Crappy Valentine Movies That are Still Fun to Watch
Why is it fun to watch really stupid, crappy romantic comedies (that often are neither funny nor romantic)? I think it’s the same reason we crane our necks at car accidents, or we’re strangely attracted to court TV when someone has it on at the repair shop when we’re waiting for our tires to get finished (in addition to just being bored)—we are just fascinated by the grotesque, and, no matter how inhuman it sounds, knowing that anyone has it worse than we do is strangely comforting. We’d never wish these instances of cheating, lying, fighting, or even dying on others, but we sure are glad it isn’t happening to us. Here are a few loosely-labeled romantic comedies that are strangely satisfying as such.
He’s Just Not That Into You: What a terrible, tasteless, misogynistic movie! It paints women as desperate creatures whose lives revolve around getting a husband—and while some women are certainly like that, many certainly are not. It reinforces the idea that I was discussing with my husband the other day, about how we wouldn’t even want diamonds or power boats or whatever if they weren’t marketed toward us in the first place; I think movies like this reinforce gender stereotypes in attempt to keep them thriving when, in fact, they seem to be evolving more than ever. Still, Ginnifer Goodwin is as adorable as ever (as neurotic as she is in the film), and the scene where Ben Affleck is cleaning house for Jennifer Aniston as her dad recovers from a heart attack is pretty much the gist of my ideal romantic comedy in real-life form. Plus, seeing so many celebrities having issues is sort of appealing when you feel like your own life is full of problems.
The Truth About Cats and Dogs: I love both Uma Thurman and Janeane Garofalo so very, very much, and this film is cute, but its premise stinks because the hot guy automatically likes the “pretty one” and the rest of the plot has to deal with the dismantling of that expectation.
Valentine’s Day: Made by the same people who made the crappy movie above, this one is even less funny, less romantic, and generally annoying. That said, Anne Hathaway’s unconventional career, Queen Latifah’s dominatrix bravado, and the adoable-ness of the whole Julia Roberts-Bradley Cooper (a non-asshole in this film, as opposed to the former)-Eric Dane situation are all fun to watch; too bad Kathy Bates didn’t get a larger role.
An Officer and a Gentleman: Many of my friends adore this film, but the misogyny of it all—from the officer-obsessed town girls to the one female officer who simply can’t make it through the obstacle course until the end—just make me puke. I’m including this one for those who always watch it around Valentine’s Day.