The Rom Com Thread

Here's a switch for us all: Bridesmaids. Rom com?

That's a female lead. And so good.

The male lead is still masculine, funny, and confident, but not the center energy that leads the film. Kirsten Wiig at her finest.

I think it more a comedy though. A female "bro film." Perhaps we could call it a "gal film." One on here prior may call it a "chick flick," but I don't buy that. What the hell is a "chick flick"? I don't know, but I don't think it quite fits in the rom com genre, despite being incredibly good.
 
CarolinaFever said:
Yes.
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I only asked that because my experience with such things has been deeply emotional.

That's why I think the genre at its best when films portray that aspect as well as the humor. You said you liked the comedy heavier. I prefer a balance of the two.

You're your own dude and experienced things. So you know you. But that's why I asked.

Anyhow, thank you for responding, brother.
 
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MendotoManteo said:
Going to go old school on you all here. Any of ya'll ever seen His Girl Friday, with Cary Grant. I love Cary. My favorite actor. I sometimes rock his Breton look from To Catch a Thief.

It's the wittiest film I've ever seen. The back-and-forth is just incredible. You can't have it on in the background. You must watch it, closely.

And now I'll largely shut up and let you all respond. I've been running pretty wild here the past few posts.
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His Girl Friday is another screwball comedy and also what often gets termed a "comedy of remarriage," a subgenre that makes sense for Code-era films. The fact of divorce allows for the film to charge dialogue with the implication of a previous sexual relationship. And the rapid-fire, bruising dialogue acts as a sort of substitute for the sex that can't be shown or articulated onscreen.

And I'll just toss this out there: Hawks's film exemplifies the "switcheroo," a sort of studio-era ethic of oneupsmanship. He innovates on The Front Page by making one of the co-stars a woman.
 
Foul Play, Silver Streak and Romancing the Stone are worth consideration.

It just occurred to me after posting the above that the romantic comedy-mystery genre has been relatively fallow for some time. It also reminded me of what a fun watch Moonlighting was back in the day.
 
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Bigs23 said:
Is Jerry Maguire a romcom?

If so it’s up there for me.
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I remember back when it was originally in theaters, some friends and I were talking about it. Two of us had seen it and the other friend present during the conversation had not. The friend who had not seen it was skeptical about the movie that my other friend and I were talking up. He said, “I’ve heard that Jerry Maguire is really a romantic comedy disguised as a sports flick.” My other friend and I laughed and responded, “There is no disguise. It’s a romantic comedy.”
 
Icky Mettle said:
I remember back when it was originally in theaters, some friends and I were talking about it. Two of us had seen it and the other friend present during the conversation had not. The friend who had not seen it was skeptical about the movie that my other friend and I were talking up. He said, “I’ve heard that Jerry Maguire is really a romantic comedy disguised as a sports flick.” My other friend and I laughed and responded, “There is no disguise. It’s a romantic comedy.”
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No, it's both. The studios are not in the business are pushing away potential filmgoers by insisting on some singular generic identification, especially for a higher-budget film with stars. Put simply, it makes no sense to say, "Hey, fellas, you should sit this one out. It's a romcom for the ladies." Generic hybridity goes hand-in-hand with threading a film with as many different market segments as it will bear.
 
breepf said:
No, it's both. The studios are not in the business are pushing away potential filmgoers by insisting on some singular generic identification, especially for a higher-budget film with stars. Put simply, it makes no sense to say, "Hey, fellas, you should sit this one out. It's a romcom for the ladies." Generic hybridity goes hand-in-hand with threading a film with as many different market segments as it will bear.
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Sure. But their wasn’t any disguising its rom com elements.
 
Icky Mettle said:
Sure. But their wasn’t any disguising its rom com elements.
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I guess, though I don't know why it would disguise those elements. Plus, virtually every film includes either an A- or B- romantic plot. What makes less sense is to go into a film with Cruise and Zellwegger with the expectation that there will be no romance.
 
Forgetting Sarah Marshall(my favorite)

Crazy Stupid Love

The Proposal (wife's favorite)

50 First Dates (both our favorite)

Can't Hardly Wait

would Van Wilder count?
 
Do the Indiana Jones movies (Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull) count as rom-coms? Karen Allen as Marion Ravenwood.

What about Romancing the Stone? Kathleen Turner and Michael Douglas.

Annette Bening?
 
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