Bryan’s Ramblings

There certainly have been some truly brilliant films: The Godfather, Gone With The Wind, The Graduate, Good Will Hunting, and countless others that don’t begin with the letter “G”. However, the vast majority of movies that get made don’t even begin to fall into this category. In fact many would argue that most movies aren’t very good at all. While this may be true, it really all depends on what you look for in a film. Aside from those relatively few celebrated motion pictures of our time, my favorite ones are usually romantic comedies.

I’m not talking about “chick flicks” like the over-dramatic Steel Magnolias or the tear-jerking Stepmom. I’m talking about happy-ending love stories that have some laughs and are scattered with a few poignant moments. You know the ones I’m talking about: When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless in Seattle, Jerry Maguire, Never Been Kissed, Fools Rush In, Serendipity, and my most recent favorite, Just Like Heaven, among mounds of others.

What is it about these well done romantic comedies that I love so much? First of all, what makes them “well done”? Well, the good ones always have perfect performances, distinguished directing, refined writing and usually contain a superb score. While these are the qualities that any really great film needs to have, there is something else about the great romantic comedies that make them enjoyable enough for me to buy on DVD and watch over and over again.

They are formulaic. While some would probably classify this is a bad thing for a movie to be, I would disagree. If the formula works, why deviate? I mean I like suspenseful movies with great twists at the end like Usual Suspects or Matchstick Men. While those are very good movies, you will never be able to experience them like you did when you saw them the first time and had no idea what to expect. The really excellent romantic comedies never surprise you. They’re absolutely predictable. I can often mouth the lines in a scene of a good romantic comedy that I’ve never seen.

Let’s use Just Like Heaven as a case study since it is fresh in my mind. Serendipity or Fools Rush In or any of the others would work just as well, I assure you. There are so many things I can point to in Just Like Heaven that made me enjoy it so much: the likeable actors, the believable performances, the flawless directing, the touching music. Most of all, however, the predictable writing did it for me. There are so many setups and payoffs that it’s unbelievable. Nearly 45 minutes before the movie ended, I knew how it was going to end. I don’t just mean I knew they’d get together, I mean I knew how and where and why and under what circumstances.

This movie screamed “cheesy!” and had a completely unbelievable premise, not to mention the fact that the entire plot and most of the really funny scenes had already been shown in the previews a million times. But none of that mattered. The movie was brilliantly formulaic and wonderfully entertaining. I walked out grinning from ear to ear and wishing that I was Mark Ruffalo and that I was dating Reese Witherspoon. I loved my girlfriend more. I loved myself more. I loved movies more.

The movie-theater-going-experience is getting more and more painful with extremely high prices, a ridiculous amount of ads and previews before the movie, and more and more cell phones ringing in the middle of the film. However, as long as my favorite kind of formulaic romantic comedies are still being made and produced to perfection, I will continue to overpay to see them in the theater and then later buy them on DVD so that I can enjoy them time and time again.