Romantic Comedies

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, methodwriter85 said:

It wasn't a comedy, but I basically felt like this about that Britt Robertson/Scott Eastwood Nicholas Sparks drama.  I mean, there was a reason for why they kept flashing back to that childless couple in the 1940's who get to foster a kid for awhile, but I thought they could have taken that down a smidge or more.

Anyway, a parody of Leap Year. I mean, they said "Every American RomCom set in Ireland", but really, it's Leap Year.

Damn it, Leap Year is just comfort junk food for me. 2010 Matthew Goode is just perfection. 

I mean, he basically did the same movie with Mandy Moore, and I liked it a lot, but I generally go for Leap Year instead. 

I’ve actually never seen Chasing Liberty I should put that on my list. 

[twoods]

The Hating Game was pretty cute. I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads and liked their build up. Wish there were more romcoms out there because the small amount they’ve come out with recently I have liked.

[Scarlett45]

9 hours ago, twoods said:

The Hating Game was pretty cute. I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads and liked their build up. Wish there were more romcoms out there because the small amount they’ve come out with recently I have liked.

These days Rom Coms are pretty cheap to make and perfect for streaming. You just need a good script and strong actors- the sets, location, post production effects etc can be very simplistic. I’ll put that one on my list too. 

[Scarlett45]

23 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

It wasn't a comedy, but I basically felt like this about that Britt Robertson/Scott Eastwood Nicholas Sparks drama.  I mean, there was a reason for why they kept flashing back to that childless couple in the 1940's who get to foster a kid for awhile, but I thought they could have taken that down a smidge or more.

I have not seen The Longest Ride (I gave up on Nicolas Sparks 20yrs ago when I thought most of his books were the same), but I’ll check this out. 

[DearEvette]

On 5/7/2022 at 1:31 AM, twoods said:

The Hating Game was pretty cute. I enjoyed the chemistry between the leads and liked their build up. Wish there were more romcoms out there because the small amount they’ve come out with recently I have liked.

Huh.  Y'know I haven't heard very much about The Hating Game movie.  And I had forgotten it was even going to be a movie until I saw it during a desultory search on Hulu.

This surprises me because the book it is based on is hugely popular in the romance book community. Not surprising to hear it is good.  It is tailor made to translate well to movie/tv.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I came here to say I really preferred the movie, but I am now realizing I talked about this on the last page.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[scarynikki12]

I love The Hating Game book but I've hesitated to see the movie because I have a hard time separating Lucy Hale from Aria on Pretty Little Liars. It's not her fault at all but that's why. Maybe one day.

I did just watch Along For The Ride on Netflix and it was cute. It's set the summer after graduation which is refreshing and I thought the actors playing Auden and Eli had nice chemistry. Some of the supporting characters could have used some fleshing out as they did that thing where suddenly everyone's friends and getting along but the main point was Auden and Eli and they succeeded.

[Irlandesa]

I liked The Hating Game movie but I think I might have liked it a bit better with the original casting.

I rewatched Personally Yours on Amazon last night. I am pretty sure it was a TV movie but if you're in the mood for a cross between You've Got Mail and The Parent Trap, you might like it. I feel crazy old that it came out in 2000. It's a feel good watch for me. I'm a sucker for that kind of movie, the Alaskan scenery is great and Valerie Bertanelli and Jeffrey Nordling had good chemistry.

[twoods]

Caught Book of Love and liked it since it was a different storyline than usual. I do felt the ending was rushed a bit. I also saw that the Duff was on Amazon so may watch that for the 10th time.

Edited May 9, 2022 by twoods

[Scarlett45]

14 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I liked The Hating Game movie but I think I might have liked it a bit better with the original casting.

What was the original casting?

[Ms Blue Jay]

All I can find on Google is Robbie Amell instead of the guy.  I'm not sure if Lucy Hale replaced someone?

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

What was the original casting?

 

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

All I can find on Google is Robbie Amell instead of the guy.  I'm not sure if Lucy Hale replaced someone?

I was talking Robbie. Like twoods, I too love Duff. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yeah I love The Duff, that's a great comfort movie for me.

[Scarlett45]

Sitting down to watch Senior Year- I like Rebel Wilson as an actress more than a person, and since I graduated HS in 2003 the nostalgia is SO REAL🤣🤣🤣. 
 

 

When Nelly’s “Hot in Herre” come in I died. 
 

If you watch This is Us, you know I have loved Justin Hartley since 2001!!!!!

[Annber03]

3 hours ago, Scarlett45 said:

Sitting down to watch Senior Year- I like Rebel Wilson as an actress more than a person, and since I TOO graduated HS in 2003 the nostalgia is SO REAL🤣🤣🤣. 

Hey, you graduated the same year as me :D!

I want to check out this movie just 'cause I know one of the actors from "Ghosts", Brandon Scott Jones, is in it and also co-wrote it, I believe? And I'm curious to see the cast's other work in general outside the show. Your review has me even more interested to check this out :)!

[Scarlett45]

The Hating Game was so cute! The actors had chemistry together and I liked the work plot- the side characters could’ve been a bit more developed but I liked that we got to see them interact and really fall for each other.

One of my fav lines is when she saw his bedroom wall and said “I’m a tree frog!”🤣

 

I have probably 6 inches and likely 100lbs on Lucy Hale but I loved all her little outfits! Especially her sweaters. I would wear those in my size. 

[Irlandesa]

I was looking to watch something late at night that I could fall asleep to and a movie called Stars Fell In Alabama came up on my Firestick.  I predictably fell asleep but saw enough that seemed like it might be better than I thought it'd be that I wanted to actually watch the movie.

It's super low budget.  It involves a fake dating trope.  The guy is the girl's agent and asks her to pretend to be his girlfriend at his reunion so his friends won't find him pathetic. It stars people I've never heard of before--although it looks like the lead guy was in a boy band with Carlos PenVega. Parts of it are corny.

And yet, it exceeded my, admittedly low, expectations.  The leads had better chemistry than a lot of romcoms these days and I felt it was paced nicely for a "fall in love over a weekend" kind of movie.

So if you see yourself in me and are looking for a low-stakes comfort romcom that you can do your laundry to, you might want to check it out. 

It's available for free on many sites. I watched it on YouTube--legally.  It's not like some random stranger put it there but, as a result, commercials came on at very weird times.

[twoods]

I don’t know how I missed How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd, but I found it on Netflix and enjoyed it even though it had bad reviews. Both had nice chemistry and it kept me interested, which is all I ask for in movies nowadays. Paul Rudd makes everything better, and I miss Reese in romcoms. 

Edited June 4, 2022 by twoods

[Ms Blue Jay]

19 hours ago, twoods said:

I don’t know how I missed How Do You Know with Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd, but I found it on Netflix and enjoyed it even though it had bad reviews. Both had nice chemistry and it kept me interested, which is all I ask for in movies nowadays. Paul Rudd makes everything better, and I miss Reese in romcoms. 

I liked this one too.  But, I'd say it requires patience.  It's really long for a rom-com.  It's almost a mix between comedy and drama.  It always reminds me of "This Means War".  I like that one too.  Both are movies where Reese is torn between two men.

[Irlandesa]

Hulu has a modern, gay version of Pride & Prejudice that just came out.  It wavers between mocking the romcom and then some musical choices pay homage to it. 

I was more into the Jane and  Bingley equivalents than the Lizzie and Darcy duo but the movie was fun in terms of friendships and it made me miss Looking. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Fire Island right?  I'm definitely going to watch that.

[Annber03]

That does sound interesting! I'll have to add that to my "to watch" list, too. 

[krankydoodle]

20 hours ago, Irlandesa said:

I was more into the Jane and  Bingley equivalents than the Lizzie and Darcy duo but the movie was fun in terms of friendships and it made me miss Looking. 

I agree. I liked Noah and Will (Elizabeth and Darcy), but their chemistry and the development of their relationship didn't work as well for me. On the other hand, when Charlie was watching Howie singing his heart out during the karaoke scene, 😍. It was also pretty funny and I'm a sucker for found family stories, so I had a good time with Fire Island.

ETA: I was listening to the most recent episode of the Keep It! podcast with Ira Madison III and Louis Virtel during which they discussed the movie (they both loved it) and thought it was interesting that they called it an almost journalistic portrayal of what happens at a gay resort and that if anything, it was toned down to the point of quaintness.

Edited June 5, 2022 by krankydoodle

[Irlandesa]

14 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Fire Island right?  I'm definitely going to watch that.

Ha.  Yes.  I probably should have said the name of the movie. 

[Scarlett45]

On 6/4/2022 at 9:04 PM, Irlandesa said:

Hulu has a modern, gay version of Pride & Prejudice that just came out.  It wavers between mocking the romcom and then some musical choices pay homage to it. 

I was more into the Jane and  Bingley equivalents than the Lizzie and Darcy duo but the movie was fun in terms of friendships and it made me miss Looking. 

What is it called?

Fire Island (reading is fundamental!)

I saw ads for this but I never would've thought it was inspired by Pride & Prejudice based on the trailers.

[Ms Blue Jay]

I loved Fire Island.  It's pretty funny and I found myself smiling a lot.  Conrad Ricamora is so hot in it.  I am a big fan of Bowen Yang (because of his work on SNL - but so far I like him in everything.)  I'm really impressed that Joel Kim Booster (the star of the movie) wrote it.

On 6/4/2022 at 10:04 PM, Irlandesa said:

Hulu has a modern, gay version of Pride & Prejudice that just came out.  It wavers between mocking the romcom and then some musical choices pay homage to it. 

I was more into the Jane and  Bingley equivalents than the Lizzie and Darcy duo but the movie was fun in terms of friendships and it made me miss Looking. 

I agree, the friendship between Joel and Bowen's characters was very sweet.

On 6/5/2022 at 11:20 AM, krankydoodle said:

I agree. I liked Noah and Will (Elizabeth and Darcy), but their chemistry and the development of their relationship didn't work as well for me.

Yeah, I assumed Joel Kim Booster was a very inexperienced actor but uh---- he seems pretty experienced on iMDb!

Edited June 8, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Annber03]

Oh, I didn't realize Conrad Ricamora was in this, too! I liked him on "How to Get Away with Murder". Just one more reason to check this out, then :). 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I still enjoy seeing some of the original romcoms from back in the day. Who doesn't love the couple Nick and Nora Charles and their dog  Asta of "The Thin Man" movies ? Movies made from the great Dashiell Hammett stories.  Lots of fun , intrigue and romance along the way, and plenty of drinks to go with it. Worth a try if you've never seen these movies. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

I'm ignorant of older movies but I'm trying to rectify.  I tend to like Cary Grant and Doris Day movies so far.  For example I really like Pillow Talk and My Favorite Wife.  

[Luckylyn]

I absolutely adore Cary Grant.  I recommend his film with Ginger Rogers Once Upon a Honeymoon.  

[Ms Blue Jay]

Just now, Luckylyn said:

I absolutely adore Cary Grant.  I recommend his film with Ginger Rogers Once Upon a Honeymoon.  

Thanks!!!  I seem to like a lot of his movies!

[Luckylyn]

2 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Thanks!!!  I seem to like a lot of his movies!

He was almost James Bond but turned it down because he wasn’t willing to commit to doing sequels.  

[Annber03]

Just watched Fire Island earlier. It was cute and fun and sweet - I loved both the main pairings throughout - and I actually shed a few tears at the end as well! The use of Britney Spears' "Sometimes" was a sweet touch, too. 

And Noah and Howie's friendship was lovely as well :). I loved their little thing they did with their fingers touching, similar to a fist bump, that was so cute. 

[ProudMary]

20 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I'm ignorant of older movies but I'm trying to rectify.  I tend to like Cary Grant and Doris Day movies so far.  For example I really like Pillow Talk and My Favorite Wife.  

You may already be aware of this, but Cary Grant and Doris Day made a romantic comedy together, That Touch of Mink. Also, Doris Day starred with James Garner in a remake of My Favorite Wife called Move Over Darling.

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, ProudMary said:

You may already be aware of this, but Cary Grant and Doris Day made a romantic comedy together, That Touch of Mink. Also, Doris Day starred with James Garner in a remake of My Favorite Wife called Move Over Darling.

Yes, but thank you.  I always appreciate recommendations and I always want to learn more.  I'm sorry but I hated Move Over Darling 😢. I want to see the unfinished Marilyn Monroe remake too, "Something's Got to Give".

That Touch of Mink is still on my watchlist!!  I started to watch "Lover Come Back" on cable and it was seeming like such a good movie I shut it off and bought the Blu Ray. 😄  Still have to watch that one too and many others.

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Annber03 said:

Just watched Fire Island earlier. It was cute and fun and sweet - I loved both the main pairings throughout - and I actually shed a few tears at the end as well! The use of Britney Spears' "Sometimes" was a sweet touch, too. 

I knew the song was familiar but I didn't know who it was until the credits.

It's a shame they couldn't even get the licensing for the real song????  They played this weird cover (alongside Bowen actually singing it).

I saw "Single all the Way" last Christmas, by Muse Entertainment (Lol what even is that????) like another Hallmark type of studio?  It was on Netflix.  It was another gay romantic comedy and I loved it by the way and even that movie used a real Britney song!

Edited June 13, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Annber03]

9 minutes ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I knew the song was familiar but I didn't know who it was until the credits.

It's a shame they couldn't even get the licensing for the real song????  They played this weird cover (alongside Bowen actually singing it).

I saw "Single all the Way" last Christmas, by Muse Entertainment (Lol what even is that????) like another Hallmark type of studio?  It was on Netflix.  It was another gay romantic comedy and I loved it by the way and even that movie used a real Britney song!

I wonder if the licensing issue had anything to do with all the other legal stuff Britney had been dealing with in recent years? Wouldn't surprise me if that'd been the case .

It took a second for me when Bowen started singing the song, I was like, "...oh, wait, I know this song, what is this...?" and then it hit me :p. 

That's funny that another movie you saw used a Britney song :D. Which one did they use there? 

[Ms Blue Jay]

14 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

I wonder if the licensing issue had anything to do with all the other legal stuff Britney had been dealing with in recent years? Wouldn't surprise me if that'd been the case .

It took a second for me when Bowen started singing the song, I was like, "...oh, wait, I know this song, what is this...?" and then it hit me :p. 

That's funny that another movie you saw used a Britney song :D. Which one did they use there? 

I have a horrible memory so I had to go look it up.  I totally forgot it was a Christmas song!  Maybe that's what helped clear it because I don't know this song at all!

My Only Wish (This Year)
Written by Brian Kierulf and Joshua M. Schwartz
Performed by Britney Spears
Courtesy of RCA Records by arrangement with Sony Music Entertainment

https://www.netflix.com/tudum/videos/netflix-single-all-the-way-the-britney-spears-dance

[Scarlett45]

On 6/4/2022 at 9:04 PM, Irlandesa said:

Hulu has a modern, gay version of Pride & Prejudice that just came out.  It wavers between mocking the romcom and then some musical choices pay homage to it. 

I was more into the Jane and  Bingley equivalents than the Lizzie and Darcy duo but the movie was fun in terms of friendships and it made me miss Looking. 

I’m finally sitting down to watch Fire Island. I liked the opening scene and Bradley Gibson (Everett from Power Book II) had some lines! It was exciting to see him. 
 

An Animorphs reference! I am dying. 
 

Edited to add- in the original P&P, wasnt Jane (Howie) the conventionally pretty one and Elizabeth (Noah) the intellectual one? Not that Elizabeth was unattractive, but of all the sisters, Jane was the beauty. I wonder why they flipped it here making Noah the “hot” one. 

Awww Howie! I liked him a lot.

I have to say I really enjoyed this adaptation, the story fit a group of gay men in 2022 but followed the original outline. It’s my second fave P & P adaptation- my first is Pride & Prejudice & Zombies .

[Ms Blue Jay]

1 hour ago, Scarlett45 said:

Edited to add- in the original P&P, wasnt Jane (Howie) the conventionally pretty one and Elizabeth (Noah) the intellectual one? Not that Elizabeth was unattractive, but of all the sisters, Jane was the beauty. I wonder why they flipped it here making Noah the “hot” one.

That's exactly what I said!!  (Not here, but to myself LOL)  I love Bowen Yang but he's playing the character Jane in this movie but his character hates himself in this movie and Joel's character (Liz Bennet) is portrayed as someone who is extremely confident in his looks and is considered attractive.

Joel Kim Booster (Noah) actually wrote the script, so that's how he decided to do the story I guess.  

Edited June 14, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[festivus]

Just watched Fire Island. Noah and Will had great chemistry. So much that I was mad at Howie at the end for interrupting that kiss! Also they were finally playing a song that I know.

I also loved the importance Noah put on found family. All and all a sweet movie.

[Scarlett45]

Quote

I think the blurred lines didn’t offend us so much because we knew Drew Barrymore was actually an adult. I liked that Josie was quirky and good at her job. I do think the “Never Been Kissed” part could’ve been written a lot better.
 

I know a few people closely who never had any romantic/relationship/sexual experiences until they were far older than expected- and it can mess with your self esteem and confidence (especially if it wasn’t an active choice, but a circumstance). Its not something that gets talked about a lot. I think there was a way to really acknowledge how Josie felt as valid and that she wasn’t alone, but that didn’t make her “less than”. I felt the SAME WAY about “40 Years old Virgin” which could’ve done that in a genuine but funny way and just dropped the ball- went totally for the funny. 
 

Quoting MYSELF (vain I know) from the “Well that would not work now” thread:

We we’re discussing Never Been Kissed- and while I like it, and I think it’s precious, it dropped the ball on that aspect of its premise. Same thing with 40 years old Virgin which just went for the laughs but didn’t actually deal with the genuine feelings someone might have, if they don’t have any romantic/sexual/relationship experience far longer than what’s socially expected (especially if it wasn’t a conscious choice but a circumstance).
 

I think there’s a way to write that story that isn’t “incel” but doesn’t brush off the experience and it COULD be funny and heartwarming. I know there are a lot of people that could relate. Does anyone know any movies like this?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Only the Lonely from 1991 is the one of the few things that comes to mind.  It's a movie about a man with an overbearing mother.  He's 38 and he finally meets someone but his mother keeps getting in the way of things.

[SomeTameGazelle]

On 6/13/2022 at 10:05 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

That's exactly what I said!!  (Not here, but to myself LOL)  I love Bowen Yang but he's playing the character Jane in this movie but his character hates himself in this movie and Joel's character (Liz Bennet) is portrayed as someone who is extremely confident in his looks and is considered attractive.

Joel Kim Booster (Noah) actually wrote the script, so that's how he decided to do the story I guess.  

I was waiting for Will to tell Noah he couldn't spend time with him because his friends were trash but either I missed it or Joel Kim Booster inexplicably sidestepped an obvious P&P story beat. 

My favourite may have been Torian Miller as the Mary Bennet analog. And Alison Bechdel speaking up in reaction to those who suggested that the movie failed the Bechdel Test. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Well, it was just one person who said that, and she was dragged on Twitter until she deleted the tweet.

It was very disingenuous for Hanna Rosin to go after this movie for failing the Bedchel Test.  Why this movie, and why this movie now?   It's a movie specifically about gay men and gay Asian men at that - a group that is never represented in American film.  And Hanna Rosin has never even mentioned the Bedchel Test in any of her tweets previously so why did she all of a sudden care now?  She deleted the tweet and apologized.  Some felt that her tweet was even homophobic and racist, because she implied that people were ignoring the Bedchel test because of "cute Asian boys", which sounds pretty infantilizing.

It was awesome that Alison Bedchel spoke up in favour of the movie.

https://screenrant.com/fire-island-movie-bechdel-test-controversy-explained/

Edited June 18, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

Hanna also claimed that Margaret Cho was playing a 'drab lesbian stereotype" and Margaret  tweeted some funny things in response.

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

Well, it was just one person who said that, and she was dragged on Twitter until she deleted the tweet.

It was very disingenuous for Hanna Rosin to go after this movie for failing the Bedchel Test.  Why this movie, and why this movie now?   It's a movie specifically about gay men and gay Asian men at that - a group that is never represented in American film.  And Hanna Rosin has never even mentioned the Bedchel Test in any of her tweets previously so why did she all of a sudden care now?  She deleted the tweet and apologized.  Some felt that her tweet was even homophobic and racist, because she implied that people were ignoring the Bedchel test because of "cute Asian boys", which sounds pretty infantilizing.

It was awesome that Alison Bedchel spoke up in favour of the movie.

https://screenrant.com/fire-island-movie-bechdel-test-controversy-explained/

And why would we expect a movie about the love lives of gay men to pass the Bedchel test?????? Do I expect Shawshank Redemption (one of the very best androcentric films ever made, with its touching displays of male intimacy outside of a romantic context) to pass the Bedchel test??

(Bolding mine) Oh it does!!! Is Margaret Cho the only woman with lines in the film? I think so, but that doesn’t surprise me in a rom com about a group of gay men on vacation! Because that actually makes sense in the narrative of the story. 
 

What really gets me, is that as a rom com I LOVED Fire Island- it was cute and precious, all the things a rom com should be, but it’s clear some didn’t even give it a chance because it was about a group of Asian gay men and they just wanted to bash it, because that wasn’t “their” rom com. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Yes, Margaret is supposed to be the Mrs. Bennet role, trying to marry off her "Daughters".  LOL.  Paying homage to a female author with the entire movie is pretty cool, which is why Alison defended the movie.

The Bedchel Test was never intended to be all encompassing, the be all and end all of film criticism.  I think Alison put it into a comic.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bechdel_test

Hanna Rosin actually made the Wikipedia page for it.  I would be so embarrassed.

Quote

The Bechdel Test stirred a minor controversy in 2022 when writer Hanna Rosin evoked it in a tweet to criticize the gay romantic comedy Fire Island. Rosin's tweet was criticized for attempting to apply the test to a film about gay Asian men, a marginalized group, with some noting a film like Fire Island was not the type of film the Bechdel Test is designed to criticize.[56] 

I still think the Bedchel Test is fascinating and useful.  I felt so bad with the thousands of tweets dragging Hanna Rosin, that many of them were also dragging Bedchel, who did not ask to be in this fight.  I think it's always great to analyse movies and see how much of our pop culture is patriarchal.  "Fire Island" is the opposite of that because it's about SEVERAL marginalized communities!

Edited June 18, 2022 by Ms Blue Jay

[Bastet]

23 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

The Bedchel Test was never intended to be all encompassing, the be all and end all of film criticism. 

It was also not intended to say that a film which passes the test is feminist.  It simply drew attention to how many more men than women are in most films to begin with, and how frequently the female characters there are orbit around the male characters, so that they often don't interact with each other, and, when they do, it's frequently about the men -- one of the comic strip characters said to the other that with so many movies out there to see, films that can't even manage to have 1) at least two named female characters who 2) have at least one conversation with each other 3) about something other than a man are crossed off my list.

It spread around (impressive, since this was before social media), and more and more people started paying attention to how few films cleared that astoundingly low bar -- one was frequently met, but there was huge drop-off when looking at whether two and three happened -- while if you watched films with an eye towards whether there exist at least two named mail characters, some combination of which have at least one scene together in which they discuss something other than a woman, most films would pass with flying colors.

Edited June 19, 2022 by Bastet

[aradia22]

Quote

 “I have an announcement. We are in Greece filming My Big Fat Greek Wedding 3. And thank you so much for the lovely messages of just waiting and everything,” Vardalos said. There’s no word on the cast yet, but Vardalos did announce the director of the film: her! 

https://www.vulture.com/2022/06/big-fat-greek-wedding-3-nia-vardalos-greece.html