MetaChat - Not rhetorical, genuinely curious:

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29 April 2010

Not rhetorical, genuinely curious: Has there been a really good American romantic comedy in the last ten years?→[More:]It feels like there should be at least a couple of unqualified successes in that time frame, well-executed films that treat relationships with grace and wit, that avoid reliance on humiliation, deceit, and gimmickry - but I'll be damned if I can think of anything at the moment.

I must be overlooking something. Right?

post by: Iridic at: 13:01 | 31 comments

People will disagree with me, but I'd say "Juno" - 2007.

posted by rainbaby 29 April | 13:16

Not really.

If we include bromanctic comedies (hey, I didn't invent the genre), then I Love You, Man is a pretty decent movie (although that could just be my everlasting crush on Paul Rudd). I thought Superbad was a great romantic comedy, but again with two guys who don't fuck at the end.

Oh wait, Love Actually came out in 2003. There you go - the last unqualified success in the genre of Romantic Comedies.

posted by muddgirl 29 April | 13:23

I'm gonna argue for The 40 Year Old Virgin.

posted by jrossi4r 29 April | 13:25

I agree with 40 Year Old Virgin. I also really liked Adventureland.

posted by Miko 29 April | 13:28

Yeah, I was gonna suggest Love Actually.

And I was thinking, maybe.... Dan in Real Life? It's not a *great* movie, but I dunno, it kind of struck a chord with me.

posted by gaspode 29 April | 13:30

I know quite a few people who just loved Love Actually. I thought it was really uneven myself — some of the stories were believable and compelling, while others just left me rolling my eyes.

Does Wedding Crashers count as a romantic comedy? I loved the first two-thirds of it, though admittedly as it veered into romantic comedy territory in the last third, I stopped liking it.

posted by Orange Swan 29 April | 13:32

With the caveat that both "romantic" and "comedy" probably means something different to me than to others:

- High Fidelity (2000) It juuuuuust squeaks in under your ten-year deadline.
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004). This may fall into "gimmicky" for others; for me, it seems one of the most earnest, intelligent, brutally knowing looks at romance in modern cinema, facilitated by a technological premise and then perfectly executed. And I think it is both deeply romantic and hilariously funny.
- Punch Drunk Love (2002). It's like a screwball comedy in real life, with real consequences. There is some humiliation, but it is not the hahah so funny humiliation that runs rampant in glitzy Hollywood rom-coms; it's real and excruciating. But the romance is intense, and so is the comedy.
- I really liked (500) Days of Summer, though it's a little twee. The obscure timeline may seem gimmicky to some people; I thought it worked beautifully.
- Secretary (2002). But definitely not for all tastes.

I was going to pitch Shaun of the Dead as a great zom-rom-com, but you did specify American films, so that's out.

posted by Elsa 29 April | 13:44

I don't think Eternal Sunshine counts as a "romantic comedy". It's definitely a dark comedy with no Happily Ever After - the most important part of a romantic comedy!

Punch Drunk Love is pretty dark as well, but closer. I also forgot about Secretary - awesome movie.

(500) Days of Summer, again, isn't really romantic. Isn't it about a guy who doesn't understand that some women only want to sleep with him, not marry him? And then he gets upset when a woman does just that? Maybe it's like a self-bromance, where the real romantic couple is the main character and his own self-image...

posted by muddgirl 29 April | 13:56

And that's why I prefaced my remark with the caveat.

posted by Elsa 29 April | 14:00

Also, I hate the Absolutely Assured Happily Ever After. It devalues the happy ending when I know it must be coming. I do love a movie that throws itself on the grenade of an unhappy ending.

posted by Elsa 29 April | 14:02

Yeah, I don't watch a lot of romantic comedies, either. I watch romantic movies that are funny (and dark) or comedies that have a romance (but not a HEA).

I think one of the reasons that there are no good romantic comedies anymore is exactly because their are definitionally light and fluffy. It's been hard to make intelligent, light and fluffy movies over the last 10 years, what with 9/11, two wars, increasing poverty, etc. etc. etc. Brainlessly light and fluffy is much easier.

posted by muddgirl 29 April | 14:07

that avoid reliance on humiliation, deceit, and gimmickry

That's the tough standard to meet.

posted by Ardiril 29 April | 14:16

And if people are willing to shell out to see a piece of fluff, why pour time and resources into making something more challenging (both to make and to watch)? No reason.

I watch romantic movies that are funny (and dark) or comedies that have a romance.

Me, too, and of my own suggestions above, the only one that flat-out qualifies as a rom-com is High Fidelity. I love that movie. I think I'll watch it tonight!

posted by Elsa 29 April | 14:17

I don't think an intelligent movie has to be challenging. There isn't anything particularly challenging in When Harry Met Sally - two attractive people meet, become friends, there's a little conflict, then they fall in love. It's light, but it's also intelligent. There's no doubt how it's going to end, but the characters and their responses to the world feel realistic.

On the other hand, there's nothing intelligent about How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, a romantic comedy I greatly disliked. It's a diverting movie, but it's not like I walked out thinking "Wow, I wish I was Kate Hudson! I wish I was Matthew McConaughey!" because their characters were entirely two-dimensional. Even outside their gimmicky ploys, there was nothing really attractive about their characters.

This is just, like, my opinion. Comedies like How to Lose a Guy have been popular since the beginning of movies - they just tend to lack staying power.

posted by muddgirl 29 April | 15:14

Amélie, but that's not American.

posted by desjardins 29 April | 15:20

Adventureland, hands down. Charming movie, believable, and without any trace of treacle. Can't recommend it highly enough.

posted by Lipstick Thespian 29 April | 15:21

I'm not sure, I just know that Elsa is my romcom soulmate. Someone should make a movie about that with a lot of comic relief thrown in.

I'm sure Douglas Adams purists will get their backs up about this but isn't the movie version of Hitchhiker's a bit romcomish?

I liked The Good Girl, though I can't remember much about it now other than Zooey D's great lines.

posted by birdie 29 April | 15:52

Oh right, Elf. I love Elf.

posted by birdie 29 April | 15:55

- Up in the Air was almost a romantic comedy (good movie but not quite in the categorey).
- Youth in Revolt was another almost in the categorey (somewhere between SuperBad and Juno) and it was pretty funny.
- Forgetting Sarah Marshall wasn't horrible (meaning that I actually sat through it) but it was far from good.
That's all I got.

posted by doctor_negative 29 April | 15:55

With a bit of reflection, I can see that I shortchanged Apatow & Company. FYOV and Knocked Up had heart, or at least aspiration to heart, and Funny People, for all that it was somber and overlong, didn't adhere to formula in the least. It will be interesting to see where Apatow goes from there. I'll have to see Adventureland too.

And I somehow forgot about Down With Love! It's nothing but artifice, but it's a marvelous way to spend ninety minutes. Interestingly, the director's follow-up was the infinitely more realistic The Break-Up, which had one of those unhappy endings Elsa admires. The movie's $200 million gross suggests she's not alone in that.

posted by Iridic 29 April | 16:59

I was going to suggest Love, Actually but isn't it an English production? If that's allowed I'd also suggest Bridget Jones' Diary (the first one, second one was meh).

posted by deborah 29 April | 17:27

Another vote for Adventureland. I thought it was one of the best movies of 2009.

Stranger Than Fiction (Will Ferrell & Maggie Gyllenhall) was surprisingly good, I thought. And the soundtrack is great too--it was done by Britt Daniels from Spoon.

Away We Go was okay. It hasn't got much love, but I enjoyed it.

I think (500) Days of Summer wants to fit in this category, but I agree with muddgirl's characterization of the movie.

posted by mullacc 29 April | 17:36

Oh yeah, somehow I missed the "American" in the title. Even though lots and lots of people mentioned it. I've been having reading comprehension issues lately.

posted by muddgirl 29 April | 17:36

I was somewhat pleasantly surprised by Something New (meh title). Saving Face is sweet (though the primary romance is a lesbian one if that matters). There's some deceit involved in both, but not so much between the pairs of lovers.

posted by notquitemaryann 29 April | 17:56

I don't think Eternal Sunshine counts as a "romantic comedy". It's definitely a dark comedy with no Happily Ever After - the most important part of a romantic comedy!

Yes it does! They go on deleting each other and falling in love again forever more.

What Happens In Vegas is a very conventional romantic comedy that I liked well enough.

posted by cillit bang 29 April | 19:32

Kissing Jessica Stein is kind of sweet. I won't give away the whole thing if someone hasn't seen it but there's a significantly annoying aspect to the ending. But there's also a sweet aspect that they follow up with someone who I felt like they weren't gonna respect enough to even admit they have a life after the protagonist isn't with them.

posted by birdie 29 April | 21:39

I liked Serendipity. It's gimmicky, I guess, but the gimmicky bit is explicit and part of the characterization, so I thought it worked.

Though I also saw it in the theaters when it came out nine years ago and haven't seen it since, so I might feel differently if I saw it again.

posted by occhiblu 29 April | 23:18

I thought Love Actually was one of the worst movies I've ever seen - it had one credible scene (when Emma Thompson unwraps her Christmas gift) but the rest of it was clichéd and unfunny beyond belief.

I enjoyed Waitress, In Search of a Midnight Kiss, and, yes, High Fidelity, of course.

posted by Senyar 30 April | 02:56

I'd have to see examples of what is considered a good American rom-com from pre-2000 to really give an answer, because I don't think any rom-com can be considered a good movie. Because once it's good, I no longer think of it as a rom-com.

But here's another one: Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist. I very much dislike Michael Cera, and am greatly annoyed by 500 Days of Summer, but I liked this movie.

posted by jabberjaw 30 April | 15:24

I already mentioned one, jabberjaw :) Of course, I think Meg Ryan's movies were, to a one, utterly charming. And yes, I include the very gimmicky Kate and Leopold in that list.

posted by muddgirl 30 April | 15:37

For some reason I always think Love, Actually is a British romantic comedy, because of all the non-USAian actors in it. I also tend to consider it one of the good not-really-about-Christmas Christmas movies (along with Die Hard and Long Kiss Goodnight).

posted by jabberjaw 30 April | 20:13

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