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tam1MI
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
558 Posts |
 Posted - 08/23/2006 : 7:34:17 PM
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Being a girl and all, occasionally I get the itch to watch a romantic comedy. Something funny and light and frothy where the guy and the girl get together in the end and all is right with the world. It's a guilty pleasure. So sue me.
The problem with this particular genre of movie, however, is that is only surpassed by action movies in the number of flicks released which are absolutely, without redemption, completely awful. Generally, one can spot the sucktacular stuff in both genres from a safe distance and manage to avoid it. But every once in a while you get sucked and end up watching a movie that is truly dire in every way. And so it was with the last two selection I sat down to watch. Think that VAN HELSING is "Oh my God, my eyes! My eyes!" awful? Try sitting through these cinematic crapfests:
SHE'S THE MAN
The blurb on the DVD made it sound like this movie was going to be a modernization of Shakespeare's TWELFTH NIGHT. Remembering fondly how funny and clever 10 THINGS I HATE ABOUT YOU, a modernization of Shakespeare's TAMING OF THE SHREW had been, I decided to take a flyer on this film. Sticking lobster forks into my eyes would probably have been less painful. The film "updates" TWELFTH NIGHT only that the lead character is named Viola, the twin brother she impersonates is named Sebastian, the girl who falls for her/him is named Oliivia, and the object of her affections is named Duke Orsino. The plot premise isn't bad - Vi, enraged when her girls soccer team is cut and she is not allowed to try out for the boys team by her school's chauvinistic coach, goes undercover as her brother Sebastian at cross-town "Illyria High" so that, in her words, 'If you can't join 'em... beat 'em!". (This is the one and only even semi-clever line in the entire movie). But the execution - oh, dear God, those poor actors. I have seen Amanda Bynes in other things, and she is a fairly competent actress, but here she is forced to mug so broadly that in several scenes she bore a distressing resemblance to Marty Feldman. All the other actors are forced to play things just as broadly, with fairly horrific results, with the notable exception of Channing Tatum, as Vi's lunkhead love interest. He lets his musceles do all his acting for him. The gender switch in the movie is "hilariously" resolved by dint of Sebastian flashing his johnson and Viola flashing her hooters to the assembled multitudes at a soccer match. Rather than being arrested on the spot for indecent exposure, Sebastian (naturally) pairs off with Olivia while Viola (naturally) wins the big game and (naturally) gets Duke to take her to the Big Dance. I've never been so happy to see end credits in all my life....
But whoops, I spoke too soon, because next up in the queue was a movie that was, if possible, EVEN WORSE.
JUST FRIENDS
The plot of this gawdawful stinkbomb goes like this: Back in high school Chris Brander was fat and nice, and all he got for it was to be put in the "friend zone" by the love of his life and roundly tormented by everybody. So he left "Sucktown" to go to Los Angeles, where he became trim, toned, hot, and a TOTAL ASSMUNCH. Now circumstances contrive to bring him back to the home town he hasn't been to in 10 years, where he attempts once again to win the heart of Miss Indecisive, only to be frustrated at every turn by cruel fate and the fact that he is a TOTAL ASSMUNCH. Then it looks like he is going to be cut out of the picture by an even bigger assmunch than him, so he becomes even MORE ass-munchy. Finally he exposes the other assmunch and wins the girl because the movie demands that he do so, despite the fact that he is a TOTAL ASSMUNCH. Once again, I can't fault the actors - they do their best to wade through this garbage with some semblance of dignity intact, but they are defeated at every turn by the rest of the movie. Who cares whether or not the assmunch gets the girl? She's better off without him! By the time I got to the end of THIS film, I wanted to hunt down whoever was responsible for this dire catastrophe and re-enact HOSTEL on his ass. It would have been no worse torture for him than seeing this movie was for me.
Aaaargh. Tonight I may pull out my trusty copy of WEDDING CRASHERS, or maybe SERENDIPITY or 2 WEEKS NOTICE. Even though I've already seen them, at least they won't make me want to disembowel myself with a plastic spork. |
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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 08:25:55 AM
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Truly, the "romantic comedy" genre, which has, as you point out, a venerable history going back to Shakespeare, is at a low point today. There are a number of reasons, but I've always suspected is that the main one is that the sexual revolution killed the romcom.
IMHO, a romantic comedy can only succeed, ironically enough, if you take the romance seriously. The viewer must feel that if the leads DON'T finally make a connection, that their lives will be, if not ruined, significantly impoverished - that their hearts will be broken. However, most Hollywood scriptwriters now live in a milieu where it's accepted that no relationship will last forever, and that the number of relationships in your life is a better indication of success than the quality of them. So, they find it hard to convince the audience that they should really care if Boy gets Girl; if he doesn't, the audience feels, there's always Girl2, Girl3, etc. down the road, and if he DOES get Girl, it'll never last. You can't cheer for the characters to succeed if what they're trying to do is of minor importance even to them.
The odd thing I find is that they should be able, with this attitude, at least to churn out a series of respectable sex farces, and instead we get My Boss's Daughter. |
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Flangepart
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
2329 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 11:49:24 AM
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A good point, Twitterpate.
I think it also points up the confusion of sex with love.
Sex can be used to express love....if there is love felt for the other person. Thats why the cliche of the "Hooker with a heart of gold" is such a dim joke to people who have met real hookers, and seen how sad such lives realy are.
Marvin the Paranoid Android to Buzz Lightyear "Too infinity and beyond-i've been there, its rubbish!"
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BradH812
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1294 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 6:51:26 PM
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I think that movies, filmmakers, etc., have by and large forgotten the value of restraint in movies (and other media). When the censors were in full swing, movies and other entertainment would get around them by having a sly little wink with the audience, a little remark that would make you think, "Did they say what I thought they said?" Whether it was sex, language, or violence, they would make the audience work for the punchline.
A few weeks ago, I saw an old Warner cartoon starring Babbott and Catstello. They were chasing after Tweety. Babbott told Catstello, "Give me the bird! Give me the bird!" Catstello looked at the camera and said, "If the Hays Office would let me, I'd give him the bird!" This is MUCH funnier than him just shooting the finger.
But the audiences had to use their imagination. I wish movies would practice that restraint today, if only so they could resort to actual quality, without using sex, etc., as a crutch. |
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Renfield
Minister of the Sacraments of Jabootu
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 08/24/2006 : 11:15:34 PM
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Romantic comedies today simply don't have the talent equivalents of Tracy and Hepburn or Loy and Powell, or Garson and Pidgeon...definitely no Cary Grant or the delightfully sly and bawdy Mae West. I would blame the actors as well as the material.
--Joe "Renfield" Meadows
HORROR-WOOD Webzine
http://www.horror-wood.com |
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twitterpate
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Canada
1026 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 08:54:56 AM
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A valid point, Joe, but I think the two go hand-in-hand. If the studios don't have any Grant-worthy scripts (or toss them when provided), then they don't bother looking for actors who can play those roles. Instead, by mixing the Romantic Comedy genre into the increasingly fetid stew of Stupid and/or Grossout Comedy, they promote actors who are skill primarily at having perfect bodies and looking stupid and/or grossed out - as opposed to, you know, developing sharp comic timing or chemistry or something.
I think the Pirates of the Caribbean series has moments that show that actors can actually handle funny, even suggestive lines in an intelligent manner that would suit a romantic comedy just fine. But of course, we've all seen what a flop those movies were [/ironic tone off]. |
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JazzyJ
Preeminent Apostolic Prelate of the Discipleship of Jabootu
USA
114 Posts |
Posted - 08/25/2006 : 11:54:17 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by Renfield
Romantic comedies today simply don't have the talent equivalents of Tracy and Hepburn or Loy and Powell, or Garson and Pidgeon...definitely no Cary Grant or the delightfully sly and bawdy Mae West. I would blame the actors as well as the material.
--Joe "Renfield" Meadows
HORROR-WOOD Webzine
http://www.horror-wood.com
While I agree with lauding the earlier actors (most especially Loy and Powell -- may the Thin Man live forever!), there are definitely actors who can pull it off nowadays. Hanks and Ryan were quite serviceable in a few romcoms, and there are several others (Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weiss, etc.) who would do a good job if called upon.
No, I have to agree with earlier comments that there just seems to be less will to make this sort of movie nowadays. Given the continuing runaway popularity of romance books, this seems to be leaving a VAST audience unserved...
Jazzy J
Signature currently under construction...
Please return later for exciting new content! |
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jackspencerjr
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
262 Posts |
Posted - 08/26/2006 : 07:30:35 AM
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| Well, Hunter, I don't know what to tell ya. I am kind of upset about She's the Man. A remake of Just One of the Guys is not a horrible idea and Amanda Bynes is a cute chickyboo who also seems to have a good sense of comic timing and physical comedy. For that to not work seems like some kind of miracle.Just Friends, while an interesting concept, I could just smell doom from the trailer. I don't know what set off my spidey-sense, but, man, it appears I was right. Incidentally, my spidey-sense also warned me of the remake of the Haunting and Freedomland and a few others which I got dragged to anyway and was right then, too. I need to find out what I'm picking up on so I can put it to good use. |
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commodorejohn
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
76 Posts |
Posted - 08/26/2006 : 11:26:59 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by BradH812
I think that movies, filmmakers, etc., have by and large forgotten the value of restraint in movies (and other media). When the censors were in full swing, movies and other entertainment would get around them by having a sly little wink with the audience, a little remark that would make you think, "Did they say what I thought they said?" Whether it was sex, language, or violence, they would make the audience work for the punchline.
A few weeks ago, I saw an old Warner cartoon starring Babbott and Catstello. They were chasing after Tweety. Babbott told Catstello, "Give me the bird! Give me the bird!" Catstello looked at the camera and said, "If the Hays Office would let me, I'd give him the bird!" This is MUCH funnier than him just shooting the finger.
But the audiences had to use their imagination. I wish movies would practice that restraint today, if only so they could resort to actual quality, without using sex, etc., as a crutch.
This is so absolutely, completely true.
(Although they managed to slip some interesting things past the censors - witness the Felix The Cat cartoon "Neptune Nonsense" wherein a mermaid's boobies are clearly visible, nipples and all.)
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Who -are- the overlords of the UFO? |
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New Hinda
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
Israel
469 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 07:23:13 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by BradH812
But the audiences had to use their imagination. I wish movies would practice that restraint today, if only so they could resort to actual quality, without using sex, etc., as a crutch.
Everybody remembers the scene, in GONE WITH THE WIND, when Rhett carries Scarlett upstairs. Anybody doubt what he did there? There is a scene in SINCE YOU WENT AWAY. The first night that her husband is away in the army, Claudette Colbert goes into the conjugal bedroom, which has the Hays-office mandatory twin beds. She sits on her bed for a minute, then dives, sobbing, into her husband's bed, and we see how much she misses him, and misses making love to him. By the way, did whoever in the Hays office dreamed up insisting on twin beds in conjugal bedroom sets know any Orthodox Jewish couples? Such couples always have twin beds in the conjugal bedroom. They also have six, seven, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen, seventeen children. |
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John Nowak
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
1017 Posts |
Posted - 08/27/2006 : 8:58:22 PM
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Personally, I never got the whole double-beds thing either, or how nobody could say the Lucy was "pregnant." It was always "She's going to have a baby" or "she is expecting."
I mean, was the word "pregnant" really that shocking?
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We've always been united in stupidity. That's why there is no hope. But, then again, when has that ever stopped us?
-- hbrennan |
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Sardu
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
1126 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2006 : 12:01:40 AM
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quote:
Originally posted by John Nowak
I mean, was the word "pregnant" really that shocking?
It's pretty biological *g*
I heard a story told by somebody on TV once; I have no idea who, it was very long ago. It could have been Ozzy Nelson. He was asked how he ever had children sleeping in seperate beds. The answer was that he wore his hat to bed. When asked how that worked he said, "Every night I threw my hat over to[his wife]. Some nights she threw it back. Some nights, she brought it." Great stuff.
"Meeting you makes me want to be a real noodle cook"
--Tampopo |
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Renfield
Minister of the Sacraments of Jabootu
USA
27 Posts |
Posted - 08/28/2006 : 4:30:38 PM
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quote:
While I agree with lauding the earlier actors (most especially Loy and Powell -- may the Thin Man live forever!), there are definitely actors who can pull it off nowadays. Hanks and Ryan were quite serviceable in a few romcoms, and there are several others (Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weiss, etc.) who would do a good job if called upon.
I always felt that the great romantic leads often rose above their material...that's what made them legendary and enduring.
--Joe "Renfield" Meadows
HORROR-WOOD Webzine
http://www.horror-wood.com |
Edited by - Renfield on 08/28/2006 4:45:47 PM |
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tam1MI
Holy Cardinal and Five Star General of the Righteous Knighthood of Jabootu
USA
558 Posts |
Posted - 08/29/2006 : 6:16:15 PM
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quote:
Originally posted by jackspencerjr
I am kind of upset about She's the Man. A remake of Just One of the Guys is not a horrible idea and Amanda Bynes is a cute chickyboo who also seems to have a good sense of comic timing and physical comedy. For that to not work seems like some kind of miracle.
My guess is that the director thought the concept of the movie was "too subtle" for the target audience of the movie (pre-adolescent girls) to get, so he instructed all the actors to play everything as broadly as humanly possible. Another thing that made the movie such a chore to watch was the fact that all the actors came off they they just took fistfuls of uppers before the cameras rolled and beloowed their way through each and every scene. |
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Desslar
Diocesan Ecclesiarch of the Sacred Order of Jabootu
USA
51 Posts |
Posted - 08/31/2006 : 01:39:00 AM
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Just Friends is really more of a pure comedy. There's barely any serious romance in it. It wasn't anything special, but there are a few laughs. Reynolds is always fun.
A truly atrocious romantic comedy would be Just Like Heaven. Absolutely excruciating. |
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