Some comedian once said if aliens from outer space observed us having sex that they'd be convinced we were crazy people who should be avoided.
Women were asked in a study some years back what they found most appealing in men. The number 1 answer was not a buff bod or money or charm. It was a sense of humor, especially if a man made them laugh. Women love that. So add romance to the comedy and you have a sexy cocktail.
I cut my teeth on watching old romantic comedy movies on TV. My love of the classic romance comedy is one reason I write in that sub-genre.
When a reader tells me she laughed so hard her family thought she was crazy (review for Still The
One), that just makes my day.
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Human nature hasn't changed much in all the decades, and we find the same things funny, sexy, and appealing now as we did when the movie greats were getting laughs and getting sexy.
If you’d like to
Golden Oldies
It Happened One Night, 1934, starring Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable. Runaway heiress meets a reporter who wants to exploit her story. Key element? The walls of Jericho. Watch the movie and you’ll understand.
Bringing Up Baby, 1938, starring Katherine Hepburn as a zany rich girl who turns uptight Cary Grant’s life into chaos. Key elements? A baby leopard and a dinosaur skeleton.
Lover Come Back Made, 1961, starred Rock Hudson and Doris Day again. In this flick, Rock and Doris are advertising executives who disdain each other’s client recruitment methods. When Doris decides to exact a little revenge, she gets way more than she bargained for. Oh, my! The scene when Tony Randall is driving a heartbroken Doris back to the city, and they stop at a diner is hysterical!
That Touch of Mink Made, 1962, paired Doris Day with Cary Grant in a movie that confronts the virgin versus the player issue. He’s handsome, rich, and charming. She’s lovely and works though she’s not a career woman. They’re equally captivated, but she wants marriage, and, of course, he wants an affair.
Cactus Flower Made, 1969, was Goldie Hawn’s film debut with Walter Matthau as the older rich player, and the renowned Ingrid Bergman as his nurse who's secretly in love with him. What a romp this is! Yeah, it, and all the ones above are outdated in terms of our culture, but I bet you’ll laugh.
Fast Forward
In more recent years, there have been a lot of romantic comedy films made, but most of them fall short. They either throw in elements that are crude, not sexy–and they have no brilliant writers on staff to turn it into funny and sexy–or they’re derivative, lesser films with no freshness.
In no particular order, here are some outstanding RomComs from the 1970's to the current year:
Pretty Woman
Notting Hill
About a Boy
Love Actually
Something New
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Sweet Home Alabama
The American President
Groundhog Day
When Harry Met Sally
The Princess Bride
Better Off Dead
Sixteen Candles
The Goodbye Girl
What's Up, Doc?
Overboard
Working Girl
Some Kind of Wonderful
Baby Boom
Murphy's Romance
French Kiss
Grosse Point Blank
The Holiday
Leap Year
Always Be My Maybe
In a World
Silver Lining Playbook, some might not see this as a rom com, but listen to the dialogue
Crazy Rich Asians, this also might seem an odd choice, but it plays with preconceptions.
Do some of those I listed strike your funny bone? If not, what are some of your favorites?
Leave comments with your favorite romantic comedy movies. I'll do a random draw this week from all comments left with email addresses and give away a copy of Still The One.
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Ih ave seen every single one of the movies on the new and the old list!
ReplyDeleteWe really are sisters, aren't we?
DeletePillow Talk is my fav. Doris and Rock movie. Loved the split screen where they're on the phone. Yup, the oldies knew how to fan the flame. Enjoyed the recent Crazy Asians. So the newer ones continue the tradition.
ReplyDeleteYes, Pillow Talk is a classic that still is so darn funny.
DeleteA great post and great lists. I think people often don't realize how difficult rom-com can be to maintain during the writing. I think my favorite Doris Day movie was Move Over, Darling because no matter how much I liked Rock Hudson and Cary Grant, I had a serious crush on James Garner.
ReplyDeleteLiz...I loved that one, too! And for the same reason.
DeleteOh, and your comment makes me forget another great rom com. VICTOR/VICTORIA. James Garner and Julie Andrews. Total delight. James Garner also for Murphy's Romance with Sally Field that I left out.
DeleteOne of my favourites is often missed. Because I also love an unlikely hero one of my favourites is Continental Divide starring John Belushi and Blair Brown made in 1981.
ReplyDeleteI remember that one, Bonnie. It was good. I think perhaps it's not remembered because it was a one-off for him.
DeleteLove old classics!! One of my favorites is If A Man Answers with Sandra Dee and Bobby Darrin. I actually fell in love with the name Chantal and for years wanted to name one of my children that. It never happened!
ReplyDeleteI love the song that goes with that one!
DeleteSandra Dee and Bobby Darrin so cute and adorable, but he had that subtle sexy vibe.
DeleteI feel like romantic comedies had a bit of a dry spell but are starting to make a comeback lately. Which is good news for all of us rom-com lovers. Great lists, Joan!
ReplyDeleteThanks, Satin. They kept cranking them out for the last 15 years, but most haven't been very good. It's a difficult genre.
DeleteThe golden oldies still shine as the best. I agree a lot of recent attempts fall short. Just saw Long Shot. I liked it okay, but doubt anyone will be talking about it in 60 years.
ReplyDeleteI admire your writing, Joan. You have the knack.
Funny you should mention Long Shot. Larry watched it when he was at the ranch this past weekend. (I stayed home. Just kind of worn out and seriously behind on writing.) I asked him what he thought of it. He said, "Okay if there's nothing else better to watch, but not that funny."
DeleteI loved Bringing up Baby! I can't believe it's from 1938...wow! There's also one called something like Bells are Ringing, about a woman who works at an answering service and her mysterious client. I think that's the title. But most with Spencer Tracy and Kathryn Hepburn were great.
ReplyDeleteBringing Up Baby must be the reason the phrase "screwball comedy was invented. "Yes, Tracy-Hepburn movies are classics.
DeleteGreat post, Joan, including some of my all-time favorites! I just watched Baby Boom again last week and laughed SO hard. (J.C.'s meltdown...hahahaha) I have a couple to add to the list...The Wedding Date (Dermot Mulroney is dreamy in this movie), High Spirits (get your spooky on with this star-studded romcom), and Romancing the Stone ("the Joan Wilder" is a romance author, after all *wink*)
ReplyDeleteOMG, yes! the meltdown scene is hysterical. So is The Kiss. Her reaction is what every woman should feel when kissed. *G* Yes to The Wedding Date and to Romancing the Stone. I think we all have a bit of Joan Wilder in each of us.
DeleteSo nice to see you picked some of my favorite movies. One you didn't mention is My Man Godfrey as an oldie and Miss Pettigrew Has Her Day from more recent films. If you haven't seen them, you really should.
ReplyDelete