BSA 104 (Scriptwriting) Week 4 : Romantic Comedies
For our Genre Presentation we got Romantic Comedy. I'm planning to do a group screening, Patrick says this is a good way of working as a team on this project. Instead of each of us writing separately or having to watch the films separately, we will do it together saving time, making it easier for all of us and forming a common understanding about the subject. We will have time to discuss the films and genre as a whole.
In preparation I've started to research what other people think of the genre online, and I've decided on some films we can watch.
Possible Picks:
- Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
This is a movie that I am familiar with, in fact I really love it. It's a very good film, some time last years I watched a whole bunch of David O. Russel's movies after seeing The Fighter (2010) and Silver Linings Playbook is, I think, his best. I thought about whether it fits the conventions and I'm actually surprised that it does meet most of them, considering it's such a good movie and the Romantic Comedy genre is so commercial. I can now see why some people consider it generic, for me it does a good enough job of creating interesting characters and tells the story well enough that I don't think its generic layout really matters all that much. Perfect for this assessment of course.
- When Harry Met Sally
This is one that I haven't seen but that comes highly recommended everywhere I look online and even from asking Patrick. I want to see it as it is one of those highly acclaimed genre films, something you rarely see.
- Annie Hall
This is another one people really love and that I haven't seen, I am familiar with some of Allen's other work (Midnight in Paris being my favourite) and I know he's not one for obeying conventions. Because of this I decided to give it a look, and I've decided not to view it for our assessment. Annie Hall is really hard to decipher, its a very weirdly done movie that often breaks the fourth wall and is as Allen's original intention, told more like a book than a movie. I enjoyed the film, but don't think it fits well for what this assessment is all about.
- 10 Things I Hate About You
This seems like a very generic rom-com, perfect for our assessment. Other people who have seen it are positive and agree that it would fit the brief.
- There's Something About Mary
This is one I remember from when I was young. I haven't seen that many rom-coms and can hardly remember them if I have. I decided to watch it again and see if it fits and I don't think it does. I am very surprised that this is even considered a romantic comedy, the story is very different, there are too many characters and all-in-all it feels more like just a wacky comedy. I wasn't surprised to find that it was directed by the same guys who did Dumb and Dumber (1994), it has that same tone and style of comedy. It doesn't focus on the relationship that much as it does on the weird situations the ensemble of characters get themselves into, for that reason I don't think this will work for our assessment either.
- Shrek
Not even as a meme, the best way to sometimes learn about something is to observes what satires it. I don't know how much Shrek satires Rom-Coms specifically, but I know its structure adheres very heavily to the genres specifications.
In preparation I've started to research what other people think of the genre online, and I've decided on some films we can watch.
Possible Picks:
- Silver Linings Playbook (2012)
This is a movie that I am familiar with, in fact I really love it. It's a very good film, some time last years I watched a whole bunch of David O. Russel's movies after seeing The Fighter (2010) and Silver Linings Playbook is, I think, his best. I thought about whether it fits the conventions and I'm actually surprised that it does meet most of them, considering it's such a good movie and the Romantic Comedy genre is so commercial. I can now see why some people consider it generic, for me it does a good enough job of creating interesting characters and tells the story well enough that I don't think its generic layout really matters all that much. Perfect for this assessment of course.
- When Harry Met Sally
This is one that I haven't seen but that comes highly recommended everywhere I look online and even from asking Patrick. I want to see it as it is one of those highly acclaimed genre films, something you rarely see.
- Annie Hall
This is another one people really love and that I haven't seen, I am familiar with some of Allen's other work (Midnight in Paris being my favourite) and I know he's not one for obeying conventions. Because of this I decided to give it a look, and I've decided not to view it for our assessment. Annie Hall is really hard to decipher, its a very weirdly done movie that often breaks the fourth wall and is as Allen's original intention, told more like a book than a movie. I enjoyed the film, but don't think it fits well for what this assessment is all about.
- 10 Things I Hate About You
This seems like a very generic rom-com, perfect for our assessment. Other people who have seen it are positive and agree that it would fit the brief.
- There's Something About Mary
This is one I remember from when I was young. I haven't seen that many rom-coms and can hardly remember them if I have. I decided to watch it again and see if it fits and I don't think it does. I am very surprised that this is even considered a romantic comedy, the story is very different, there are too many characters and all-in-all it feels more like just a wacky comedy. I wasn't surprised to find that it was directed by the same guys who did Dumb and Dumber (1994), it has that same tone and style of comedy. It doesn't focus on the relationship that much as it does on the weird situations the ensemble of characters get themselves into, for that reason I don't think this will work for our assessment either.
- Shrek
Not even as a meme, the best way to sometimes learn about something is to observes what satires it. I don't know how much Shrek satires Rom-Coms specifically, but I know its structure adheres very heavily to the genres specifications.
Yes - good point re: Shrek! Satirization of the conventions certainly brings those techniques into focus!
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