Paste magazine did a story recently about the 17 Best Romantic Comedies This Decade. I’m a connoisseur of the romantic comedy, so I ate this up. Unfortunately, not all of it stayed down.
But I won’t dwell on the duds that made the list (Waitress, Knocked Up) or even wonder about the movies I’ve never heard of that made the list (Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Before Sunset, Amelie). But somebody must stand up for the great romantic comedies of this decade that didn’t make the list.
I volunteer:
--Any list chronicling best romantic comedies that doesn’t include Serendipity is automatically suspect to me. I’m just sayin’.
--Same goes for The Notebook.
--And no Elizabethtown? Come on! You’re killing me Paste magazine. You’re killing me.
--Music and Lyrics should be on this list.
--And who wasn’t swept away be the magic of 50 First Dates?
--Garden State was left off? How?
--C’mon, who didn’t shed a tear or two when watching Dan in Real Life?
--Definitely, Maybe. Definitely, definitely should have been on the list.
--A Walk to Remember was a beautiful teal jerker that was shunned, but shouldn’t have been.
Can you think of any others? Remember, they had to have been released this decade.
6 comments:
Paste's list is flawed, since some of those movies seem hard-squeezed into the RC genre; Eternal Sunshine? Come on! NOT A COMEDY! If we're going to include this one, I insist on including Sean of the Dead - funny and romantic, with a boat-load of zombies.
I'm confused about "this decade." Does that mean ten years ago from now? Just the 2000-2010? And is it one decade from the date the article in Paste was written? And is it the release date of the movie, or the date it showed at my local theater?
(The answers to these questions may qualify one of my favs - You've Got Mail (1998-right on the cusp). That's why I'm asking.)
Agreements with Paste:
Waitress (sorry, Lee). Even though the ending arguably breaks the genre, it was a comedy and it was a romance and it made me cry - so it's at least in the running. No zombies, true - but pies! Lots of pies!
Ghost Town. Acting was great, and hilarious writing.
Wall-E. Good for Paste for recognizing the romance in animated robots!
I would add that Knocked Up and Forty-Year-Old Virgin fall out of the category in my list because of Apatow's immature, adolescent debauchery. And no, I haven't seen them.
I'm in your corner with Elizabethtown. And Dan in Real Life was so good it has reshuffled the deck for me - it's now on top of my list.
My list also includes these films and yours should, too:
The Family Man
Return to Me
Stranger than Fiction
I saw "Last Chance Harvey" Sunday night, and it won't make the list. We've rented "The Holiday" and so it might sneak in. And of course, we've got a few months to go if the decade under discussion doesn't end until 2010.
Okay, Lee, I have to comment. This topic resonates with me...I agree with some and disagree with others.
Waitress was a good flick that should have made the list. The Notebook...really? I'm not a Sparks fan...too much sap for me.
Dan in Real Life should have made the list, I agree, along with Definitely, Maybe and Music and Lyrics.
I have to draw the line at Elizabethtown. The acting in that flick was subpar at best. Orlando Bloom seemed totally out of his element and there didn't seem much connection between him and Dundst.
Garden State is a pretty dark flick (I can't believe Eternal Sunshine made it). I can't see it as a romantic comedy.
Amelie? I can't say it deserves the best list. Lars and the Real Girl is a great movie that leaves the viewer thinking long after the images depart the screen.
I love romantic comedies. I'm not sure I could put 17 "best" together. I'd be interested in knowing what criteria the writer used in determining whether a film made the list or not.
Ron, I'm pretty sure that by this decade they mean 2000-present, which is why I didn't include some at the end of the 90s.
I couldn't get into Waitress. I loved Keri Russell's work in the TV series Felicity and I enjoyed her in Bedtime Stories, but Waitress was lacking something for me.
Haven't seen Ghost Town, but I want to. Adding it to my Netflix queue as we speak.
Haven't seen Wall-E, Knocked Up, or 40-Year-Old-Virgin. Would see Wall-E, have no interest in the other two.
Ohhh, I loved The Family Man. Just looked it up and it was released in 2000, so it qualifies.
Loved your input, thanks!
Eileen, I'm a sappy kinda guy and I'm all about The Notebook, and nearly everything else Sparks has written. Sorry. :)
I have to tell you, you wounded me deeply by dissing Elizabethtown. I haven't see Bloom in many other movies, but I loved his work in this one--especially liked the all night phone call between his character and Claire. Of course, I think I've written six posts here at Little Nuances about the movie, so . . .
Garden State was dark, but it had two other elements too . . . it had some humorous parts and I liked the way the movie explored the way humans tend to shut down their emotions so they can get through life easier. Thought it did an excellent job of showing the negative ramifications for doing so.
I haven't heard of Lars and the Real Girl, but I'll add that to my Netflix queue as well. Love movies that make you think about them long after they are over.
Thanks for your input!
Lars is brilliant! But surely the all time best is When Harry Met Sally? Oh, and the Bridget Jones movies, Four Weddings and a Funeral, Love Actually, Must Love Dogs....
can ya tell I'm not from the US!!!
If you remove from the original list of 17 the movies that aren't romantic comedies and the movies that aren't very good you end up with.
Eternal Sunshine
Punch Drunk
Knocked Up
Bridget Jones
That's a good number for any decade.
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