musings on romantic comedies: i saw "the proposal" last night

i'll never admit to it unless, of course, it's on a platform available to the entire world, but i enjoy chick flicks... actually, let me clarify, i enjoy romantic comedies. first of all, there's a big difference. secondly, this may not come as a huge surprise seeing as how i blog and do all that other stuff that is typically taboo for ruggedly good looking personifications of masculinity like myself. at any rate, i'll be checking in my man card for this post and hoping i can get back at the end with some mention of the upcoming football season.

back to the big difference:

chick flicks cover a much broader genre of movies than flicks of the romantic comedy variety. as an example, beaches, steal magnolias, and thelma and louise can all be classified as chick flicks, but by no stretch of the imagination are they romantic comedies... they are pretty much anything but. moreover, it is highly unlikely you would ever convince me to see one of these shows at home, let alone in the theaters... yes, i guess that makes me an insensitive chauvinist/sexist pig incapable of comprehending anything that doesn't appeal to the basest of human desires. maybe, but if that's all it takes to be one of those, i guess i'm ok with it.

romantic comedies, on the other hand, cover entertaining shows like "so, i married an ax murderer," "hitch," "as good as it gets," "sleepless in seattle," etc. i think we, i.e. the men in the room, can all agree that these are pretty good shows with out emasculating ourselves. in fact, i would probably rather watch shows like these than most of the other crap out there that's supposedly a lot less "gay" than romantic comedies.

why does this matter?

for starters, i just wanted to make it clear that i don't hold anything against romantic comedies; however, my general policy is that romantic comedies are better enjoyed in the comfort of one's home where a much more romantic mood and setting can be achieved than in the theater.

allow me to elaborate: i don't see very many good reasons to spend the money to see a romantic comedy in the theater... seriously, how big does j-lo's head have to be for you to feel the lovey dovey vibe? how loud and surround sounding does matthew "i love to take my shirt off" mcconaughey's voice have to be for you to melt like butter on his toast (although i'm sure the lot of you enjoy those finely chiseled abs in their larger than life form)? not very, is the answer.

so, why not save your money, wait for the dvd and capitalize on the mood of the moment with romantic comedies and reserve the in-theater experiences for more appropriate shows like "the dark knight," any superhero movie, any star wars/war in general movie, etc. where the visually stimulating screen and thx "the audience is listening" features are put too good use? i can't think of any arguments against this.

thing is, i went and saw "the proposal" last night in the theater by myself... just kidding, i've got to draw the line somewhere, i went with mrs. blogmaster. after hearing that one girl in the office had seen the show three times and another girl, four, i figured it was worth checking out. that being said, some people saw titanic a thousand times... need i say more? i mention this only because i thought "the proposal" was not only funny, but pretty entertaining overall.

i don't think i'd seen sandra bullock in a movie since the late nineties, but she held her own. and then there was ryan reynolds who is beginning to rival mr. mcconaughey in his propensity for taking off his shirt. not sure why his career seems to suddenly have taken off again, but he's pretty funny so i'm alright with it. plus, rumor has it he'll be playing green lantern in his very own upcoming motion picture (blogmaster factoid: green lantern was probably my favorite superhero growing up). bottom line: i thought "the proposal" was worthy of the in-theater experience.

so, the story is just like every other romantic comedy plot: man who's not supposed to fall for woman teams up with woman for some other purpose (which usually involves getting another woman under false pretenses) and ends up falling in love with said unintended object of his affection, but before the true love is brought to fruition, someone uncovers a lie or a facade that stands to ruin everything and after some sorrowful moments apart everyone comes to their senses just long enough for a very public display of affection/making-up to take place and the actors making the most money end up together... just like in the real world... then everyone in the theater starts hugging and open mouth kissing. it's beautiful.

pretty much the same thing happens here, but the distinguishing factor in all romantic comedies is the acting and the writing. for that reason, this one worked since sb and rr were pretty funny and delivered their lines well... plus the gay dude from the office is on it in a variety of parts none the least of which is a male exotic dancer. huh? look, i'm not saying this is the greatest movie/romantic comedy ever, but it was pretty good... for a chick flick.

now, can i get that man card back? how about those cougs?