Day 2: Runaway Bride

Oh my god, I'm doing a little jig! The second movie in my project is Runaway Bride (which by the way I knew in the first 2 notes of the opening credits)! This is THE Romantic Comedy. I had a VHS of this and watched it so much that I wore out the tape. This is one of the ones I hold up as a standard for all other RC's to live up to! It has (almost) everything. Oh the cheesy love, oh the "I hate you, I love you, I hate you, I love you", oh the great comic side characters, oh the WEDDINGS! Not to mention, this is truly a feminist film! No wait - really - it is! This is ultimately a great lesson to women to learn about themselves and love themselves first. This film warns us not to wrap ourselves up in someone else so much that we have no identity of our own. It insists that love will wait for us to be ready for it.

I just love love LOVE this movie. That darn Julia Roberts and Richard Gere- their charm and chemistry just make a gal like me all warm and fuzzy! Mmmm mmmm that first kiss- that should be super awkward seeings how it is done in front of the man she is supposed to be marrying, is so hot you can't help but forgive them! And here's my list and how this film stacks up:

• Giddy: Oh yes! Yes Yes Yes! My heart goes all a flutter and I giggle uncontrollably every time I hear lines like: "I guarantee there are going to be hard times and I guarantee there will be a time when one or both of us want out of this thing but I also guarantee that if I don't ask you to be mine I'll regret it for the rest of my life because I know in my heart your the only one for me". Other moments that make me giddy: Duckbill platypus, "Did I not just see you", that first kiss, "I like his tight butt - Well I do!"
  
• Lies: Well she's lying pretty darn good to herself through the majority of the movie. Oh yes, sufficient lies I'd say.
• Big emotional outburst: Oh yes - several
• Dance sequence: A bit of a slow dance at the end to Miles Davis - but that doesn't count in my book - so no... no there is no big dance number
• Wedding: Oh yes, we get not one lovely wedding but 5! Yes 5 different wedding dresses! I'm so jealous!
  
• Rewatchable: I think I've already covered that this is- yes. And I will be watching this one again - very soon- maybe next Saturday while I'm cleaning the house.
  
• Love: Oohhh Yes!
• Fantasy: Well - most of us can't afford 1 wedding let alone 5 and I don't know anyone in NYC with that incredible an apartment (especially on a writers salary)...sooo yeah I'd say there is a lot of good fantasy here.
  
• Journey of the main character: The best part is that she goes from knowing nothing about herself to discovering who she truly is!
  
• Body count: well... no, no body count - unless you count all the grooms she leaves at the alter and well that's stretching it.

* I'm adding 2 new things to the list that I think should be included from here on out:

• Music Montages: No respectable romantic comedy is without a music montage to quickly let us know of the passage of time, of growth and change. And how awesome this one is! We learn of Julia's struggle to define herself and Richard's struggle to live without the love of his life. This is not the best (the best being Notting Hill's famous montage that goes through the seasons and includes all the side characters) but its good!
  
• Strong Female: As a feminist, as a strong woman- I identify best with strong women characters and I look for them in my entertainment especially. Here, we have a great woman, cool, confident (at least on the outside) who makes the mistake of defining herself through men and learns to define herself on her own. She even proposes to him at the end (a trend I really wish would take off). One of the last lines of the movie which comes from the preacher who is marrying them is 'May your individuality strengthen your union". AND...she rides off on her own horse!
  

Day 1: 500 Days of Summer

So the first film up: 500 Days of Summer. I don't think this actually qualifies as a romantic comedy. It says so right in the beginning that this isn't a love story. And (spoiler alert- by the way I never care about hearing about the endings so I'm assuming neither do you) they don't end up together! At best, this is an homage to the relationships that make us who we are before we meet the one that completes us. Boo on that! I want my fantasy. This is a healthy dose of reality! Granted - it does have the unrealistic dance scene and over-dramatic outburst (two off the checklist of what makes Jenn happy when she watches a romantic comedy) but it does not leave me with the warm fuzzy feeling that all is right with the world. It is too real for my tastes.

It did get me thinking (it lacking so many of the qualities that make me giddy for RCs) what does qualify as a keeper in my heart... I've started a list below. As we go on this journey, I might add or have to admit that something actually should be deleted, and I would like to stress that all of this is purely MY taste and everyone probably has their own checklist (or most likely they are not so anal to have their check list but probably just say I liked it or eh I didn't like it so much). Here is my check list and how 500 Days scored:

• Giddy: not so much
• Silly lies: there were no lies actually - too much honesty to tell you the truth
• Big emotional outburst: Check- but it was to quit his job, not for the girl he loves
• Dance sequence: This is the best part of the movie, will probably watch this over and over again.
• Wedding: Some wedding happened but it was not very romantic and the situation makes it just sad.
• Rewatchable: Maybe, when I'm pining for a lost love to remind me it wasn't worth it.
• Love: This is NOT a LOVE STORY!!!!!
• Fantasy: This is NOT a good fantasy story!!!!
• Journey of the main character: actually to me he seemed the same, I know many would fight the whole movie is his arc but really - I didn't believe it. Maybe its because he didn't have roses in his hands.
• Body count: based on my first blog- I love movies with a body count - this is irrational I'm well aware but well... this one didn't have it.

The Gift

So my dear friend gave me a Christmas Present. As always, he gave me a present I asked for but with a twist of his own form of torture. I love him for that.

I asked for him to make me copies of as many romantic comedies he could think of. The reason? Its the only kind of film I can watch again and again and never really get tired of. Sure Schindler's List was wonderful but am I ever going to watch it again? No! Because it was heartbreaking. But a ridiculous comedy where two people fall in love is something I just can't get enough of. I get quite a lot of heartbreak in my real life. I don't need any more of it in my fantasy life.

And let me be clear: Romantic Comedies are pure fantasy. That is the point! Like porn, they have ridiculous plots, usually horrible acting and always there is the big payoff with the money shot (in RC's that is a cheesy over the top confession of love ended with a kiss). And like porn, they get me off! I'm giddy with the fantasy that love like that can exist: that all the money spent for a wedding is nothing compared to marrying the wrong man, that self discovery is as easy as bumping into the absolute wrong person for you who is actually the right person for you and that love is the only thing worth fighting for. Ever. The end.

So, my best friend obliged. With his own romantic comedy twist. He gave me 31 DVDs simply labeled day 1, day 2, and so on. I have to watch the movies in order (ones I'm sure I've already seen) and then blog on them. Here is the torture part. I've never really liked blogs. I never remember to go and read my friends blogs out there. And I really can't imagine why anyone would care to read mine. But this challenge does intrigue me. Maybe there are others out there that love romantic comedies like I do and want to share with me in this journey. If they can find me. Chances are, they are at home, with Pretty Woman playing in the background while cleaning their house and fantasizing of someone showing up with an umbrella as a sword and flowers and limo to their house instead of being on the Internet searching for fellow freaks like me.

But well, at least I'll have a lot of fun along the way. And right now, I'm not living up to my potential by actually being in these movies (my ultimate dream) so I'll dream away watching the other greats before me and telling you (whoever you are) about it. Here we go... Day 1 is.....