Posts Tagged ‘romantic comedy’

Short Take: Self-aware without bragging about it. A genuinely romantic comedy.

Directors: Glenn Ficarra, John Requa

Screenwriter: Dan Fogelman

Cast: Steve Carell, Ryan Gosling, Jonah Bobo, Julianne Moore, Emma Stone, Analeigh Tipton, Marisa Tomei, Kevin Bacon

Length: 1 hour, 58 minutes

Synopsis: Cal Weaver (Carell) is overcome with depression when his wife Emily (Moore) demands a divorce and reveals she slept with a coworker. After listening to Cal drunkenly profess his woes, fast-talking lothario Jacob (Gosling) decides to teach him how to get more women. As Cal regains his self-confidence, Jacob falls in love with Hannah (Stone), a determined young woman who has a specific vision for her future. Meanwhile, Cal’s son Robbie (Bobo) nurses a crush for his babysitter, Jessica (Tipton).

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Short Take: Largely romantic and surprisingly clever

Director: Gary Winick (Bride Wars, 13 Going on 30)

Screenwriters: Jose Rivera (The Winged Man, The Tape Recorder), Tim Sullivan (Flushed Away, Jack and Sarah)

Cast: Amanda Seyfried (Dear John, Mamma Mia!), Christopher Egan (Resident Evil: Extinction, Eragon), Vanessa Redgrave (Atonement, Eva), Gael Garcìa Bernal (Rudo y Cursi, Blindness, Y Tu Mama Tambien)

Length: 1hr 53mins

Synopsis: When aspiring journalist Sophie (Seyfried) and fiancé Victor (Bernal) go to Verona, Italy on a pre-wedding honeymoon, she discovers a group of women called the Secretaries of Juliet who respond to letters lovelorn women write to William Shakespeare’s fictional character Juliet.  While working with the secretaries, Sophie discovers a letter written 50 years prior by a woman who ran away instead of eloping with her Italian lover, Lorenzo.  Sophie responds to the letter and is startled when the woman, Claire (Redgrave), and her handsome but uptight grandson Charlie (Egan) come to Verona to find Lorenzo.  So, Sophie decides to aid them as they search for Claire’s first love. Read the rest of this entry »

Short Take: Palatable and amusing, but doesn't offer much originality

Director: Shawn Levy (Night at the Museum, The Pink Panther, Cheaper by the Dozen)

Screenwriter: Josh Klausner (Shrek the Third, The 4^th Floor)

Cast: Steve Carell (The Office, Get Smart, Dan in Real Life), Tina Fey (30 Rock, Baby Mama, Mean Girls), Mark Wahlberg (The Lovely Bones, The Departed)

Length: 1 hour 28 minutes

Synopsis: When New Jersey couple Phil (Carell) and Claire (Fey) Foster worry their marriage has lost its spark, they alter their usual weekly date night plans and head to a popular new Manhattan restaurant.  However, when they arrive, the restaurant is too crowded so they steal another couple’s reservation.  Unfortunately, the couple from whom they stole the reservation, the Tripplehorns, is in trouble with a powerful and dangerous gangster and when the gangster’s henchmen mistake the Fosters for the Tripplehorns, Phil and Claire must spend the rest of their night trying to set things right.

Note: This review contains details that some might consider spoiling Read the rest of this entry »

Short Take: Thorough in its approach, which is regurgitation

Director: Garry Marshall (Pretty Woman, The Princess Diaries)

Screenwriters: Katherine Fugate (The Prince and Me, Carolina)

Cast: Ashton Kutcher (What Happens in Vegas, The Guardian), Jennifer Garner (The Invention of Lying, Juno), Anne Hathaway (Bride Wars, Rachel Getting Married), Jamie Foxx (The Kingdom, Dreamgirls), Jessica Biel (Easy Virtue, I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry), Shirley MacLaine (In Her Shoes, The Apartment), Hector Elizondo (The Princess Diaries, American Gigolo)

Length: 2 hours 5 minutes

Synopsis: During Valentine’s Day in Los Angeles, a number of related characters celebrate love in all its forms.  The film mostly centers on lovesick florist Reed (Kutcher), who proposes to his girlfriend, and his interactions with the other characters throughout the day.  Reed’s best friend, Julia (Garner), decides to surprise her mysterious boyfriend.  Liz (Hathaway) is a secretary who moonlights as a phone sex operator and tries to keep it secret from her new boyfriend.  Valentine’s-hating sports agent Kara (Biel) throws a party lamenting the holiday and shares her hatred with Kelvin (Foxx), a sports newscaster forced to report on the holiday. Kate (Roberts), a soldier on leave, gets to know a handsome and friendly business man (Cooper) as she flies home to see her valentine. Read the rest of this entry »

The Ugly Truth

Marisa –

The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler debuted on July 24, 2009.  Like any other film, the usual slew of reviews appeared; according to RottenTomatoes.com only 15% of critics recommended the film.  While reading many of the reviews yields the impression that the film is a sign of the death of the romantic comedy, there is an even more interesting trend that becomes clear regarding the course language used in the film.  Quite a number of critics complained of the film’s vulgarity not because it was more offensive than the average film, but because it was so unexpected in a romantic comedy aimed mainly at women.
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