My Top 10 Romantic Movies
Jan 10 '07
The Bottom Line My movies you'd actually watch even if you weren't trying to get a lil' something something!
I am blatantly stealing this idea from Echo (Beastiegirl), so you'll probably wanna' check out her list too.
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10. Rocky – Come on, as great as the fight scenes were, do you really think the Academy gave it best picture honors in 1976 because of them? It was great because you could tell Rocky really saw something in Adriane that none of us saw coming. I love the series (well, the first 3 anyway) but none of them really touched on their relationship quite like the first. Stallone yelling for Adriane after going the distance with Creed all while Bill Conti’s soundtrack blares across the theatre is one of cinema’s greatest moments.
9. Conan the Barbarian – You thought I just threw this one in for laughs didn’t ya’? I’m serious about Conan; he figures out a way to kick death’s azz to be with his woman. You didn’t’ see Ryan O’Neal rush out to the desert and make a deal with Mako to wrestle cartoon demons to bring back Ali McGraw from the dead did you? Keanu didn’t do it for Charlise Theron in “Sweet November” either did he? (But in his defense, he’d already beaten the devil for Charlise in “The Devil’s Advocate”.)
Conan’s got it all. We used to rely on the 3 M’s back in my day to woo the ladies (McDonald’s, Movie & a motel room), but Conan kills a 30 foot snake, steals a softball sized ruby from the eye of a 3 story statue, punches out a camel, gets so liquored up he makes faces goofy even for Ah-nuld, and then manages to show her how deep is his love.
8. Leaving Las Vegas – By now you’re surely thinking, ”No wonder you’re single Swift with Stallone, Arnold and Nick Cage as the stars of your first three romantic movies.” This is probably the first flick since Bambi to jerk actual tears from my eyes. I kinda’ felt like Cage loved Sera, but I knew Elisabeth Shue as the hooker with a heart of platinum loved him. It wasn’t all about the Benjamin’s with her. The man was clearly lost to his demons, but she loved him ‘til the very end. What makes it all the more heartbreaking is it was based on a true story.
7. Bull Durham – Ron Shelton has written a few good movies covering the various relationships between men and women, as I was tempted to go with “Blaze”. (I love Paul Newman & Lolita Davidovich.) This is one of the great romantic comedy’s like “Jerry Maguire” or “Wedding Crashers” that has enough ‘guy stuff’ for us to pretend we aren’t watching a romantic comedy. For my money, this is Costner at his baseball best. He’s still got enough boyish charm and romantic ideas for the gals, but he’s still a guy’s guy. Whether we freely admit it or not, that’s what most guys aspire to be; (But only because we can’t be Conan.)
What I really like is how he walks out on her at first, and she goes for the guy with the million-dollar arm and the ten cent head. (In real life, she even kept him for keeps! But you have to admit, chicks do dig guys named Tim.) But true love will always find a way, especially on the silver screen. Unlike a lot of romances, you can picture these two being happy together a long time.
6. Smokey and the Bandit – This is another romance in disguise too, if only to give yourself one more reason to watch it again. Sally and Burt had real chemistry together, and I’ll take their snappy repartee over Tracy and Hepburn any day. Seriously, if you haven’t seen it in a while, you probably just remember the great car chases and Jackie Gleason cussing a lot. But even with a long way to go and a short time to get there, Sally manages to talk Burt into taking his hat off on the trip, . . .and he only does that for two things. (Hint: He didn’t’ remove his hat to shower. . . ) Of course, he had her out of that dress before he barely even knew her name!
The love dies before you can say “Smokey and the Bandit Part 2”, but it sure was fun while it lasted. It was good enough to make Burt the #1 box office attraction in 㥖, and was the second highest grossing picture that same year too. (A little space movie by George Lucas managed to beat it out.)
5. True Romance – I don’t know if this is much a romantic movie as it is a good guy fantasy. With the exception of “Leaving Las Vegas”, it’s the almost virginal hookers everyone wants such as Julia Roberts in “Pretty Woman” or Patricia Arquette in “True Romance”. I never much cared for her work after this movie, but she was perfect as “Alabama” in this role. I always kinda’ liked Slater, but I never wanted to hang with him like a Matt Damon, Paul Newman or Burt Reynolds. I have to admit he was perfectly cast here.
The plot is as simple as it is sweet. Kill your birthday hooker’s pimp, steal a suitcase full of blow and head out to LA to sell it to your favorite director who can distribute it to the stars. Okay, so it’s pretty damn close to being the dramatization of a classic Steve Miller song, but some days I wish I was “headed down south and still runnin’ today, singin.” They got the money hey, just hope Alabama heals up real nice or else ol’ Clarence is liable to leave her for a gal named Georgia or Tennessee.
4. Chasing Amy – Before I even begin to lavish praise on this flick, let’s all agree the last five minutes never existed. If you liked this movie ‘cuz it proved a guy could be so macho he could whoo a girl away from “the other team”, then you’re an idiot. Sure, it’s hard losing a dude that’s been your best bud to chick, but that happens. It doesn’t mean you wanna’ go fishing with him up on “Brokeback Mountain”. (If you do, you probably weren’t into the lesbian girl that much anyway.)
I practically worshiped this movie the first time I saw, and is primarily the reason I still sit through Kevin Smith films. (Gotta’ love “Clerks” too, with its own clever insights on love.) Ol’ Kev used to have some real insight on this stuff, ‘til he figured out it was just as easy to retread the same dick and fart jokes again and again. If they paid me half of what he gets, I’d be writing and re-writing them too. (And maybe I am for free? Be nice y’all) The tagline is the clincher, the theme, and what’s stuck with me the most. “It’s not who you love, but how”. Oh, and skeeball was practically Spanish fly in Suburbia.
3. Jackie Brown I hesitated to put two Tarantino penned scripts on here, but the credit for the story should go to Elmore Leonard for writing the source material. Give Quentin the credit for casting such greats as Pam Grier and Robert Forester to play Jackie Brown and Max Cherry. I’m still trying to decide if Jackie really loved him, but there aint’ a doubt in my mind that Cherry fell hard for her. This is probably Tarantino’s most underrated movie and his most subtle.
He said he made it as his “hang out” movie, similar to Rio Bravo in that it moves a little slower and let’s you really get to know the characters. It takes its sweet time to get started, which rewards you upon subsequent viewings. You want to hang out with these characters. And although it’s impossible, I keep hoping one of these times Max is going to climb upon that plane too, that whisks them away to paradise.
2. When Harry Met Sally - What started as a fun debate between Rob Reiner and Nora Ephron became the romantic comedy to which no other could measure up to. Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan are fantastic together, which I never would have guessed going in. A superb script and a stellar supporting cast make this hysterically funny, thought provoking and dare I say t a little heartwarming.
These aren’t cute 2-D characters timidly dipping their toes into the sea of love; no Harry and Sally seem completely real, and they seem made for each other if only because no one else could take them for long periods of time. In fact, they both get divorced within the course of this movie! The mini-interviews between scenes are laugh out loud funny too. If you haven’t seen this one yet, do yourself a favor and go rent it now. Peek at my #1 pick, and if you haven’t seen it, pick that up too. Go, I’ll leave this posted here for you.
1. Casablanca – Can you believe I saw this for the first time just last week? In my defense, I’ve been waiting for years to see it on the “big screen” but I finally gave up. I was amazed at how familiar parts of the movie were, as they’ve become such a part of Hollywood legend. And yet, this movie still seemed fresh with no trace of older movie cheesiness. I’m not going to elaborate too much on this one for fear of giving any of it away. Just believe me when I say it lives up to it’s classic reputation. You’re a better man than me Rick, that’s all I can say.
Honorable Mentions:
Casino Royale – I know it’s James Bond but I just loved this movie. It’s about the only Bond movie I know (except “The Spy Who Loved Me”) where I truly want the Bond girl for more reasons than being eye candy.
Amelie – I know it’s French, but if you don’t like it, it’s only because you haven’t seen it. Or you have some kind of weird man-crush on a UFC fighter.
Grosse Pointe Blank – Cusack is easily the master of his age group at playing the romantic underdog. I could have easily listed “Better Off Dead”, “Say Anything”, “High Fidelity”, but something in me him playing the guy that skipped the prom to become a hitman the best. IT was also the first film to make me want Minnie Driver.
Dr Zhivago – I added this just to add a touch of class to my list. I haven’t seen it, but people with lots better taste in movies tell me it’s a classic. As I write this, I’m thinking I’d have been better off listing “The Wedding Singer”. How can you not fall for Drew Barrymore?
Good Will Hunting – I loved Minnie in this one too, but it’s really almost as much about how much straight dudes dig hanging out with one another. Sure, he left Affleck and Boston to head towards the girl and the California sun, but he practically had to get permission from Ben and Robin Williams before he did it.
Rounders – Okay, it ain’t romantic at all! I just wanted to say if it were me, I’d have tossed in the cards and cashed in my chips to spend the rest o’ my days with young Gretchen Mol. Not only was she purdy, but she was gonna’ bring home the dough as a lawyer! Hell, so was he, so they coulda’ been two of a kind, working on a full house.
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Epinions.com ID:
tdswift89
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Member: Timothy Swift
Location: Nashville, TN
Reviews written: 252
Trusted by: 105 members
About Me:
Back to take care of unfinished business
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