The Best in Romantic Comedy 2014
Sad but true: Roughly a year after the rom-com genre was universally declared dead, Hollywood affirmed this trope. Virtually no major romantic comedies were released by the studios in 2014, and those that were released barely made a dent at the box office, and were anything but memorable.
About Last Night, a tepid remake, was a modest success. But does it matter that the instantly forgettable Blended, an Adam Sandler-Drew Barrymore re-pairing so lame it made their Wedding Singer seem positively Shakespearian in retrospect, also made a little money? If you had the misfortune to sit through the chick flick rom-com The Other Woman, you probably regretted it, and you might have stronger negative feelings about the misbegotten raunch rom-com Sex Tape.
Even the usually dependable Woody Allen had an off year with Magic in the Moonlight, despite its beautiful settings and its potentially fun Emma Stone-Colin Firth combo. And then there was That Awkward Moment, when even the most die-hard rom-com genre fans might realize that they couldn't remember if such a negligible movie had been released, let alone whether or not they'd seen it.
It's with mordant amusement that I refer you to 2013's Astas, when LRC was bemoaning the slim-pickings. But that was the year of Her, Don Jon, Before Midnight, and Enough Said, among others - a relative bonanza of genuinely good romantic comedies and dramedies. This year, I offer you a sum total of three Asta Awards. Make of it what you will.
The Bravest Romantic Comedy award goes to writer-director Gillian Robespierre's Obvious Child - a rom-com that was a) essentially about the issue of abortion, and b) floated the (by current political mores) controversial idea that a woman's decision to have one did not signify a necessarily tragic or evil resolution. The movie would've been even more outstandingly courageous if star Jenny Slate didn't get guy in the end, but let's be thankful for what we got: a funny, smart, poignant rom-com that wasn't polemical in its groundbreaking aspects. The film is now Netflix-able and well worth a look if you haven't seen it.
The Best Hybrid Romantic Comedy award - given that it's also a dramedy-social comedy - goes to writer-director-star Chris Rock's Top Five. Despite generally good reviews, this LOL movie is still finding its audience, and it's evidently alienating some (If you're a Rock fan, you know what to expect in terms of raunchiness and subversive provocation, but I totally get why my 89 year-old mom and my teenaged niece, who did not know what they were in for, were bewildered and appalled by it).
In my humble op, Top Five makes a good pairing with Inarritu's Birdman, in that both films deal with the mid-life career crisis of a major celebrity. It plays a bit like an African-American version of Stardust Memories, and not just because Rock has admitted to homaging Woody Allen in interviews. I was thrilled by the good role for Rosario Dawson and the good chemistry between her and her co-star; the movie is about something, and though some of its laughs are misses, the hits are hilarious, and there are some genuinely poignant moments in it, too.
Finally, here's where I'm on a bandwagon with the culture at large, when I present the Best Romantic Comedy of 2014 Asta not to a movie, but to a TV series. As with most adult drama, most of the best comedy writing (and writing, period) is found on the smaller screen these days. And while this turf is genuinely competitive - there was sharp, entertaining romantic comedy to be enjoyed on everything from The Mindy Project to even The Newsroom (well, maybe) - hands down the most awesome rom-com moments of 2014 were to be found in the fourth season of Louis C.K.'s Louie.
I've written extensively about the show here, so I won't go on about it. Suffice to say, these fourteen episodes, half a dozen of which formed a kind of serialized feature, delivered the most moving, funny, and profound romantic comedy material a genre fan could desire. Louie's romance with a woman who couldn't even speak his language (Eszter Balint played the radiant Amia) is one for the ages, and other stand-alone episodes sparkled with rom-com gems. All this and Charles Grodin, too, so really... what does Living the RomCom have to complain about?
Nonetheless, that was the fairly miserable rom-com year that was. But since everything in Hollywood is cyclical, and - despite evidence to the contrary in what was a tough year for humans, overall - love is still the answer, I have hopes for a general romantic comedy comeback in 2015. People are still writing them, studios are still making them (albeit more cautiously, which to my mind is a very good thing) and now that the worst kind of formulaic cookie-cutter rom-com has been put out to pasture... who knows what new forms, fantasies, and farces lie ahead? Bring it on, 2015! We've got nowhere to go but up.
I must ask -- did you see Laggies by chance? I went in expecting a pleasant but overall unremarkable experience, and it ended up being one of my favorites of the year.
I was also quite surprised by Neighbors, which I suppose only barely fits the genre of romantic comedy, but there is a small question of "will this couple survive or won't they?" As a fairly new parent myself, I was surprised at some of the authentic moments wrapped inside an otherwise raunch comedy.
But I have to agree with you; it was a rather dire year for the Romantic Comedy. Here's hoping it can rebound in 2015, because the good ones will forever be my favorites.
Posted by: Elizabeth Ditty | December 31, 2014 at 09:09 PM
Apologies, Elizabeth - and LRC readers at large: I did NOT see Laggies, having been misled by the trailer into thinking it was more of a female bromantic rom-com ("ho-mantic comedy?") than a rom-com. I would very much like to see it.
Neighbors, IMHO, is a rom-com in a secondary way, though I could see it as hybrid - and agreed, it was not without its minor pleasures.
Posted by: mernitman | December 31, 2014 at 09:50 PM
Speaking of rom-coms and TV, the slate of new series this past fall struck me as having an especially conspicuous number of heavily promoted sitcoms in the rom-com mold: "Marry Me," "A to Z," "Selfie," and "Manhattan Love Story." I wonder if this says anything about Hollywood increasingly reserving the big screen for comic-book-type fare. However, these new rom-sitcoms are also having trouble finding an audience (MLS was the first new fall show to be cancelled).
I especially need to give a shout-out to "Selfie" for casting its "romantic" male lead with an Asian American actor. I can't think of another mainstream industry offering this side of "Flower Drum Song" (53 years ago!) to do that.
Also, this might just be me, but the new dramedy "Jane the Virgin" seems to be shaping into a rom-com between the title character and her baby's father.
Given that the only big-screen rom-com we can reasonably expect to see in the coming months is Superman doing the will-they-or-won't-they thing with Wonder Woman, TV's new interest in the rom-com genre might be worth some extra attention.
Posted by: Rob in L.A. | January 01, 2015 at 08:12 AM
Billy, what about "And So It Goes" (2014: directed by Rob Reiner, staring Diane Keaton and Michael Douglas)? I saw this when it came out and thought Michael Douglas did a fine job of acting in this movie. Maybe even deserving of an ASTA in down year...
Other that that, I'm totally bummed out about the rom-com genre. Even this ASTA post had the undercurrent feel of a funeral dirge, rather than the joyous celebration of the most important movie genre of them all: the romantic comedy; where Americans go to learn what it's like to be in love.
Hopefully 2015 will be a beter year for the rom-com genre. Happy New Year, Billy. Thanks for doing this post, I look forward to it every year.
Posted by: E.C. Henry | January 01, 2015 at 12:37 PM
I'm with you, Rob, and both Selfie and Jane look intriguing to me.
Happy New Year EC! Yes, I'm sorry for the dirge-like undertone, but it was hard to avoid. You may be absolutely right about the Keaton-Douglas pic, but I've yet to see it (mostly because what I saw of it made me feel that I had already seen this movie). But hope springs eternal, Mr. Henry: There WILL be a truly great romantic comedy in our future - I can feel it!
Posted by: mernitman | January 01, 2015 at 05:11 PM
I think there will be some great romantic comedies in the future too. Things are cyclical in Hollywood, and after a period of years with a fairly significant percentage of weak romantic comedies (most of them starring Matthew McConaughey it seemed), I think it is natural for film makers to take breather and regroup. Eventually someone will write/produce a snappy funny intelligent romantic comedy and the genre will be revitalized. Lets hope so anyway. Of course, I'm still hopeful of the western being restored to life too.
Posted by: pjw | January 04, 2015 at 10:24 AM
I'm with you, pjw: And sure, the western could come back. There really isn't a major genre that comes to mind that's actually died and stayed dead. While the "boxing picture" that BARTON FINK affectionately made fun of is no longer with us, certainly the larger "sports drama" is still alive and well, and so on (and on...).
Posted by: mernitman | January 04, 2015 at 12:15 PM
A movie-musical in 4-minutes! Slice the musical! What happens when a girl falls hopelessly in love with her pizza delivery guy?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6dK3yG4V0k
Posted by: TLB Productions | January 15, 2015 at 05:04 PM
Like I said on Twitter, the upcoming release of Tess Morris' MAN UP gives me hope for the genre. May it's April debut signal a romcom rebirth.
Posted by: Writenett | January 19, 2015 at 12:08 PM
Hear Hear, Writenett! - Totally, Absolutely, Completely non-biased response.
Posted by: mernitman | January 19, 2015 at 12:16 PM