Valentine’s Day: What He’s Just Not That Into You Hath Wrought
In February, thanks to a star-studded cast and aggressive marketing, He’s Just Not That Into You made $US94 million, despite being a gay minstrel show with “desperately needy” heroines and black people punchlines. Guess what?
The executives at New Line Cinema can’t wait to take more hard-earned cash from women who don’t care about storyline and just want to see something about dating and love — again!
That’s why there is a project in the works called Valentine’s Day. It will hit theatres right before — wait for it — Valentine’s Day, 2010. The plot? The plot is iffy. Something about “would-be romantics working their way through a tangle of circumstances in L.A.” But that doesn’t matter, because Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel and Shirley MacLaine will be in it. And Bradley Cooper. New Line will come up with a way to work a story around these people, since all that matters is that there’s money to be made. Apparently, He’s Just Not That Into You proved that women want to go see “romantic” movies — with other women or a date — right around Valentine’s Day.
I have nothing against romance, comedies, or romcoms. I love stuff like When Harry Met Sally, Flirting, and Amelie — thoughtful films with strong writing and characters who are forces of nature. But He’s Just Not That Into You — a movie based on a self-help book based on a catchphrase from a TV show — lacked substance and soul; the characters might have well have been cardboard cut-outs with labels like “The Optimist” or “The Seductress” taped to them. And for every bad review, there was a person who said, “I’m gonna see it anyway.” Now the studio has 94 million reasons to pull that shit again.
As I wrote earlier this year, when you go see a movie like He’s Just Not That Into You, you’re casting a vote, telling Hollywood you want more flicks in the same vein. And this is what HJNTIY’s box office bonanza hath wrought: Valentine’s Day. As a former screenwriting major, it is painful to read that this project is being dictated by a calendar date — along with a cast and director (Garry Marshall) — and not by an actual story someone was inspired to write.
Who knows? Maybe there will be some surprises! Maybe they’ll change the title to Single Awareness Day. Maybe some great writer (writers, plural, probably) will be hired by the studio to come up with a perfectly charming Valentine’s Day tale. (I can already guess that one woman, who you think will stay single, will suddenly find a date; one woman, who you think will have a date, will suddenly be single; and one couple will remain together despite going through a dilemma that should tear them apart.) But for now, I’m already announcing that I’m just not that into it.
Hollywood Has Feb. 14 Circled in Red [NY Times]
Earlier: Liveblogging He’s Just Not That Into You
Cliché-Laden Chick Flick Tries To Convince You It’s Not Full Of Clichés
He’s Just Not That Into You: Gay Minstrel Show?
More Reasons Not To Get Into He’s Just Not That Into You
He’s Just Not That Into You – First Review
There’s No Way You’ll Be Into He’s Just Not That Into You
Comments (AU Comments | US Comments)
{cough} Ghosts of Girlfriends Past {cough}
@Dodai: So is the goal to like, induce hopelessness at how awful everything is? Wouldn't it be kinda neat to be like, instead of this soul-sucking moneymaker, why don't you check out "Wendy and Lucy" or some such thing with a woman in a non-stereotypical role?
@DinaRonson : Desperately Seeking Snark: Meh - seeing as how I've never had a Valentine, I think your anti-V Day crusades are ok. This is me, rationalizing.
shorty63136
I'm totally going to go see it, on Valentine's day, and bring a bunch of cats as dates. I'm going to wear a purple track suit and hum love songs while standing in line amidst all the couples.
@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Oh god, yes. A thousand times, yes. I've never even seen Gossip Girl, but I have seen clips, and oh my stars, yes.
@HeatherNumber1: Oceans 11 did pretty well.
@mervbaby: I don't know, if my husband killed Ted Danson, I'd find that romantic.
Cecil's Wielder
If anyone wants to see a GOOD indie flick about love, go see Adventureland (if it's still on where you are.) As a bonus, Bill Hader and Kristin Wiig play supporting roles!
@Bunsen Honeydew: my boyfriend was so difficult to get to watch it. But he LOVED it. Seriously. He wanted to be Liam Neeson and he kept squeezing me afterward. I love love love that movie.
Have any movies with mega-ensemble casts made a ton of money? Usually they're recipes for disaster. Too many trailers and big heads, I think.
HeatherNumber1
@..now it's just Aesop's Foibles.: I feel the same way, I'm fine with netflix thanks.
@Macloserboy: I'll light a candle - if you want to support a GOOD indie flick about love, go see Adventureland, if it's still on where you are.
@Encouraging Referee Pitman: lol totally. Kate Hudson should be locked away for life at this point.
@Dodai: Green Lantern has a release date of December 17, 2010. It hasn't even been cast, much less shot. And it's always an attempt to separate people from their money with "zero" thought of story first when it comes to films released to capitalize on dates like Memorial Day, 4th of July, Halloween, Christmas, etc. This is just another example of it.
@MargaretMoony: I know! One of the great things about being an adult is that it doesn't have to be like that. Growing up has endowed me with gobs of don't give a fuck. (Still waiting for the money, the chic, and the wisdom, but meh. I'll take what I can get!)
I miss Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. All of their romcoms had way more substance than the ones coming out now. Then again I have seen more action movies in the past 2 years than I've seen romcoms in my whole life though so I may not be their ideal audience. :/
Listen. It'd take a 2000-whatever version of The Godfather to get me into a theatre these days. I mean really. Who wants to spend fifteen bucks to sit in a big dark room with a hundred strangers, all of whom are alternately shout-whispering, standing up and blocking the screen, farting, and rustling candy wrappers? Plus it always always always smells like feet in those places. It's like I can feel the airborne microbes landing on my skin. So need anyone ask if I'll be lining up to watch this crap and other craps like it? Didn't think so.
Harrumph.
@tscheese: All I can think about right now is the first ep of Gossip Girl I ever saw, watched last night, thanks to the slags here, and now I want Chuck Bass all the time every day. Can they make a movie about Chuck Bass, preferably a porno? I believe that this is what women want. It can't just be me.
And then there was the Valentine's Day I went with a girlfriend to see The Piano. We left grateful to have all ten fingers and no husband.
It seems, as a gender, that women will faithfully go to banal and formulaic 'romantic comedies' just as, as a gender, males will faithfully go to banal and formulaic 'shoot 'em up's. Studios will make what puts the asses in the seats, simple as that. HJNTIY never claimed to be psychologically deep the exact same way that Crank never pretended to be anything than what it was.
Well, at least this one is clearly going to have a more diverse cast. See! They included one multiracial actress!
:-/
@greengrey: Isn't that kind of a bummer though, that smart movies aren't going to be seen by the majority? Ugh.
MsQuinn
I'm probably not the demographic for this, because my first thought was "awesome, a movie about the St. Valentine's Day Massacre". I thought it was going to be about molls and hooch and wisecracking hookers with guns. Oh well...
There isn't anyt way this "film" could be worse than HJNTIY was. I knew I would hate it, but I was taken aback that Ginnifer Goodwin actually accepted that incredibly pathetic role.
Well, get ready to see advertisements for this movie on ever flower, piece of candy, and pink trinket out there.
@Bunsen Honeydew: I feel the same way, I'm just really relaxed about that whole thing. I don't feel pressured to overthink these things, I am of the school of thought that says that if it's meant to work, then it will. If it doesn't, then move on.
Also, the generalizations in these movies are always the same, ALL WOMEN ARE DESPERATE AND ALL MEN ARE CLUELESS DOUCHEBAGS.
No thank you.
@save_jinger: Ummmm hello "Snakes on a Plane."
lackadaisical
@clevernamehere: Honestly I have no problem (in moderation) of watching a cute/funny love story, see Two Weeks Notice, but its this whole new trend of women are so desperate and that desperation makes them stupid and they need help! is just so gross.
I'm going to attribute this to the 'lowest common denominator' theory.
Not to say that everyone who sees these films (I suppose I should say film since they're really all the same but with different casts and locations and the characteristics of the token black or gay character varies... but I digress) is an idiot, but unfortunately, the majority of women who will go and see films like this aren't aware of the wider implications of what their paying for a ticket means.
Conversely, a lot of other women who see films like these are actually perfectly intellegent women, who are well aware of those implications but, at the end of the day, just want to go out, relax and watch an uncomplicated film with pretty clothes, pretty make-up and lots of happy endings.
I think it's a big ask that we must all be considering the wider implications of everything we do as women. Sometimes you just wanna look at women with pretty hair and expensive clothes, dammit!
@Sophie needs to study...damn: Let's not rush to judge, now -- I'm sure there's a Sassy and Obviously Asexual Best Friend role in there somewhere. Or a Magical Negro Cupid.
Anyway, isn't Tyler Perry doing enough for everyone?!
@valkyrei: That sounds absolutely peachy. Count me in.
@saintbernadette: They should have gone with VD.
BabyJane
@rocknrollunicorn: Exactly. "Smart" movies aren't going to be seen by a majority of men or women. Men have dumb movies geared towards them all the time. If Hwood sees women are willing to go out to movies and spend, maybe will start getting some decent comedies.
greengrey
@rocknrollunicorn: I know. I just wish that the stars would align so that the movies that appealed to the largest demo of women were ones that had a little more going for them. I'm with Dodai on liking romcoms like "When Harry Met Sally," because it has great characters and smart writing. I'd love to see a shift back to that, and I don't think I'm alone. Hey studio execs! Down here!
MsQuinn
@badmutha: My favorite part about that scene, retroactively, is that January Jones is in it. She's Betty Draper in Mad Men and it's so counter and yet oddly complementary to Betty Draper's character...
@Bunsen Honeydew: Yes, but, we don't know how this one will be marketed yet. We can only guess.
@saintbernadette: Right? Like, how lazy can you be?
@mysterygirl: Talk Like a Pirate Day? *
* I don't know why but that just cracked me up.
@LolaQuinn: Your P.S.: I'd like to see THAT on film!
HA!
DinaRonson : Desperately Seeking Snark
@Mafalda para Presidente: Dating hasn't been that awkward, painful or difficult in my life. Maybe I'm lucky? Probably not. I think too many people over think things because of these stupid movies and therefore become their own enemy.
I've never planned out when to call a guy i just met or went on a date with. It usually just happens when I have 20 minutes free.
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Bah. All that sharing of genetic material, and seed-spreading? No thank you.
Trees are whores. Dirty, rough-skinned whores.
(I actually love trees.)
You guys, mediocre movies will generally make the most cash. Every once in awhile that proves untrue, but most of the time a group of people or a couple will compromise and go see something that no one involved finds outright offensive.
There are good romcoms, there are bad ones. Guess which ones people will still be renting 50 years from now? I feel like this is the nature of any medium. I mean, fuck, Everybody Loves Raymond was like the most popular show for awhile.
I'm totally cool with short-stories-with-big-star-cast... movies. But more of the Creepshow variety. campy horror > romantic comedies
@Encouraging Referee Pitman: Yeeyaahhha
DinaRonson : Desperately Seeking Snark
They should institute a penalty box in Hollywood. Like Anne Hathaway has to go to it for "Bride Wars." A suitable punishment before you get to make another movie.
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): I'd much rather see the avant-garde indie piece about two tender saplings and how they grew away from one another in a bitter feud. It's called Birch, Plz.
@baraqiel: Love actually makes me so happy, and for different reasons at different times. It cracks me up every time about the Brit that comes to America and gets laid immediately. So funny!
@bluebears: If Valentine's Day is being written for Valentine's Day, I wonder what holiday would be most appropriate for the release of a ninja movie...
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Fir sure!
@shorty63136: I used to call it"Black _____ (insert day of week it falls on here)"
My friends found this disturbing after a while.
One year I was snark/bitchy enough to gift them with HUGE Hershey's Kisses with a knife in it.
This was when they started to worry about my anti-Valentine's Day crusade.
Whatev, I was young & stupid.
DinaRonson : Desperately Seeking Snark
@Macloserboy: also, it's not my job to light candles, in case you hadn't notcied, this blog *critiques* pop culture.
This film will bomb in the UK. Romance has been offically pronounced dead following Katie (Jordan) Price's announcement that her marriage is over. If travelling to your wedding in a white glass coach modelled on one seen in a Disney film and wearing a pink wedding dress with a foot high diamond tiara that even Barbie wouild blanche at sporting is not enough to keep the fires of love burning, then there is no hope for us mere mortals.
Rare Affinity
I have no problem with a formulaic rom com coming out for V-Day. I might even go see it. I'd rather a formulaic rom com like Bridget Jones's Diary than the woman hating bullshit that has been passing for romantic comedies lately.
Even the ads for He's Just Not That Into You made me want to claw my eyes out. I like romantic escapism- girl meets boys, minor misunderstandings occur, some verbal banter and viola, they end up together. What I am not interested in is a movie that tells me it is hard for a woman to find love but not a man. It isn't romantic escapism to watch women chase after guys who aren't into them (while that could be a good drama).
I'm also tired of male centered rom coms. Outside of Forgetting Sarah Marshall and a few others they are mostly about guys who have been absolutely horrible to women in the past (Ghosts of Girlfriends Past, Made of Honor, My Best Friend's Girl). I don't find that romantic or realistic. I don't even understand how they keep getting made. Most guys aren't Lotharios, most women don't want douchebags, and they aren't even very funny.
Bring on the formula!
clevernamehere
So my musical romantic comedy set during the Age of Exploration still has a shot at being made?
Cecil's Wielder
I liked 'He's Just Not That Into You'. (The movie, not the book. I think the book is obnoxious.) I liked the whole plot with Ginnifer Goodwin and the Mac guy (aka Justin Long). The part with Scarlet Johansson? Not so much. But anyways, I have the right to enjoy whatever trashy chick-flicks I want. The same way I can enjoy ridiculous books about vampires who sparkle. I don't think it makes me a lesser person. Or less intelligent, etc. They're not for everyone... hence we have variety at the movie theaters.
/defensive mode
dj_chick
@Le Kangourou de Kataroo: Love Actually was marketed differently, though. My boyfriend liked it, and he previously had declared to hate anything with Hugh Grant in the billing.
@Macloserboy: You're talking about two SEQUELS to FRANCHISES; franchises always come out on holidays, yes. I am talking about actively seeking to separate women from their money without thinking of the STORY first.
@bluebears: mos fuckin def.
birminghamdrunk
@saintbernadette: The Longest Day was taken.
+ Watch video
This will probably be terrible, but... Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Garner? Be still my high-school-era-Alias-loving heart!
Also, Shirley MacLaine is great and I'm liking Hathaway more, lately.
tinydundie42
@Dodai: DING!
DinaRonson : Desperately Seeking Snark
@save_jinger: I asked that same question when "We own the night" came out. Lamest title ever.
@dreamweave: ha ha ha!!
Brides in waiting, two pregnant brides and BFF that are scheduling their c-section on the same day. There is a hilarious ethnic nurse that rolls her eyes and wondeful husbands that put up with all their crap.
@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Oaky-dokey! We can go together!
@Mafalda para Presidente: Yeah, especially since we all did that already. It was called "high school."
@MsQuinn: No, I think it's the movie that appeals to the largest demographic of women. Sex and the City is far from my fave movie. But I went with my sister and my mom. Because romantic comedies tend to make us all happy. Not as happy as I was after seeing Let the Right One In. But my mom and sister wouldn't have seen that with me.
YAAAAYYYY! More movies with an all-white middle to upper-middle class. Thanks Hollywood, for finally producing a movie for me!
I am so proud of myself, I DID NOT go see that movie. I'll stick to the Princess Bride for my romance needs thank you very much.
barfingofowls
Ack, I am so over this patronizing crap. And the thing is, I like a good rom com. I've watched Sleepless in Seattle like a billion times, I'm the target audience for this stuff, but I haven't shelled out money for a "chick flick" in years because they've been so horrible lately.
@Dodai: Well. Apparently this guy was really great at sitcoms back in the 70s. I liked Happy Days...
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Wood I go see that? Yes! I'm sure it will not be acorny.
@MsQuinn: AAAACK! More movies geared toward Cathy! AAAACK!
As always I demand more ninja and/or kung-fu related movies.
Well, as a screenwriting major you know that most big event films are dictated by calendar dates. Iron Man 2 and Transformers 2 had release dates before they even had scripts.
And honestly, I kinda went to see this out of spite of watching Jez complain about it for literally months. To make matters worse, you cursed the darkness without lighting the candle of supporting other films.
well, i'll say it. i have everything against romance. hate it. can't stand it. i'll take a B action flick any day over this crapola. it's like gurney said in dune "mood is a thing for cattle, and love play, not fighting!"
birminghamdrunk
This is what actors call a "did it to pay the rent" movie.
AthertonMerriweather
Oh, yeah...all those movies in which men get to pick and choose between incredibly beautiful stick figures....just like real life!
@baraqiel: it also had a great writer/director…
They should really just call it "ACK!"
@Ailatan: I know! That's what I love so much about it. If they made more movies like Love Actually, I would be very happy.
Sorry, I'm not changing my Valentine's Day tradition of buying all the discounted candy and eating them while watching sci-fi movies. Yeah I have a boyfriend, but Valentine's still kind of sucks.
cestlavie122
When Manic Pixie Dream Girl and Doormat With A Heart Of Gold and Outrageous Edgy Ostentatiously Bisexual Bad Girl meet, it seems like a friendship made in heaven...But when hot hottie man, aka Hunky McFlawless McDreamboat arrives on the scene, all bets are off! Who will prevail and become Mrs. McDreamboat? Who will gyrate and cavort in badly-conceived outfits and high heels? Thrill with our lovely ladies as they have wacky adventures in a race to walk up that aisle! Swoon over Hunky McFlawless's wooden characterization and bland dialogue! THIS IS WHAT WOMEN WANT, YOU GUYS! IT IS ALL WE CAN THINK ABOUT!111
Look, I'm a sucker for a love story that I can respect. Bonus if it's funny and thoughtful. If two believable characters somehow come together and find happiness, and they do so with clever writing and dialogue and strong characterization, I'd be all over it. But at this point it seems like rom-com productions aren't even TRYING. They just recycle the same old tropes and expect me to swoon over it.
@saintbernadette: It's probably just a working title for now, especially since they don't have much of a plot. But who knows, maybe they'll keep it. Less energy spent coming up on the title = more energy to spend counting their piles of money.
This sounds just like Crash. Except instead of hating each other and feeling guilty about it, the characters will kiss and feel guilty about it.
Alternate titles:
Memorial Day: In Which We Mourn the Loss of Rational Thought in Female Characters
Labor Day: Christ Almighty, It's Like a Job Sitting Through This Tripe.
Santos L Halper
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: There were tons of people going to see that while I was waiting in line for Star Trek.
And I know a lot of people who want to see it.
I just can't get over the fact that someone saw/read A Christmas Carol and thought "this should be a rom-com".
@+ Watch video
is full of win.
@Mafalda para Presidente: And that dance, of course, is led by Usher.
@happysquid: Is it sad that my first reaction was, "Mmmm. Maple syrup."?
I like most of the people involved with this project, so there's some hope, but yeah, the script needs to come first. Otherwise you just don't have a movie.
Also, this movie already exists (in terms of the looking for love in LA/overlapping storylines). It's called Playing By Heart.
Julia, Jessica*2, and Jennifer, by themselves, they can be ignored. United together, they are irresistable and will have the largest-Valentine's-day-opening-weekend-... ever!
I'll probably be significant-otherless next year anyway so I'll will be able to avoid this just like I did HJNITY this year... *sigh*
Tangy.Nihilist
For some reason films like HJNTIY make me think of the time I watched ants moving confetti that was played on a loop at the Tate Modern. I stood there and watched it for easily 45 minutes. It was wholly engaging and strangely fascinating, but at the end, I'd just stared at a screen in the dark with a large number of others who were equally hypnotized. And I'm quite sure I got more out of the confetti-obsessed ants than I would out of more tripe like this with actual people (and considerably less shiny confetti) in it.
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): I don't know, when it's boiled down, I find it downright syrupy.
Wit is periodically disensouled
Perms of Endearment: Pretty Women go Shopping for Love!
dreamweave
@baraqiel: That's the first thing I thought - stellar, powerful cast, lots of various intertwining plotlines, just a movie about different types of love. My favorite.
@greengrey: Sure, more roles for women. As for more movies geared toward women... not so sure. Yes, technically it is geared toward women, but in the most stereotypical, gooey sappy lowest-common-denominator way possible. I want movies geared toward women that have substance. And this ain't it. The question, though, is that since this movie made SO much money... does that mean that this is this the kind of movie that most women DO want to see? I hope not.
MsQuinn
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Aww. Trees in love.
happysquid
I will not watch those movies. Will. Not. I have outright refused requests from girlfriends to go see them, and I will generally go along with whatever anyone wants to do.
PS: I saw an advanced screening some months ago of another bad lady-aimed film that's due for release soon: Cherie. DO NOT WASTE YOUR TEN DOLLARS. You will want to punch your eyes out with bottle rockets.
My Dearest Bradley Cooper,
I was an avid Alias fan. Midnight Meat Train was awesome. The Hangover looks hilarious. If you don't stop making these crappy "romantic" movies, I'm going to have to break up with you.
Love (for now),
Sam
I'd rather see Arbor Day, the touching story of how two beautiful maple trees fall in love over several decades. It's an appropriately sappy love story.
I hate it when they try to make dating sound like some kind of joke or some amusing dance that we're all awkwardly dancing while wearing shoes that are too high and clothes that are too tight, and SEE? IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE FUNNY!
Not.
@saintbernadette: Those movie execs are so creative. Didn't a movie called "Fighting" just come out? Who approves this shit?
@hovy: yeah, Anne Hathaway and Shirley MacLaine are the only ones whose names don't start with a J.
Might as well thrown in Jessica Simpson for "good" measure.
Understater
And - I've been calling Valentin's Day by the name Single's Awareness Day since like Freshman year of college. Terrible, I know.
shorty63136
Teach me, Hollywood. I don't want to end up with 40 cats. I want to end up with 40 cats and a man to scoop their poop.
valkyrei
I hated this movie. I cringed through the entire thing. The Jennifers/Ginnifer characters were just so lame. Uhhh. No go for me.
Awwww. Love Actually has a huge cast and no real overarching plot, but it's so cute and has so much heart! This movie might be more like that than like He's Just Not That Into You...
Although I doubt it.
I'm a huge Julia Roberts fan. I would like to think anything with her in it will be great but I sure hope the writing here is good. Will I go see it? Meh - not sure.
shorty63136
Really? They're just going to call it Valentine's Day?
Julia Roberts, Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Garner, Jessica Alba, Jessica Biel and Shirley MacLaine
One of these things is not like the others.
Possibly two if you're really catty.
While waiting on line at the theater, all the couples around me were going to see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past. I was like, seriously? 'You're all that person? I don't have enough bullets!'
I don't like stupid romcoms with all the same plots and same jokes. But I also don't like action movies. Or most comedies.
I'm going to look on the bright side. More roles for women. More movies being geared towards women. Etc.
greengrey
@vivianthelibrarian: Isn't Jennifer Garner over 30?
slowpoke.r
@Macloserboy: Pretty sure I've been waiting for Macloserboy's romcom pick list for awhile. Some great choices!
I've mentioned this like 12 times in this thread but I've been watching Definitely, Maybe a lot on cable and I think it's quite well done. The ladies are smart, Abigail Breslin is cute, and its got great 90s nostalgia.
jesus christ... you haven't even seen the fracking movie yet.
@Macloserboy: Nice list, I will have to investigate. Also, to add:
The Princess Bride
Fried Green Tomatoes
High Fidelity
Harold and Maude
"As I wrote earlier this year, when you go see a movie like He's Just Not That Into You, you're casting a vote, telling Hollywood you want more flicks in the same vein."
As a woman, I resent this. I've been to SO many stupid movies with my boyfriend that he didn't feel he had to justify or explain. He just merrily buys a ticket, because he's curious, or bored, or intrigued by some review. Yet sometimes when I want to see a movie for the same reasons, I feel like I have to justify the hell out of it....oh, Sex and the City is fantastical and stupid but I liked the show, or I'm in the mood for something mindless so let's go see 27 Dresses. I get that every consumer choice we make has an impact, but I don't necessarily think it constitutes the endorsement of a worldview.
classicfantastic
@vivianthelibrarian: Ugh: Over 30
women are just brainwashed into thinking they are interested. taste comes from advertising and consumerism (buy this wear this look like this like this) as opposed to most intelligent (jezebelers!) women whos taste reside in something more .. intellectually stimulating. i'm not saying people who like crap movies are necessarily dumb... just not very interesting (NOT ALL just MOST)
schoolofloverboy
My wish: Julia Roberts and Anne Hathaway will play lovers in this film.
MsWinstonSmith
@Diziet_Sma: Let's see:
Tao Of Steve: the ass-bandit finds love movie done right.
Mr. Jealousy: Proof you can follow basic formula in new ways.
Four Weddings & A Funeral: Just because it's fun, pretty and fluffy with a wooden leading lady doesn't mean it can't be sharp and funny.
Briget Jones's Diary: Just because it's about girl desperate to have boyfriend doesn't mean it can't be sharp and funny
The Best Man: Black folks can make a decent romcom.
Bull Durham: Smart, funny, sexy and never gets its due as one of the best romcoms in the last 20 years.
Choose Me: Equal parts romantic comedy and drama and will make you want to kiss people.
Crossing Delancey: Another 80's NYC romcom better than WHMS.
Miami Rhapsody: Sarah Jessica Parker is more than Carrie Bradshaw in the best Woody Allen film Woody Allen never made.
Secretary: Yes, it's a romcom, kids.
Hell, I could do this all day...
"Flirting"! I thought I was the only person who had seen that movie! I caught it on late night TV once and I couldn't tear myself away. I'm all about romantic movies that have some real heart, and that's definitely one of them.
weezgirl
@baraqiel: Ha! The first time I saw the movie, my roommates were watching it and I walked in on the part where Keira Knightly was watching the film that guy made of her at her wedding. I didn't pick up on the fact that it was her wedding that he was supposed, and so I was horrified that this dude had just followed her around and videotaped her My roomates were all "THAT IS SOO SWEET," while I was all, "THAT IS SO MOTHER EFFIN CREEPY."
Later I caught the movie from the beginning and was all "OHH".
@baraqiel: Love Actually is my official holiday movie. The DVD comes out from hiding on Thanksgiving and is on heavy rotation up until New Years. I love it so.
"I feel it my fingers, I feel it in my toes! Christmas is all around me, and so the feeling grows!"
barb95
@Lizard in the Wires, is out of academia!: I can't get over the fact that someone thought it needed to be done again when Scrooged did it so well already.
slowpoke.r
@thevickinator: Punchfight! If that isn't a movie, it should be.
@hovy:
Shirley MacLaine and Julia Roberts are the only ones of 30...Clearly they will play the mom/grandmother/wise old lady.
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: Seriously? Those trailers looked horrible!
Rosaxe
If anyone's interested there is an AWESOME book called "what a girl wants?" by Diane Negra, she's one of my ver very favourite film writers, it's awesome, kinda depressing but very thought provoking.
all about modern female aimed media.
@Tangy.Nihilist: It's the Real Madrid of rom-coms.
MeanMadMargaret
@baraqiel: If you liked Loved Actually, watch it on DVD with the director comments set to on...they are both funny and enlightening on the movie
Tangy.Nihilist
@greengrey: When I meet new girls..I mean women, I like to work a reference to Chuck Bass in the conversation to determine if she is familiar with the character and finds him amusing...it is sort of like one of my threshold comment to see if she will get my other many pop references. If not,then I know any serious dating wouldn't workout. Lame? probably, but one has to have their standards
Tangy.Nihilist
Hasn't this been true of Hollywood since Birth of a Nation (from which major parts of HJNTIY were cribbed, obvs)? - or at least since Miracle on 34th Street (or was that product tie ins and the MACY's Thanskgiving Day Parade?)
Goethewritesdrivel
@TedSez: gross i don't know which is worse. crash is my least favorite movie i've ever seen... besides love actually.
tobesthewonderdog
@save_jinger: i say to this to whomever happens to be sitting next to me at the theater EVERY DAMN TIME the previews are on- Who the hell is naming stuff in Hollywood?! Don't they know titles are for intrigue and interest? No, just me and my creative writing students? Ok, then.
@rocknrollunicorn: Hey, I'm open to hearing it if I'm wrong. But I've not seen many trailers to lead me to a different conclusion. Are there any in particular you would recommend?
"And for every bad review, there was a person who said, "I'm gonna see it anyway.""
Well, I would hope that people wouldn't make all of their decisions based on movie reviews. If I did, I would probably never see ANY movies.
I very rarely go to the movies but ended up seeing HJNTIY with a friend and honestly, I liked it a lot more than I thought. Yes, it was cliche and I wanted ScarJo to just disappear. But I had expected it to be so bad, I actually thought it was kind of funny. So I guess the key is to go in with really low expectations.
looneytunes
@DinaRonson : Desperately Seeking Snark: I prefer to call it "VD".
18thfloor
@rocknrollunicorn: So glad at least one person is with me... I thought there was surely going to be a flogging.
dj_chick
@tscheese: I only started watching because of the smarmy pics up in here all the time. You must watch the show! The smarm! The hair gel! The sneer! The PINK! Oh, Jeebus it's obscene. I may or may not be buying the first season on iTunes.
@CurtCole: That scene is so sad! I would have rather they kept that in than the people who meet at body doubles on a movie set. I felt like the whole purpose of that storyline was "NEEDS MOAR BOOBS!!!1"
@Macloserboy: As a self-confessed rom-com devotee, what would you recommend? I take it Annie Hall would be in there…
@TheGuvnah: I just rewatched in recently. I thought it stood up well...
eadubbs
@JessicaLovejoy: Laughing, riding, cornholing!: Yes, who the hell are these people? I can't wrap my head around the target audience for hackneyed bullshit smeared with a greasy sheen of topless surfer-jerk.
ritualtheory: now available on vinyl
@Mafalda para Presidente: For me the big challenge is that I don't want to give up some regular activity that brings a certain degree of pleasure/happiness (exercise class, etc) for an unknown.
lunanoire
@Hooplehead: I am like a broken record, but in any case, not ALL are like that. Definitely, Maybe had several excellent female characters and the guy was not a douche/player/whatever. Sure, 27 Dresses and others fit this formula but it's really not true that they stopped making decent movies 50 years ago or whatever.
I haven't liked a romantic comedy since, "The Sweetest Thing." But then again, I'm a Black woman, so my opinion doesn't matter in Hollywood, anyway.
embarcadero13
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: But...but...if Jennifer Garner is in this one too, it will be like a mini-Alias reunion! Right? RIGHT?!!?
I'm one of those losers still holding out hope for an Alias movie. Le sigh.
@..now it's just Aesop's Foibles.:
I only go to the movies when I'm in NYC, where I can see really great stuff in theaters where people are well behaved, where there's the added incentive of supporting independent filmmakers/moviehouses. There's no way I'm paying $13 to see something forgettable in a room full of people who can't stop talking on their phones. My dad's taking me to see Star Trek, but with the exception of a few family outings every year, I never see first-run films any more.
@Dodai: Fair enough, but you brought up the whole "vote with your dollars" concept. It might help your cause to vote "for" something and not simply "against" something else.
But as a romantic comedy devotee and snob, I cast a questioning eye at people who hold up When Harry Met Sally as prime example of the genre. It was Woody Allen dumbed down for the masses (not to mention pairing a man with an actress 13 years his junior as his contemporary). As far as I'm concerned, shallow work like HJNTIY is one of its bastard stepchildren because WHMS grossed more than pretty much every film Woody Allen made during his prime indicating complexity is the last thing people want.
@tscheese: That first paragraph deserves a slow clap.
@BrutallyHonestBabes (aka Mrs. Sarah.of.a.Lesser.Hobbit): Oh, I second this. Damn Chuck Bass. He's just so damn...damnnnnn
Sigh.
greengrey
@Bunsen Honeydew: My boyfriend actually likes it too. And he usually refuses to watch anything in the romcom territory.
pumpkinseed
@Rare Affinity: WHAT? When was this? gah.
@baraqiel: I loved it to. Sadly, even Love Actually had marginalized gay characters in it; so marginalized that they got cut. If you get a chance watch the DVD extras, there is a cute lesbian couple in it. I actually teared up when I watched them, which is rare for a deleted scene.
CurtCole
@wry_bred: Well, you'd never get the audience for HJNTIY to go and see Wendy And Lucy.
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Leaf me out of this love/hate tree debate
cc
@dj_chick: With you on this. Didn't see HJNTIY but generally I love romantic comedies. I really enjoyed Definitely, Maybe. And I'm not gonna hide it. I have high class tastes, too, thankyouverymuch.
When I went to see "he's just not that in to you" i thought it would be more witty then it ended up. I was actually disappointed and wouldn't have gone to see it if i knew it was going to be the mushy movie it was. My girlfriends and i went to see it on valentines day because we hoped it was actually anti-valentines day. We were wrong, I appologize for making Hollywood think we want more movies like that. Really, really, I don't.
@HeatherNumber1:
Crash?
Tropic Thunder?
Sex and the City?
Am i defining ensemble casts differently?
@Macloserboy: Yes the overkill on Jez in Feb was crazy. I stopped reading the posts after someone live blogged by text message from the theater.
JoaquinPhoenix's Hairstylist
@hfree: I love Playing by Heart and have talked many people into watching, only to hear they fell asleep or hated it.
@tscheese: When I saw Star Trek this weekend (Sun @ 4:30), there must have been 10-12 kids running up and down the aisles through the whole thing. I saw a little girl curl up in her chair and go to sleep.
WTF?
@Diziet_Sma: I loved this movie. It was a thousand times sweeter then I ever would have guessed, and it made my heart hurt in places remembering what I was like at that age.
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: seriously. Sark would never pull this shit.
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Mind if I join yew?
MissRumphius
@LolaQuinn: If they made romcoms clever and fun anymore, ala the ones released during the Katherine Hepburn/Cary Grant era, I would go see them. But modern rom/coms are all the same: clueless and/or player-type dude, and neurotic and/or desperate and/or marriage and baybeeez-driven women. Meet cute, annoy the hell out of each other, break up, realize they are Meant to Be, then live happily and vapidly ever after. Fin. Both genders look crappy, the scripts are insultingly stupid and it's a waste of celluloid. Do not want. This whippersnappers need to get off my lawn and take their crappy romcoms with them!
@..now it's just Aesop's Foibles.: Eugh, this is another one of my issues with movies. Paying a zillion bucks to be surrounded by rude strangers in a musty uncomfortable chair splattered with how many layers of godknowswhat? And you can't even pause if you have to go pee?
I'll put up with it for Star Trek, but not for Jessica Alba and Jessica Biel "meeting cute" with some bland milquetoast love interest.
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: Sing it! I hate when I have to break up with my imaginary celebrity boyfriends because they can't end up in a decent project to save their life. *puts Wet Hot American Summer into DVD player AGAIN*
Chicklet
@frozenfresa: I'm just not a fan of tough love. I needed a book that would gently break it to me that if he's not returning my calls, it was probably because he wasn't interested. :) Not surprising then that I'm into chick flicks.
dj_chick
@Dictator for Life: Yeah Love Actually just kind of bored me but it is one of my boyfriend's favorites, so maybe I am just not enough of a romantic.
@bluebears: Bluebears! Check Aikira Kurosawa and the 'Zatoichi' series. Japanese both. Don't know US sources, but shouldn't be crazy hard to find!
@Jack_Burton: {COUGH}
@Macloserboy: Good list. I would definitely agree with you on Four Weddings, Bull Durham, Miami Rhapsody, Bridget Jones, Secretary. The others I haven't seen, probably because I imagine (I can't remember) most of them were marketed as, romcoms at the time, a genre I tend to avoid. But I see where you're coming from here. I will Netflix The Tao Of Steve now! Cheers.
@MsQuinn: Just like movies about fast cars or superheroes appeal to men, rom coms appeal to women because they are fantasy. We know those things don't happen in real life, but it's fun to escape reality for a couple hours and think to ourselves, "Boy, wouldn't it be neat if those things did happen?" Rom coms are no more insulting to women, than superhero movies are insulting to men. These movies make money because on some level, most of us want to occasionally escape reality and fantasize about these things happening for us (however unrealistic the plotlines). It's just human nature. It doesn't make a woman less intelligent or weak because she occasionally indulges in the guilty pleasure of rom coms-- it means that she can occasionally lighten up and not take life or herself that seriously.
@hovy: I want to see a romantic comedy starring just Shirley MacLaine and Bradley Cooper. In my head that would be a pretty wicked awesome movie.
I have not seen the movie, but is that pool supposed to be at a public gym?? Wtf? What gym ever has a pool that empty OR that relaxingly lit?
(Because I want to join... so long as I can swim at any time I desire...)
@dj_chick: I completely agree. I was one of those girls who went to see this with girl friends on Valentine's Day and we had such an awesome time and it was a great start to our night. We will probably also go see "Valentine's Day" because its fun to be together and see a movie with a happy ending on a day that emphasizes relationships (especially when you're not in one).
And I agree that the book is obnoxious, but I think some girls (myself included) need to hear it. Sometimes its reassuring to hear "you deserve better."
frozenfresa
@SunburnedCounsel: Seconded. My fiancé and I saw it, and we both left with a bittersweet feeling that most rom-coms can't come close to creating in a viewer.
Dictator for Life
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): There was something a lot like that on A Prairie Home Companion recently, and honestly, I did get a little teary-eyed.
Dictator for Life
@baraqiel: I just can't get on board with the Love, Actually love. I saw it, and thought it was just meh. The only part I really enjoyed was the deleted scene where Emma Thompson's kid got in trouble for writing about farts. That might tell you where my tastes lie, though.
Dictator for Life
@Rummy_McGin: Adding it to my book list! Thanks for the suggestion!
Each time Dodai posts one of these articles, 5 geniuses say, "How come we don't get movies like When Harry Met Sally?" Maybe because those movies are not hard to get made, but they're hard to WRITE. if they were so f'in easy, Nora Ephron would not be Nora Ephron. No one would pay her millions of dollars to write personal essays about her neck wrinkles. Which I love, btw. Also, what percentage of us went to go see Frozen River in theaters, or even Rachel Getting Married. The latter had an A-list star at the peak of her fame, it enjoyed critical acclaim, and big Oscar buzz. Yet it made about 11MM. Hell, I remember Bottlerocket made 500K.
CallaCilix
@Mafalda para Presidente:Exactly.
When I was single, I thought dating was a lot of fun. I loved meeting new people and seeing what they were like. If it went well, it was exciting, if it went bad I had a good story to tell. I miss being able to experience all that--what a great part of life!
And you're right, btw, about being relaxed. It's only stressful if you make everything a BIG DEAL.
@sarah.of.a.lesser.god (aka Mrs. BrutallyHonestHobbit): Personally, I'm excited about the upcoming remake of "Beeches."
Wit is periodically disensouled
@Samanthrax is Sarcastic: Wow, I thought me and my boyfriend were the only two people who saw midnight meat train.
spiderbaby1983
The only way I will support this shit if it has zombies, firearms, and a kickass heroine who....
Oh.
Wait.
Fuck it.
Ginmar Rienne
@Diziet_Sma:
I enjoyed this movie, but I did think that all the female characters were "hotties," as opposed to the male characters, who were allowed to be funny-looking, goofy, etc. Same ole, same ole, in that department at least.
lowkeylo
@slowpoke.r: Hmm so she is. I'm bad at reading.
The difference I see, though, is that dumb action movies for men don't become something the entire gender is defined by or belittled by...but chick flick and chick lit and the rest all have a diminutive, negative quality to them. Even if an action movie is dumb, it's still supposedly "fun", and don't try to define life or influence the way people view actual relationships. But romcoms, like it or not, do to some degree. They have greatly influenced our idea of romance and relationships. And women, for that matter.
My issue is not that there's anything wrong with romcoms in the general sense. And we have some examples of ones that are truly funny and clever and well written.
But movies like HJNTIY don't encourage that. They just perpetuate the same tired ideas. And I just can't see that as harmless.
tiredfairy
@pooks: I think that really depends on the romcom or superhero movie. The Dark Knight is hardly brainless, Iron Man had tight, smart writing, which is also true of the first two X-Men films. So those movies aren't insulting to anybody because someone was paying attention to the story and characters.
But movies like He's Just Not that Into You are kind of insulting to women because they're just stereotypes on screen with a barely patched together story.
And no one said it makes a woman less intelligent or weak to indulge. But there are different levels of indulgence. It's the difference between When Harry Met Sally and this...or say The Dark Knight and Daredevil. There is a serious quality issue involved.
I love escapist fantasy, and I love some awful movies...but I don't like anything that's pandering or so poorly thought out it insults both the storytelling medium and the audience. It has nothing to do with "taking yourself too seriously". It has to do with not wanting to spend money on crap that treats you like an idiot because of your gender.
tiredfairy
@save_jinger: these are VOMcoms, where you go home and stick your fingers down your throat and wish you had your ten dollars back.
@vivianthelibrarian: I just watched a fantastic Shirley MacLaine moviewith my mom over the weekend and afterwards we talked about how awesome she is and how she really picks great films...
But I guess as an older actress she can't pick and choose so much anymore :(
Ugh. At least when this comes out we'll have something to bitch about.
At least they're making movies with women in it instead of completely ignoring us.
Of course guys like Love Actually. All the men in the movie end up with good looking young girlfriends, while the woman who goes for the hot young man fails (Laura Linney). Not to mention the guy who ends up in bed with a bunch of hot women...again, no wonder guys like this movie.
ShyamalaGanjelf
Boycott starts... now?
CherrySoda