In Defense Of Romantic Comedies

[redbrunja]

Are Romantic Comedies Dead is a great article by NPR's Linda Holmes (who I greatly enjoy on the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast) about Rom-Coms. I think she makes some excellent, excellent points, especially how some of the best romantic-comedy in recent years, is not in movies billed as straight-up Rom-Coms.

I think she also has some wonderfully cutting things to say about actresses are treated by the media and the fans.

Comments

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

That's an interesting article. I'm not really into romantic comedies, but yeah, that's a really smart point she makes about all the recent movies that are not billed as rom-coms but as quirky comedies with romance or whatever. Those are fun, and I wouldn't have thought to include those in the running.

People are so mean to actresses for no reason. I saw an article about "hate-watching" the other day and it opened with this rant about Anne Hathaway and how fake-self-deprecating she supposedly was. I was like, please shut up, newspaper man.

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

People are so mean to actresses for no reason. I saw an article about "hate-watching" the other day and it opened with this rant about Anne Hathaway and how fake-self-deprecating she supposedly was. I was like, please shut up, newspaper man.

O_O How can you hate Anne Hathaway? She openly supports gay rights, she didn't reveal how she lost all that weight for Les Mis because she was afraid copy-cat dieters would adopt unhealthy eating habits, and she constantly calls out the media on how it objectifies women. And on top of all that, she seems like a super nice lady.

I mean, there's a lot of people I really, really dislike in the media but at least I base those opinions on things those celebrities have actually done. I don't think I can think of one example of how Anne Hathaway deserved such a mean spirited comment.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

I think it was something about how he thought she was pretending to be humble or self-doubting while it was OBVIOUS she was very talented and DUH OF COURSE YOU WOULD WIN or something stupid like that, I don't know. It was dumb.

She openly supports gay rights, she didn't reveal how she lost all that weight for Les Mis because she was afraid copy-cat dieters would adopt unhealthy eating habits, and she constantly calls out the media on how it objectifies women.
Sadly, in the screwy world of mainstream media, I wouldn't be surprised if these constituted valid reasons to dislike her.

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

I think it was something about how he thought she was pretending to be humble or self-doubting while it was OBVIOUS she was very talented and DUH OF COURSE YOU WOULD WIN or something stupid like that, I don't know. It was dumb.

Uhh... Okay, mean newspaper man? Would you have liked it better if she was an ungracious winner?

I swear, you can't win with some people.

Sadly, in the screwy world of mainstream media, I wouldn't be surprised if these constituted valid reasons to dislike her.

True. It sucks how men who shouldn't be allowed to participate and control the media seem to have all the control.

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think he thought she was acting phony, but I mean, OBVIOUSLY no one talented has EVER doubted themselves EVER, that is not a thing that happens AT ALL. And it just seemed like a pointless thing to be a jerk about anyway. Whatever, newspaper dude.

To be fair, he had a LOT of things on his hate-watch list, and it wasn't just ladies, so. But the Anne Hathaway thing at the beginning seemed mean and excessive and really put me off.

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I think he thought she was acting phony, but I mean, OBVIOUSLY no one talented has EVER doubted themselves EVER, that is not a thing that happens AT ALL. And it just seemed like a pointless thing to be a jerk about anyway. Whatever, newspaper dude.

PREACH!

Also, even people with huge egos fake humbleness out of politeness because they'll know they'll be judged if they them seem too over-confident. Sometimes faking humbleness is just a way for some people to cultivate a certain image and not make others feel uncomfortable, and that's ok.

To be fair, he had a LOT of things on his hate-watch list, and it wasn't just ladies, so. But the Anne Hathaway thing at the beginning seemed mean and excessive and really put me off.

He sounds like a delightful man. /sarcasm

[ladymercury-10.livejournal.com]

Also, even people with huge egos fake humbleness out of politeness
Right! Because being obnoxiously fake-polite is, in many cases, still preferable to just being obnoxious, and even people with huge egos are capable of grasping that.

He sounds like a delightful man. /sarcasm
I think it was supposed to be tongue-in-cheek, but yeah, I wasn't very impressed.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

O_O How can you hate Anne Hathaway? She openly supports gay rights, she didn't reveal how she lost all that weight for Les Mis because she was afraid copy-cat dieters would adopt unhealthy eating habits, and she constantly calls out the media on how it objectifies women. And on top of all that, she seems like a super nice lady.

Watching Anne Hathaway handle the shitty way the media has been treating her and learning she supports gay rights rocked her up my list of favorite actresses.

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

Mine too. I always liked her for the roles she played in in movies, but finding out that she not only knows how to handle the media and cares about her public was a really, really lovely surprise.

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

My favourite comment below that article is this one:

Well, yes, but, those refer to a specific, rather deplorable genre. There are smart, fantastic books that deal with women and their issues without resorting to the facile banality of Bridget Jones' Diary and that ilk. What's wrong with the "chick flick" pejorative is that it assumes all women appreciate this garbage.

I think people are accustomed to ridiculing anything that is specifically aimed at woman, whereas if you criticise anything written for men you'll get many angry fans telling you you're "wrong." For example, I don't think Twilight would be bashed as much if its target audience wasn't aimed at teenage girls. That's not to say that Twilight isn't worthy of criticism, but how often do you see shows aimed at men get called out for sexism or being poorly written?

I think she makes some excellent, excellent points, especially how some of the best romantic-comedy in recent years, is not in movies billed as straight-up Rom-Coms.

*nods* I think Bridesmaids can fit under that category? I think the best 'Rom-Coms' tends to be about women's friendships rather than straight up romance.

I think she also has some wonderfully cutting things to say about actresses are treated by the media and the fans.

I think there are genuinely good reasons to dislike someone in the media, for example, when someone says really rude or offensive things and doesn't make the effort to put things right when someone has pointed out their bad behaviour to them. That particularly ticks me off when people in the media do that.

However, some people just hate on actresses because they don't like the look of them and compare her to their favourite actress to justify their own preference. I don't like Jennifer Lawrence but you will never, never see me compare her to Anne Hathaway because I don't want to participate in a culture that constantly compares women to tear them down, especially since Anne Hathaway would probably be disappointed if I did so, unless it was to call the media and their fans out on their sexist attitudes, rather than shaming the actresses themselves (apparently KStew is gross if she gives the middle finger, but JL is adorable while doing it? What is wrong with you internet/media).

Ugh, sorry I left a huge rant on your otherwise lovely post.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I think people are accustomed to ridiculing anything that is specifically aimed at woman, whereas if you criticise anything written for men you'll get many angry fans telling you you're "wrong." For example, I don't think Twilight would be bashed as much if its target audience wasn't aimed at teenage girls.

This is really the heart of it. Anything by and for women is automatically stupid and shallow.

Ugh, sorry I left a huge rant on your otherwise lovely post.

Rants are welcome here.

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

This is really the heart of it. Anything by and for women is automatically stupid and shallow.

Right! Even though there are plenty of things made by and for men that suck.

[callmeonetrack.livejournal.com]

I loved and linked to this article too. Big fan of Linda's from way back in the MightyBigTV days. heh. She wrote some great movie reviews on her own blog ages ago too.

So many interesting points raised and often I bristle when people criticize that a romance novel or movie is inferior for only focusing on....romance! But I like how she puts it and what she has to say about the romance in the background of other things often being more interesting than straight-up romances (in both print and screen) here: The ones that take nothing seriously except dating, those are the How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days ones, and The Wedding Planner ones. And they rarely work, and they've rarely ever worked, because love in life is usually mixed up with all kinds of other nasty stuff, and anybody who can put everything else on hold to think about banter for an entire movie's worth of life experiences doesn't come off as very interesting.

That idea of the facile-ness or faux-ness of the characters is often the problem for me with romances. Not enough depth and nasty parts.

[tigerpetals.livejournal.com]

Yes! I want stories about characters having romantic feelings and relationships, not stories about romance! Those things are part of the characters and so they should be part of the story. I feel like romance is this label enclosing stereotypes and empty space.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Big fan of Linda's from way back in the MightyBigTV days. heh. She wrote some great movie reviews on her own blog ages ago too.


She's pretty awesome.

And they rarely work, and they've rarely ever worked, because love in life is usually mixed up with all kinds of other nasty stuff, and anybody who can put everything else on hold to think about banter for an entire movie's worth of life experiences doesn't come off as very interesting.

That idea of the facile-ness or faux-ness of the characters is often the problem for me with romances. Not enough depth and nasty parts.

So agreed, I can't even tell you.

[hungrytiger11.livejournal.com]

Thanks for linking to the article. I really love a lot of her examples with Katherine Hepburn (a great choice for examples since she was labelled Box Office Poison and had her contract bought out and everything), but it is true that a lot of them are silly plots. As today's are too. And some aren't hits (Bringing up Baby was a huge flop and Desk Set only moderately successful). I think the charm is what is often lacking today in the writing.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

And some aren't hits (Bringing up Baby was a huge flop and Desk Set only moderately successful).

Exactly. I also think it's always unfair to compare films that had stood the test of time and become institutions with the entire current crop of a genre - it's not a totally fair comparison.

[hungrytiger11.livejournal.com]

Very true. There are a lot of from that time that are silly and forgotten, and perhaps some now that were not hits that will be in years to come.

[zombie_boogie.livejournal.com]

I loved that article (though I didn't realize it was written by Linda Holmes - I hated her as a mod at TWoP but she's a good writer). I've been thinking a lot about how we talk about romance lately, especially because I've been reading a lot more of it. It's a real shame that romance gets treated as a genre unworthy of attention, reflection, and appreciation. My favourite line in that article is the one about stories about kissing being just as profound and wonderful as stories about someone getting shot.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

My favourite line in that article is the one about stories about kissing being just as profound and wonderful as stories about someone getting shot.

Agreed. Stories about kissing have a reputation for shallowness that is undeserved, imho.

[lokifan]

YAY!

I love to see romance defended - because I love it, and I hate the way it's derided as shallow stuff for stupid women - and the article's v clever.