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This Weekend's Film Festival Celebrates Romance

Well, I'm three for three on keeping the This Weekend's Film Festival alive as a weekly segment on this site. Because there wasn't any worthwhile DVD releases this Tuesday to build the lineup around, I had to come up with another theme to tie the films together. It's far from Valentine's Day, so why romance you might be thinking. Well, it's my 5th wedding anniversary on June 1st and in celebration I thought it was as good as time for any to look at five great films for the romantic at heart. Some of the films in the lineup are fairly straight forward… but I know you're gonna want to know how a zombie film, which I referred to in my original review as "the goriest film I've ever seen," works into this week's group of films.

Well, I'm kicking off the festival on Friday with were all romances should start — Jane Austen. Being one of my wife's favorite recent films also helped place PRIDE & PREJUDICE on the list. If you're accustomed to seeing Keira Knightley swashbuckling in PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN than you owe it to yourself to see her stretch her acting chops in her Oscar nominated performance. Across the board, the acting is first rate in this Austen adaptation, which for a two-hour version of the epic novel couldn't be any better. Other standout performances comes from Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland, who adds a great bit of convincing fatherly love to this love story. Knightley and Matthew MacFadyen play off each other wonderfully, making a convincing adversarial relationship. The scene where they confront each other on the gazebo in the rain is perfectly written. Both dramatic and funny, this is a fun way to kick off the fest. Read my original review for my complete thoughts on this 2005 film.

The Saturday double feature is a celebration of great romantic comedies with ellipsis in their titles that were released in 1989. That was the year that both SAY ANYTHING… and WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… hit theaters — two of the greatest romantic comedies of all time. SAY ANYTHING… is the greatest romantic comedy set in high school ever made. For the most part romantic comedies are formulaic. It takes great characters or a nice twist or both to make a new one special. Both SAY ANYTHING… and WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… rely on great, original characters. Lloyd Dobler and Diane Cort are classic high school lovers. They defy labels. Director/writer Cameron Crowe convincingly brings them together and convincing tears them apart. The depth of the characters makes the dramatic conventions of the genre seem like natural life. The structure is the same as many romantic comedies, but it's honest and understands its characters as real people, not just cogs in a machine. Because we believe in Lloyd, it hurts even more when Diane breaks his heart. Many modern set serenades have been done, but none of them are as effective or memorable as Lloyd's boom box pose in this modern classic. Read my original review to discover other factors that make this one of the best romantic comedies of all time.

WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… is in the romantic comedy subgenre of platonic friends that come together as lovers in the end. This subgenre is often forced and unbelievable. Part of this film's brilliance is that we never feels like outside forces devised by a screenwriter are keeping Harry and Sally apart. They're platonic relationship makes sense. Harry and Sally grow up over the course of the film, however it takes them coming together to really overcome the hang-ups they had from the beginning of the film. The picture mixes smart character development and dialogue with signature moments that are gaggy in nature, but fit the characters perfectly. Sally's fake orgasm and Harry eating grapes come to mind first. In my original review, you'll see that Harry and Sally aren't the only couple in this film that make it the best modern romantic come.

So here it comes the Sunday morning feature, DEAD ALIVE. On a personal level, this movie plays a significant role in my relationship with my wife. This has been a film I've been championing for years. When I first started dating my wife, she not only had heard of the film; she not only had seen the film; but she owned the film. And to paraphrase another great romantic comedy, HIGH FIDELITY, it's the small likes and dislikes that really make a relationship work. This is a film for those who are in love with horror films. This campy send-up from Peter Jackson is over-the-top brilliance. When you think it's gone as far as it's going to go, it goes a step further. But at its core, the reason the film has real staying power is the sweet romance at its core. Lionel is a momma's boy, who falls for Paquita, but is kept from her by his possessive mother, who is later turned into a hideous zombie. Jackson balances camp and satire with real heart perfectly. Making us care about these two central characters in the midst of all the gore and craziness is the greatest accomplishment of the film. If you don't have the stomach for this kind of flick then just replace it with a romantic comedy of your choice. But for the real daring filmgoer, I can't recommend this film more enthusiastically. Don't miss my original review to find out more about why I love this film.

Well, the closing film in This Weekend's Film Festival is the best romantic comedy of all time — THE APARTMENT. Smart, edgy, dark, witty and hilarious, THE APARTMENT defines the term lovable loser. Jack Lemmon creates the best "lovable loser" in film history. And in a different way, Shirley MacLaine's Fran Kubelik is also a great "lovable loser." The premise is brilliant. Bud Baxter shares the keys to his apartment with the execs at his firm. He's constantly being taken advantage of. Likewise, Fran is being taken advantage of by Bud's boss Mr. Sheldrake. Again, amazing characters make this an outstanding film. Billy Wilder directs with style and writes dialogue that still crackles today. This film is as fresh and edgy as it was in 1960. Love never goes out of style. Wanting to succeed at work is never dated. Feeling like you've been stepped on all your life isn't just specific to the time in which this film was made. Wilder perfectly mixes witty dialogue with smart commentary and great characters. Few comedies have won the Oscar for best picture. This one deserved it. If you haven't seen it, prepare to fall in love with its magic. If it's been awhile since you saw it, prepare to fall in love all over again. If you know it like you know the one you love than you already know, what I'm talking about. If you're celebrating romance and laughs, you can't miss this film, so read my original review for more on this classic.

So that's it, five great films that have love at their core. They all mean a lot to my wife and I and I hope to share some of our celebration with all my readers. It's a personal lineup this week and I hope you love these films as much as I do. Update your rental queue or check out Zap2It.com for your local listings.

Rick DeMott's picture

Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks