Review of 27 Dresses...and Top 5 Good Rom-Coms..

[shadowkat]

Finished watching the truly awful Katherine Heigle/James Marsden film 27 Dresses - which once again makes me wonder what happened to the rom-com flick? I haven't seen a good one in ages. Although, as my pal CW pointed out not too long ago, it's possible that they aren't geared to my age group. They tend to be geared to 20-somethings, with women between the ages of 22-34, so there is that. But I've re-watched the earlier ones and they were still better, as were the actresses in the roles. I can't say I was ever a huge Meg Ryan fan but...she had a warm fuzzy vulnerability and girl next door toughness remniscent of June Allyson, that Katherine Heigle, Kate Hudson, et al lack.

Makes me want to do a list of Rom-Coms that I enjoyed...in all their saccariney, sentimental, hilarity.


1. ) Four Weddings and a Funeral 1994, directed by Mike Newell - which was actually more British indie comedy than Rom-Com and made a star of Hugh Grant. It's hilarious, watch it instead of 27 Dresses. It's about a guy whose friends have a multitude of weddings in one year. At the very end, the protagonist and his lady love agree never to get married.

2) Pretty Woman 1990 - a sort of weird Cinderella Tale, that had originally been a very dark indie film but got Disneyfied. Sort of Cinderella meets My Fair Lady by way of the Hollywood Strip. Made a star out of Julia Roberts - who I like because she's almost six foot and I can identify with. Also a bit clutzy with a big laugh. Also Richard Gere was hot.

3)When Harry Met Sally 1989 directed by Rob Reiner - a classic. The film all rom-coms aspire to. Sort of took the bantering boy meets girl on the road to a whole new level. Sally is high-maintenance, Harry is a sloppy sarcastic guy who is about low maintenance as you can get. Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal nail the roles, with a great guest-starring turn by Carrie Fisher as Meg's best friend. It's known for the restaurant scene where Sally explains to Harry how easy it is for a woman to fake an orgasm. (Films that tried to hit this hilarity but don't quite cut it include Must Love Dogs (which I enjoyed but fell short).)

4) His Girl Friday (1940) - Clark Gable, Rosalind Russel - a film that has been remade five times. Star Reporter tells her editor boss and ex-husband who still has a thing for her, that she's getting married and leaving her job. A huge last minute case pops up and he manages to stop her by roping her into it. Hijinks ensue.
Demonstrating - the best rom-coms are about the work-place or deal with things outside of just the wedding. Another great one was Philadelphia Story starring Katherine Hepburn, Carey Grant and Jimmy Stewart - later made into the Noel Coward Musical High Society, starring Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, and Grace Kelly. No one made romantic comedies like they did in the 40s and 30s. Gable did a string of them, as did Grant, and Spencer Tracy.

5) It Happened One Night (1934) - Clark Gable and Claudett Colbert. Another film that has been copied and remade numerous times - it's that good. Skip the remakes, see the original. (Examples of remakes include "The Sure Thing" - the John Cusak road trip rom com - 1985 with Daphne Zunigna - who went on to star in Melrose Place).

Other's that are fun but not quite the same quality: Notting Hill (Julia Roberts and Hugh Grant), When You Were Sleeping (Sandra Bullack and Bill Pullman), You've Got Mail (Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan - based on the original Jimmy Stewart flick The Shop Around the Corner, this one has also been remade five times, including a musical with Van Johnson and Judy Garland), Kate & Leopold - 2001 (Hugh Jackman's 19th Century English Gentlman gets trapped in the 20th Century and Meg Ryan's quirky city girl shows him the ropes...it's actually better than any of the other rom-coms that have been shown in the last 10 years. Which I guess says something?), Somethings Got to Give - Diane Keaton and Jack Nicolson.

It shouldn't be that hard to do one of these things well. But lately the writers err either on the side of humilation comedy (that was tonight's offering - all the comedy was in the humiliation vein and you also hated the supporting characters - not a good sign) or offensive guy fantasy (most of the Patrick Dempsey, Judd Apatow, Ryan Renolds, and Bradley Cooper rom coms). These flicks that I find unwatchable. If you want a fairy tale flick turned Rom Com? Choose Drew Barrymore's Ever After over Amy Addams/Patrick Dempsey's Enchantment (while innovative, the theme and how the female characters are portrayed is cringe-worthy).

Makes me miss the old 1940s stuff, where we had witty banter not humiliation and the pratfalls felt more like Laurel and Hardy and less like Dawn trying out for cheerleading practice on Buffy or the Three Stooges (not a Three Stooges fan, I think that's a guy thing and well Zooey Deschanel appears to be into it.). The old stuff is still there, but I've seen those films so many times...I know them by heart. They used to be played on network tv in the 1970s and 1980s...over and over again.
Example's of physical comedy that was more subtle? Carey Grant in Arsenic and Old Lace and Bringing Up Baby. Or Clark Gable in It Happened One Night. Jimmy Stewart in Philadelphia Story. Or the Hugh Grant rom-coms. Now, it's obvious and in your face.

Comments

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Okay, I give up - what is IHON?

[rebcake.livejournal.com]

I could list a solid ton of great rom coms from the '30s & '40s (and even into the '50s and early '60s, really), but it gets much tougher after that.

1. Moonstruck or Romancing the Stone from the '80s
2. Intolerable Cruelty
3. Shakespeare Retold version of Taming of the Shrew (OMG. Soooo good. Kate as MP.)
4. Love Actually
5. Down With Love (It's period, so I'm not sure it counts as "modern". It isn't to everyone's taste, but I adore it.)

Most of these have a huge workplace component.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I'd forgotten Moonstruck, Romancing the Stone and Love Actually...those are actually better than most of the ones on my list, several of which unfortunately have one of the following two tropes in common:

* Guy saves the Girl from her boring or miserable life
* Girl gives up her life to be with Guy.

Moonstruck and Romancing the Stone are amongst the very few rom-coms that don't quite fall into those categories.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

I agree with, and I do seriously love 'It Happened One Night' as a truly great romantic comedy (and I don't hate the remake w/Jack Lemmon and June Allyson called 'You Can't Run Away from It') although Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert brought more raw sexuality to it.

And I adore the Cary Grant/Kathryn Hepburn Romantic Comedies (all good in my opinion).

But I'm not a fan of Pretty Woman or When Harry Met Sally (don't find them romantic or funny - I'll confess that I find Meg Ryan to be really annoying and not at all funny or charming, and I find both characters in Pretty Woman repellant). However they are ten millions times better than what passes for romantic comedies lately: I seriously hated 'Knocked Up'! I look down this list and I find that I disliked more than I liked in the last 30 years or so:
http://boxofficemojo.com/genres/chart/?id=romanticcomedy.htm
many of the ones on that list that I like are ones I wouldn't even classify as a romantic comedy....

I would add to your list a lot of Audrey Hepburn's light comedies; my favorite is 'How To Steal a Million' which is hilarious and she gets some real heat going with Peter O'Toole (who should have made more comedies!).

And I think I would add some of Woody Allen's films... although he doesn't often let them end w/the happily ever after that you expect from a true romantic comedy.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Audrey Hepburn did a string of romantic comedies that were quite fun.
My favorite of hers is oddly the film How to Steal a Million.
(You'd think it would be Sabrina or Roman Holiday...but both of those have the icky older guy younger girl vibe...that didn't quite work for me.)

I have to admit - When Harry Met Sally is a mixed bag for me. I don't like parts of it. Sally drives me nuts in a few scenes. But it was different..and it also relied more on wit than physical comedy. (Hee...most of my female friends really hate Pretty Woman. CW despises it. I'm guessing the hooker/Cinderella commentary - plus the whole Pgymallion bit really pushes some buttons.;-) )

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

Well it didn't help that I've never been a Richard Geer fan, but he is an insider trader who hires a prostitute... and we are supposed to think this mess is romantic? Really?
ewwww

I was looking around online and I've found several more I might suggest for your list:

1. Americanization of Emily (1964) w/James Garner and Julie Andrews
2. Good-bye Girl (1977) w/Richard Dryfuss and Marsha Mason
3. Crossing Delancey (1988)
4. Bull Durham (1988)
5. Chasing Amy (1997)

I was trying to find new films I love because of course I adore all the old ones!

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

We'll just have to agree to respectively disagree on Pretty Woman and Chasing Amy (a heterosexual male fantasy piece). ;-)

Americanization of Emily was quite good - loved James Garner and Julie Andrews in that film. And I adored Bull Durham. There's another James Garner film - with Sally Field that I can't remember the name of that was equally charming.

I think rom-coms are like everything else they either turn you on or hate them to pieces, or they leave you ambivalent. Sort of like the Buffy shipping wars. And you just can't wrap your mind around why your friend likes XYZ and you hate him/her/ship/film vice versa.

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

oh yes, definitely: romance is in the eye of the beholder....
but we agree on a lot (I'm happy you like 'How to Steal a Million' as much as I do, and I agree that the age difference in so many of Audrey Hepburn's romantic comedies spoiled them for me too).

Now Marilyn Monroe's comedies don't seem very romantic, actually the best ones in my opinion (like 'Some Like it Hot') end up with the guy NOT getting the girl, but instead going back his wife without ever cheating on her.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

One the most interesting rom-com or rom-com that doesn't end happily ever after is "Annie Hall" - which sort of breaks all of the cliches. I'm watching Woody Allen special on PBS at the moment...

Marilyn Monroe films are sort of tragic. My favorite is Some Like it Hot. (I really don't like the Prince and the Showgirl or Seven Year Itch...though. But for some weird reason find How to Marry a Millionaire incredibly entertaining.)

[embers-log.livejournal.com]

We (my brother & I at a friends' house) watched that Woody Allen Bio on PBS and we really enjoyed it. We all want to do a Woody Allen marathon now! I've seen almost all of his films, but mostly I haven't seen them in decades.

[wenchsenior.livejournal.com]

How to Steal a Million is fantastic.

[kerry-220.livejournal.com]

Of recent times I just watched 'Friends With Benefits' . Sure it's all with the mocking and plenty raunchy - oh look, Justin Timberlake's arse .....AGAIN - but it was funny. That is when I could understand the rapid fire dialogue.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I might like the rapid fire dialogue. Is that the one Milan Kunis - the gal from The Office? There's one that is a sort of anti-rom com or makes fun of rom-coms.

Rapid fire dialogue or banter is my favorite.

[kerry-220.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's the one. The 'anti rom com' tag is a bit of a mislead as it still ends in the finest traditions.

There are some truly hilarious one liners, but man Kunis talks fast!

.......and Woody Harrelson...... Yes,well.....

[spikewriter]

We'll have to disagree on "Pretty Woman," but everything else on your list? Oh, yeah.

"Notting Hill" is one of my tops favs because I find it rather gentle and it has the best "I'm miserable, but starting to get on with my life" montage ever. Plus, it has the "let's do a big gesture" which is actually one of my kinks in RomCom (so often handled so badly).

Others are "Love, Actually" because it's sweet and bitter at the same time. But it really is the comedies of the 30's and 40's that I love best. "Christmas in Connecticut" with Barbara Stanwyck and Dennis Morgan is a jewel because it plays with the standards of the day for women and it plays with the Motion Picture Code. Plus, bonus Sydney Greenstreet.

Other sharp and funny ones are the William Powell/Myrna Loy non-Thin Man pairings (they did 8 films together besides the Thin Man). Also, Powell with a number of other MGM stars; he did a lot of romantic comedies in the 30's. He's Turner Classic Movie's Star of the Month for November, so they're showing his films on Thursday evenings and there are some great gems worth setting the recorder for.

[wenchsenior.livejournal.com]

Here are some of the more recent romantic-type films that I really enjoyed, although I note most of them are more romantic/other genre crosses than straight up rom/coms:

"Something New" with Simon Baker and Sanaa Lathan. Sexy!

"Penelope" (ADORABLE!) with Christina Ricci, James McAvoy, and bonus Peter Dinklage, which is a fairy tale rom-com about a girl who is born with a pig snout in place of her nose. Sounds crazy but it is fantastically charming.

"Music and Lyrics" with Hugh Grant and Drew Barrymore. Not great, but some hilarious moments.

"Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day" period flick with Amy Adams and Frances McDormand

"The Holiday" with Cam Diaz, Jude Law, Jack Black, and Kate Winslet (surprised me how much I liked it, since I'm not wild about any of the cast except Winslet)

"Mr. and Mrs. Smith", does this count as rom/com? I found it funny.

"Chasing Liberty" road-movie with Mandy Moore and the underused Matt Goode about the First Daughter being rebellious.

"Bridget Jones Diary"

"Easy A" hilarious remake of the Scarlett Letter with great young actress Emma Stone, though the comedy is more emphasized than the romance.

I second the recs above for the Thin Men movies.

[wenchsenior.livejournal.com]

Oh, and does "About a Boy" count as a rom/com? Probably not, but it is FANTASTIC.

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

Oh agree, I enjoyed that movie quite a bit.

Actually...sort of..if Doc Hollywood does, can't see why it doesn't.
Does it have a romance though?

[wenchsenior.livejournal.com]

It has a romance between Hugh Grant and Rachel Weisz, but that isn't the primary focus until late in the film. Eh, I'm counting it!

[shadowkat67.livejournal.com]

I think it was advertised in that category, along with the predecessor - High Fidelty. I liked About a Boy a whole lot better.
Actually with just one exception - all of Hugh Grant's rom-coms worked for me. The exception was 9 and a Half Months. Pregnancy comedies don't tend to work for me, for some reason.

Oh another cheesy favorite? He said/She said with Kevin Bacon and Magaret Colin.