The Great American Rom-Coms

Mystery Man on Film, bless his twisted soul, has come up with an impossible task.  He's asked me and a bunch of other scribosphere bloggers to each write a post about "your favorite screenplay and why you admire it so."

Favorite screenplay?!  Dastardly bastard.  Mystery Man is evilly cackling his plasma flat screen-shaped head off somewhere, no doubt, knowing full well that a seemingly benign request like this is enough to drive any serious filmofile stark, raving bonkers. 

Because... well, really, come on: one?  One "favorite" screenplay out of the... let's see: in my case, we're talking roughly six thousand scripts read over the past 16 years as a professional story analyst, and that's not counting the screenplays read for pleasure in a lifetime of reading.  Oh, wait -- in his Screenwriting Blog-a-Thon post MM has thoughtfully eliminated unproduced scripts from contention, so... thanks a lot, dude; I've only got to pick one out of hundreds.

Because I have a lot of favorites, in all different genres and for all different reasons.  By the time I narrow it down to even half a dozen faves, this Blog-a-Thon will be but a distant memory.  Well, two can play, oh Mystery Meister, so I hereby tweak and twist the rules to my own fiendish ends.  At the end of this post I'm going to pop my version of MM's question to you readers of Living RomCom, but to start with, I present this blog's version of the game: in lieu of citing My Favorite Screenplay, here are my nominations for The Top Ten Romantic Comedy Screenplays.

Love them all dearly and have plenty to say about each.  But life is short and instead of going long, I've decided that periodically over the next few months, I will devote a post apiece to each of these top ten screenplays, so I can analyze, revere/carp and blather on about them at leisure.  For now, I'll just post the list and invite your response on whether or not I've gotten things things right (I welcome the obligatory incredulous "how could you leave out ---?!" comments).

But first let's address the premise.  What makes a screenplay a favorite, as opposed to a favorite produced movie?  I think it's simple: it's got to be a wonderful read.  A great/favorite screenplay must fulfill the first basic requirement for any truly memorable story -- it should be impossible to put down.

That's really all there is to it.  Each of these selected screenplays has something -- a voice, a character, a plot turn, a laugh, et al -- that impels you to keep reading it, even if you've read it before.  Some are admirably crafty, with all their story beats lined up in structural perfection, some are all-over-the-place whacked, but each of them exerts that primal pull on a reader -- the pull, I'll wager, that got each of these suckers made.

My only proviso in compiling the list is a twist on MM's: all of these screenplays are currently published.  Thus a classic like Tootsie, inarguably one of the greatest comedies ever produced, didn't make this particular cut; you can get a pirated draft on-line (Script-o-rama probably has it), but sadly, you can't find it in a bookstore or on Amazon. 

Herewith, my Top Ten Romantic Comedies in Print, not in any hierarchical but merely alphabetical order:

ANNIE HALL

ARTHUR

BROADCAST NEWS

ETERNAL SUNSHINE OF THE SPOTLESS MIND

FOUR WEDDINGS AND A FUNERAL

THE GRADUATE

THE LADY EVE

MOONSTRUCK

THE PRINCESS BRIDE

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY

And some runners-up.  Here are 15 Also Great Romantic Comedy Screenplays in Print, with notes on a few:

About a Boy, A Fish Called Wanda, Before Sunrise/Before Sunset (published together), Chasing Amy, Hannah and Her Sisters, Harold and Maude, L.A. Story/Roxanne (published together), Notting Hill, Punch Drunk Love, Rushmore, Sense and Sensibility, Shakespeare in Love, True Romance.

ABOUT A BOY (Peter Hedges and Chris Weitz & Paul Weitz): In the small genre of "based on a book by Nick Hornby" movies, I'd prefer High Fidelity, were it in print, but BOY is certainly a winner in its own right, and I list it here (Admiration Factor) because it has The Best Use of Voice-Over in a RomCom.  Voice-overs are a much-maligned cinematic technique, but BOY proves the maxim "only use them if you're doing something really special with them," by contrasting the inner voices of two boys, one 12 and the other 38, to maximal comedic and poignant effect. 

BEFORE SUNRISE / BEFORE SUNSET (Richard Linklater, Kim Krizan, Julie Delpy, Ethan Hawke) is such a unique conceit, rare in all of screenplaydom -- one is a sequel to the other, written nearly ten years apart, and taken together, you've Act 1 ("boy meets") and Act 3 ("boy gets") -- with the "boy loses girl" second act for you to imagine in those off-screen years in-between.  Also wins a People Really Talk Like That statuette.

PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE (Paul Thomas Anderson) has got to be one of the most unlikely successful failures in our genre; it's a script that shouldn't, by any conventional logic, work.  Yet perversely, it makes the most of next-to-nothing on the sheer eccentricity of its protagonists, so I'll give it, in a field where the word gets over-used to the point of meaninglessness, The Definitive Quirky Award.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (Emma Thompson) is a paperback especially worth perusing due to the absorbing How I Wrote This Screenplay journal first-time scribe Emma Thompson provides along with the script.  Well done and quite good that, I say.

TRUE ROMANCE (Quentin Tarantino) will always occupy a special place in my heart because it was making the rounds when I first moved out here way back in the early '90s, and I remember being blown away by it, thus giving me my first "I can't wait to see the movie" Living in Hollywood reading experience.  But it's also one of the great Cross-Genre Hybrids, whose peculiar "Aw, baby, you're bleeding!" brand of post-Modern black comedic romance defined something about the culture's sensibility at the time.  Let's add a Best Use of Christopher Walken in a Romantic Comedy award, and kiss the lists goodbye.

So here's the deal: I'll do posts on each of my Top 10 selections throughout Spring 2007, but meanwhile -- what do you consider to be The Great American Romantic Comedy Screenplay?  Living RomCom wants to know.

Comments

[MaryAn]

Tootsie is one of finest examples of orchestrating character motives I've ever seen.

[Edward Copeland]

I'm fine with most of your choices, especially Broadcast News, but I wouldn't place Four Weddings and a Funeral in the upper ranks. Some others I might have found a place for: Bringing Up Baby, His Girl Friday, The Philadelphia Story, The Apartment, It Happened One Night and Groundhog Day

[Joe Valdez]

My pick for greatest American romantic comedy ever made would be "Manhattan", but since you did mention "Annie Hall" and "Hannah and Her Sisters", I can't consider its omission from your list a miscarriage of justice.

"The Apartment", "Chasing Amy", "Rushmore", and maybe "When Harry Met Sally" do capture what it's like falling in and out of love.

Terrific blog, Billy. It's plain to see that you love film, and you gave me some outstanding rental ideas today (I still haven't seen "Moonstruck").

[E.C. Henry]

Wow, after two and a half weeks of NOT being able to reply, looks like I finally can.

Best American Romantic Comedy Screenplay ever:

1. "Sleepless in Seatte"

Justification: When I think rom/com's this is always at the top of the list. A story clearly about the struggles a man and woman can meeing the love of their life. Meg Ryan at her peak - yeah, so I'm a horn-dog!

2. "Forest Gump"

Justification: Not a "traditional" rom/com, but I TOTALLLY admire how the screenplay weaves a romance through years of American History. And Robin Wright Penn's work here was exemplatory.

3. "How To Loose A Guy in 10 Days"

Justication: Best modern rom/com. Hip/trendy/with great perfromances by BOTH leads -- and it's funny!

4. "13 Going on 30"

Justification: The story of the geeky guy liking popular girl at school, then getting a shot at her latter in life, after the playing fields leveled has A LOT of appeal for me. I can relate.

5. "While You Were Sleeping"

Justification: 1st romantic comedy story I ever really CONNECTED with. When this came out I went to see it in Boise, ID about 5 - 6 times.

Good to be back! Now it's back to line editing my current sports comedy script...

- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA

[writergurl]

Chasing Amy? Seriously? Oh, fer the luv...

I'm sorry but the whole "lesbian falls for a straight boy" concept was just so much hooey. I saw the movie when it came out and thought it to be crap then, too. First of all, I never felt the these two people couldn't stay away from each other, yeah, there were some moments where they connected but not in any way that would make a lesbian abandon her sexual identity to be with this guy.

Yes, I know the writers then make the woman (I forget the names) a "lesbian identified" bi-sexual. HUH? Excuse me, what the hell is that? I've been a lesbian for over 20 years and I gotta tell you, I've never meet or even heard of such a woman. Could it be an oh so convinent plot device? Probably, and one the violates the premise of the whole thing.

I know its a common straight male fantasy that a lesbian can be "converted" if only she meet the "right" guy, but I gotta tell you, it's JUST a fantasy. It's also one hell of conceit.

[Frank Conniff]

Best rom-com script ever: His Girl Friday; no, wait, The Shop Around The Corner; no, wait, Trouble In Paradise; no, wait, The Apartment; no, wait, It Happened One Night; no, wait, The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek; no, wait, Singing In The Rain; no, wait, Broadway Danny Rose; wait, wait, wait, I've got it: The Texas Chainsaw Massacre! (hey, by the end of the story, it is about a guy's ardent pursuit of a gal).

[Mike]

The best romantic comedy script (I can't put American) is Shaun of the Dead. It's an unbelievably well written, clever, hilarious romantic comedy. It just happens that the obstacles keeping the guy from getting the girl are zombies.

I am not being sarcastic at all. I am serious.

[debbieb]

Great list Billy! I agree with all of them! I also love the runner-ups and the ones mentioned by the other wonderful writers here.

The rom com is a genre with movies that touch our hearts and makes us laugh and appreciate LOVE!

Yay for the rom com! May it reign!

Writer hugs all!

[Brooke]

Well you know how I feel about The Princess Bride. It deserves any award available.

The fact that you love True Romance makes me totally hot for you yet again. One of my all-time favorites. As much as I hate the scene where Alabama is getting the shit kicked out of her in the bathroom, that's how much I love the Walken/Hopper scene.

Of course neither of these scenes is romantic. At least the Walken/Hopper scene is comedic.

[Mystery Man]

I know I'm late saying this (it was a busy weekend) but thanks so much, Billy, for your (as always) wonderful contribution.

We got showcased in GreenCine Daily, and well, I'm not used to getting so many hits on my blog. It's a little intimidating, actually.

With respect to your list, I'd have to think about it. It's a great list. I do have a thing for the 2005 "Pride & Prejudice." It actually made me read the book. My mother couldn't believe it. And ya know, I really enjoyed it. It didn't hurt either, that in the movie, Jane, played by Rosamund Pike, is such a cutie...

-MM

[patrick]

This is probably more a list of my favorite romantic comedies than favorite romantic comedy scripts, but the good ones that come to mind are - The Apartment, The Lady Eve, Notting Hill, About a Boy, Groundhog Day, Forrest Gump, Tootsie. I finally saw The Miracle of Morgans Creek a few weeks ago and eventually became irritated by it for some reason (too manic, no real forward movement in the story for a period of time, dimwitted leading characters perhaps), maybe I just wasn't in the mood.

Was there some sort of romantic comdey blackout in the 60's and 70's, nothing comes to mind from that period, maybe I'm just not thinking of some of them.

[Patrick]

I'll answer my own question on romantic comedies from the 1960's anyway. Its the Tony Randall-Rock Hudson-Doris Day era with a Jane Fonda movie or two in there, and it seems more the swinging bachelor hooked by scheming dame sort of movies than outright romantic comedies, but I did think of "Man's Favorite Sport?" from that period as another favorite rom. comedy, mostly because Paula Prentiss is a hoot in that one.

[binnie]

Happy Birthday!

[mernitman]

MaryAn: Tootsie would be in my top 5 list of rom-com MOVIES as opposed to screenplays.

Edward:...but Groundhog is #1. NOT in print, however, frustratingly; the older screwballs you cite are of course classics -- the Hawks are particular personal faves but they, too, are hard to find in print currently.

Joe:...and can one still purchase The Apartment, which I'd also put in my top ten MOVIES (as opposed to screenplays)? Used to be available, can't find it now -- you tell me.

Welcome back EC! I, too, am a fan of Sleepless, which I think gets unjustly maligned for being so mainstream popular.

Writergurl: Not having come to it from your perspective, I bought into the fantasy; understand your point, but as pure fiction I'd still vouch for it as a movie that works.

Frank: Shop Around the Corner!!! Be still my heart. An extraordinary Lubitschian masterpiece, and of course Trouble is an early genre peak (and all the titles you cite made my "Top 100" in the rom-com book), though--

Mike: You've got me dead to rights on Shaun -- disqualified as British or not, I need to see this movie, since you are not alone in extolling its virtues...

Debbieb: And on it reigns! And pours! In a good way!!! Hugs back.

Brooke: There are so many magic romantic moments, though -- like when he finds out she was only a whore booked to show him a good time on his birthday and instead of being disappointed, he proposes?! Who could not be moved...

MM: That's great news about your hit-meter peaking. And I plan to screen that Pride -- another gap in my Anglofilomography -- to see what you saw.

[mernitman]

Patrick: For the '60s, I'd cite Breakfast at Tiffany's, My Fair Lady and The Graduate as well; the '70s gave us all the early Woodman classics, and: What's Up Doc?, Shampoo, Heaven Can Wait, plus the best black comedic rom-com ever, Elaine May's A New Leaf.

Thank-you Binnie! You're sweet to remember... and I'm getting to the age where I'm starting to be more quiet about these...

[Patrick]

I have not seen a New Life, but I'll look for it. Speaking of black romantic comedies and Elaine May, she did The Heartbreak Kid, perhaps not a romantic comedy, but a black comedy for sure, and its being remade for some reason with Ben Stiller.

I don't know how happy birthday got in here from me, didn't think i posted any such thing here, apologies.

[helen]

Yup it's a fool's game. I love individual scripts for particular challenges that the writer handles so well and what I can learn from that. And since I learned so very much from this one, and laugh out loud whenever I re-read it, I think Bull Durham has gotta be there too. More on why, when I've got a minute.

To Writer Girl,

Just because you happen to be a lesbian doesn't mean there is no place for this idea.
Trying to pawn it off as a "male fantasy" has nothing to do with it being a valid premise.
You have numerous films where a gay male has sex with a woman, and gay men don't write in complaining that it is a female fantasy. Do they?

You own agenda seems to cloud the issue.
Are you saying that no lesbian has ever "changed her mind" and fallen for a man. Anne Heche has a husband and kids. Maybe that's just a fake marriage to make people think lesbians can change their preference.

Don't go see any Almodovar Films. In one a transexual gets a nun pregnant. Must be a catholic nun fantasy. ha ha ha.