[This Romantic Comedies in the Time of Social Distance series suggests good rom-coms to watch at home during our current crisis. Some are directly apropos and some will take you away from it all, but none of them suck.]
In the "apropos" category, Shaun of the Dead may be the ultimate Stay Inside! metaphor movie for our moment. And for ye of narrow minds who question my genre classification (romantic comedy?!), well excuuuuuse me:
Our story begins with Shaun (Simon Pegg) getting dumped by girlfriend Liz (Kate Ashfield) because he's stuck in a passive rut. Can boy win back his girl? Well, due to a local health crisis, Shaun has to fetch Liz (along with friends and family) and find her a safe haven. He thus proves he can be an active hero who's worthy of her love. Oh, wait, did I leave something out? Right: the zombies. The movie's first act gag, a gift that keeps on giving, is that Shaun's so caught up in his romantic drama with Liz that he's slow on the uptake re: said "health crisis," not realizing that London is under deadly attack from crazed, hungry zombies who're feasting on humans, and multiplying.
Equal parts rom-com and horror pic send-up, Shaun of the Dead should provide the LOLs needed for us Covid-19 Spring of 2020 couch potatoes. If you've never seen it, now's the perfect time, and if you're already a fan? Well, relative to what we're dealing with, zombie hordes have never looked quite so good.
Slapstick comedy with devastating British humour, SHAUN OF THE DEAD should make you laugh and think. Maybe one of the most audacious and innovative cross-genre rom-coms.
Thank you Billie for helping us (re)discover these 10 high-quality rom-coms! One can see all the diversity and richness of this genre…
Posted by: Stephane Guero | April 30, 2020 at 05:48 AM
France is known for its romantic cinema, and most people have seen (or at least heard about) Amélie, The artist, The young girls of Rochefort… But as a French screenwriter, let me recommend 10 of the best French rom-coms of the 21st century…
- Heartbreaker (L’arnacoeur)
- Love at second sight (Mon inconnue)
- Love me if you dare (Jeux d’enfants)
- Rolling to you (Tout le monde debout)
- Mr & Mrs Adelman (Monsieur et madame Adelman)
- The names of love (Le nom des gens)
- It boy (20 ans d’écart)
- Blind date (Un peu, beaucoup, aveuglément)
- Someone, somewhere (Deux moi)
- Love at first fight (Les combattants)
Posted by: Stephane Guero | April 30, 2020 at 05:50 AM
Hi Stephane: Thank you for the many, many thoughtful comments on the various "Rona Rom-Com" posts! You're clearly a film lover of discerning taste. I'm glad you've enjoyed this series. And thank you especially for the list of suggested French films! Of the ones you've mentioned, I've only seen "Heartbreakers" and "Blind Date." (I love "Heartbreakers" - and my studio, Universal, briefly flirted with an American remake of it.) I look forward to seeking out the others. I hope you are staying healthy and well in these terrible times. Thanks again for visiting the blog, B.
Posted by: mernitman | May 02, 2020 at 07:48 AM
Thanks Billie for your kind words. Some of these French rom-coms are very successful and really worth a remake, but Heartbreaker remains my favorite… Take care and stay safe, warmest regards from France, Stephane
Posted by: Stephane Guero | May 02, 2020 at 11:34 PM