Romantic Comedies

[DisneyBoy]

This movie didn't really get much buzz when it came out, but I've loved it since I first saw it and definitely think it deserves a glance - Down With Love. Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor, David Hyde Pierce and Sarah Paulson do excellent work throughout the film which is a great send up of those Doris Day/Rock Hudson movies and overall just a very stylish flick.

[cpcathy]

That is a really cute movie, and Ewan is to die for in it.

[memememe76]

Would a movie like Hello, My name is Doris perhaps be considered a romantic comedy? I did like it, and Sally is so great. Loved La La Land too.

With all these actors locked up for all of these superhero trilogies, franchises, etc, I was wondering if studios would be interested in locking up two actors doing a certain number of movies together, ie Emma and Ryan, Jennifer and Bradley, etc. I think Gal and Chris in a romantic comedy would do well. 

And bring back the middle aged romcom. Oprah and Samuel L Jackson. Nicole and Colin.

Edited June 6, 2017 by memememe76

[aradia22]

I mean, it seems like Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling and Jennifer Lawrence and Bradley Cooper have already been doing their versions of rom-coms. I don't foresee a longterm Ginger Rogers/Fred Astaire kind of thing as that's been out of fashion for a while. Even Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks didn't make that many movies together. Actually, speaking of superheroes and franchises, it's more likely to lock up actors that way. If there's a romance built into the franchise (and no in-movie breakup) those actors get linked for a series of movies in a way that feels more organic that constantly reteaming actors but pretending they're playing different characters.

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And bring back the middle aged romcom. Oprah and Samuel L Jackson. Nicole and Colin.

I think they've aged out of middle age. A middle aged rom-com is like The Last Holiday with Queen Latifah and LL Cool J or even when Nicole Kidman and Will Ferrell did Bewitched. At their ages now, those actors are more like It's Complicated with Steve Martin and Meryl Streep. Or the one with Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler like to work together.  Jason Bateman and Jennifer Aniston have done like 5 movies together I think but only once were they each other's love interest.  

Diane Lane and Alec Baldwin did a movie together recently but it didn't get much buzz.  He was also Cate Blanchett's love interest for Blue Jasmine... not a romantic comedy but a great story.

(sorry, changing Keaton to Lane!)

Edited June 8, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[aradia22]

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So why is the show so often portrayed as a set of empty, static cartoons, an embarrassment to womankind? It’s a classic misunderstanding, I think, stemming from an unexamined hierarchy: the assumption that anything stylized (or formulaic, or pleasurable, or funny, or feminine, or explicit about sex rather than about violence, or made collaboratively) must be inferior. 

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/difficult-women

I fell into a New Yorker hole and started reading this old Emily Nussbaum piece on Sex and the City. I excerpted this part because I think it rings true for rom-coms as well.

[amaranta]

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Would a movie like Hello, My name is Doris perhaps be considered a romantic comedy? I did like it, and Sally is so great.

I really liked this movie, and it felt like a romcom to me. 

I miss romantic comedies and have a DVD collection ranging from the 1920's to present day; I think 60-65% probably fall in that genre.  Indies, dramas, action and Pixar / Disney seem to make up the rest. (Hitchcock gets his own category.)

My favorite from the old days (1930"s) would be The Awful Truth.  I also love Talk of the Town (1942); I mean, you get Cary Grant and Ronald Coleman. I can watch any and all of the Hepburn-Tracy movies. And Hepburn-Grant.

As for the 'moderns' - an UO but I think Julia Roberts and Richard Gere have amazing chemistry and wish they would have done more together.  To continue the UO I'd rather see them in Runaway Bride than Pretty Woman. Yeah, I like it.

If I come across The Proposal on TV I cannot skip it.  Same with Two Weeks Notice. 

Two more UOs:
 - Hugh Grant has chemistry with anyone and everything; and I think has only gotten better with age.  For me, he was the best part of Florence Foster Jenkins, followed by Helberg, then Streep.
- I like 27 Dresses.  I own a copy. I don't care that it's Heigl.

Edited June 10, 2017 by amaranta
Weird sentence.

[NutMeg]

On 6/8/2017 at 2:21 AM, aradia22 said:

http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/07/29/difficult-women

I fell into a New Yorker hole and started reading this old Emily Nussbaum piece on Sex and the City. I excerpted this part because I think it rings true for rom-coms as well.

That's a very good article, thank you for posting the link.

[amaranta]

When I need cheering up one of my go to movies is Happy, Texas.  I haven't met many who've seen it, but I loved Jeremy Northam, Steve Zahn and William H. Macy in this.  Northam for being pretty, Zahn for weird adorableness, and Macy's wistful Sheriff Chappy (I still get a big, wide grin when he gets his happy ending.)

[twoods]

FInally watched Bridget Jones' Baby and you guys were right- it was pretty good. I got teary eyed a few times because it gave me the feels like the first one did. Finally a good rom com!

I tried watching Playing It Cool with Chris Evans and even his hotness could not keep me occupied- I lost interest 20 minutes into it. When is Netflix going to stream the Duff? I really want to see that movie again- so freaking cute. The Matchbreaker looks promising so may try watching it this weekend.

There was a decent movie that Netflix used to stream called "The Other End of the Line" with Jesse Metcalfe falling in love with an Indian telecommunications person. It was pretty cute, but I'm a sucker for interracial movies (Shiri in Love was also cute). Shame that there aren't many new ones out there. 

[emjohnson03]

Best Romantic Comedy/Drama is Say Anything. I can't "Say" it enough, haha! It's so on point and is one of those 80's movies that gets the accolades but not always the hype alongside the other John Hughes films (which in their own right is just awesome).

I just love the simplicity of it wrapped in a underlying dark story. It has so many layers and yet it's just perfectly toned. Who doesn't love Lloyd and Diane? 

I have always dreamed of writing a love story like that. Or living one similar too!

[Captain Carrot]

About a year ago I saw An American in Paris on Broadway. (After the tickets became reasonably priced). And once again I found the rival for the main character's affections (in this case Milo Davenport) to be more interesting then the love interest. What if they made a romantic comedy about that character? It starts with the typical Hollywood ending for an old fashioned romantic comedy, then Milo says f that, and walks off to have her own story.

[amaranta]

You know, the trailer only looks so-so, but I'm hoping Reese Witherspoon's good judgment won out, and this turn out to be better than what I see here.  Heck, I'll take average.  I'm most definitely in the mood for new rom com.

 

[twoods]

Finally! I also saw a trailer for the Big Sick today and that also looks promising. Maybe there is hope....

[amaranta]

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Finally! I also saw a trailer for the Big Sick today and that also looks promising. Maybe there is hope..

Ray Romano, beginning with Men of a Certain Age, has consistently surprised me as an actor.  I may try and catch this one.  Whole cast looks good.

[methodwriter85]

8 hours ago, amaranta said:

You know, the trailer only looks so-so, but I'm hoping Reese Witherspoon's good judgment won out, and this turn out to be better than what I see here.  Heck, I'll take average.  I'm most definitely in the mood for new rom com.

 

I gotta give Reese Witherspoon props for casting a guy who looks significantly younger than her and still very much like he's in the first half of his 20's instead of a guy who's like 30 but playing 24 in order to make the age difference less noticeable. (That's a common casting ploy in a lot of movies and t.v. shows where there's supposed to be a May/December romance.) Pico Alexander looks cute; I'm definitely in.

I do think Reese Witherspoon has shown pretty good judgement after hitting her career lows in This is War and How Do You Know so this might be actually good.

Edited June 18, 2017 by methodwriter85

[dusang]

On 6/17/2017 at 6:45 PM, twoods said:

Finally! I also saw a trailer for the Big Sick today and that also looks promising. Maybe there is hope....

 

 

On 6/17/2017 at 11:21 PM, amaranta said:

Ray Romano, beginning with Men of a Certain Age, has consistently surprised me as an actor.  I may try and catch this one.  Whole cast looks good.

Just FYI, The Big Sick is based on Kumail Nanjiani's actual relationship with his actual (now) wife -- she's the cowriter on the script, although not the actress playing the girlfriend.  The trailer looks good and I've heard good things about it from podcasters (who admit to being friends with Kumail).

[Ms Blue Jay]

On 6/17/2017 at 2:36 AM, twoods said:

FInally watched Bridget Jones' Baby and you guys were right- it was pretty good. I got teary eyed a few times because it gave me the feels like the first one did. Finally a good rom com!

I get so so so much pleasure out of recommending something, and someone else enjoying it.  Thanks for reporting back.  I'm glad you did enjoy it.

On 6/17/2017 at 11:28 PM, methodwriter85 said:

I do think Reese Witherspoon has shown pretty good judgement after hitting her career lows in This is War and How Do You Know so this might be actually good.

"How Do You Know" SOUNDS like my dream movie.  Romantic comedy, baseball, Owen Wilson, and Paul Rudd?  But for the life of me I couldn't get through it.  I wonder if I should try again.

I only saw "This Means War" for the first time this year.  I think I saw it RIGHT after Chris Pine was on SNL, because he was so damn good and cute on that.  And man, I REALLY enjoyed it!

Edited June 20, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Trini]

2 hours ago, Ms Blue Jay said:

I only saw "This Means War" for the first time this year.  I think I saw it RIGHT after Chris Pine was on SNL, because he was so damn good and cute on that.  And man, I REALLY enjoyed it!

Aw, is This Means War really considered a 'low' for Witherspoon? Because I also enjoyed it! I loved that it was a action movie smooshed with a rom-com. It helped that I liked all three leads, and thought they all had good chemistry with each other.

[methodwriter85]

13 minutes ago, Trini said:

Aw, is This Means War really considered a 'low' for Witherspoon? Because I also enjoyed it! I loved that it was a action movie smooshed with a rom-com. It helped that I liked all three leads, and thought they all had good chemistry with each other.

Nevermind. I thought it was a big flop, but it actually wasn't. Her career in general seemed to be hitting the skids at the start of this decade and didn't really rebound until she went back to her edgy indie movie roots with Wild. Now that she has regained her clout maybe she'll start producing some good romantic comedies?

[twoods]

I may have to check that one out- I've loved Chris Pine ever since I saw him in Princess Diaries 2 (don't judge) and Blind Dating (see, interracial movies are my jam). 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Interracial movies?!  I will love this topic!  Wayne's World 1 and 2... Something New.... Jungle Fever.... Romeo Must Die..... I'm going to compile a list!  The Best Man Holiday...... LOL!  Hitch!  Focus!  

I haven't seen Blind Dating yet!

Edited June 20, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[dusang]

This Means War bugged me because the guy she ultimately chose to be with was the one who was most consistently lying to her on all of their dates.

[cpcathy]

I don't need to see the film again, but can't I just take the This Means War poster and crop out Reese and keep the two men?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Currently giving "How Do You Know" like its third chance. I don't hate it.

Edited: I finished it!  I enjoyed it.  Sometimes you just want a movie to make you feel good, and this one did.  Yes, it's a full 2 hours long, but I guess, inspired by this thread, and wanting to watch a baseball movie, I was spurred on.  I think the first couple of times it felt slow-moving and like nothing was happening, but this time I just watched with fresh eyes and I was able to get through it.  

Paul Rudd was dating an East Indian woman in this, so I get to add it to my interracial movies list.  Kathryn Hahn and Jack Nicholson are in it as well.

Edited June 21, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[Ms Blue Jay]

23 hours ago, methodwriter85 said:

Nevermind. I thought it was a big flop, but it actually wasn't. Her career in general seemed to be hitting the skids at the start of this decade and didn't really rebound until she went back to her edgy indie movie roots with Wild. Now that she has regained her clout maybe she'll start producing some good romantic comedies?

Reese did a great job with the show Big Little Lies for HBO.

[memememe76]

For romantic comedies involving an interracial couple, there is my guilty pleasure, Maid in Manhatten. And while maybe not a romcom per se, there was Bad Moms.

[twoods]

31 minutes ago, memememe76 said:

For romantic comedies involving an interracial couple, there is my guilty pleasure, Maid in Manhatten. And while maybe not a romcom per se, there was Bad Moms.

I forgot about the that movie- it's also a guilty pleasure of mine. I also love rewatching Bend It Like Beckham and Save the Last Dance. 

Edited June 21, 2017 by twoods

[Ms Blue Jay]

Just rewatched "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" (1996).  Oh man, it was sooooooo good!

[twoods]

I haven't watched How To Lose a Guy in 10 days in forever, and forgot how hilarious that movie was. One of the funniest romcoms I have ever seen, and it helped that Kate and Matthew had terrific chemistry. I watch movies like this and feel sad that we rarely see these movies anymore. 

[Ms Blue Jay]

Promise me none of you will try "Fool's Gold", where Matt and Kate tried to recapture that magic, in one of the worst movies I've ever seen.  However, I DO heartily recommend "Failure to Launch", perhaps a lesser known romantic comedy starring Matthew McConaughey and Sarah Jessica Parker.

"How to Lose a Guy" is in my trifecta with Two Weeks Notice, and Miss Congeniality as movies I thought I would never get tired of, but I think I've watched them too many times or something.  I need some distance.  Throw Wimbledon and Just Married as ones I always turn used to turn to, as well.

I watch a lot of movies, so here's my recent notes:

poor to average:
The Family Stone, Over Her Dead Body (Paul Rudd), Just My Luck (Chris Pine), Uptown Girls

above average to I loved it:
The Family Man (plus aforementioned The Other Woman, Monster-in-Law, How Do You Know, This Means War, Pride and Prejudice)

Edited June 26, 2017 by Ms Blue Jay

[VCRTracking]

I guess Wedding Crashers counts as a romcom? Anyway what this tweet says is correct:

[methodwriter85]

Well, yeah. It's more of along the lines of a raunchy romantic comedy, but it's definitely a romantic comedy.  Owen Wilson and Rachel McAdams are the A-couple, Vince and Isla were the comedic B-couple, and Bradley Cooper is the "bad" guy that our hero has to vanquish before he's reunited with his true love. Throw in Jane Seymour's "Mrs. Robinson" character for good luck.

[amaranta]

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Throw Wimbledon and Just Married as ones I always turn used to turn to, as well.

I haven't seen Just Married, but you reminded me that I used to really like Wimbledon.  Another one to add to my summer watch list - thanks!

[Ms Blue Jay]

2 hours ago, VCRTracking said:

I guess Wedding Crashers counts as a romcom? Anyway what this tweet says is correct:

Thanks for this.  This is one of my favourite movies of all time.  

[aradia22]

What the heck is going on with Netflix? They already have a thin slate of romances. Now they're pulling...

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice, Kate & Leopold, Hello Dolly, and Becoming Jane

I only found out just now or I would have watched some of them.

[twoods]

38 minutes ago, aradia22 said:

What the heck is going on with Netflix? They already have a thin slate of romances. Now they're pulling...

Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice, Kate & Leopold, Hello Dolly, and Becoming Jane

I only found out just now or I would have watched some of them.

What! Most of those movies are on my list. Good thing I have While You Were Sleeping and How To Lose a Guy on DVD but Netflix is so much easier. They better have some new romcoms to fill the void. How about Ever After and Never Been Kissed, Netflix?

[memememe76]

I am flying to Vegas with a layover in San Fran. On the plane, I watched a movie called Table 19 starring Anna Kendrick, about a group pf strangers who attend a wedding but are saddled with a faraway reception table for the losers. Starts off pretty terribly, but grows in momentum where i ended up having quite the bit of affection for the characters. Also, the wedding band with the 80s covers was aces.

[aradia22]

@twoods Yes to Ever After!

[amaranta]

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Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, While You Were Sleeping, Two Weeks Notice, Kate & Leopold, Hello Dolly, and Becoming Jane

Glad I got in under the wire on Becoming Jane; I watched for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

I have searched their site to see if they have a What's Leaving section, which I didn't find, but it was a quick look.  I'll to try again.  And If they don't have this feature, they should start.

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There are several sites providing monthly lists of what's being added and what's being removed from Netflix.  Here's one.

Thank you!

Netflix should at least start tagging / labeling the content.  When I check my Amazon Prime watch list it will say if it's being removed.  I've only seen that notation once on Netflix, and not again since.  I did know there were lists out there (think HuffPo does it too) but I always forget to look.

Edited July 1, 2017 by amaranta

[Bastet]

22 minutes ago, amaranta said:

I have searched their site to see if they have a What's Leaving section, which I didn't find, but it was a quick look.  I'll to try again.  And If they don't have this feature, they should start.

There are several sites providing monthly lists of what's being added and what's being removed from Netflix.  Here's one.

[twoods]

The only new movie I see is Emma. Come on, Netflix!

[aradia22]

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Glad I got in under the wire on Becoming Jane; I watched for the first time a couple of weeks ago.

Did you enjoy it? It's one of those movies I always wanted to watch but never got around to. Like Miss Potter. I attempted to watch last night but the beginning was so slow (I watched 2 minutes) I knew I wasn't in the mood for it and just finished season 3 of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt instead.

Not all comedies but for everything that falls under the vague heading of romance I see... Emma, Last Night, Love Actually, and Titanic. Come on, Netflix! At least Futurama is coming back. 

[amaranta]

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Did you enjoy it? It's one of those movies I always wanted to watch but never got around to.

Yes, I did.  But then I'm a total Austen freak.  Plus I know some people don't like Hathaway, but I'm fine with her.

Totally unrelated -  Why do I find it so sad that there is not a single Cary Grant film on Netflix?  Some of us adore the old romantic comedies.  I didn't even see any of his movies until he was long gone from the screen; I still fell in love.  Is there really that little interest in classic film?  I know it's not HD, they might look boxy, and so on.. but they're still good movies. What are the chances of new eyes finding Grant, Tracy and Hepburn, and more if the streaming platforms ignore the classics of the genre?

Okay, end of lament...

Edited July 2, 2017 by amaranta

[aradia22]

@amaranta Last time I checked Amazon has An Affair To Remember (even though I don't like that movie). And I think Netflix or Hulu had Holiday and some Cary Grant movies for streaming in the past. I think they have some DVD's but it might be a rights issue. I feel like the movies they seem to keep in stock are ones owned by companies they have a good relationship with (e.g. Disney... since they have all those Marvel shows). Still annoying though. Aside from UKS the movies I really feel like streaming are rom-coms. Not total turn-your-brain off fare but something fun and light and sweet and romantic. 

[methodwriter85]

I wouldn't call this a full-on romantic comedy, but I did enjoy this a lot:

The real love is the Paris French food.

[topanga]

On 7/1/2017 at 1:45 AM, memememe76 said:

I am flying to Vegas with a layover in San Fran. On the plane, I watched a movie called Table 19 starring Anna Kendrick, about a group pf strangers who attend a wedding but are saddled with a faraway reception table for the losers. Starts off pretty terribly, but grows in momentum where i ended up having quite the bit of affection for the characters. Also, the wedding band with the 80s covers was aces.

Thanks. It's now at the top of my DVD queue. 

[Morrigan2575]

On 6/21/2017 at 9:02 PM, Ms Blue Jay said:

Just rewatched "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" (1996).  Oh man, it was sooooooo good!

I loved that movie. Janeane Garafalo also made another one of the few RomComs I've enjoyed  "The Matchmaker" (1997)

Edited July 3, 2017 by Morrigan2575

[methodwriter85]

16 minutes ago, topanga said:

Thanks. It's now at the top of my DVD queue. 

I definitely liked it a lot. Romance is less a focus and it's really more about bonding with a group of strangers, but it has some very lovely and romantic scenes in it.

[Bastet]

On 7/2/2017 at 9:33 AM, amaranta said:

Why do I find it so sad that there is not a single Cary Grant film on Netflix?  Some of us adore the old romantic comedies. 

Netflix has (or at least used to, but I think it's still there) Desk Set, but that's the only old romantic comedy I can think of on there.  Basically, it's only TCM that airs films from the '30s through '60s (even '70s films aren't very well represented on the other movie channels or Netflix).