Femmes Banales
Continued
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You've Got Mail in a Nutshell
Takes place in: New York
Rips off: The Taming of the Shrew
Unique spin: e-mail!
Rom-com stalwarts: Wacky fiances; SCK
Members of central couple involved in journalism or advertising: Neither
High points: Parker Posey
Low points: Evil corporate soul crushing; the last line of the movie
Point of contemplation: Does anyone else think it's weird that the voice says “you've got mail” but the screen reads, “you have mail?”
10-word summary: Business gone under? Some Tom Hanks loving will fix that.
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Beyond providing almost no reason for the central couple to like each other, contemporary rom-com scripts often don't give us any reason to like the leads either. In fact, we're frequently given plenty of reason to hate their guts. In How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, the character of Andie pitches a column to her editor based on her best friend's ability to drive men away and then expects the best friend to help her with her research. After a mysterious courtship, Andie begins systematically driving Ben crazy. Yet he still falls for her because, apparently, she likes sports. Well, hell, I'd slap a puppy right now if it would end the NHL lockout, but that alone doesn't make me a lovable person.
Perhaps the trouble is that there are some actors who are stunningly proficient at making crappy characters tolerable. Meg Ryan starred in two of the films I watched, playing variations on the whiny loser theme in both. Yet I could never bring myself to really hate the characters because Meg Ryan transcends them. She pouts and fidgets to the point where I think, “what's the point of disliking this character? It's just Meg Ryan doing her thing again.” I think this is the key to Meg Ryan's success; she never lets you forget she's Meg Ryan.
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