I especially miss New York over the weekends because the movie selection at the theaters are frequently worse than what’s on the television at home. I can feel my braincells slowly suffocating. I’ll admit that I’m a snob when it comes to movies. 1) They should be original and 2) They should stir a thought or emotion. Is that really too much to ask?
Don’t answer that.
Anyway, I walked out of the theater last weekend as loopy as a small child sucking the helium from the balloons at the wedding reception, complete with the emotionally confused wedding planner, the exuberant family, the designer gown, and that man that always crashes the wedding at the last moment to declare his undying love to the bride. (Yes, that was a reference to My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Wedding Planner, My Big Fat Greek Wedding and The Wedding Singer ALL AT THE SAME TIME.) At any rate, if there was a weekend for unoriginal romantic comedies, this last took the cake. I rarely go to the movie theater back-to-back, but since I did, I figured I could take two of the recent romantic comedies, put them in the ring, and have them slug it out for the title of The-Movie-That-Didn’t-Suck-the-Most. Besides, Living the Rom-Com has been on a lengthy hiatus, and I figure that if I’m ever going to steal his readers, now is the time to do it.*
First beef was the title. I hated the movie even before it started, but the plot struck a personal chord. You see, the 24th of May, next weekend, I will be attending a wedding. It just so happens that my best friend (whom, I may or may not be in love with… I guess I’ll be finding out soon enough) happens to be in love with someone else. Which, I mean, whatever. Point being, I was feeling Tom’s pain. But despite being at-one with the plot, the execution was unoriginal, predictable, and taking the subject flippantly. Which, yes, I know, it’s a comedy, but some of it was just in bad taste.
And the Scottish-dual before the wedding was completely pointless. What if he had won? It was just a tradition, the family wasn’t really going to call of the wedding just because the groom couldn’t through a tree farther than the Maid of Honor.
But things I liked: the Scottish tradition of selling kisses before the big day from pub to pub. That really was cute! And, hi, when Hannah and Tom are ordering for each other at the bakeries and restaurants just because they knew each other so well, you can’t say that your heart isn’t swelling with hope that there might be someone out there who knows you better than yourself. Who could potentially order dessert for you and read your stomach’s mind.
Plus, even though you knew the ending from the moment she introduces her fiance, (who is a total tool), you’re still happy that it happens.
Conclusion: Though the comedy aspect of the movie was… lame (as in I never laughed), the romantic part of it had its moments. And Patrick is hot. Almost as hot as Ashton Kutcher.
Title was fine.
Two New Yorkers (must pause here to ask: What is it with Romantic Comedies and New York City? Are they trying to tell New Yorkers something? Are they trying to tell the rest of the United States something? Like, your best chances at discovering your love for someone is in the financial capital of the world? What?) experience some major life-upsets. Joy gets dumped by her fiance in front of all of her friends and Jack’s own father fires him. (Keep in mind that at this point, they still don’t know each other.) So they go to Las Vegas to forget about everything, to let loose you know, and they somehow book the same hotel room. Jack and Joy head out together to take on the strip, get completely smashed and decide to get married.
For the record, this movie is fucking funny. I laughed THE ENTIRE TIME.
So the next morning, they flare at each other for being so stupid next to the slot machines. Joy storms off and Jack haphazardly drops a coin in the closest machine… and hits the Jackpot of three million dollars. For those who have seen the trailer know what happens next: “What’s yours is mine baabby… remember?”
My only real annoyance with this flick was the lack of thought that went into the sentence. I mean the judge basically said, “You have to be married because it will make me laugh and I get a kick out of making examples of drunk fucks like you.” Divorces are over-ruled everyday. It’s not the norm, but it happens… the writers couldn’t come up with something that, I don’t know, made more sense?
At any rate, they’re sentenced to marriage before they can claim their jackpot. So they hate each other. And it is hilarious. No, really, it’s hilarious. Like I said, I laughed a lot. It was so funny, that when it started to get more romantic, you were like, “Wait? What happened to sword fighting with french bread? BRING BACK THE FUNNY REVENGE DIALOGUE!”
So I’m going to say that What Happens in Vegas has the opposite problem that Made of Honor had. Where Made of Honor had an influx of romance, What Happens in Vegas had an influx of comedy. So which one would I recommend to my readers? Yeah… go watch Aston Kutcher and Cameron Diaz slug it out. It’s the more funny and original film.
And yes, Ashton also happens to be really hot. Which helps things.
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