“romantic comedy” *cringe*
i like romantic comedies. they’re funny and romantic. but wait… i was born in the 80s, so i didn’t exactly grow up on hepburn, gable, and tracy (who?). i’ve seen a few old films, quality films where the love is really real and the characters are believable.
Alison Gillmour, a Winnipeg-based writer, wrote an article called “Where Is the Love?” posted to cbc.ca on June 7. I’m looking at the black and white image at the top realising that nothing so genuine exists anymore, and that romance in film today is mostly cheese. as for television, i’m not sure… i think from the little i’ve seen of King of Queens that the sensation is revived.
Gillmour notes that in the 30s and 40s the target audience of couples courted young then married, whereas today, people date for decades before settling down. (and believe me, my boyfriend will NOT see a romantic comedy unless i consent to watching a horror flick in return for his suffering.) i can think of a few movies where people are looking for love, desperately, in their 30s (and older? were they older in the classic films?) and have even given up.
i can think of one film of recent years where the male-female (or female-female, male-male) protagonists’ character interaction was not interfered with by celebrity, where the courting was enigmatic and beautiful, where the ending was heart-warming in a very deliberate and genuine way… no sap, just pure emotion and intelligence. if you know me at all and even read my earlier post about another film… it’s Amélie. but then again, this film was, overall, more intelligent, mature, and delightful than anything yawnlywood can conjure up. celebrities in real life rarely seem to demonstrate real, long-lasting love. it’s not what makes the juice for paparazzi and magazines, and it’s obviously not what makes the backbone of romantic comedies. what does romantic mean anymore, anyway? wherever its meaning is, it’s not in hollywood.
