Sunday Sundries

August 11 is the anniversary of the birthdate of someone I watched many movies with: Craig, good and funny memories with him, Lynne, and Tom. I couldn’t count the number of times Lynne would suddenly say, “Oh, yeah, I remember this movie now; I have seen it before.”

Craig in his movie-watching, napping, gift-opening chair.

We were watching those movies on such small TVs in those days! Jess and Greta with the TV/VCR tucked in the corner.

It’s also the anniversary of Marika’s birthday, someone with whom I agreed on very few movies. I never saw any with her, but the one she sent a DVD of so Tom, Tim, and I could watch it with Mark G Harris and Nurse Lisa while they were visiting was a complete bomb with the rest of us. Marika was disappointed, but even if we didn’t like the movie, we had fun. And popcorn.

As I shared yesterday, going forward this will be my RomCom Summer. I’ve had a couple of conversations recently about romantic comedies, and yesterday I jotted down a quick list of modern-era movies I’ve seen multiple times that can fall into the category, even if they have other elements like suspense, action, or drama.

After I made the list, I checked the shelves to see if I own the movies. That’s a sure sign that I either have watched or intended to watch them multiple times. There are more on the shelves missing from the group below, but as I said, these were the first titles I wrote down without a lot of thought, and I do indeed own all of the DVDs. They’re arranged alphabetically.

I’m eliminating Sliding Doors, Doc Hollywood, Desperately Seeking Susan, and The Truth About Cats and Dogs from the summer watch list since I’ve seen all of them within the last one to three years. I own others not shown here farther back in the queue if I run out of movies to watch (doubtful). I’ve seen those four so many times and they click the right boxes for me: couple chemistry, quirkiness and/or humor, good writing, the endings I hoped for, and settings I enjoyed.

Crossing Delancey is a quiet, warmhearted movie with a woman learning to trust herself, a pompous author (bring it on!), and a humble but not humbled possible love interest. It’s been a long time, so definitely a good opportunity for a rewatch. Layered characters are always a plus for me. I remember it as feeling like “smart” writing.

Foul Play is one of those movies that makes me laugh a lot. The love story is not as key as the comedy and suspense, but even in her more problematic movies (Overboard), Goldie Hawn never misses with me. Writing is not the first thing that comes to mind with this one–it’s the slapstick. Will watch again this season.

Love Actually: I regret that so many people dislike this movie. It’s not a simple romantic comedy, and it holds a lot of heartbreak, but I like its big cast, multiple plot lines, and the love stories, regardless of how improbable, sad, or silly some of them may be. One of my favorite things is the battle that repeats over this movie (“It’s not a feel-good holiday movie!”) and Die Hard (“It’s not a Christmas movie!”) every December on social media. The ultimate triumph is the first person who said, (paraphrased) If you hate how Alan Rickman’s character behaves toward his wife in Love Actually, you can celebrate the fate of another character he plays in Die Hard! True enough. I’m happy to rewatch Love Actually and I think I’ve seen Die Hard in its entirety once, possibly twice. (Also, I usually enjoy movies that have any kind of writer in them just to see how they’re written–it’s all very meta.)

Vying for the top spot in my personal RomCom category are Moonstruck and Notting Hill. FAMILY is key to both of them: the families we’re born into (Moonstruck) and the families we create (Notting Hill). Nothing about either movie misses with me; I love them both unconditionally, and not only are their leads shiny, but the supporting casts are full of gems. Will always rewatch both films. I think Notting Hill is one of two on this list that have bookstores in them. Always like a movie with a bookstore.

Kudos to Julia Roberts for making it on here twice thanks to Notting Hill and My Best Friend’s Wedding. Of course, she has many more romantic comedies, and I’ve probably seen them all, but My Best Friend’s Wedding made this list before the others because it offers more to me about the value of friendship than romance thanks to both of the men in her character’s life. Cameron Diaz shines in her role. Will definitely be part of my summer rewatches.

Sleepless In Seattle is a movie lover’s film: its writing, its homage to other movies, its directing, casting, and music. I think that’s why it edged out the other Meg Ryan possibilities that I know are on my shelf (You’ve Got Mail and When Harry Met Sally). I really, really want these two characters to get together. I’ll have to watch it again to make sure they do. =)

Saved Only You last for this discussion, though it’ll be the first I watch. I’ve seen it the fewest times and remember its details the least (and I often mix it up with a different romantic comedy). Still, as I wrote those titles down yesterday, this one insisted on making the cut, and I know there has to be a reason for that (is it Marisa Tomei’s charm? The way I always pull for Robert Downey Jr. to thrive?). I’ll probably do an ETA after I’ve watched it later today.

The promised ETA: Only You: completely worth the rewatch. This movie is 30 years old. How’s that possible? Favorite things I’d forgotten: Contrasting scenes at the airports at the beginning of the movie and the end in the way American and Italian airport workers responded to, “The man I love is on that plane!” Also, the Italian location shots: Posto molto bello! When I was putting the DVD back on the shelf, I pulled out another not on the list in this post.

Do you have favorite romantic comedies? I wonder if I own them.