In the past few years, quite a few film critics and commentators have written about the demise of the romantic comedy. The latest volley is Christopher Orr’s article in The Atlantic, bemoaning the quality of the genre. His main argument is that it’s played out because none of the traditional obstacles to romance exist any longer: class conflict, parental disapproval, money problems, etc. Since I’ve been thinking about this topic for many years now, I was all set to write a post about the only obstacle that’s left in modern love that DOES keep people apart: internal conflict. But Slate’s Alyssa Rosenberg beat me to it, penning a great post about how modern romance has changed, but modern romcoms haven’t. I’m not going to rehash her insights, so I’ll come at the same idea from a different angle: How can screenwriters improve the modern crop of romcoms?
Author: Marly Kurtzer
How To Transcend A Cliché: Friday Night Lights
Recently, I began streaming Friday Night Lights on Netflix. I had heard such buzz about this show while it was on, but somehow never got around to actually watching. After all, it was about football in a small Texas town, two things that are completely foreign to me. I was never exposed to the game and always found it too complicated when people tried to explain it. (Also, I think I must suffer from some type of spatial dyslexia because whenever I think I’ve witnessed a great play, it turns out that I’m looking at the wrong part of the field.)
Anyway, I finally got around to watching it and I’m completely hooked. I’m talking addicted as in staying up till 2 a.m. — and I take my sleep seriously. If anything, I look forward to learning more about Coach Taylor, his wife, and, of course, Riggins, Street and Lyla. How did such an improbable show reel me in?
Warning: Spoilers after the cut!
Continue reading How To Transcend A Cliché: Friday Night Lights
Downton Abbey – Season 3, The Finale: Holiday Road
World Wars, impotence, paralysis, the 1918 Flu epidemic, eclampsia, sexual harassment. Boy! If ever folks needed a vacay, it’s the Crawleys. And that’s just what they’re finally doing in this episode. Instead of Club Med or the South of Spain, though, they’re going to Scotland! Because nothing says “RELAX” quite like offal and organ meat, ill-tempered natives, and tempestuous weather.
Downton Abbey Recap – Season 3, Ep. 6: Twisted Sister
Goodness, so much happened in this episode that it felt like War & Peace, except with a real live jazz band tucked in it. The omission of the latter has been universally acknowledged as that masterpiece’s greatest failing. So let’s get started, shall we?
We open with some dude in a bowler hat, getting out of jail! No, it’s not Charlie Chaplin. No, it’s not the little guy from the Monopoly board game. Why, it’s Bates, you silly cows! And who should be waiting for him but Anna? “Thank God,” she exclaims. Yes, thank God that dull plotline is over and done with.
Happy Birthday, Clark Gable!
Today is Clark Gable’s 112th birthday. Let’s celebrate it by talking about one of his most famous films, It Happened One Night. One of the best known romantic comedies of all time was scripted by Robert Riskin whose successful collaborations with Frank Capra produced many great films.
If you haven’t ever watched this 1938 gem, I recommend you stream it. The story is simple: Ellie (Claudette Colbert) is a spoiled and sheltered heiress who runs away in order to marry someone her Dad disapproves of. Newspaperman Pete (Gable) spots her on a Greyhound bus and, “rescues” her with the intent of landing a great story. Instead, they both fall for each other. Predictable and silly? Maybe.
But unlike many other movies of the era, it holds up remarkably well, due in large part to the carefully crafted characterization of the two lead roles. It’s become a classic because, simply put, Riskin and Capra created two believably complicated characters and carefully constructed a story in which the audience sees how these two fall for each other. In fact, I would say that what makes this movie a must see for any writer is that it is a great character study of two flawed, yet likable individuals. Unlike a lot of modern romcoms, they’re not shoehorned into falling in love; their romance doesn’t happen because “it’s what’s supposed to happen.”
Ellie is headstrong and sheltered. Like someone with her background, she has a sense of entitlement but she is also adventurous and adaptable enough to go with the flow. She might not be street smart, but she is not too spoiled to refuse to sleep on a pile of hay under the stars. She’s a good sport in spite of it all and is willing to play along with whatever risky stunt Pete cooks up. In short, she’s terrific fun and when’s the last time you saw a modern female being portrayed as fun onscreen without her devolving into a manic pixie?
Pete in the meantime is calculating and hardbitten, but he is also genuinely caring and resourceful. He might act rough, but he is genuinely considerate. Man, he even cooks for her. Obviously, he has to, because she’s used to being served, right? But nevertheless, there’s a sweetness to his character that clearly tugs at Ellie’s (and any female in the audience’s) heart. At different moments in the movie, the audience gets to see each being vulnerable.
The beauty of the script, the reason it still works in the 21st Century, is that here’s a pair that definitely adds up to more than the sum of their parts. The trip is a metaphor for life and each is allowed to come up with solutions to solve whatever obstacles they’re thrown. Theirs is a collaboration, in a way. Their chemistry is not just a function of good casting; it’s also written into every one of their onscreen interaction. This considered structure has the emotional payoff of completely engaging the audience; the audience very badly wants them to end up together. We don’t want them to end up together because they’re young and hot. We want them to end up together because Capra and Riskin have shown us that these two are terrific together. Tell me honestly: When’s the last time you watched a love story in which you felt this way about the two leads?