Modern Love

The Romantic Comedy, capital R, capital C. Is there any film genre more bogged down in the formulaic and familiar than the Romantic Comedy? That's rhetorical-the answer is no. But even with my low tolerance for cinematic regurgitation I'm always game for a half-way decent rom-com. What they lack in unpredictability they often make up for in charm. All you have to do to is go with it. Sure woman like Meg Ryan (he said, dating himself) or Sandra Bullock or Katherine Heigle have trouble finding dates. That's right, Michelle Pfeiffer looks like a frumpy waitress and would be lucky to get the short-order cook (again, the age thing). Yeah, whatever.
This year, however, brought us some interesting twists in the straight and narrow rom-com freeway. "Away We Go" had merit. (See the September post) But the two I want to focus on in this post are "The Proposal" and "500 Days of Summer".

"The Proposal"-
This is a romantic comedy that does it the old-fashioned way. It is as formulaic and predictable a movie as they come. I liked it. Why? I'm sitting here hoping the reasons come to me before my typing fingers catch up to my brain. Well here are three reasons- Sandra Bullock, Ryan Reynolds, Betty White. What is it about Sandra Bullock that makes her so damned watchable on screen? She's attractive yes, funny, yep. She can act when required (though in most of the material she chooses it's not really necessary), I'm left with that thing that people say about actors when they know they really should be harsher but can't seem to muster enough bile. Sandra Bullock is likable. So shoot me, she is. It's charm. It's delivery. It's cute. It's groin appeal. It's a big white-toothed smile. Alright, it's a cop out, but it's also true. Then match her with a likable guy who can also deliver a punch line and you can forgive a lot of plot contrivance. It's really difficult to quantify on-screen chemistry, but what ever it is and however you measure it Reynolds and Bullock seem to have it. Now for Betty White. She has forgotten more about comedy than all those idiotic Saturday Night Live clowns will ever know and at eighty something she can still deliver the goods. She is funny and not just in a cutesy Granny kind of way. She's funny in a skilled comic timing sort of way. That's why I asked everyone to comment on whether or not she deserves awards consideration. Whatever your opinion, she's a National Comic Treasure. That's why "The Proposal" found success. Audiences tell all the snobby cinematic pundits what works. It's made like 160 mill. I'd say that's a definitive decision.

"500 Days of Summer"-
Likability will not be discussed in the conversation about "500 Days of Summer". Oh, it's likable, the leads are likable, supporting cast for the most part very likable.
It's just that I don't have to rely on that stuff here. Here I can talk script because this film can take it. The script is that good. The film is that good. It is rare that a romantic comedy can be talked about as a great film, especially lately. This one can indeed. One of the best films of the year? Easy. Changing the genre? A case can be made.
In "Shakespeare in Love" Judi Dench (in the guise of Queen Elizabeth One) poses a question. "Can the true nature of love be revealed in a play?" Of course that was Romeo and Juliet. Few films about love are actually that ambitious(maybe "Love Actually"). I think "500 Days of Summer" makes the effort.
Okay I'm going to talk about a structural devise in this film but don't get scared off. This film is a blast to watch. Here goes. Each segment of the film let's you know which day in the relationship your about to see. The numbers roll to say Day 1 or Day 278 or Day 450. It tells you exactly how far along this 500 day relationship is, which allows the filmmakers to play with the time line. The tentative early days, the passionate and silly beginnings, the decline. They juxtapose the stages of modern love against one another and reveal the early hints of attraction, and the early hints of trouble. The result dissects the relationship and pins it out like a frog in biology class. It lets us see the guts. It exposes the inner workings. It's brilliant. It's easily my favorite script of the year. A rom-com that reveals the true nature of the modern relationship? Good God. It's alive! The genre is ALIVE!.
A final note about "500 Days". It has a kick-ass song song score. Not just any film can pair up "The Smiths" with a karaoke version of Nancy Sinatra's "Sugar Town". Oh, and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Zooey Deschanel are fantastic too. Recommendation enough?