The Rom Com Thread

I´m going to add a couple not listed yet, and in one of my favorite sub-genres of rom-coms, missed opportunities.
Forget Paris with Billy Crystal and Debra Winger and a great supporting cast (the waiter is terrific)
and
A Lot Like Love with Ashton Kutchner and Amanda Peet.
Both movies are totally relatable with characters that just feel authentic. Witty writing with laughter and tears. Perfect for an adult story of romance.
 
MendotoManteo said:
I've only watched, half-assedly while cooking late Saturday night. Then passed out on the couch.

But, yes, it's definitely a rom com. Seems good. I'll have to finish watching soon.
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For a contrarian opinion, I hated that movie. There was only one character in it that was remotely likable to me and she had a fairly minor role. I watched in a hotel room outside of DC on the way back from taking my baseball fanatic son to Cooperstown to see the Hall of Fame and wasn't able to escape seeing the whole thing.
 
Even though it was an also homage to classic screwball comedies and Looney Tunes, can't believe I forgot to include What's Up, Doc?
 
farce© said:
I admit I am a sucker for Hugh Grant romcoms. Brigitte Jones Diary, Love Actually, About a Boy, Notting Hill, Four Weddings and a Funeral, etc. I like to think of myself as being as charming and debonair as Hugh Grant’s characters (I’m not) but it gives me confidence nonetheless.
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He’s amazing in Paddington 2, maybe the best thing he ever did.
 
Also, should give props to the most underrated major release in the past decade: American Hustle. It's not exactly a rom-com, but it's not exactly *not* a rom-com so, to quote a film that is definitely not a rom-com by any measure, I'm going to make a fucking ruling on this, you don't fucking hit him it's close enough to talk about on this thread.
 
Some good movies have been named, not sure if I'd count some of those as rom-coms.

One auteur that hasn't been mentioned is Nancy Meyers both as director and writer. Think her specialty is more of the female protagonist. Some of her movies include: Something's Gotta Give, It's Complicated, Father of the Bride (writer), The Holiday.

You've Got Mail has been mentioned, but curiously no one named Sleepless in Seattle.
 
dcf2 said:
A few more - I'm not sure if these have aged well... Metropolitan (1990), Before Sunrise and Sunset but not Before Midnight, Palm Springs as a COVID era capsule.
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Good call on the Before... series, I forgot about those. And Yes, the last was the worst.
 
hereiam39 said:
Good call on the Before... series, I forgot about those. And Yes, the last was the worst.
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At the risk of being a dickhead, I don't understand why these movie threads just devolve into people listing movies that they've seen or that they like.

Admittedly, it makes sense inasmuch as most people watch movies for entertainment or escape. But I wouldn't enthusiastically participate in a thread where I just list the groceries I eat.
 
MendotoManteo said:
This is an exceptional point, and I think connects to my description of the genre as inherently "masculine" in a post above.

We're a patriarchal culture, obviously. Young women are our prized possession, but outside that, men are often considered "more attractive" as they age. We devalue women as they age. As you said, this is probably why male leads dominate our minds and collective memory in this genre.

Thank you for bringing up Sandra Bullock. My god, what a woman! Julia Roberts too.
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I don't think that is just patriarchy. There are evolutionary reasons for this to be true. Men can procreate almost until they die so evolution favored men who remain attractive to the opposite sex as they get older. From an evolutionary perspective, there is little benefit in women remaining attractive to men post-menopause. (Maybe just long enough to find someone to help raise the children.)
 
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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I used to really like Jerry Maguire then I learned just how creepy Tom Cruise is and that ruined pretty much all of his films for me.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
I don't think that is just patriarchy. There are evolutionary reasons for this to be true. Men can procreate almost until they die so evolution favored men who remain attractive to the opposite sex as they get older. From an evolutionary perspective, there is little benefit in women remaining attractive to men post-menopause. (Maybe just long enough to find someone to help raise the children.)
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While men can, in theory, procreate almost until they die, in practice there are impediments (e.g. ED, failing testicles that no longer produce sperm) and also you have to consider the other aspect here -- which is the fitness of an old dude to be a father.

And while evolution would favor men being attractive to women as they age, evolution would also favor women who prefer young men and who tell the old men to fuck off.

I would say it's more that power distribution affects beauty standards. Old men are often in charge.
 
breepf said:
At the risk of being a dickhead, I don't understand why these movie threads just devolve into people listing movies that they've seen or that they like.

Admittedly, it makes sense inasmuch as most people watch movies for entertainment or escape. But I wouldn't enthusiastically participate in a thread where I just list the groceries I eat.
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I agree with you. But people aren't good at talking about films. It will probably surprise nobody that I can write five paragraphs on why As Good As It Gets is so wonderful, but that's not the norm. Especially on a message board, as most people have to think more because film aesthetics is probably not at the top of their minds.

And there have been threads over on the old ZZL that are basically "list the foods you eat." Hell, the ZZL had threads like "post the first word that comes to mind," or "the only one post per week" thread or any other number of inane banalities. But that's a virtue of message boards -- I don't have to read or participate in them. The people who like those things can, and I can respond by not GAF about any of it. Not my business, not my concern, it affects me not at all.
 
superrific said:
While men can, in theory, procreate almost until they die, in practice there are impediments (e.g. ED, failing testicles that no longer produce sperm) and also you have to consider the other aspect here -- which is the fitness of an old dude to be a father.

And while evolution would favor men being attractive to women as they age, evolution would also favor women who prefer young men and who tell the old men to fuck off.

I would say it's more that power distribution affects beauty standards. Old men are often in charge.
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As for women who prefer young men, sure, up until the point where they can no longer conceive children plus some years to find someone to help raise the kids if necessary.

As for your first paragraph, I've thought of that quite a lot because studies have shown a correlation between paternal age and Autism. I was 37 when I conceived my son. Not old but not young either. One of several things that cause feelings of guilt.
 
ChapelHillSooner said:
As for women who prefer young men, sure, up until the point where they can no longer conceive children plus some years to find someone to help raise the kids if necessary.

As for your first paragraph, I've thought of that quite a lot because studies have shown a correlation between paternal age and Autism. I was 37 when I conceived my son. Not old but not young either. One of several things that cause feelings of guilt.
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Dude, men have been conceiving children at age 37 for centuries. The vast, vast majority were not autistic. You did absolutely nothing wrong. Your responsibility is 0%.

I also think sometimes about the evolutionary aspect of autism. Why is autism becoming increasingly common (let's assume it is for now, and it's not just artefact of more measurement or different standards)? Maybe it's because autism is also correlated with high mental functioning. In a pre-industrial world, autism conferred an evolutionary disadvantage. But in the industrial age, mild autism might be a positive adaptation. To the extent that autism is genetic, one would imagine that sometimes the genes that cause mild autism get concentrated and the autism is less mild. Sort of like how sickle-cell anemia is the result of having two copies of an otherwise pro-adaptive gene.

Anyway, you should feel not at all guilty. I know, that's up there in the Useless Advice Hall of Fame, along with "relax" and "that doesn't make you look fat," but try to take it to heart.
 
Icky Mettle said:
I won’t tell you anything about OJ Simpson then. That might ruin the Naked Gun movies for you.
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Except that the plot (of the first one, at least -- I didn't see the others) is about OJ getting wrecked and almost dying in the hospital. If you want to see OJ suffer, Naked Gun might be the closest thing.
 
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