DVD Roundup: Barney's Version

There are a lot of movies that have trouble finding an audience because the people who create the trailers decide the movie is about one thing, while it's actually about something else.  Barney's Version had trouble with this, in part because the title doesn't really describe much of what the movie is about and then the trailer made it look like it was about something a little different.  So here's what I think it was about (some spoilers, but mostly it'll make it easier to decide to see it, since you REALLY should):

Paul Giamatti is pretty unlucky in love.  In the 1970s he's living in Rome, being a "patron" of the arts only because he's the only one among his artsy friends who actually has a job.  He's knocked up one of these friends (Rachel Lefevre) and agreed to marry her.  She's a bit of a liar, and the marriage doesn't end well, but it ends relatively quickly.  So Barney heads back to the States.  He's set up with the daughter of a colleague (also Jewish - Minnie Driver) and eventually it makes sense for them to marry, much to the dismay of his working class dad (Dustin Hoffman).  At the wedding reception, Barney meets Miriam (Rosamund Pike) and falls completely in love.   She totally denies him, and goes back to NYC.  Barney stays married until he finds his alcoholic-in-recovery best friend Boogie (Scott Speedman) in bed with his wife.  This finally allows Barney to pursue Miriam.  They eventually marry and have kids and a wonderfully happy life.

This whole bit is told in flashback.  Meanwhile, Barney is talking on and off to an "ex-wife", but we don't know which wife he now refers to as his ex. So we're waiting until flashbacks meet real time.  The other big plot point that is supposed to be the main driver of the film is that Barney was once accused of murder and the cops think he got away with it.  He's telling his own "version" of what happened.

We slowly find out who is dead, whether or not Barney might have done it and what Barney's life eventually became.  It's an interesting mixture of romantic comedy (if somewhat sad, but wonderfully romantic) and murder mystery.  However, the mystery isn't all that interesting and is wrapped up rather ridiculously at the very end.  That could have been left almost out of the story with it being more of a side note rather than the force behind the title of the film.  It kind of felt a little rough around the edges - the feeling that comes to mind is like when you've shuffled cards and can't quite get them back into an organized deck.  All the good cards are there, they're even in the right order, it's just not smooth along the sides.

Paul Giamatti totally deserved his Golden Globe award - he does a great job playing Barney, a moderately successful business person who can't quite make his life work for a while.  But when he finally meets the love of his life, it starts to make sense.  The sweetness and earnest way he shows he's in love with Miriam is heart warming and really believable.  Yes, it's love at first site, but he doesn't ruin the life he's committed to by trying to make it work.  He holds on to his love (sending her flowers every week) but waits for fate to bring them together eventually.  I really really liked this movie.  4.5 of 5 stars/lambs

Romantic Comedies: Categories

I love romantic comedies and I wanted to figure out what makes a good one.  What makes a great romantic comedy?  What makes a bad one?  Are there different types of rom-coms that can be put into categories based on their story?  I found that yes, there are a few different things that are staples of rom-coms.  And a few things that define a bad rom-com.  I took the 150 top-grossing rom-coms and the bottom 100 rom-coms (no, I haven't seen them all, there are a few dozen I couldn't put into a category because I knew too little about it and the description didn't give me enough).  So here's a basic breakdown of the 9 main categories I found and some examples.   I know I've missed a ton of movies that are thought of as rom-coms.  Please let me know any I missed and what category you'd put them in.

After the 9 categories of rom-coms that usually works, I start figuring out why other reasons brought down some rom-coms - I came up with 5 big ones.

According to Wikipedia the definition of a romantic comedy is a film with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles.   This is what I'm using to describe the movies I used.  

1. Family stands between them - This is a pretty standard category and generally creates mediocre to good rom-coms.  The family of the couple provide enough of a problem that our main couple cannot be together, and the obstacle they must overcome is their family.  
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Moonstruck
Father of the Bride
Meet the Parents
Say Anything
Juno
Mickey Blue Eyes
Because I said so
Hannah and her Sisters
Fools Rush In
Date Night

2. He Lies - This is a fairly typical problem.  The man of the couple lies about something and when the woman finds out it throws their relationship out the window - often to be saved by a huge gesture of forgiveness or cheesiness.   It doesn't always mean an actual lie takes place, but more that an omission has happened that he continued.
Examples:
What Women Want
Hitch
Grease
There’s Something About Mary
Coming to America
You’ve Got Mail
America’s Sweetheart
Along Came Polly
Shallow Hal
Fool’s Gold
She’s All That
Doc Hollywood
Sabrina
Music and Lyrics
Made of Honor
Sense and Sensibility
Fever Pitch
About a Boy
Roxanne
10 Things I hate About you
Overboard
40-Year-Old Virgin
Bird on a Wire
The Secret of my Success
License to Wed
40 Days and 40 Nights
Good Luck Chuck
The Heartbreak Kid
The Pallbearer

3. She Lies - This happens nearly as often as when He Lies.  The same problems ensue, but this is much less frequently the problem that stands in their way.   Julia Roberts is probably the biggest offender in this category.
Examples:
Runaway Bride
My Best Friend’s Wedding
Notting Hill
Mr. Deeds
50 First Dates
Failure to Launch
While You Were Sleeping
Bridget Jones’s Diary
Splash
Working Girl
Bewitched
Easy A
Never Been Kissed
Forces of Nature
Serendipity
Kate and Leopold
Confessions of a Shopaholic
Must Love Dogs
Mannequin
The Truth About Cats and Dogs
Return to Me
Ever After
Simply Irresistible
Forgetting Sarah Marshall
The Back-Up Plan

4. They Both Lie - These tend to be the ones where they've both kept something from each other in order to make the relationship work.  Only when both lies are revealed and forgiven will the couple end up together.
Sweet Home Alabama
It’s Complicated
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
No Strings Attached
The Mirror Has Two Faces
Bridget Jones the Edge of Reason
Keeping the Faith
Down with Love
Boomerang
Just Married
Manhattan

5. Different Backgrounds - This is one of the most frequent love story plots - comedy or not.  The man and woman come from different places in society or have totally different lifestyles, but somehow come together and need to overcome the problems to be together.  Probably the lease plausible of all the categories, but definitely the most uplifting - since we don't see what happens next.
Pretty Woman
Knocked Up
As Good as it Gets
Shakespeare in Love
Maid in Manhattan
Pride and Prejudice
The Cutting Edge
Pretty in Pink
Maid in Manhattan

6. They Pretend to be in a Relationship and Fall in Love - This is probably my favorite category for no obvious reason, but it gets me every time.  The main couple has to pretend to like each other, or they're forced to stay together and ultimately that's enough to make them fall in love.
Examples:
The Proposal
When Harry met Sally
Just Go With It
Life as we know it
What Happens in Vegas
Housesitter
The Wedding Date

7. He/She Won’t Commit - I lumped the men and women together in this one.  One of the couple will not commit, and only something astounding must happen to force them to realize they cannot live without the other.  Usually it happens only in the nick of time - if at all.  Hugh Grant rules this category.
Examples:
Something’s Gotta Give
Arthur
Nine Months
Two Weeks Notice
(500) Days of Summer
High Fidelity
No Reservations
About Last Night
The Bachelor

8. He/She is with someone else until the last second - This is kind of like the commitment category, but in fact they're committed to someone else.  It usually takes most of the movie for them to realize they are with the wrong person and discover the love of their life has been in the cubicle next to them.
The Wedding Singer
27 Dresses
The Wedding Planner
Clueless
Four Weddings and a Funeral
Sense and Sensibility
Seems Like Old Times
A Lot like Love
When in Rome
Leap Year

9. One of them is crazy, sick and/or dead - This is the fantastical category.  One part of the couple is actually mentally ill, sick and dying, or actually dead already.  Those are obstacles you can't get over, but the love story is usually one worth watching.
Examples:
Truly, Madly, Deeply
Just Like Heaven
Punch Drunk Love
Addicted to Love
Mad Love
Benny and Joon
All About Steve
Down to Earth
Heaven Can Wait
Love at First Bite
Blind Date
Joe vs the Volcano
Over Her Dead Body
City of Angels
Love and Other Drugs

Ensemble - This isn't actually a category, but bigger ensemble movies belong in so many I thought I'd list them separately.  

Valentine’s Day – He Lies, She Lies, 

He’s Just Not that Into You – He Lies, She Lies, They Both Lie, He Won’t Commit

Love Actually – He Lies, She Lies, Family Keeps them Apart

The Holiday – One of them is with someone else until the last minute, He/She won't commit

There are usually good reasons why movies don't really click with rom-com lovers.  Here are some of the reasons I found looking at the movies.  These are a mix of good and bad movies (more bad than good though).

1.  It's all about the girlfriends - Pretty self-explanatory.  I would say these belong in the other genre of chick flicks.  The movie isn't really about the love story, but about the female relationships.
Examples:
Sex and the City
Sex and the City 2

2. Not really a romantic comedy - This is not really a fault of these movies, but they don't belong in the rom-com discussion.  They're much more focused on something else - sports, wine, etc.
The Break Up
Norbit
Sideways
Tin Cup
Bull Durham
How Do you Know

3. Main Couple Doesn’t end up together - This is truly the let down of the rom-com genre.  You've invested in these characters and there's no payoff at the end.  (Yes, (500) Days of Summer Should also be here, but they overcome it with the story's delivery)
Rumor Has it
All About Steve
The Object of My Affection
P.S. I love you
Bringing Down the House

4. Main story isn’t about the couple
Alex and Emma
Bride Wars
Morning Glory
Because I said so
The Sweetest Thing (*chick flick)
That Thing you Do
Me Myself & Irene 
I love trouble

5. The raunchiest just doesn’t pay off - These movies are really about just being raunchy and don't really make for a good story.
The Ugly truth
My Best Friend’s Girl

Extra Ones I can’t classify as I haven't seen them recently:
Little Black Book
Just Married
Six Days Seven Nights
Sweet November
Employee of the Month
Down to You
My Boss’s Daughter
Good Luck Chuck
The Beautician and the Beast
Mr. Wrong
From Justin to Kelly
Gigli
Drive me crazy
The Bounty Hunter
One Fine Day
Dr. T & the Women
Someone Like You
Home Fries
You Me and Dupree
Crossroads

Valentine's Day New Release: No Strings Attached

I was feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the quality of the movies I've been watching lately, so I had to go clear my head and laugh and cheer, so I went to watch my girl-crush Natalie Portman hang out with Ashton Kutcher.  No Strings Attached is a predictable romantic comedy.  A pair of acquaintances (they met at camp when they were kids, and have only hung out once since) decide they really need to be having more sex, and decide they should have it with each other.  However, it's meant to be an emotion-free "relationship" with no claims on one another. But pretty much anyone could predict how that will go, and it totally does, but the ride is worth it. 

This movie doesn't break new ground on the "sex leads to feelings and possibly a relationship" cliche, but that doesn't mean it's not great fun to watch.  A lot of movies that take on the "sex only" storyline and flip it that the guy falls in love with a cold disinterested girl (500 Days of Summer - sort of), so that it's not the mushy girl falling for the  player guy all the time.  Alternatively, they attempt to tell the story by being really raunchy (The Sweetest Thing, My Best Friend's Girl) which often falls flat or just goes too far into gross.  No Strings Attached attempts to ride the line between both with some raunch, but Ashton Kutcher is also able to be manly and sensitive at the same time (usually the male lead in rom-coms is too much of one or the other) - he makes Portman a "period mix-CD" full of inappropriate, but really funny songs.  Portman attempts to be the emotion-less one, but of course gets jealous when she pushes him away to other girls.

Basically, I just liked this.  There are a lot of really funny moments, the trailer didn't give anything away you wouldn't get from the first 10 minutes (or from hundreds of other rom-coms). I honestly laughed out loud a dozen times (thanks to Kevin Klein and Mindy Kaling - oh, and a weird tiny role by a fat Cary Elwes?), and it had to be one of the best movie-going experiences in the last month.  The theater was full of women and couples and just about everyone seemed to be having a great time.  4 of 5 stars/lambs