SELL/BUY/PROCESS: Following up on its essay on Broadcast News, Slate is polling 15 suggestions to determine "What's the Smartest Rom-Com of the Past 25 Years?"
When Harry Met Sally is currently leading, followed by Groundhog Day and Love Actually. We must unite as a community to ensure Meg Ryan doesn't win this.
Good lord, Love Actually is third, only three votes behind Groundhog Day. Who is voting for these movies? Even though I'm not one of those enamored with Groundhog Day, I completely understand the regard it is held in. But WHMS or Love, Actually? Over Say Anything, or Clueless? Then I saw that the list was put together by Dan Kois, an alltogether mediorce critic who always tries to be funny and succeeds about 5% of the time (kind of like the movie that is currently winning the poll). Oh for the days when David Edelstein was the movie critic for Slate.
ReplyDeleteWhy are we going against Meg Ryan? She is the rom-com queen of the late 80's and 90's. Just because she's kind of a weirdo now, she was believable and perfect for all of those parts.
ReplyDeleteAs much as it is one of my favorite movies of all time, the person we should be campaiging against is Andie MacDowell. She is irritating.
All of that being said, I'm pretty sure I would vote for Love Actually.
Also, what about Truly, Madly, Deeply? Shouldn't it be about best, not popular?
ReplyDeleteThere are many words I'd use to describe her films; "smart" is not among them.
ReplyDeleteLove Actually combines inadequate plotting with too many female servant/employee love interests. What's missing from that list is Before Sunset, vastly better than Before Sunrise and just smart and delightful. Next Stop Wonderland's a pretty good choice for that list - I had forgotten about that movie. Pretty sure Say Anything wins.
ReplyDeleteI'd second (or third) the votes for Say Anything.
ReplyDeleteMuch as I love Love, Actually I can't vote for it on this list. I had to go with High Fidelity.
ReplyDelete(Next Stop Wonderland is such a disappointment besides the wonderful Judy Davis.)
When Harry Met Sally is a good romantic comedy, perhaps even a great one. But that's not necessarily the same as a smart romantic comedy.
ReplyDeleteGroundhog Day is what I would say is far and away the smartest movie on the list. I never really thought of it as a romantic comedy, although I suppose it is.
I think my favorite romantic comedy is My Best Friend's Wedding. But again, favorite is not necessarily smartest.
My favorite is Bridget Jones's Diary and it is far, far smarter than Love, Actually.
ReplyDeleteI think it would be impossible for me to overstate just how much I adore Before Sunset. Really, it's as close to a perfect movie as I think I've ever seen. Even just thinking about the extraordinary final scene makes me swoon.
ReplyDeleteWow, that's not a very good list in the Slate poll. I really like some of the titles, but lists encompassing the last 25 years really need to include Sideways and A Fish Called Wanda and Branagh's Much Ado About Nothing. And I'd want to include WALL-E and Bring It On and Juno, but YMMV
ReplyDeleteBring It On, which I love, is more of a sports movie than a rom-com. Wanda is a f-f-f-f-farce first, I think. (Both are pretty damn great movies; my only problem with Bring It On, as I think I've mentioned here before, is that whole "oh, by the way, they automatically qualified for Nationals anyway" swerve.)
ReplyDeleteHe should have included Eternal Sunshine and 40YOV.<span> </span>
*swoon*
ReplyDeleteOnly 2 years until 2013 and time for the third movie! (Assuming another 9 years between movies.) Considering the second movie took a whopping 15 days to make, I say go for it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, Julie Delpy has another mature romance of sorts in 2 Days In Paris, one of the few movies to use Adam Goldberg's particular talents well. AND HOLY SCHNIEKE, THERE'S A SEQUEL IN POST-PRODUCTION! Julie Delpy writing and directing again! Dylan Baker! Starring Chris Rock...wait, what?
How about Something's Gotta Give? Diane Keaton, Jack, Keanu...works for me. And, a stunning, airy house in the Hamptons (good real estate seals the deal for me in terms of movies, like Michael Douglas' apt in Perfect Murder...yowza!).
ReplyDeleteHello Neighbor!
ReplyDeleteWhen Harry Met Sally is smart, and she's great in it. Just because she sucks in other stupid films is no reason not to give her credit for her good one.
ReplyDeleteAnd Callie, do NOT get me started on the black hole of charisma that is Andie MacDowell.
For me (from that list) it's a toss-up between Say Anything and High Fidelity. I do really love Groundhog Day, though. Although I'm a fan of Love Actually, I would not put it on a list of smartest rom-coms.
ReplyDeleteAgreed re: Eternal Sunshine and 40YOV. Eternal Sunshine especially, though.
ReplyDeleteWhen Andie MacDowell smiles, it looks like she's smirking in judgment at you for watching one of her movies. It's the damnedest thing.
ReplyDeleteLove Actually is clever and adorable but not smart, and it does seriously suffer from the power imbalance repetition problem that Adlai mentioned. Also, why does the one American woman get the only unhappy/unresolved ending?
ReplyDeleteAnd American women are such morons they automatically fall for the guy with the British accent? And Billy Bob Thornton is the slimy American president? I know he was supposed to be Clinton, or at least Clintonesque, but all Americans were portrayed very, very badly in that movie. And we ate it up with a spoon.
ReplyDeleteWhat I find amazing is - given how much I hate Andie McDowell with a fiery passion, she still managed not to totally ruin two of my favorite romantic comedies, Groundhog Day and 4 Weddings and a Funeral. Which I believe is a testament to the superior talent of those around her, who manage to cancel out her suckage.
ReplyDeleteThe other day I said that Broadcast News was always in my top three list of favorite movies. And the reason it doesn't occupy the top spot is because that spot has been occupied, for about 20 years now, by Say Anything. I just love and adore this movie. It's the perfect romantic comedy - it follows the formula (guy meets girl, obstacles intrude, guy loses girl, guy gets girl back), but does so in such fun, smart ways, with fantastic dialogue, great supporting characters, and an eccentric leading man you can't help but love. Say Anything is smart because it gets the teenage world it inhabits, and the teenagers sound and act real, acting crazily out of passion and desperation. Say Anything totally has my vote.
ReplyDelete"Oh, are my synapses still firing? I hadn't noticed."
ReplyDeleteI used to love "Say Anything..." Then I realized that as I got older Lloyd Dobler looked less and less like an ideal man. I mean, sure, he's fine when you're 18 and kicking around Europe, but let's hope he grew into something different later.
ReplyDeleteI still really like Say Anything, but my favorite Cameron Crowe movie now is Singles, which I can find more relatable and believable.
Sorry, the best one is Next Stop Wonderland, which I was thrilled to see on the shortlist.
ReplyDelete