Comments on: Must Romantic Comedies Suck?

By: ArC

ArC — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 02:01:45 +0000

“Before Sunset” (and “Before Sunrise” too.) Ain’t nothing better.

By: duros62

duros62 — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 21:46:34 +0000

Well, Jay, at least we agree on something..

By: Duder

Duder — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:21:31 +0000

“The Sure Thing”

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 19:05:11 +0000

‘High Fidelity’ was a great movie (Another one with John Cusack - shocker). His girlfriend wasn’t gorgeous, but Iben Hjejle lit up the screen every time she smiled. And they had those great scenes with Cusack, Todd Louiso and Jack Black. Awesome script as well and introduced me to some new music too.

By: Ivyfree

Ivyfree — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 18:06:07 +0000

I’d never heard of the two movies you mention, but I clicked on the links. I’d point out that both of them are inherently flawed, even for a romantic comedy: the first is based on the premise that a woman isn’t possibly going to have a happy, rewarding life unless she’s married, and the second has some stalker reaching from beyond the grave to order a woman to do something that the deceased evidently decided was right for her.

I suspect they’ll do minimally okay in theaters, and make a bit of profit in DVD release, and that they’ll both be forgettable, and people will wonder why Hilary Swank can’t find a good role.

By: duros62

duros62 — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 17:09:33 +0000

I liked High Fidelity. It always struck me as Ferris Bueller Grows Up; set in Chicago, the constant breaking the fourth wall, etc.

By: Jay

Jay — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 15:57:03 +0000

Oliver, you make a good point. In order for the romantic comedy to work, it has to have some focus on the man. That’s why movies like ‘When Harry Met Sally’ and ‘You’ve Got Mail’ do work because the men are given some added screen time.

I also think that it takes a special kind of actress to be able to pull it off because it has to be somewhat believable. Actresses like Meg Ryan and Sandra Bullock have the ability to be cute despite being beautiful. Katherine Heigl? She’s smoking hot. The notion that somebody that hot is having guy trouble is absurd.

In addition, what also works is the ‘every man’ actor who plays opposite the woman. Men and women find guys that are too good looking (like James Mardsen or Matthew McConaughey) not believable as well. So guys like Tom Hanks, Harrison Ford and John Cusack work better.

By: C.S.Strowbridge

C.S.Strowbridge — Thu, 01 Nov 2007 09:01:59 +0000

The Romantic Comedy is to women what James Bond is to men: fantasy wish-fulfillment.