Origin Stories: Thinkin' About Ya

"Thinkin' About Ya" by Timex Social Club (1986)
The original, credited to producer Jay King.



"Why You Treat Me So Bad" by Club Nouveau (1986)
When the beat kicks in, you know it's business time. (Watch the video on YouTube, or also listen to the full version here.) This is usually the version of the melody sampled.


"Rumors" by Father Dom featuring Timex Social Club (1995)
Could this song sound more 1995?



"Can't Trust a Man" by Mia X featuring Sugar T (1995)
This song is pretty badass and awesome. Listen here.

"I Got 5 On It" by Luniz featuring Michael Marshall (1995)
Obviously.



"Satisfy You" Puff Daddy featuring R. Kelly (1999)
Had no idea this existed. It's not good. (Listen here.)

"I'm Gonna Be Alright" by Jennifer Lopez (2001)
So this song apparently exists, too. (Listen here.)

"Untouchable" by DMX and a thousand other people (2003)
It's a more subtle sampling of the baseline. As an aside, whatever happened to DMX? (Listen here.)

"Only U" by Ashanti (2004)
Pretty much only the beginning. (Found here.)

THIS IS THE REMIX!

"How Can I Get Over You" by Taral Hicks featuring LL Cool J (1997)
I'm loving every minute of this remix. Who else misses 90s R&B?



"Irresistible" by Jessica Simpson (So So Def remix featuring Lil Bow Wow) (2002)
Oh, well I like this song now. Seriously listen. It's strangely awesome

Can you tell I've been shotgunning Community lately?

This song makes an appearance in season 3 several times, mostly through humming.



Thanks, Michael Haggins, for this smooth groove. It's now replacing "Call Me Maybe" as my default-stuck-in-head song.

Troy Barnes GIF party! (co-starring Abed, obvs)

Cutest.

I wish I was this happy on my birthday every year.

Baby Boomer Santa!

Troy and Abed looking cheesy!

Awesome.

I find myself doing thumbs up like this even though I'm pretty sure no one gets why I'm thumbs-upping like a dork.

50 Favorite Romances: Wrap-up

Well, kids, we made it. I listed out my 50 Favorite Romances. Did I miss any of your favorites? Have I included too many you hated? Check out the master list below: 

1. Much Ado About Nothing (1993) 
2. It Happened One Night (1934) 
3. When Harry Met Sally... (1989) 
4. A Room With a View (1985) 
5. Persuasion (1995) 
6. Gone With the Wind (1939) 
7. Two for the Road (1967) 
8. While You Were Sleeping (1995) 
9. The Princess Bride (1987) 
10. Philadelphia Story (1940) 
11. The Remains of the Day (1993) 
12. Penelope (2006) 
13. A Man and a Woman (1966) 
14. Mostly Martha (2001) 
15. A Walk in the Clouds (1995) 
16. My Man Godfrey (1936) 
17. The Sound of Music (1965) 
18. Casablanca (1942) 
19. Charade (1963) 
20. Monsoon Wedding (2001) 
21. In the Mood for Love (2000) 
22. Bridget Jones’ Diary (2001) 
23. Say Anything (1989) 
24. Love Story (1970) 
25. The New World (2005) 

Just a bonus picture from Anastasia. The restrained affection is glorious, as is Yul Brynner's bald head.

26. (500) Days of Summer (2009) 
27. Vibes (1988) 
28. The Last Station (2009) 
29. Splendor in the Grass (1961) 
30. What’s Up, Doc? (1972) 
31. Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974) 
32. Shakespeare in Love (1998) 
33. Brief Encounter (1945) 
34. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004) 
35. Roman Holiday (1953) 
36. Love, Actually (2003) 
37. Strictly Ballroom (1992) 
38. The Painted Veil (2006) 
39. Corrina, Corrina (1994) 
40. Anastasia (1956) 
41. Moulin Rouge (2001) 
42. Sabrina (1995) 
43. The Village (2004) 
44. Moonstruck (1987) 
45. Forget Paris (1995) 
46. Amelie (2001) 
47. Firelight (1997) 
48. The Wedding Singer (1998) 
49. The Goodbye Girl (1977) 
50. The Way We Were (1973) 

Break it down by decade, you say? OF COURSE I'M GOING TO DO THAT. Number of films per decade:
1930s: 3
1940s: 3
1950s: 2
1960s: 5
1970s: 5
1980s: 6
1990s: 12
2000s: 14

I'm a little embarrassed that so many of them are recent, although it makes sense: I was born in the late 80s, so of course the 90s and early 2000s are going to be loaded with films I grew up with and shaped my taste in romance. At least I've got a couple per decade since the existence of talkie movies. 

Out of curiosity, I also decided to find out how if there were any popular years for me:

Years with 2 films chosen:
1987
1989
1993
1998
2004
2006
2009

Years with 5 films chosen:
1995
2001

I think we all already knew 1995 was probably the best year ever for movies including Persuasion, While You Were Sleeping, A Walk in the Clouds, Sabrina, and Forget Paris making my personal cut. But I'm surprised 2001 was that prolific. Turns out 3 were foreign films (Monsoon Wedding, Mostly Martha, and Amelie) in addition to Moulin Rouge! and Bridget Jones's Diary.

So anyway, those are my thoughts. It is finished.

50 Favorite Romances: 46 - 50

Also check out 1 - 5, 6 - 10, 11 - 15, 16 - 20, 21 - 25, 26 - 30, 31 - 35, 36 - 40, and 41 - 45.

46. Amelie (2001)

You mean she would rather imagine herself relating to an absent person than build relationships with those around her?

Adorable, impeccably designed film about an introvert who learns how to care about other people and get out of her head. There's a spectacular cast of supporting characters that are unbelievably French and quirky, but in the end, the movie belongs to Audrey Tautou, her hard to pull off short bangs, and big eyes. Her delight in carrying out ridiculous schemes or fear when confronted with the reality of making a move on the photobooth scrapbooker she becomes enamored with is all shown in her eyes. Completely satisfying from start to finish, with the added bonus of a magical and tres French soundtrack.

47. Firelight (1997)

Firelight makes time stand still. When you put out the lamps and sit in the firelight's glow there aren't any rules any more.

Have you ever been watching/reading Jane Eyre and though, "I wish there was a lot more sex"? Then this is the movie for you. Charles Godwin's (Stephen Dillane) wife is comatose and needs an heir, so he hires a young French woman (Sophie Marceau) to spend three nights with him and bear his child. By the end of the third night, they're both enjoying themselves more than they're willing to admit. However, they don't see each other until years later when the woman wants to track down the daughter she gave birth to. She finds work at the Godwin house as a governess (isn't it always?) to find an angry father and a bratty child. Will the governess win them over in the end? Of course. Is this an incredibly grim movie with unexpected moments of modernity? Yes. Did I discover this film on the Oxygen Network? Obviously, but it's much better than one would expect. Watch it.

48. The Wedding Singer (1998)

Sir, one more outburst, I will strangle you with my microphone wire.

The Wedding Singer is the perfect TBS, Saturday afternoon movie. You don't have to think too hard, but it doesn't make you feel dumber. It's also one of the rare moments when Adam Sandler manages to play an endearing and funny character. It probably helps that Drew Barrymore is at her bubbly best, and the 80s angle feels a bit more fresh here than in other film. Mostly, it's a sweet "friends end up falling for each other because, no duh, her fiance is the worst" story. Not to mention a drunken Steve Buscemi, Chaka Khan singing Jon Lovitz, comedy perennial Allen Covert, and Boy George loving Alexis Arquette. Classic.

49. The Goodbye Girl (1977)

You know I love listening to you talk. I hate living with you but your conversation is first rate.

Can we talk about how attractive 1970s Richard Dreyfuss is? Because he is. He plays actor Elliott Garfield who moves into an apartment with newly single Paula McFadden (Marsha Mason) and her daughter Lucy (Quinn Cummings) after a subletting mishap. Personalities clash--Paula hates actors and Elliott can't help but be stubborn about everything--but they end up bringing out good things in each other. Neil Simon's snappy dialogue is something you don't see in film anymore, so it's a treat watching The Goodbye Girl.

50. The Way We Were (1973)

When you love someone, from Roosevelt to me, you go deaf, dumb, and blind.

Might as well end with the sappiest movie I could think of. It's the tragic story of two people that probably shouldn't have gotten together, but end up mostly just wasting each others' time. So Katie (Barbra Streisand) was some socialist nerd in college and Hubbell (Robert Redford) was some golden boy who everything came easy for. After college they meet when Hubbell's in the service during WWII and they hook up. Katie basically pushes him into a relationship and things keep happening. There's lots of arguments about changing personalities, and I can never decide if it's realistic or ridiculous. I just know I like it. But let's be real, the real star of the show is Barbra's song:



Fin.

50 Favorite Romances: 41 - 45

Also check out 1 - 5, 6 - 10, 11 - 15, 16 - 20, 21 - 25, 26 - 30, 31 - 35, and 36 - 40.

41. Moulin Rouge (2001)

Never fall in love with a woman who sells herself. It always ends bad!

Did anyone go into this movie thinking it was going to be terrible because a lot of its promotional ads used this horrendous version* of "Lady Marmalade"? And then the first half hour was so ridiculous you didn't know what was happening, but once Ewan McGregor starting belting "Your Song," you kind of loved it? At the end of the day, this really is a downer of a love story, but it's so pretty and it remains the only successful pop-songs-to-musical musicals I've ever seen. It helps that it's about show business in the first place, but they also chose some great music. This movie would be noteworthy even if "Roxanne" were the only scene--with the growling vocals, passionate dancing, the tragic cross-cutting, Christian's new, harmonizing verse to the song--I would still say this film is worth it. That Moulin Rouge  manages to have so such emotional resonance for how melodramatic and frantic it is, is amazing.

42. Sabrina (1995)

- I never thought of you as a dancer.
-I'm crazy about it. They call me Bojangles at the office.

I'm always bummed that Harrison Ford didn't do more romantic comedies, but maybe that's what makes Sabrina so effective. Ford plays Linus Larrabee, head of the family business. He's so all business that he wears ugly bowties. His younger, more charismatic brother, David (Greg Kinnear), attracts the attention of the chauffeur's frumpy daughter, Sabrina (Julia Ormond). Sabrina spends some years abroad in Paris and comes back totally hot, distracting David from his finacee who happens to be in business with the family's company. Linus decides to save the business by seducing Sabrina away from his brother, only he starts falling for her (WHO KNEW THAT WOULD HAPPEN?). It's done in a relaxed and socially awkward way that ends up being endearing, hitting emotional beats that make sense. And let's be real, Dana Ivey as the assistant Mack steals the show.

43. The Village (2004)

It is all that I can give you.

I feel like I should apologize for this selection because popular opinion is that this was where Shyamalan went off the rails. While I don't think it's a perfect movie, it's got a lot going for it, including some effective scary scenes that give this film an interesting mixed-genre feel. It's also got a sweet romance between Ivy Walker (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Lucius Hunt (Joaquin Phoenix). Maybe I'm a sucker for romances set in more formal eras of courtship, but their humorous and endearing coupling manages to gloss over the excessive and confusing twist back before there was a twist in the movie but then it isn't actually a twist back because the first twist was right in the first place. My point is this: Shyamalan makes hand holding thrilling. Outside of a Korean drama, you'd be hard pressed to find something so chaste be so effective, and effective this film is.

44. Moonstruck (1987)

We are here to ruin ourselves and to break our hearts and love the wrong people and die.

So much fighting, so much love making, so many dogs howling at the moon. This film is just plain fun if you like listening to multiple generations of Italian people argue about relationships. It also reminds you of when Nicholas Cage could harness his crazy into a weirdly attractive and hilarious role and teaches you that Cher is kind of awesome. Plus, there's a makeover scene. CASE CLOSED.

45. Forget Paris (1995)

Here, have some bread. Everything will look better after bread.

Apparently 1995 was a good year. In Forget Paris, Debra Winger is an American working in Paris who meets an NBA referee played by Billy Crystal. We learn about their romance through mutual friends telling their story to one friend's new fiancee. Their story is at times romantic and funny, and then stressful and sad as they're shown navigating compromise, taking care of her father, infertility issues, and throwing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar out of a game. Mixed in is old school Crystal humor, but it works well here. Winger and Crystal aces at creating realistic chemistry, and the supporting cast telling their story is a delight, new people coming in at each break from the story and giving us characters that feel comfortable and fully formed.  I would give this movie a hug.


*Where Christina decimates all other female voices in an effort to prove once and for all that her voice is abrasive and unblendable? And for some reason Missy Elliott shows up at the end?