Living the Romantic Comedy

'Rona Rom-Coms #10: SHAUN OF THE DEAD

[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.

'Rona Rom-Coms #8: THE APARTMENT

[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.]

When I cite Billy Wilder's The Apartment as particularly apropos to our present moment, I could point out that it's all about the relationship between our workplaces and our homes, that it can make you feel better about not being in an office, and that watching Jack Lemmon get a cold, show up for work, and obliviously spew infection wherever he goes provides us with an object lesson in What Most of Us Didn't Know that's more blackly comedic than frightening. But really, I'm suggesting you watch The Apartment simply because it's one of the best romantic comedies ever made.

I shouldn't have to sell anyone on the charms of this Oscar-winning masterpiece (Best Picture, Direction, Screenplay, Editing, and Art Direction, 1960), so I'll just say: Man, it holds up, from its opening sequence to its famous, perfect last exchange of dialogue (with a last line rivaled only by Wilder and Diamond's own Some Like It Hot). So let yourself revel in a time when the best talents of Hollywood were at the top of their form, whether seasoned masters (Wilder was 54) or newly-established young stars (Shirley MacLaine: 26).

For gossip and inside info on their collaboration, these two clips featuring interviews with some participants are a fun font, plus a gem from Ms. MacLaine, and a  word from Mr. Wilder on working with Lemmon, but you may want to take a gander at the movie first. Black and white rarely looked so good - and the same can be said of the picture's seemingly far away but not-so-innocent time.

'Rona Rom-Coms #7: ENCHANTED

[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.]

This selection is both a "getaway" and a way to deal with one pragmatic current reality. What's a rom-com you can watch while stay-at-home with kids? Enchanted: Call me kinky, call me crazy, call me a sentimental tool of corporate capitalism, but to me, this Disney movie that's ostensibly for children is one of the most fun romantic comedies of the past two decades.

Amy Adams, as an animated Snow White-like fairyland princess who ends up in live-action Manhattan, is amazing; the musical numbers by Alan Menken and Stephen Schwartz (including a delicious send-up of all such Disney musical numbers that features dancing vermin) are fabulous; the lack of nudge-wink overkill in Bill Kelly's witty script is admirable; and the incidental perks - including an apt wicked witch turn by Susan Sarandon and wry narration by Julie Andrews - confirm one's suspicion that in fact, this is a made-for-adults movie that's slyly wrapped in kiddie-appeal.

So let you and your little ones be transported by this tale of a princess, sprung from a realm that's "just beyond the Meadows of Joy and the Valley of Contentment" who finds a pre-pandemic New York City to be ultimately just as magical. 

'Rona Rom-Coms #6: LOST IN TRANSLATION

[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, this beautifully directed dark comedy certainly resonates with our current moment. Studying aloneness, the movie glories in its moments of visceral isolation.

Largely remembered for its uproarious "Suntory time!" set piece, among other great gags, Lost in Translation is more a tone poem of melancholia than a raucous Bill Murray comedy. At heart, it's an elegiac meditation on the near-impossibility of sustaining romance; the Murray protagonist is in a marriage that's lost its spark, while the marriage of Scarlett Johansson's character is obviously over even as it's getting into gear. An air of mordant regret permeates the wryly funny-poignant encounters between the two leads, as they slip into a tacitly doomed not-quite love affair that's clearly never meant to be.

Yet the love that develops between them is palpable; the movie is a study of how affinity develops. In the case of these two, it has a lot to do with shared humor and wit. And as each struggles to make the best of their increased isolation, a slow but steady surge of hope guides them to a bittersweet, ambiguous, but kinda-sorta happy ending. Sounds good to me, right now. See if you agree.

'Rona Rom-Coms #4: HER

[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.]

You may not think of Spike Jonze's Her as a romantic comedy - perhaps because it's also a sci-fi pic, a social satire, and a character-driven drama - but "Man falls in love with his computer's operating system" is about as contemporary rom-com as it gets, in my book, and the movie, despite its often melancholic tone, is filled with mordant wit and features some genuine LOL laughs.

It's also, viewed from one's shelter-in-place couch, weirdly resonant with the current moment. Watching it now can induce a surreal nostalgia for the not-quite past, given that the urban near-future it imagines is cavalierly populous and crowded, but simultaneously it's a film about isolation and its discontents. It depicts a love story between an emotionally-disabled guy (Joaquin Phoenix), channeling other people's emotions in his gig as a professional personal letter-writer, and his disembodied female-voiced OS (Scarlett Johansson), but practically everyone on screen is engrossed in a screen, rather than dealing with the humans in their proximity.

As an exploration of how to sustain a relationship when one of you is only present via technology and not physically there, Her can serve as a metaphor for the relationships many of us are trying to sustain in the time of COVID-19. And ultimately, it's a clear-eyed, hesitant affirmation of hope, and the fundamental importance of human connection. Sound relatable? Take a look.

'Rona Rom-Coms #2: THE BIG SICK

[This series of posts - Romantic Comedies in the Time of Social Distance - has been created in response to people looking for 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 are romantic comedies that suck.]

At first glance, this one may feel a little too close for comfort, but the script of Emily V. Gordon and Kumail Nanjiani's The Big Sick (directed by Michael Showalter) never veers into truly tragic territory, and especially people who've experienced loved ones being ill and/or hospitalized may find solace in how this essentially upbeat romantic dramedy deals with the realities of that scary, currently all too common situation.

Earlier in our self-isolation, when my wife and I screened the recent Invisible Man, my wife noted that it was fun to watch this well-made horror film because as frightening as it got, we knew that it would work out well in the end - unlike the ongoing horror-show of our current reality. By the same token, anyone who loves good comedy will enjoy The Big Sick's great, zinger-filled dialogue, the marvelous performances (including force-of-nature Holly Hunter, and Ray Romano at his post-Raymond best) and the genuinely fresh, surprising turns in a movie that's as much about family, the vagaries of emotional ambivalence, and overcoming biases, as it is about medical emergencies.

It's also about learning how to be the best version of yourself during a trying time, and ultimately it's about hope. Available on Amazon Prime and a number of online mediums.

'Rona Rom-Coms #1: MAN UP

[Since many people have been asking me of late, What's a good romantic comedy to watch at home now? I'm initiating a new series of posts: Romantic Comedies in the Time of Social Distance. I hope to post suggestions throughout the weeks to come for movies directly relevant to our time of crisis and/or those that can successfully transport you away from it all.]

In honor of my dear friend screenwriter Tess Morris's birthday (April 6th) I'm kicking this off with Man Up. Like Tess herself, it's delightful, super-smart, often hilarious, British, and rewards repeat viewings.

Extra viewings of the movie are extra fun due to the various easter eggs, running gags, references, and callbacks that fill out its fast and funny script. But if you haven't seen it, being sequestered in your home is a great opportunity to first enjoy Man Up's multiple charms, which include great performances from leads Lake Bell and Simon Pegg, and a marvelously perverse supporting role by Rory Kinnear. If you're already familiar with the film, you may enjoy this informative behind the scenes interview.

While the movie's plot is not specifically pandemic-centric (beyond upping one's nostalgia for being able to run around London with impunity), I believe the giddy high spirits of it are just the sort of tonic called for in these troubled times. Available at multiple online venues. And a Happy Tess Day to its creator!

Rom-Com Radio

I'll be on the NPR program "1A" tomorrow eve talking romantic comedy @ 8 p.m. in L.A. (KPCC, 89.3) with a fun panel: https://bit.ly/2QG3OKd. Check your local listings and tune in!

The Conformist: A Sampler

Though Bertolucci is most famous for Last Tango, it was The Conformist that changed my cinematic life when I saw its American premiere at the NY Film Festival in 1970. When the lights came up, one faction in the audience was booing, because the leftist Italian filmmaker had supposedly sold out to "Nixon-Paramount," while on my side of the aisle we were on our feet cheering. 

If you've never seen The Conformist or want to revisit it, here's a montage of some of the most memorable moments from this masterpiece, created by Bertolucci in collaboration with cinematographer Vittorio Storaro; music by George Delerue, starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Domonique Sanda, and Stefania Sandrelli.

Roeg

 

Second unit director: Laurence of Arabia Director of Photography: Fahrenheit 451, Far From the Madding Crowd Cinematographer/Director: Performance, Walkabout, Don't Look Now Director: Man Who Fell to Earth