I saw The Prince & Me in the theatre and have the DVD, but don’t remember much about it.
My main problem with rom-coms is the heroine often is the one to actually sacrifice even if it’s the guy who makes some sort of grand gesture at the end.
Louis Jourdan’s subplot is rather silly, but one of my favorite rom-coms is Year of the Comet with Penelope Ann Miller and Tim Daly. It was shot on location in Scotland and France and has some gorgeous scenery. She plays a wine expert who was raised in America by her mother but is now working for her father in London. She wants to prove herself to him and finally has the opportunity to catalogue a wine cellar where she finds a very rare bottle of wine. He’s the troubleshooter for a millionaire sent to transport the wine for his boss, but has some secrets of his own. It’s a fun movie and the romance works.
I actually think the romance can work better in movies when it isn’t the focus of the film. The romance between Evy & Rick in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns is the best part of those films, but it’s not the films’ main plot.
I can think of other examples, but most of my favorite film romances are when the film is adapted from a book. Original screenplays are usually as you said, where it works when the leads have chemistry, but when you stop to really think about their relationship…not so much.
That’s an excellent point, about the heroine making the sacrifice. I also get tired of the conflict being that she’s “difficult” in some way and the answer is for her to quit clinging to whatever she’s being obstinate about. I agree on the sideline romance working better!
I’ve seen/own that movie (and its sequel), but I don’t remember much about them. I’ll watch anything that’s fairy-tale-esque though. I really liked the Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite movies of all time (I’m a huge Anne Hathaway fan because of them).
I also get annoyed if the only “change” or “sacrifice” is done by the girl, particularly if its of the makeover variety (oh, now that you’re “pretty”, I can like you…argh).
Codex has a thread on rom-coms, but it’s more focused on the story-telling rather than on whether they fulfill romance requirements (since it’s an SFF forum).
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Now I’m trying to think of a good romance movie and I’m ashamed to say I might need that list, because I can’t think of any.
Right?? There’s a few, but we really need a good list, with maybe grades for overall quality and for romance feels.
I saw The Prince & Me in the theatre and have the DVD, but don’t remember much about it.
My main problem with rom-coms is the heroine often is the one to actually sacrifice even if it’s the guy who makes some sort of grand gesture at the end.
Louis Jourdan’s subplot is rather silly, but one of my favorite rom-coms is Year of the Comet with Penelope Ann Miller and Tim Daly. It was shot on location in Scotland and France and has some gorgeous scenery. She plays a wine expert who was raised in America by her mother but is now working for her father in London. She wants to prove herself to him and finally has the opportunity to catalogue a wine cellar where she finds a very rare bottle of wine. He’s the troubleshooter for a millionaire sent to transport the wine for his boss, but has some secrets of his own. It’s a fun movie and the romance works.
I actually think the romance can work better in movies when it isn’t the focus of the film. The romance between Evy & Rick in The Mummy and The Mummy Returns is the best part of those films, but it’s not the films’ main plot.
I can think of other examples, but most of my favorite film romances are when the film is adapted from a book. Original screenplays are usually as you said, where it works when the leads have chemistry, but when you stop to really think about their relationship…not so much.
That’s an excellent point, about the heroine making the sacrifice. I also get tired of the conflict being that she’s “difficult” in some way and the answer is for her to quit clinging to whatever she’s being obstinate about. I agree on the sideline romance working better!
I’ve seen/own that movie (and its sequel), but I don’t remember much about them. I’ll watch anything that’s fairy-tale-esque though. I really liked the Princess Diaries and Ella Enchanted is one of my favorite movies of all time (I’m a huge Anne Hathaway fan because of them).
I also get annoyed if the only “change” or “sacrifice” is done by the girl, particularly if its of the makeover variety (oh, now that you’re “pretty”, I can like you…argh).
Codex has a thread on rom-coms, but it’s more focused on the story-telling rather than on whether they fulfill romance requirements (since it’s an SFF forum).
I love all those movies, too!
We clearly need our own thread/list. 🙂