What ever happened to Harry and Sally?

Yesterday I hailed the romantic comedy as my favorite escapist pastime. A good well-paced romantic comedy can raise your spirits and lift your mood. Romantic comedies must have that winning combination of charming characters that are worth caring about, a smarter than usual plot for the genre and a fun location that absorbs you and your imagination. The planets must align.

Granted I’ve just described the Krispy Kreme of romantic comedies but they do exist. I list When Harry Met Sally, Bridget Jones Dairy, Pretty Woman, Pretty in Pink, Breakfast at Tiffany’s and Return to Me among the better quality films. Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts were the reigning queens of romantic comedies but have passed the baton to Drew Barrymore and Kate Hudson. Cary Grant has let way to Hugh Grant and Matthew McConaughey.

I thought of taking a fresh approach to this subject. Instead of examining the romantic comedies I adored, I’m taking a look at the movies that didn’t work. Face it, the Hollywood marketing engine tries to force many things down our throat but not all of them work.

Here are my picks for romantic comedies that don’t adhere to the tenets of pure escapism:

Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

Reese Witherspoon was her usual spunky intelligent self but I really wanted her to marry McDreamy. I mean the guy closed down Tiffany’s and told her to pick any ring. It doesn’t get better than that. Josh Lucas was way too surly and somewhat nasty to be her true love. The movie didn’t work because I clearly wanted her to be with someone else.

Two Weeks Notice (2002)

The chemistry between Grant and Sandra Bullock was amazing but it didn’t entirely feel romantic to me. While I like Bullock, there’s something extremely boyish about her that kills romance movies. You have to really soften her edges to make it work. The set up was clever but the plot just dragged along. By the time they got to the end, I didn’t care. Her character was a little too opinionated and bordered on obnoxious.

Notting Hill (1999)

Hugh Grant’s charisma and talents were negated by Julia Robert’s bitch of a character. She turned him down too many times for it to be compelling. Who would have turned down the nicest single man in trendy Notting Hill? Robert’s characters are usually more interesting but her self-indulgent actress was too much for me.

You’ve Got Mail (1998)

Call me naïve. I got the fact that big business puts mom and pop shops out of business all the time. It killed the hardware stores as well but why was Tom Hank’s character branded the enemy because he offered discounted books. The entire ending of the movie felt contrived. The last half hour seemed thrown together. I was extremely disappointed in this film. I also thought Meg Ryan was annoying. Her character was so bland I couldn’t understand someone wanting to date her.

America's Sweethearts (2001)

Awful on every level. Devoid of characters to root for. The cast was wasted on what should have been a clever insider look at on-set romances but was an exercise in futility. Making Julia Roberts the former overweight sister/assistant was insulting. So the only way John Cusak would really notice her was when she lost weight. Great message. Serendipity (2001) falls into this wretched category as well. It was so contrived and filled with lifeless character that I didn’t care you found the freaking book at the end.

What romantic comedies didn’t work for you? Why?

Music to My Ears

God, weekends are never long enough, are they? I didn’t get to see The Departed or Borat this weekend but did manage to get to the movies to see Music & Lyrics. I wanted to see something light and frothy. I wanted to see someone fall in love in a movie. Pure fantasy.

M&L tells the story of former 80s boy bander Alex Fisher (Hugh Grant). In dire need rejuvenate his career, he’s offered the chance to write a song for teen queen Cora. In comes his plant girl Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) with a knack for lyrics. It all pretty much writes itself but what can’t be manufactured is the chemistry between Grant and Drew. They are both such charming and adorable creatures that it’s hard not to root for them. Grant has a special ingredient that mixes well with his leading ladies. He added a much needed sense of despair and complexity to his character especially for a romantic comedy.

The comic relief comes in the powerhouse form of Kristen Johnston as Sophie’s sister Rhonda. She’s hysterical as the recovering 80s boy band groupie. The opening music video sequence of Alex’s former group Pop is spot on, down to the men with too much lip gloss. It’s kind of embarrassing to say I adored Duran Duran back in the day. They had way too much lip sheen to be taken seriously. Even the idea that the band’s name was Pop was brilliant.

Drew has once again proven herself as the new princess of romantic comedies with a twist. She’s the twist. She’s able to take a conventional romantic comedy and infuse her hippy dippy nature even in a movie like Fever Pitch where she played the corporate girl. She also has that unique quality of producing tears that well up in the eyes but never drop. She joins the ranks of Meg Ryan and Meryl Streep with her crying feats. I can’t name a movie she’s been in where she doesn’t produce this cry.

Overall, it was what I needed, a sugar fix.

What did you see this weekend?