Of course, this characteristic of mega-stars presents the filmmakers with another problem. If no one ever forgets who they're watching, how will they remember anything about the movie itself? Maybe that's why characters are forced to repeat their names so often. All through You've Got Mail it's Joe Fox this and Kathleen Kelly that. They dubbed Kate and Leopold after the two main characters to make it impossible to forget their names. Any hey, without hearing about Maggie Carpenter and Ike Graham throughout Runaway Bride I probably would've thought Julia Roberts and Richard Gere were actually married. I have absolutely no memory of anything else in that craptacular movie, but by golly I remember Ike and Maggie.

Both Meg Ryan and Julia Roberts have tried to move out of the romantic comedy circuit in the past couple of years. You might think this provides an opportunity to see more character development and compelling story telling in the genre. Alas, as long as there are passably watchable Kate Hudsons to grin their way through vapid romps after vapid romp, Hollywood will feel no pressure to change the formula. Only when the actors become as unlikable as the material will we see any improvement.