Young Underpaid Professionals

In light of the coming Hallmark-inspired non-holiday, I’ve busted out several sappy DVDs for a special singleton Valentine movie marathon. For the purposes of this marathon, I’ve decided to divide my viewing equally between the Rom-Com movies (romantic comedies) and the Classics. Arguably, the Rom-Com movies I have lined up can also be considered classics in their own right, but let’s not get into semantics.

To kick off this Replay, I’ll start off with rom-com movies I’ve come to call the Meg Ryan staples: When Harry Met Sally…, Sleepless in Seattle, and You’ve Got Mail.

Ah, When Harry Met Sally. Come on, if you haven’t seen this one, you clearly need to brush up on your romantic comedy genre knowledge since this particular movie transcends rom-com and goes straight into the history books for making guys all over the world ask, “Is she faking it?” In When Harry Met Sally…, Meg Ryan plays Sally opposite Billy Crystal’s Harry. Aside from the faked orgasm (in a deli), the movie also delves into the question of whether men and women can be “strictly friends,” defines “high-maintenance” and discusses the nefarious rebound.

Sleepless in Seattle and You’ve Got Mail both have Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks together, and in both movies, they’re separated by something. In Sleepless, they’re separated geographically, while in You’ve Got Mail, it’s a mutual loathing for each other that keeps them apart (at first, anyway). Sleepless in Seattle shows us (I mean aside from shoulder pads) that geographical distance is irrelevant when Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan are concerned. Realistically speaking, one could note that the distance in the movie might be a metaphor for the distance one feels during certain stages of a relationship. Hmm.

On the other hand, You’ve Got Mail depicts how an initial animosity might lead to love in some instances. Arguably, love and hate are chemically alike in the brain, and as both are intense feelings, it may be submitted that that may be the reason why it’s so darned easy to mistake one for the other. That said, beware of the next pile of sludge you meet, he just might be the next (unfortunate) object for your attentions.

Next on the burner is My Best Friend’s Wedding. It’s impossible not to like this movie, and it’s one of the reasons why everybody loves Julia Roberts (other reasons include Pretty Woman and Notting Hill, which we will get to in a moment). My Best Friend’s Wedding presents problems all people with best friends of the opposite sex have to contend with in one way or another, including but not limited to falling in love with them. Also, I yoyo between being in denial (Please George, tell me you’re not really gay.) and hating the cosmos because George is gay.

Notting Hill and Pretty Woman are fantasy flicks as most rom-coms are, but we fall for them hook, line and sinker. Another notable Julia Roberts flick, Runaway Bride, isn’t as successful as Pretty Woman, but you have to admit, Richard Gere with his grayish head of hair is hot.

Now we move on to Drew Barrymore’s Never Been Kissed, Ever After, and Music and Lyrics. I think the thing I like about Ever After is that the heroine refuses to be a damsel in distress. In Never Been Kissed and Music and Lyrics, it’s the incredibly public gestures that got to me. Also, I think Never Been Kissed was onto something; if you want to find that traditional kilig-slash-girly-giggle kind of love, you have to go back to high school. Which brings us to the next movie, 10 Things I Hate About You. I’ll pose just one question, will you or will you not date a guy (who looks suspiciously like Heath Ledger) who sings, albeit a little off-key, “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You” in front of the entire school? I thought so.

As Good As It Gets may not be included in some people’s rom-com lists, but personally, I think it’s a romantic comedy. No, it’s not between Greg Kinnear and the dog, but between Carol (Helen Hunt) and Melvin (Jack Nicholson). “You make me want to be a better man.” is one of the more realistic movie lines ever written; at least I think it’s more believable than “You complete me.” Also, the wet t-shirt moment is worth re-watching.

On the tail end of the rom-com train come Hitch and The Proposal (which I watched with Rica and Mabie and we had the unfortunate pleasure of sitting in front of a guy who kept shifting in his seat while digging his knees into my back through the theatre seat at Greenbelt. Man, I hope you have that massive hemorrhoid looked into.). Hitch is fun with all the goofy stuff thrown in, plus I’d watch anything with Eva Mendes in it. The Proposal gives us a perfect excuse in Ryan Reynolds, while Sandra Bullock is still Sandra Bullock. Is it just me or did she not age since Practical Magic?

Another Meg Ryan flick may be included in this replay Addicted to Love, but it illustrates the ugly side of love – vindictiveness, bitterness, and downright vengefulness of jilted exes, so let’s not get into that.

Classics-wise, I’m afraid my video library’s not quite so extensive and I only have six must-watch-before-you-expire classic movies. I’m still trying to find some other classic DVD player fodder, if you have suggestions, fire away. Anyway, the classic romantic movies are usually long and very sad, so you better take out the tissue and prepare to sniffle and bawl.

Watching Gone with the Wind requires patience – a lot of it. It’s one of those epics that might be a little trying for audiences with limited attention spans (it runs for 238 minutes. Yes, that’s nearly four hours), but believe me, it’s all worth it. The exchange “Where shall I go? What shall I do?” “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn.” encapsulates the entire magnitude of this epic boy-meets-girl-at-the-plantation-and-then-civil-war-breaks-out story.

Another epic love story set in a war is Casablanca. It isn’t nearly as long as Gone with the Wind, but its circumstances, instead of getting in between the Union and the Confederacy, has its heroes smack in World War II. In Casablanca, we see the kind self-deprivation and sacrifice that only true heroes are capable of – “Here’s looking at you, kid.”

Any self-respecting movie buff will have (or at least has seen) Breakfast at Tiffany’s; the mere fact that Audrey Hepburn is in it merits membership into a classic movie collection. Other than that reason, I also like it because a. it has a struggling writer in it, b. it has a scene where Audrey Hepburn sings Moon River, and c. it’s a great love story. Another Audrey Hepburn classic, Sabrina, merits a replay (for some of you, a first viewing) since it has Audrey Hepburn AND Humphrey Bogart in it.

Remember An Affair to Remember? You should, because Sleepless in Seattle pays homage to this classic with the Empire State Building meeting. The difference is, An Affair to Remember’s heroine doesn’t make it to the Empire State because she gets hit by a car. Now, that’s more in character for the cosmos.

Lastly, I have Pride and Prejudice, the one with Keira Knightley as the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet. I know it’s not an ancient classic like its peers in this Yuppie Replay, but hear me out. It can surely be dubbed a “modern classic” since it had fans of the novel and the TV series, along with new fans, shrieking, “Mr. DARCYYYYYYYYYYYY!” Enough said.

Feel free to give suggestions for more Valentine’s Day movies and maybe I’ll find a copy of that somewhere. Karl recommended that I watch Definitely, Maybe and I’m trying to find a copy of that as we speak. As you can see, I’ll be occupied with this movie marathon until sometime next week so I should probably end this now. Remember, rom-coms and the classics aren’t really realistic so it might not be a good idea to try some of the things you see in them at home. Plus, only Meg Ryan can pull off faking an orgasm in a deli full of diners; it will only get you a lot of strange looks.

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