With Valentine’s Day approaching, I thought that I would share my top ten favorite romantic comedies with you this week. So in no particular ranking order, here we go:
Amelie– Easily the best European import since Wings of Desire, Jean-Pierre Juenet’s beautifully realized film explores similar themes of humanist romanticism, albeit with a lighter touch. Audrey Tautou literally lights up the screen as a “gregarious loner” who decides to become a guardian angel (sometimes benign devil) and commit random acts of anonymous kindness. The plight of Amelie’s “people in need” is suspiciously similar to her own-those who need that little push to come out of self-imposed exiles and revel in life’s simple pleasures. Of course, our heroine is really in search of her own happiness and fulfillment. Does she find it? You’ll have to see for yourself. Whimsical, original, unpretentious and life-affirming, Amelie is guaranteed to melt the most cynical of hearts.
Gregory’s Girl– Name the last “coming-of-age” teen comedy you saw that didn’t rely on a barrage of dick jokes or sex with pastries for laughs (OK, Juno comes close-but it’s an exception). I would have to go all the way back to 1981, for writer-director Bill Forsyth’s delightful examination of puppy love, Scottish style. Gawky teenager Gregory (John Gordon Sinclair) goes gaga for Dorothy (Dee Hepburn), a fellow soccer player on the school team. Gregory receives love advice from an unlikely mentor, his little sister (Allison Forster). His male classmates offer advice as well, but of course they are just as clueless as he is (although they put on airs of having deep insight on the subject of girls, naturally). In fact, Forsyth gets a lot of mileage out of that most basic truth about adolescence-the girls are usually light years ahead of the boys when it comes to the mysteries of love. Not as precious as you might think, as Forsyth is a master of low-key anarchy and understated irony. Some viewers may have trouble navigating the thick Scottish accents, but it is well worth the extra work. Also starring Clare Grogan, whom 80s music fans may recall as lead singer of Altered Images (their biggest hit was “I Could Be Happy”) and Red Dwarf fans will recognize as the original “Kristine Kochanski”.
Play It Again, Sam – I don’t know what it is about this particular Allen film, but no matter how many times I have viewed it over the years, I laugh just as hard at all the one-liners as I did the first time I saw it. Annie Hall and Manhattan may be his most highly lauded and artistically accomplished films, but for pure “laughs per minute”, I would nominate this 1972 entry, with a screenplay adapted by Allen from his own original stage version. Ironically, it’s the only “Woody Allen film” that wasn’t directed by him (those chores went to Herbert Ross). Allen portrays a film buff who is particularly obsessed with Humphrey Bogart. He fantasizes conversations with Bogie’s ghost (played to perfection by Jerry Lacy) who advises him on how to “be a man” and attract the perfect mate. He receives more pragmatic assistance from his best friends, a married couple (Diane Keaton and Tony Roberts) who fix him up with a series of women (the depictions of the various dating disasters are hilarious beyond description). A true comedy classic.
Modern Romance(1981) – Writer-director Albert Brooks nearly single-handedly invented the genre of “cringe comedy”, paving the way for Ricky Gervais and Larry David. In his best romantic comedy (co-written by frequent collaborator Monica Johnson), Brooks casts himself as a film editor who works for Roger Corman’s American International Pictures. His obsessive-compulsiveness makes him great at his job, but a royal pain-in-the-ass to his devoted girlfriend (Kathryn Harrold), who is becoming exasperated with his penchant for impulsively breaking up with her one day, then begging her to take him back the next. There are many inspired scenes, particularly a protracted sequence where a depressed Brooks takes Quaaludes and precedes to “drunk dial” every woman he’s ever dated (like Bob Newhart, Brooks is an absolute master of “the phone bit”). Another great scene features Brooks and his assistant editor (Bruno Kirby) laying down some low budget Foley tracks for a sequence in the cheesy sci-fi movie they’re working on. Brooks’ brother, Bob Einstein (a regular on Curb Your Enthusiasm) has a funny scene as a sportswear store clerk. Also with George Kennedy (as himself) and real-life director James L. Brooks (no relation) as Brooks’ boss.
Next Stop Wonderland – Writer/director Brad Anderson’s intelligent and easygoing fable about love and serendipity made me a Hope Davis fan for life. Davis plays a laid back Bostonian who finds her love life set adrift after her pompous environmental activist boyfriend (Philip Seymour Hoffman) suddenly decides that dashing off to save the earth is more important than sustaining their relationship. Her story is paralleled with that of a charming and unassuming single fellow (Alan Gelfant) who aspires to become a marine biologist. Both parties find themselves politely deferring to well-meaning friends and relatives who are constantly trying to fix them up with dates. I don’t think it’s a spoiler to tell you that these two are destined to end up together! The film seems to have been inspired by A Man and a Woman, right down to its breezy bossa nova/samba soundtrack.
She’s Gotta Have It– “Please baby please baby please baby please!” One of director Spike Lee’s earlier, funny films (his debut, actually). A sexy, hip, and fiercely independent young woman (Tracy Camilla Johns) juggles relationships with three men (who are all quite aware of each other’s existence). Lee steals his own movie by casting himself as the goofiest and most memorable of the three suitors- “Mars”, a hilarious trash-talking uptown version of the classic Woody Allen nebbish. Lee milks maximum laughs from the huffing and puffing by the competing paramours, as they each jockey for the alpha position (and makes keen observations about sexist machismo and male vanity along the way). Spike’s dad Bill Lee composed a lovely jazz-pop score. Despite being a little rough around the edges (due to low budget constraints) it was still a groundbreaking film in the context of modern independent cinema, and an empowering milestone for an exciting new wave of talented African-American filmmakers who followed in its wake.
Sherman’s March – Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee is truly one of America’s hidden treasures. McElwee, a genteel Southern neurotic (think Woody Allen meets Tennessee Williams) has been documenting his personal life since the mid 70’s and managed to turn all that footage into some of the most hilarious, moving and thought-provoking films that most people have never seen. Audiences weaned on the glut of “reality TV” of recent years may wonder “what’s the big deal about one more schmuck making glorified home movies?” but they would be missing an enriching glimpse into the human condition. Sherman’s March actually began as a project to retrace the Union general’s path of destruction through the South, but somehow ended up as rumination on the eternal human quest for love and acceptance, filtered through McElwee’s personal search for the perfect mate. Despite its daunting 3 hour length, I’ve found myself returning to this film for repeat viewings over the years, and enjoying it just as much as the first time I saw it. The unofficial “sequel”, Time Indefinite, is worth a peek as well.
Someone To Love (1987) – The perfect Valentine’s Day movie…for dateless singles (ahem.) Writer-director Henry Jaglom’s films tend to polarize viewers. Jaglom reminds me of Ross McElwee in some ways; although his films aren’t technically “documentaries”, he is like McElwee in the sense that his work is highly personal, usually steeped in the obsessive self-examination of his own relationships with women. In Someone to Love, Jaglom plays (surprise surprise) a film director, who invites all of his friends who are currently “in between” relationships to join him at a condemned movie theatre on Valentine’s Day for a get-together. Once they arrive, Jaglom admits a small deception-he wants each to explain why they think they are alone on Valentine’s Day, and he wants to document the proceedings on film. Very talky-but fascinating, thought-provoking and (to my knowledge) a genuinely one-of-a-kind movie experience. Featuring Andrea Marcovicci (who had recently broken up with Jaglom at the time of filming), Sally Kellerman, musician Steven Bishop, and, erm, Orson Welles (don’t ask).
The Tall Guy – Whether it slipped under the public’s radar or was simply a victim of poor marketing is up for debate, but this gem of a sleeper should be required viewing for all romantic comedy fans. Deftly directed by British TV comic Mel Smith with a high-brow/low-brow blend of sophisticated cleverness and riotous vulgarity (somehow he makes it work), this is the stuff cult followings are made of. Jeff Goldblum is an American actor working on the London stage, who is love struck by an English nurse (Emma Thompson). Rowan Atkinson is a hoot as Goldblum’s employer, a London stage comic beloved by his audience but an absolute backstage terror to cast and crew. The most hilariously choreographed scene of “wild sex” ever put on film is worth the price of admission alone; and the extended set-piece, a staged musical version of The Elephant Man (a mercilessly funny Andrew Lloyd Webber parody) literally had me on the floor.
Two for the Road– A swinging 60s version of Scenes from a Marriage. Director Stanley Donen (Singin’ in the Rain) whips up a masterful cinematic soufflé here, folding in a sophisticated script by Frederick Raphael, a generous helping of Albert Finney and Audrey Hepburn, and topping it all off with a real cherry of a score by the great Henry Mancini. Donen follows the travails of a married couple over the years of their relationship, by constructing a series of non-linear flashbacks and flash-forwards (a structural device that has been utilized since by other filmmakers, but rarely as effectively). While ostensibly a “romantic comedy”, Two For the Road is, at its heart, a thoughtful meditation on the nature of love and true commitment. Finney and Hepburn have great on-screen chemistry (and both were at the peak of their physical beauty-which doesn’t hurt). Colorful European locales provide additional icing on the cake. This is one of those films (like The Way We Were ) that some people form an emotional bond with.
