I know that's not the most manly thing to admit to, but oh well. I am who I am, and who I am thought Bridget Jones' Diary was hilarious.
Seriously, this was my gateway drug into the world of rom-coms. I watched it because my wonderful girlfriend recommended it highly, and it was just awesome. I really got into the storyline, I cared about the characters, whether Bridget ended up with the dashing scoundrel Hugh Grant, or with the stable, stern faced Colin Firth (team Firth right here), and I laughed at the mix of sophisticated humor and pratfalls. Plus, Renee Zelwegger is ADORABLE in this flick. After this, I had to see the rest of the films in the series. Edge of Reason was also really fun, and while there's no Hugh Grant to be all smarmy and obnoxious, Bridget Jones' Baby works as a nice send off for the series. Well, until they make Bridget Jones' Cat or something...
Okay, I'd totally be down for Bridget Jones' Cat, not gonna lie.
Yeah, rom-coms have a formula, but then all movies do. Do you think they'll ever make a Batman movie where the Joker wins? I enjoy them anyways, they're like comfort food. A pretty but awkward woman (Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Drew Barrymore, Renee Zelwegger, or sometimes Reese Witherspoon) meets the man of her dreams/guy she totally hates (Hugh Grant, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant, Tom Hanks, Ryan Gosling, Hugh Grant...he's in a LOT of these) and through a bunch of comedic mishaps, they end up together. If done well, you can't even see the strings manipulating the plot, or even if you do, you'll enjoy yourself enough that you won't care. Sometimes there's even a rom-com where a man is the main protagonist, like Chances Are, starring a really young Robert Downey Jr.
I'm not saying that ALL rom-coms are good, I've seen some really horrible ones too, but I liked enough to say that the genre is a definite guilty pleasure of mine, and they're great movies to watch with your significant other. Sorry to say, but watching Reservoir Dogs with your woman probably won't lead anywhere later, guys.
Shawn's Top 5 Rom-Coms:
-La La Land - One of my favorite movies of any genre, and also feeds my love of musicals.
-Bridget Jones' Diary - We just talked about this.
-When Harry Met Sally - This is just a classic. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan work so well together, and the script is laugh out loud funny. Plus Carrie Fisher...Who doesn't love her?
-Down With Love - A great pastiche of old Doris Day flicks and modern raunchy humor. Renee Zelwegger and Ewan McGregor are great together as two people locked into a love/hate relationship. Yeah, we know how it ends but so what?
-Joe Vs. The Volcano - for me, this one reigns supreme over You've Got Mail and Sleepless in Seattle for Tom Hanks/Meg Ryan rom-coms. It's philosophical, satirical, and ridiculous, as well as romantic.
Runners Up:
You've Got Mail, Love Potion Number 9, Chances Are, Arthur, The Matchmaker, Ed TV, Music and Lyrics, Miss Congeniality, Knocked Up, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, There's Something About Mary
(Yes, There's Something About Mary counts as a rom-com. It totally does, just with more...fluids.)
 |
| is her favorite song "Come On Eileen?" |
No comments:
Post a Comment