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shadowkatFinished 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.
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.
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Date: 2011-11-27 02:48 pm (UTC)"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.