Professor Shelly Oberon without her phone, Bethany engaged with the people around her and showed off her real personality, even going so far as to volunteer to have a staring contest with a venomous snake for the betterment of everyone else. Sure, she was kind of in a life-or-death situation where she had the choices of participation or death, but still. Jumanji taught Bethany to interact with the people around her and connect with them meaningfully (especially Alex!) instead of staying in her own bubble and only worrying about herself. Make sure your friendships are a two-way street: pay attention to your friends’ lives/interests/struggles and actually spend time getting to know them. You’ll be surprised at the things you learn when you turn your phone off (or silence it) during an adventure, whether you’re hitting the drive-thru or checking out a board game cafe.
2. Lift others up
One of the great things about Bethany is her unquestionable support for Martha, who wasn’t exactly her biggest fan at first. Cinematic tropes have suggested that Bethany’s character archetype should eventually become jealous of Martha, who had both brains and beauty throughout the course of the movie. Instead, it was revealed that Martha was the one judging Bethany pretty harshly. But after an initial misunderstanding in which Bethany (gently but also intelligently) called Martha out, the two become thick as thieves. She’s always championing Martha, even going so far as to teach her how to flirt so they can progress through the game.
When Spencer and Fridge are unsure Martha can handle herself, Bethany is quick to come to her defence and cheer her on, she later reveals that their friendship has continued even after they beat Jumanji. I don’t think I need to go into detail on this, but seriously: be an encouraging presence in your friends’ lives, don’t belittle them. It’s easy to dismiss someone based on our perception of them, but the truth is if you love someone, you’ll root for them, not work to undermine them by projecting your own negativity onto their hopes and aspirations. Be happy for other people’s success, and relish in the opportunity to share your knowledge and talent with friends who will be grateful you went through so much effort.
3. Be flexible
Honestly, Bethany had a lot thrown at her; she was stuck inside a video game, trapped inside a man’s body, and she was disconnected from her support system in the real world. I honestly wouldn’t have blamed her if she’d decided to flop on the ground and panda-roll away from all her responsibilities whilst sobbing her way through an existential crisis, because let’s be honest: nobody likes being pushed outside their comfort zone, and some people are so, well, comfortable that they refuse to leave it at all. If you’re one of those people: I totally understand. Change is scary and everybody finds comfort in the usual. Especially if you have a lot of anxiety, sometimes when your friends invite you to do things, you decline before even thinking about it because you’re afraid to try.
So if your idea of de-stressing involves sitting at home, ordering takeout, and binge-watching TV, going out and doing something your friends want to try (a wine-and-painting event, goat yoga, etc.) might sound, frankly, awful. But the truth is, the more rigid you are, the less likely you’ll be to really experience all the cool things life has to offer, and your friends will eventually stop inviting you to go places because they’re always rejected anyway. Truthfully: they can lead you to water, but they can’t make you drink. It’s your responsibility to make sure you’re not holed up in your house all the time, no one else’s.
Be like Bethany: she chose to adapt and try new things instead of staying in her shell the whole film, and if she can ride an elephant and give one of her lives to Nick Jonas, you can attend that trivia night or take that spin class. Just open yourself up to new possibilities, and try to have fun. You never know what adventure awaits as soon as you decide to take a chance (case in point: I now have standing cooking lessons with a former chef because I decided to leave my apartment and explore my area, instead of re-watching Brooklyn Nine-Nine).
Seriously guys: Bethany Walker is such an underrated character, and I know the franchise is sort of cheesy, but the character development was wicked, and its merits are actually applicable in real life, and really, when it comes to entertainment: what more could you ask for?
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