Modern classics like Annie Hall (rated 8.2 on IMDB) and When Harry Met Sally… (7.6) lend legitimacy to my favorite movie genre, romantic comedy. (I wonder if A Midsummer Night’s Dream and The Taming of the Shrew did the same for rom-coms in the 1590s.) There is no shame, I think, in being entertained by a solid, respectable romantic comedy, such as Forgetting Sarah Marshall (7.3) or Crazy, Stupid, Love. (7.5). But then there are the not-so-good lovey-dovey-funny films, the ones that give romedies a bad name. They’re predictable and limply humorous, with hackneyed characters and contrived plots. The thing is, I love these pieces of crap. But why?
I thought I might be able to find the answer by identifying what really draws me to view certain poorly rated romantic comedies over and over. I caution you against seeing any of these 10 films. Yet they have brought me many hours of pleasure. Please don’t waste your time on them. But I kind of love them.
| Romantic Comedy | IMDB Rating | The Appeal |
| Along Came Polly | 5.8 | Great character names (Reuben Feffer, Polly Prince); best performance by a ferret; Hank Azaria as Claude, the scuba instructor. |
| Bride Wars | 5.1 | Some good lines (“If I were your wedding, I’d sleep with one eye open,” “Miss Wang is a stern mistress,” “You’re like this very tall, very hot Smurf,” “The International Butter Club?”). |
| Fools Rush In | 5.8 | Love overcomes culture clash; the poor man’s My Big Fat Greek Wedding (6.5). |
| Ghosts of Girlfriends Past | 5.7 | Michael Douglas as a smarmy womanizer, Matthew McConaughey as his smarmy protégé. |
| Joe Versus the Volcano | 5.5 | I flatly reject the IMDB rating. This movie is offbeat awesomeness. |
| Sex and the City | 5.2 | I was such a fan of the show that I am compelled to embrace its “snuggly” offspring. |
| Someone Like You | 5.9 | Very likable and/or sexy stars: Ashley Judd, Greg Kinnear, Hugh Jackman. |
| Something Borrowed | 5.7 | The smart girl gets the hot guy. |
| The Wedding Planner | 4.9 | I’m a sucker for Jennifer Lopez (and apparently for smarmy Matthew McConaughey; see Ghosts of Girlfriends Past). The supporting characters are charming. |
| What’s Your Number? | 5.8 | The funny, creative girl gets the hot guy. Also, the protagonists are always eating (wedding cake, pizza, Chinese food, sandwiches, snacks). |
So have I learned anything from this exercise? Not really. Perhaps the allure of the rom-com is that its ending is guaranteed to be happy—or at worst bittersweet. Maybe that’s why romantic comedies, even bad ones, are so satisfying.
Everything comes out perfect.
Novel-Gazing 