(500) Days of Summer (2009)

I'm hesitant to put (500) Days of Summer in the category of romantic comedy because it's just not the same fare you typically get out of the genre. Yes, there's comedy. Yes, there's romance. It has its share of silly moments. But it's something loftier and smarter than How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days or You've Got Mail.

The film nonlinearly explores greeting-card-writer Tom Hansen's (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) love for co-worker Summer Finn (Zooey Deschanel) over the course of 500 days. The script is by first time screenwriters Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter. Titles pop up to let us know which day we're on and but it's really a tribute to editor Alan Edward Bell, director Marc Webb, and the two leads that the audience never gets left behind. Bell has already won the San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Editing and it won't be surprising if he gets an Oscar nomination as well.

Webb and Gordon-Levitt seem to make quite the formidable team as well in Webb's first feature-length film. While Webb has mainly been responsible for a few music videos for 3 Doors Down and Green Day, you may remember Gordon-Levitt as the long-haired kid on the tv show Third Rock from the Sun. He's come a long way, had a fairly consistent amount of work since then, and has no doubt made a successful transition from child to adult actor.

Here Gordon-Levitt is our well-developed driver, taking us on a tour of joy, confusion, and heart-break. Summer knows who she is, or at least claims to, and tells Tom right from the start she's not looking for a boyfriend. He embarks on a relationship with her anyway and the story is still captivating even knowing from the beginning the relationship doesn't have a good chance. This movie isn't conventional so we're allowed to still have some hope.

They even make a dance number and scenes in a karaoke bar charming, fresh, and fitting. Zooey Deschanel seems to be wearing all her own clothing and hair accessories, but it is an indie movie after all so I'm willing to write it off as a money saver.

Rating: 5/5
Recommended for: Anyone who has ever loved anyone to whom they weren't related

Extended Review:
A note about the soundtrack: Give this film's soundtrack a listen. It includes some classics that have made recent appearences elsewhere (Hall & Oates' You Make My Dreams Come True & The Smiths' Please, Please, Please Let Me Get What I Want,) some other songs that have been just waiting for a soundtrack inclusion (Regina Spektor's Us and Feist's Mushaboom) and an interesting inclusion (but obviously a shot at romance with French lyrics) of Quelqu'un m'a dit by French first lady, Carla Bruni.

Failure to Launch (2006)

It's very difficult to not start this review with the phrase "failure to make a good movie". See? I couldn't not do it.

Tripp (Matthew McConaughey) is in his mid-30s and refuses to move out of his parents' house despite having a steady job, a nice car, and plenty of friends. So his parents hire Paula (Sarah Jessica Parker) to "launch" him into his own life. Apparently Paula does this for a living. It, unsurprisingly, must not be a consistent, in-demand job since she lives in a small place with her stereotypically-odd-Zooey-Deschanel roommate character. So Paula embarks on her tested plan to seduce and manipulate Tripp.

Surprise! Things don't go according to plan!
Surprise! Paula and Tripp may actually like each other!
Surprise! People find out the truth and get upset with each other!

Oh wait. Those aren't surprises at all. They're forced, unrealistic, formulaic "comedy". There's nothing here you haven't seen before and no added value to those overplayed elements. This endeavor even has no less than three incidents of animals attacking people - an event that's become commonplace in so many romantic comedies lately. It's cheap comedy with limited appeal. Some people might laugh the first time but does a biting dolphin really add value to your comedy quotient?

This is the type of movie people think of when you say "romantic comedy". I find that unfortunate. But if you like to have seen a movie before you've actually seen it, it may be comforting.

Rating: 1/5
Recommended for: Those who hate surprises and love McConaughey.

Roman Holiday (1953)

Roman Holiday is AFI's #4 Romantic Comedy of all time. I must have seen a different movie than they did. Mainly, it's a moving love note to Rome. Other than that, it has a tiny bit of romance, the borderline unrequited kind, and its comedy is hard to find.

I guess I just don't see what's so comedic about a princess who is so sheltered, naive, and gullible she'll believe almost anything anyone tells her. Audrey Hepburn plays Princess Ann, who is on a goodwill tour of Europe. When her entourage stops in Rome, she decides she's had enough and sneaks away in the night.

Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck), an American reporter, finds her asleep on a bench and takes her back to his place because he can't get her to tell him how to get her back home. The next day while arguing with his editor he realizes the girl he found is the princess and bets his editor he can get an exclusive interview with her. He goes back to his apartment and eventually Ann agrees to tour Rome with him and his photographer friend.

The sites they see are of course beautiful. It was the first American film to be shot entirely in Italy. The romance comes from the idea of a reverse Cinderella, a princess looking for a common man to rescue her. And while it's believable that by the end of the day Ann has fallen for Joe, it seems more like he just feels sorry for her.

Hepburn won an Oscar for this role. And there was probably a fare share of self-insertion, as Hepburn herself was new to the American film industry and in at least one scene, the director went with the take where Hepburn didn't know what was going on. And in the important ending scene, Hepburn wasn't crying the required tears, so the director grumbled about how many takes she wasted which made her cry for real.

I guess most people enjoy a bit of escapist fluff from time to time.

Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: Audrey Hepburn fans and people who missed out on visiting Rome in the 1950s.

License to Wed (2007)

We see it's not such a good idea to stop communicating with someone you plan on marrying in this rather formulated romantic comedy. John Krasinski plays Ben, who - in the first ten minutes of the film - embarrasses himself in front of, meets, dates, embarrasses himself some more in front of, and gets engaged to Sadie, played by Mandy Moore.

After Ben proposes, they apparently have 5 seconds in which to decide where they will get married. Ben wants to have a destination wedding while Sadie wants to get married in a church she hasn't even attended in 10 years, but alas, it's part of her typical wedding plan concocted in childhood. From there on, Sadie's not a team player and thus it's harder and harder for Moore to make her sympathetic.

To top it off, the church requires a pre-wedding course run by the incredibly creepy Rev. Frank, played by Robin Williams. Not-so-hilarious antics ensue as they go through Frank's tests - the most creepy and disturbing of all involving robotic twin babies.

The movie becomes increasingly uncomfortable and brushes against the point where you just want to shut off the movie. The ending's predictable, but if you like to know where your movie is going at all times and like only like to be surprised by new heights of corny line delivery, it'll be just right. Bottom line: Kransinski manages to hold his own. Williams stretches his creepy muscles. And it's nice to see cast member from The Office outside of The Office.

Rating: 2/5
Recommended for: Fans of predictable romantic comedy and adults who haven't realized it's pretty important to communicate with your significant other.

Extended Review: Rev. Frank's sidekick minister-in-training seriously gives the best line deliveries and may very well be the best part of the movie. The kid totally commits to the character/performance. Meanwhile you can't tell if his mentor, Rev. Frank, wants to see Sadie & Ben fail, just enjoys watching people fail, or seriously wants to prepare them but just is incredibly socially awkward. Sadly the film does venture into reality in some of its couples' behavior. There are also plenty of bridezillas out there who've had a dream wedding planned all her life and she's not about to let anything or anyone (like the person she's marrying) get in her way. More of the film's uncomfortableness comes from the fact that Mandy Moore plays this role. She's normally so darn likeable and in those few cases she's not supposed to be, you even like to not like her. Here, you don't really like her, but you don't like that you don't like her. Sort of like this film.