My attempt to watch a movie where TWO PEOPLE FALL IN LOVE AND IT IS AWESOME has been kind of a HORRIFICALLY EMBARRASSING FAILURE. It's been all LOVE TRIANGLES and MISSED CONNECTIONS and LAST MINUTE HOOKUPS. What if I just want to watch a SLOW, INEVITABLE ROMANCE?
So far this month:
A film where a woman nearly marries a rich man but keeps running into this total asshole whom she's a huge bitch too (only they're both awesome) and then she marries him in the last five minutes of the film after her rich fiance is like, "Dude, what are you doing."
A film where a woman corresponds with a married man for decades and he dies before they ever meet.
A film where a woman dates a completely unworthy man, befriends a slightly more worthy man, and is asked to be married in the last five minutes of the movie (admittedly, this had some good buildup, but I felt less like "YOU MUST MARRY HIM" and more like "PLEASE GOD DON'T MARRY YOUR ASSHOLE OF A BOYFRIEND").
Iron Man 2, which is scarcely the romance for the ages.
A film where a girl is sort of in love with a hot, vapid guy and her best friend is in love with her and no one ends up with anyone else.
A film where a man has a hot relationship with a straight man and just when I was becoming invested has a (kind of hot) relationship with a woman -- his only ex-girlfriend and the straight man's ex-partner -- instead. IT WAS A BAIT AND SWITCH! It wasn't even a "this person is so totally wrong for you, this person is PERFECT" movie. Everyone in it was great, new girlfriend included, but I was BAMBOOZLED, I TELL YOU. (They don't even have a threesome, which would have been completely acceptable to me! They are canonically all attracted emotionally and physically to one another! Come on!)
I'm all for explorations of emotions and sexuality, and films that refuse to take a simple approach to love, and, well, 1950s movies, but this is ridiculous. These might all have been very good films, but I just want one movie with one couple that is heart-clenchingly wonderful and I root for them all the way and in the end they make out and are in love.
The last straight up new-for-me romantic comedy I watched was She's All That, and the last good romance was The Princess and the Frog. In December.
I guess I either need to be less picky, or to rewatch some old favorites, 'cause I need something to balance out the Capturing the Friedmans and Bunny Lake is Missings that I watch.