August1991 Posted August 9, 2009 Report Posted August 9, 2009 (edited) First of all, this is an incredibly stupid movie. Or rather, this is an incredible and stupid movie. The balloon comments of cartoons have more connection to the real world than the dialogue of this movie. People simply don't talk like this. (Then again, perhaps some people do talk like this if they have watched Hollywood movies and have never faced any dilemma in life.) Gravity exists and despite what Hollywood movies portray or how they influence popular perceptions, gravity will still exist. Hollywood cannot change reality. Second. This is a Rom-Com and the usual basis of Anglo-Saxon romantic comedies is Shakespeare: opposites attract. The opposites mean dramatic conflict, but the opposites also mean misunderstanding and comedy. (Think Midsummer's Night Dream or Taming of the Shrew.) Elsewhere in the world, romance has a different turn. But I think the basis of all good romance, or romantic comedy, are the supporting actors. "I Love You Man" has Jon Favreau. He's the Rhys Ifan of "Notting Hill". If you want a romantic comedy with good supporting characters, try "I'll Be There" or "It Happened One Night". (Minor addition: According to Shakespeare, supporting characters are typically a man and a woman, like maid/man of honour at a wedding. Consider Noel Coward's delightful "Private Lives", or one of my recent favourites: "What Stays in Vegas". Robertson Davies wrote the novel "Fifth Business" about the fifth character in a Shakespearean/Anglo-Saxon story - as if English Canada was not a supporting character, but the valet who brings the luggage to the hotel room.) Main point, third paragraph. I saw this movie on an airplane on one of those tiny screens interrupted with "Passenger Announcement". While watching this movie, I was half sleeping, trying to use the plastic knife to push the coleslaw to the side. And then, I heard Jon Favreau say that he named his dog Anwar Sadat because the dog looked like, well, Anwar Sadat. I looked up at the tiny screen. Did I hear right? Yes, because the movie plays out the joke several times. Maybe Hollywood is connected to reality. Edited August 9, 2009 by August1991 Quote
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