Living the Romantic Comedy

'Rona Rom-Coms #9: THE KIDS ARE ALL RIGHT

  
[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.]

My last pick for a "getaway" movie was the musical Enchanted, a rom-com suitable for watching with kids. This time for that same category, I'm happy to offer up a truly adult, sophisticated, totally Not A Guilty Pleasure movie: The Kids Are All Right, a bisexual/lesbian love story directed by Lisa Cholodenko. 

The film features five intriguingly complicated protagonists (four of them etched indelibly within its first five minutes) facing contemporary issues that have nothing to do with plague or isolation, so for a change of current pace, let yourself get swept up in a whole other set of Modern Romantic Problems, explored in a sharp, wryly funny screenplay by Cholodenko and co-writer Stuart Blumberg. The movie is unusually alive to character-driven nuance, with finely tuned performances by its trio of leads (Annette Bening, Julianne Moore, and Mark Ruffalo) illuminating the absurd contradictions found at each all-too-human point of its central triangle.

A Rom-Com For People Who Hate Rom-Coms, it's also a treat for people who love them, and in fact, if your kids are 18 or older, a movie your modern family can watch together, too.

'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 #5: SIDEWAYS

[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 category of rom-coms to Take You Away From All This, it's hard to think of a more enjoyable flight of fantasy (that is, fantasy by our current moment's standards) than Alexander Payne & Jim Taylor's Sideways. It's ostensibly about a hangdog failed novelist who goes searching, along with his philandering bad-actor buddy, for the best Pinot Noirs in the sun-soaked Santa Ynez Valley, but of course what he ends up finding is love and some life-altering epiphanies.

Ah, those were the days, indeed. And from our relatively benign solitary confinement as we pray for the plague to pass over us and for our spirits to rise again, it's such a wistful pleasure to contemplate the beauty of unfettered bounty depicted by this gem of a comedy, that it feels well-nigh illicit. Regardless: Treat yourself to the delights found in hanging out with the movie's memorable quartet of characters - hey, open a bottle of anything but Merlot, while you're at it - and lose yourself in the pithy, pungent dialogue, the great performances by Giametti, Madsen, Church, and Oh, and the kinds of conflicts that may seem quaint in the sober spring of 2020, but are nonetheless just as hilarious, and moving, as ever.

'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 #3: EMMA

[This Romantic Comedies in the Time of Social Distance series 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 suck.]

In the category of romantic comedies that will truly take you out of the present moment and into another world altogether is the recent Jane Austen adaptation Emma, fresh from our now empty theaters, which Uni Focus in its infinite wisdom has made available on pay-per-view. It also falls into the category of what my screenwriter friend Tess Morris derisively refers to as "Bonnet rom-coms," meaning period piece pics that tend to be filled with frippery and frivolousness.

In its opening minutes, Emma certainly seems to fill that bill. Set designed within an inch of its life with a color palette that resembles glazed petit fours, it thrusts us into an early 1800s world of wealth and privilege that from the vantage point of our 2020 couch confinement feels more like science fiction than reality. But - and it's a "but" that's key to Emma's sly, delightful enterprise - you soon realize that director Autumn de Wilde and screenwriter Eleanor Catton are quite consciously, satirically sending up the Bonnet Rom-Com ethos, and that unexpected depths (along with LOL laughs) dwell beneath its artful surface.

This tale of a self-involved woman who gets her comeuppance en route to finding true love is piloted by great performances by Anya Taylor-Joy, Bill Nighy, Mia Goth, and Johnny Flynn, and it gets more involving and emotionally raw as it goes, ending up in a place that's as surprisingly moving as it is witty. So if you're looking for an entertainment that will transport you from the here and now, yet put you in touch with your humanity, hie thee to your home screen. For less than the price of two movie theater tickets, it delivers.

'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!

Book Launch

I’m doing two events in Los Angeles to celebrate the publication of the Revised, Expanded, and Updated 20^th Anniversary edition of Writing the Romantic Comedy, which is now 100 pages longer and full of new and intriguing goodies:

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 13^TH 2020

7:00 p.m. @ Vroman’s Bookstore

695 E. Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, CA 91101

At Vroman’s I’ll be showing a couple of great rom-com clips, while discussing what’s happened in the genre over the past 20 years and where it’s headed next, and…

THURSDAY FEBRUARY 20^TH 2020

6:30 p.m. @ Diesel Bookstore

in the Brentwood Country Mart, 225 26^th Street (Suite #33), Santa Monica, CA 90402

At Diesel I’ll have guest screenwriter Tess Morris (who used the original edition as a guide in writing her hilarious rom-com Man Up) join me for the discussion.

Come to Vroman’s to get that perfect Valentine’s Day gift for your writer/movie-lover significant other; come to Diesel to meet Tess; come to either or both to support your local indie bookstore and to enjoy the laughs and love!

Hope to see you there,

xx B.