Instead
of a regular “things to watch” post in list format, I'm trying
this new thing were my friend Samantha and I discuss things. And
today it's romcoms, because in November we watch romcoms (we'll
explain why).
LAURA: It’s November. Or “romcom appreciation month” as we like to
call it.
SAM: Yes! Putting a pause on the scary of last month, and gearing up for
the holiday movies of next.
LAURA: Do you remember which movie started our tradition to have romcom
marathons in November?
SAM: Serendipity? I think? That’s like the ultimate holiday
romcom. That one your fave?
LAURA: It really is the ultimate holiday romcom. A chance meeting during
Christmas shopping in New York City, then ice skating? It doesn’t
get much better than than that. But I wouldn’t go as far as saying
it’s my favorite (even though it’s close), what about you?
SAM:
I have so many that are all pretty much on the same level… A few of
them involving Jennifer Garner and/or Reese Witherspoon, and both
with Mark Ruffalo. 13 Going on 30 and Sweet Home Alabama
are definitely up there. Oddly enough, I just realized, both involve
the “childhood friends” trope. Go figure.
LAURA:
Mark, why did I know he’d make an appearance? Sweet Home Alabama
is a good one! I think that was the first one I saw where both guys
were equally great. Usually one is always on the jerkier side (even
though I am with you on the childhood friends thing, so Josh Lucas
still had a small advantage over Patrick Dempsey).
SAM:
You know me too well. And yes, it makes things feel more…real?
Because chances are if you liked the guy in the first place… he
wouldn’t be completely awful. The other guy being an actual decent
option makes it better!
LAURA:
Do you sometimes feel bad for the other guy? Getting dumped a week
before the wedding just because his fiancée fell for the wedding
planer, florist, chef or basically any random guy involved in the
wedding? Not cool.
SAM:
So much! Especially when their only flaw is being boring. I’d
always wanted a movie from that person’s POV, picking up right
after they get dumped at the altar or something.
SAM:
That brings up a good point. Nowadays, I feel like the “classic”
romcom, is basically dead. There are movies with that element–and
there always will be–but in terms of straight up romance,
everything needs to be “edgier” now. Starting with The UglyTruth and What’s Your Number? Then all the way to
Train Wreck now. Or action ones–like the hitman one with Anna
Kendrick.
LAURA:
Mr. Right, I loved that one! But with the level of gore that
movie had, we might as well go ahead and call Zombieland a
romcom (the subplot with Emma Stone and Jesse Eisenberg is actually
very “romcomy”). But I agree, another thing I miss are those late
90s teen romcoms. I caught Whatever It Takes on TV the other
night. I had not seen it in ages but it’s such a fun movie
(complete with the childhood friends trope we love so much). I feel
like – and that goes for many of the movies of that time – if it
had come out 10 years earlier it would probably be considered a cult
classic now. A lot of these can totally hold up to some of the 80s
classics but kinda fell through the cracks.
SAM:
And the closest we get now is a shirtless Zac Efron with /insert
co-lead here/ acting pretty ridiculous (though hilarious) until they
get together in the end. The frat-boy humor along with a few ensemble
ones (Pitch Perfect, Bridesmaid) have the love interest
story, but not the standard romcom formula like the ones you
mentioned. Whatever It Takes is one of the few DVDs I still
own…so fabulous. “Oh, the things I do for you…”
LAURA:
Today we either get comedy (which is fun every once in a while, I'm
already looking forward to Why Him?), the sappy kind (I'm
looking at you Nicholas Sparks) which is just not my cup of tea, or
the edgy kind.
There is however one newer movie that combines all of this, and it’s
very high up on my list . Care to guess which one I mean?
SAM:
Do I get a hint?
LAURA: I like to refer to it as “Crazy
Stupid Love: Unplugged”
SAM:
Oh! I forgot the name, the one about the writer and his family! That
one was pretty great.
LAURA:
Stuck in Love. Perfect cast, perfect amount of dark material,
and a Stephen King cameo (just a phone call but still). It is
probably more of a drama than a romcom but it's still one of these
feel good movies, despite the darker topics and all. But my favorite thing about it
is that it really doesn’t have a big story, just relationships. No
assassins, zombies, or other distractions.
SAM:
Exactly, and just the right amount of heart without
being sappy. Though I do have to say I'm with you on missing the
"typical" formulaic boy meets girl film. Yeah, they're
predicable as hell, but no one sees them with the intention of
figuring out the end anyway.
LAURA:
That’s why watching a Hallmark movie (even a brand-new one) is
basically like watching your favorite movie, you can probably quote
the whole thing backwards but you still enjoy it every single time.
SAM:
Yes! That's why they have such a market for them now–since they're
not mainstream anymore. So the bickering enemies forced to work
together, the best friends who are too stupid to realize they're
meant for each other, or the colleagues who pretend to date for a
school reunion/family gathering/dying grandma come to life on TV
instead of the big screen.
LAURA:
And that's not necessarily a bad thing. Basically we're getting a
free movie almost every week– two a week around the holidays. And
who knows maybe there will be a big romcom renaissance in a few
years. But until then we can stream Whatever It Takes on
Netflix.
SAM:
Or, there's always writing one ourselves.
Peace, Love, and Lobsters
Laura (and Sam)
