In Defence of Happy Endings

Oh, When Harry Met Sally? Hey, I always meant to get around to renting that,

until I REMEMBERED I'M HETEROSEXUAL!

Turk (Donald Faison)

Scrubs

OK, I know that some of my reading public (now up to four - if you don't count all those people trying to get me to promote their cheap viagra /online-dating /quicky divorce services (actually that kind of has a certain symetry to it)) are going to think that Jonboy's getting soft in his old age (or just soft in the head - or just soft), but I think it's high time somebody came to the defence of that staple of the Hollywood studio system, the romantic comedy. Defence?, you ask. Why would something as ubiquitous as the romantic comedy (I refuse to follow fashion and adopt the crass contraction, "rom-com") need defending?

Valid question. I'll tell you why. If you're reading this, chances are you're not a multiplex slob who habitually sees whatever has the biggest advertising budget that month. You probably laugh at Woody Allen's comedies. You might have a favourite Chinese or Spanish or Russian director. You might even sit around with your friends and talk about movies you've seen. This is where the danger creeps in. Peer pressure is a powerful thing, my friends - don't give in to it.

Well, usually it's guys that take issue with the romantic comedy; that is, guys who don't think romantic comedies - or really any kind of love story - are appropriate viewing for men. You see, it's just not cool to like romantic comedies. Men refer to them as chick-flicks (not all men, of course, and the ones that do tend to only like movies with car chases or fart jokes*, so their opinion doesn't count for much with anyone outside of test screenings in Burbank). These views are short-sighted and prematurely judgemental, and I am breaking ranks - I am a proud romantic comedy watcher. I cry at the end every time I see The Accidental Tourist. I cheer internally when Harry and Sally finally get their shit together. Hell, Julia Roberts and Richard Gere give hope to us all.

Romantic movies across the board get a bum rap. Critics say they're predictable, that they're formulaic, that they're emotionally manipulative. Well so is Lethal Weapon. So is The Castle. The romantic comedy has been a filmmaking staple for probably as long as public exhibition films have been around. Yes they tend to run to a formula, that's true. But no more that a horror flick, Western, action movie or thriller (all of which I am also a fan). Some of the best writing in movies these days is going into romantic comedies, along with some of the best talent. And you don't have to devote two-thirds of the films budget to CGI either. And this has always been true. The Razor's Edge, For Whom the Bell Tolls and Casablanca all operate at a significant level as romances.

And if nothing else, watching a romantic comedy with your significant other is equal in good-partner-points to at least five hours of shopping for shoes. Two hours of looking at Kate Beckinsale or five hours of looking at Delores from Footwear. I know how I'd rather spend my time.

* The first writer to successfully synthesise these two genres will be a very rich man, but won't live long enough to enjoy his good fortune after a visit by the Coalition for Reintroduction of Entertainment for Everybody into Picturehouses (CREEPs).