Funny because anyone who knows me knows that I DESPISE WITH A BURNING PASSION romantic comedies. But the people who know me best know that it's my favourite genre.
I'll give you a couple examples for you to compare.
(500) Days of Summer
It's an indie movie so it's really purely about the love and the laughs. No outside influence, no stupid backstory, no painful drama. It's a romantic comedy centred around romance and comedy. That's it biggest asset. And it works really well. It's kind of one of those old "We've all been there," kind of films and that's what gives it its power. It has its many faults, but those pale in comparison to the great dialogue and visually sweet directing.
Annie Hall
Woody Allen is really a genius in his work here. Again, it's not about anything else other than the romance and the comedy. We see these two people fall in love, they realise they're just not right for each other, and then they fall out of love. It's very pure and it all feels like a dream once it's finished because you could have sworn that you yourself ruined a relationship due to your narcissism or superiority complex or commitment issues. It's witty and it's sarcastic, but it never looks down on the viewer.
NOW, let's look at movies like "How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days"
I remember having been forced to watch this movie in high school for an essay and my God, did that movie piss me off to no extent. And here's a few reasons why.
-EVERYONE IS SHALLOW AND VACUOUS: Come on, Hollywood. "Independent young aspiring female who wants to help the Earth," is NOT decent writing. And yet, she has no personality other than that. The main male gets it worse off, whoever he was.
-People don't fall in love through montages and cute scenes: If every girl I had a nice and awkward evening with fell in love with me, I'd be a God damn pimp but they don't. Falling in love, Believe it or not, is a slow process by which someone realises that the other one can make them happy, regardless of what happens. If you're breaking up with them in under a week because of a superficial trust issue, then IT'S NOT LOVE.
-Cliché: This one is self-explanatory. While there's clichés in every facet, here's how you write a character for a romantic comedy. You think of their past, you think of how their past would affect their current life-style, and you think about what implications that would have as to how they interact with others. You don't think "guy in his 30's with an ego". THAT'S LAZY.
Casimir_Effect said:
Wow I hate almost everything you say in this one.
Firstly, Last Samurai and Blood Diamond were fucking legendary. Djimon Hounsou was screwed out of the Oscar by the old Hollywood boys network of it being Alan Arkins turn.
For the last time, having some attractive girl get naked in the film does not make it better. Just thrown on some porn if that's what you're after. You said this with Pirahna, Machete and god knows how many others. It stops me taking your views at all seriously.
So Hollywood only understands men of the age 18-40? I guess that explains why nothing has grossed too high in the recent years. Oh fuck wait, what was that recent movie about a bunch of blue motherfuckers dicking around in happy-tree-land? And every Pixar film ever. Sure, rom-coms are a bad genre which typically only satisfy girls for a night-in/sleepover-esque movie which they'll happily take the piss out of while watching (like guys can do with 300 and other action movies), but these days dramas and thrillers are almost universally appealing to both sexes. I see things like The Departed or Fight Club playing at a local cinema - the crowd is split almost 50:50.
I'll happily give this movie a watch because I've enjoyed some romantic comedies in the past. But something has happened to your reviews recently which makes them shit. What up?
You know the main target audience for Avatar? Males ranged 18-45. Because there's explosions, the protagonist is a young male that we aspire to, and that the love interest is a feisty but submissive female. Pixar films work because, well, they're kids films. Not really representative of Hollywood. He doesn't say "all films", just the people who make the painfully generic stuff like that Tom Cruise movie which nobody cared about.
Oh, and in response to the actual video... Without having seen it, no. I don't think sex is the deciding factor in those films. I think it's what the movie is focused on and what the characters are like. And yes, I get what you're saying, but it's not always the deciding factor in these things. I'm sure people have seen someone, been attracted to them, but only thought, "I'd just like a hug... Nothing more. Sex could ruin it."
