The last few years have been filled with celebrity gossip and tabloid headlines, and Lindsay Lohan has had her share of them. Unfortunately, for this young actress she’s given them so much to work with in terms of her lesbianism, drug filled binges, rehab stays, and rebellious behavior. Lohan is a tabloid cash cow. What we tend to forget is what a wonderful career Lohan has and the great movies that she has given us to watch.

You’d think someone with a tarnished good girl reputation would produce somewhat tasteless movies. Instead, Lohan has twice worked with Disney on projects such as Herby the Love Bug and the Parent Trap remakes. Both of these movies are family friendly and entertaining to watch. Parent Trap, a movie that made Haley Mills famous in the 60s, made Lohan famous in the 90s. She played a well kept pre-debutant child from England and her rough Californian tomboy twin sister from America. They meet at camp and decided to switch lives so they can see their other parent they never met. The girls decide they would rekindle their parents’ love for each other and get them back together again. Lohan was spectacular in this family film and is still fun to watch even to this day. It will make you laugh, cry and will show you the true innocence of this young lady.

Then there is Herby the Love Bug, another big hit for Disney throughout the 60s and 70s, which Lohan revived in 2005. She played the owner of the car that she got from a second hand dealer. The car was in disarray, but she put love and effort into reviving it. Later, Lohan’s character finds out the car has a mind of its own.  Herby is then entered into a race and easily wins, bringing it back into a legacy. Lohan reviving this movie was wonderful for the younger generation because it brought back a lovable character we grew up with and introduced it to a new generation. That inspired this generation to go back and watch the original Herby movies, bringing the old car back to life again.

Lohan has also done some movies that expose issues most teenagers face in school today, such as with the movie Mean Girls. This movie is about popular girls who think they are better than everyone else.  Mean Girls also points out what this kind of cold hearted person does to others and how senseless this kind of behavior is. In the end, Lohan’s character rebels and turns against the “cool crowd,” who she once had wanted to be accepted by.  Parents should watch this to see what kind of peer pressure their children face in school and how popularity becomes an obsession as well as a health risk. What extent would your child go to be accepted?  

Sure, Lohan’s behavior has been less than desirable. She has shown true lack of responsibility and almost became the character she portrayed in Mean Girls. Nonetheless, she has had a wonderful career and has made movies that will impact our lives and our children’s lives. Her actions could be used by parents to show our children what not to do and why you shouldn’t idolize or make a celebrity a hero. So there is a positive to the tabloids after all. If Lohan cleans up her act and takes life more seriously, I am sure without a doubt, her acting career will soar to the sky. We, as Americans and human beings, should try to encourage Lohan to do the right thing and help her in a time of need, instead of plastering her across the tabloids to sell papers. Really, does that make us any better than her? I think not.