Happy Valentine's Day! Or happy Thursday in case you don't give a damn about the commercialisation of love or you just single (pringle). Either way, it's
Thursday Movie Picks time, the weekly series hosted by
Wandering Through the Shelves —you should know how this works at this point, but if you don't, you can find
here all the info you need. This week's theme is romantic comedies, probably my least favourite genre as they all are tremendously clichéd and predictable and never work for me. Unless when they do because, you know, I occasionally enjoy them. Even if they are clichéd.
It follows Rachel Chu (Constance Wu) as she travels to Singapore with her boyfriend, Nick Young (Henry Golding), to attend a wedding only to learn that Nick comes from on Asia's most wealthy families. Once there, she becomes the target of jealous socialities and Nick's mother (Michelle Yeoh). Pretty shallow and predictable but overall enjoyable thanks to the performances.
It follows two cynical, unpleasant people, Lindsay (Winona Ryder) and Frank (Keanu Reeves), who meet at the airport while on their way to a destination wedding. They get off to a bad start, and then they realise they are going to the same wedding. Eventually, they are forced to spend time together and they become to bond. It's clichéd and predictable, but Ryder and Reeves are so charming I was rooting for them. Also, the dialogue is brilliant.
It follows Eddie Brock (Tom Hardy), a news reporter who becomes the host of a powerful, symbiotic alien, Venom, that gives him superhuman abilities. As most aliens, Venom does not come in peace. Okay, this isn't really a romantic comedy, but it kinda is though since Eddie tries to win back his girlfriend (Michelle Williams). Also, Eddie's bromance with Venom sure is something. And Hardy's performance is fun as fuck.
YES! Venom is the most fun romantic comedy of 2018 :)
ReplyDeleteI know right! And who would have thought that
DeleteHA! I love that you included Venom. Eddie x Venom for life.
ReplyDeleteWe match on Crazy Rich Asians, I adored that.
I didn't like Crazy Rich Asians as much as I wanted to but it was refreshing.
DeleteI've only watched Crazy Rich Asians which while it followed most of the tropes of rom-coms didn't condescend to its audience.
ReplyDeleteI'll probably get around to Venom eventually since I really like Tom Hardy even though I'm pretty burned out on superhero films.
I've never heard of Destination Wedding but it sound like something worth giving a shot.
Where romantic comedies are involved I'm usually just a big softie and have since scores of them which made it tough to choose just three. So I did a theme within the theme using Cary Grant as the constant since he was one of the titans of the genre in his day.
The Bachelor and the Bobby-Soxer (1947)-Playboy artist Richard Nugent (Cary Grant) appears before Judge Margaret Turner (Myrna Loy) for fighting at a nightclub, after a stern warning she dismisses the charge. That same day, Nugent happens to lecture at a high school, where Margaret's teenage sister, Susan (Shirley Temple), falls head-over-heels for him. Things get complicated when Susan sneaks into and is found in his apartment. Back before Judge Turner she orders him to date Susan as a way of easing her attraction. It only gets crazier from there as Richard (now Dickie) embraces his rediscovered teenhood while finding himself attracted to Margaret and vice versa. Breezy comedy (which won a Best Original Screenplay Oscar) is Shirley’s best adult film with all three stars working at top speed.
Indiscreet (1958)-Theatre star Anna Kalman (Ingrid Bergman) meets banker and diplomat Philip Adams (Cary Grant) when she’s visiting her sister and brother-in-law (Phyllis Calvert & Cecil Parker who steal every scene they’re in) in London. After a brief flirtation they fall in love but Philip is married and things seem hopeless until Anna discovers something that puts everything in a new light. Lush, charming comedy with Cary & Ingrid perfectly matched.
Houseboat (1958)-Tom Winston (Cary Grant) is struggling to raise his three children on his own after his wife's death. He meets the charming and beautiful Cinzia Zaccardi (Sophia Loren) at a concert and hires her as a live-in nanny. Unbeknownst to Tom, Cinzia is actually a European socialite on the run from her domineering father (Harry Guardino) and has absolutely no experience with cooking, cleaning or raising children. The fiery Cinzia and staid Tom butt heads until they discover a shared attraction. Cary & Sophia were seriously involved (and almost married) during filming.
Destination Wedding is not for everybody as there are only two characters and the film is filled with dialogue, but it's so engaging and charming!
DeleteI have not seen any of these but I want to see the first one and not sure about Venom
ReplyDeletePlease watch Venom, it's awesome!
DeleteI haven't seen Venom yet, but want to tackle that one soon! It's sounds sooo good!
ReplyDeleteIt is! I hope you'll enjoy it :)
DeleteOmg - I'm totally on board with Venom being a romcom!
ReplyDeleteYAAAS! I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who thinks that.
DeleteNice picks! Love your choice of Venom!!
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteYes, Venom IS a rom-com! Love that you picked it. You're assessment of CRA is spot-on. Haven't seen your other pick, though.
ReplyDeleteIt's a nice rom-com that one, especially if you like Reeves and/or Ryder.
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