Two late-90s British Romantic Comedies

I own Sliding Doors (1998) mostly because it was in a $5 dollar bin. It's one of the better films you can get in one of those bins because, while it's no cinematic masterpiece, it's quite enjoyable. It's the perfect movie to put on when you're cleaning or packing or doing laundry. You don't have to pay very much attention except to the parts that are delightful.

Still in her non-British British actress stage, Gwyneth Paltrow plays Helen, a PR expert who gets fired from her job. On her way home after her unpleasant sacking, she misses the train home.But wait! This is a romantic comedy so we also see her barely catch the train (which is helpfully accompanied by magical chimes). From here we see the two paths her life could take: one where she gets home early to find her boyfriend Gerry having sex with another woman, the other where she has to find another, longer way home and misses catching her boyfriend cheating. This moment is also where I tend to either tune out/fast forward through one half of the film. Believe me when I say that the storyline that involves Helen being oblivious to her idiotic boyfriend's antics is 3/4 unbearable. I can't think of a more loathsome character than Gerry; he can't decide which woman he wants and then feels bad about it. We have to hear him talk to himself in the mirror, to his unsympathetic friend, and his lover about it. Kill me now.

The film is really saved by the other half of the film where Helen meets the kind and persistent James (John Hannah). It's a sweet relationship that you get to see build through drinking milkshakes and sculling competitions. And we are even treated to two delightful montages in this story, one of them being a makeover montage where Helen gets a sassy haircut and blonde hair (which is quite helpful thing when they keep switching between Helens).

Sliding Doors is a good fluff film that's at least half decent. And fairly short (99 minutes), so perfect for deep cleaning the refrigerator.

I happened upon Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence* (1998) while perusing Netflix. I ended up watching this because of my love of Joseph Fiennes and Rufus Sewell. But mostly of Joseph Fiennes. Ahem. Anyway, it's a breezy (88 minutes) romcom that involves three childhood friends and the girl who they all fall for.

Martha (Monica Potter) is an American who decides to up and move to England. On plane there, she meets a music producer or something Daniel (Tom Hollander) who is instantly smitten by her, and he tries to woo her through bumping her to first class (through ridiculous means I might add). Daniel tells his friends Frank (Rufus Sewell) and Laurence (Joseph Fiennes) about the girl, and Frank, the drunken, unemployed actor blaggard that he is, discovers her in a park and decides to try to get with her himself she's so lovely. Little do either of them know, Laurence encountered her in the airport and was bullied into giving her a ride into London. This time Martha is the one that's smitten, although Laurence likes her soon enough. The conflict? Martha doesn't know they're all friends! And Daniel and Frank are ignorant of Laurence's involvement since they're both self-centered bastards!

But wait! It's a romantic comedy, so Laurence is obviously telling his psychiatrist neighbor about this whole mess early in the morning!

Whatever. It's an amusing enough movie. Honestly, this is the first time I've probably ever seen Rufus Sewell not play a scorned lover/nobleman. He's quite funny actually. And of course we get to see Joseph Fiennes with his love-stricken look that he does so well. Yes, I'm swooning. So really, it's a movie to watch for the people in it, not necessarily for it's ground breaking cinematic quality.

And as with both of these movies, they at least avoid the most painful romcom tropes (to me): the woman pining after some jerk of a man (Rufus Sewell in The Holiday) and the drunken escape paving the way to love (every other romantic comedy). So good things all around. Plus, it's already been a decade since they've been released, so you can laugh at some of the styles and musical choices while reveling in the fantastic UK accents.

1998 Joseph Fiennes. Wonderful. Oh, and Monica Potter is pretty charming too.

*or, as it was released in the US, The Very Thought of You. What's up with the name change? Does every romantic comedy really need to be named after a song? I'm looking at you Simply Irresistable, Someone Like You, It Could Happen to You, et al. Or was that just the 90s?

How to Steal a Million

How to Steal a Million (1966) is one of those movies that shouldn't work, mostly due to the script. The plot is just ludicrous*: a young woman's father is an art forger. He just lent a statue to a local museum, but the museum wants to insure so they must inspect it closer. But it's a fake, so to protect her father, the young woman enlists the help of a man she caught burgling a painting from her home to help burgle the statue from the museum. But the burglar isn't really a burglar at all**! Hilarity and romance in a utility closet ensues.

It's terribly contrived but ends up being a lot of fun only because of the charm of Audrey Hepburn and Peter O'Toole. To be honest, I adore this movie mostly because of Mr. O'Toole. Most of his films that I've seen are quite serious, but in this he's just incorrigible, clever, charismatic--not to mention those big blue eyes! Really, he's mastered the "are you serious" look, and he uses it well in this film whenever Hepburn's character does something ridiculous that no one would ever actually do (which is pretty much every scene). In fact, I usually just ignore what's going on in the plot entirely and bask in the fabulousness of Hepburn and O'Toole.

This YouTube video, while using the overused "Suddenly I See" by KT Tunstall, has several O'Toole reaction shots which should be all you need to convince you to watch How to Steal a Million:



And for added bonus...

Pete posing like the fake Cellini Venus.

Audrey dressing the wounds of criminal in her house that she accidentally shot...of course.
Although he is charmingly dressed in a tuxedo.

Have I mentioned how much I want Audrey's lacy mask thing?
And maybe a Peter O'Toole arm around my shoulders as well?

*My gut instinct is to spell this word "ludacris"...
**How many forms of burgle can I use in one post?

There are 3 kinds of romantic-comedies...

I'll admit it. I'm a big fan of the romcom. Unfortunately, most suck. Every so often you get a good one, fairly often you get an enjoyable one, but most of the time they're awful. The breakdown is this as follows.

There are 3 categories of romantic-comedies: 1. the great ones, 2. the mediocre but likable ones, and 3. the awful ones. The great ones manage to have moments of real human emotion mixed into the romance and often unrealistic situations of the film. The mediocre ones strike just enough good notes to work, although overall are a little schmaltzy. The awful ones try to be cute, but fail to set up characters that the audience cares about.

To demonstrate the 3 types of romcoms, I'm using appropriately holiday themed films: 1. Love Actually, 2. While You Were Sleeping, and 3. The Holiday. I'm just highlighting the things that I think qualify these movies in their respective categories. I recommend watching the first two to get a full plot. The third one is never necessary to watch.

1. Love Actually (2003) has several things that will initially bring enjoyment: Hugh Grant, British accents, small children, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant dancing. Those alone could make a passable movie, but what helps Love Actually reach Great status is its genuine humor and emotion. There are several story lines going on at once featuring an "all-star cast." Seriously, everyone is charming in this movie.

What I appreciate most about this movie is that it doesn't ignore the fact that people exist within a family and social unit. Too many movies (like The Holiday) make me question who the character's parents are (who raised these inept people) or why their family is completely uninvolved. Some of the stories in Love Actually highlight family relationships more than others, but all take place within a context. With the exception of the libido-driven young man on a quest to hook up with as many American women as possible and his porn directing friend, most of the characters seem to have consciences or at least an awareness that their actions may have consequences. Romance just for romance's sake usually fall short. The same could be said about comedy. To be truly romantic or comedic, there must be a solid context, even if it's just a family.

The most impressive thing about this film is the good screenplay and brilliant editing. This movie could have quickly become disastrous and confusing with so many plot lines (I'm looking at you Pirate of the Caribbean 2 and 3), but we get just enough of each story for affection to build up and characters to develop and reach resolution. Some of the stories get more time, and some stories are more typical than others, but each goes along with the theme of the film: love actually is everywhere. Also well done, but not pounded in, is the fact that each storyline intertwines in some way with the others, whether it's through friendship, family, marriage, or work. The relationships aren't pointed out by bad exposition, but implied. Anything that makes people feel somewhat intelligent is always welcome, even in a fairly fluffy genre.

To summarize: Love Actually has a context, is truly romantic, and handles its many stories well. Its genius is in the fact that different stories will appeal to different people (much like the members of The Backstreet Boys). There are some story lines that connect with you, and some that are just amusing, but all will entertain.

2. While You Were Sleeping (1995) is one of my all-time favorite movies. I'm clearly biased. I've seen this so many times that my viewing has passed initial plot and quality analysis to just enjoying the performances. However, I know several people who really can't handle this movie, mostly because of the ridiculous plot (coma, anyone?), thus making it fall short of great, making it just Mediocre but Likable.

The performances make this movie. Sandra Bullock is endearing and kind of messy in it and I love her for it. She brings humor and a real loneliness to the role giving the viewer something to connect with. Bill Pullman reminds me why the 90s were a great time for hair. Peter Gallagher had (and still has) those amazing eyebrows and manages to pull off some adorable qualities by the end. But the best performances are by the supporting cast that plays the family: Peter Boyle pre-Everybody Loves Raymond and less obnoxious, and Jack Warden as the Jewish godfather are my favorite. Everybody just brings all sorts of quirks to their roles and I love them.

This movie truly excels in its ensemble scenes, most notably the dinner scene. Nothing says family like ridiculous conversations about Cesar Romero being tall, mashed potatoes being creamy, and who everyone's "type" is. This scene never fails to make me laugh with its overlapping dialogue that seems so real.

To Summarize: While You Were Sleeping is endearing and adorable and full of Christmas cheer. The performances make up for the coma plot line, and even the most ridiculous character, Joe Jr., manages to just make the film that much funnier. Really, it comes down to celebrating the holidays with family, but manges to do it without the abrasive ABC Family cheese.

3. The Holiday (2006) is why people hate romantic-comedies, and possibly Americans. It's Awful. It never rises above its plot devices with its mediocre performances, and more specifically the horrible performance by Cameron Diaz. I'm just going to list the things that ruin this movie:

• Cameron Diaz trying to be funny
• Outdated "fantasy"/hallucination sequences
  
• Sex before a relationship, therefore ruining any hopes of sexual tension, which is really the only thing that holds most romantic comedies together. (Think Grey's Anatomy and how much is sucked from the beginning thanks to absolutely no tension.)
• And side note, sexual tension is why old screwball comedies worked--they couldn't show anything, so they were creative and had to come up with ways to build suspense to keep people engaged. At least old Hollywood had that.
  
• The whole concept of house swapping--who does that?
• The fact that Kate Winslet is in this (I like her, and she does not deserve this).
• Cameron Diaz acting like a dumb girl.
• This is supposed to be about female empowerment, but really makes me wonder what kind of women society has created.
• Way too long for such a vapid story.
  

To summarize: This movie at least has one redeeming half--the one with Kate Winslet and Jack Black. But even that story isn't very well done. The other half isn't even worth mention (except Jude Law with little girls is almost cute). It's not funny and the end makes you wonder why you even watched in the first place. The Holiday brings shame to the genre of the romantic-comedy.

So if I'm going to leave you with anything, I'll say this: choose your romantic-comedies wisely. There are good ones out there, you just have to look. And watch out for Cameron Diaz.