dating myself
I noticed a couple of things: first, in "The Fighter", there's a scene where Amy Adams is pissed off at Marky Mark for taking her to a movie that's a crappy date movie. "There wasn't even hardly any good sex in it", she gripes, and also about having to read the subtitles.
Second, "How do you Know", the new thing of some sort with Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd that would probably have been a lot more entertaining if it were somehow a remake of "Heat Vision and Jack", sort of tanked.
Movies used to be sort of "a thing" where first, second and nth dates were concerned. So certain types of movies were, I suppose, "appropriate" movies for dates. They had some sexy young actors, probably sort of famous, a couple of embarassing scenes, probably a "meet cute", a moment where you think they won't get together, and (if we're VERY lucky) some really charming dialogue which almost even borders on "witty".
But I feel like even among the late-teen-early-twentysomething crowd looking for things to do to keep from talking to each other as they awkwardly break the ice, there's comparatively little patience for the sort of inept comedy represented by "studio extruded comedy product". People looking to laugh don't necessarily seem to look for it in a crowded theatre anymore; there are some "event comedies", sure, largely gross-out epics like The Hangover or the Jackass movies. Spectacle still seems to get people into crowded dark rooms, and "significant" sentiment, but the whole idea of a "date movie" doesn't seem to be well served anymore.
I mean, they're still made. I'm sure not all of them disappear immediately. But honestly they seem to suck a lot more, with progressively worse scripts and bigger stars slumming it each time, to the extent that I can't remember the last "date movie" that was well-received critically or commercially. I will readily admit my own narrow perspective here -- I don't necessarily know how every movie made in the last five years has done, and I haven't really had a need for a "date movie" recently -- but I used to think of it as a sort of staple of the cultural landscape. I'm starting to worry that it's just not a thing anymore. Doesn't mean there's any great loss, but I feel like every once in a while there's going to be a pair of awkward teenagers who want to get home before curfew, but the only thing playing will be some Michael Bay crap.
Second, "How do you Know", the new thing of some sort with Owen Wilson and Reese Witherspoon and Paul Rudd that would probably have been a lot more entertaining if it were somehow a remake of "Heat Vision and Jack", sort of tanked.
Movies used to be sort of "a thing" where first, second and nth dates were concerned. So certain types of movies were, I suppose, "appropriate" movies for dates. They had some sexy young actors, probably sort of famous, a couple of embarassing scenes, probably a "meet cute", a moment where you think they won't get together, and (if we're VERY lucky) some really charming dialogue which almost even borders on "witty".
But I feel like even among the late-teen-early-twentysomething crowd looking for things to do to keep from talking to each other as they awkwardly break the ice, there's comparatively little patience for the sort of inept comedy represented by "studio extruded comedy product". People looking to laugh don't necessarily seem to look for it in a crowded theatre anymore; there are some "event comedies", sure, largely gross-out epics like The Hangover or the Jackass movies. Spectacle still seems to get people into crowded dark rooms, and "significant" sentiment, but the whole idea of a "date movie" doesn't seem to be well served anymore.
I mean, they're still made. I'm sure not all of them disappear immediately. But honestly they seem to suck a lot more, with progressively worse scripts and bigger stars slumming it each time, to the extent that I can't remember the last "date movie" that was well-received critically or commercially. I will readily admit my own narrow perspective here -- I don't necessarily know how every movie made in the last five years has done, and I haven't really had a need for a "date movie" recently -- but I used to think of it as a sort of staple of the cultural landscape. I'm starting to worry that it's just not a thing anymore. Doesn't mean there's any great loss, but I feel like every once in a while there's going to be a pair of awkward teenagers who want to get home before curfew, but the only thing playing will be some Michael Bay crap.