It Was Bound to Happen One Night

It Happened One Night (1934), is the comedic tale of how Ellie Andrews and Peter Wayne fell in love. Peter wasn't always in the picture though, he and Ellie are acquainted on a train ride when Ellie escapes her father yacht after an explosive argument about her current marital spouse who her father  truly despises. Servants are ordered to bring in a meal which Ellie dramatically flips across the table, to which her dad responds with a smack to Ellie's face causing her to run away from him and jump into the ocean and swim away. This first scene introduces us to not only Ellie but also her status and privilege. She comes from her fathers wealth which is evident in both his yacht and servants.

Figure 1: Peter's playful manner

It isn't long before we are introduced to Peter, a confident, handsome and quite witty man. After looking for a place to sit, we see him throwing newspapers off of the only visibly train seat. After some not so friendly banter with the conductor , Peter turns to take his seat only to find that Ellie has claimed it.Peter squeezes in beside Ellie as they both appear annoyed by one another's presence.
As morning breaks through the windows of the train, we are met with Ellie who's head has taken a comfortable position on the shoulder of Peter. At a pit stop, unbeknownst to Ellie a man has run off with her suitcase that contains all of her money. Wayne suggests she phone someone once they reach their destination and she becomes very defensive. Making sure not to reveal too much information to a man she barely knows as it would appear strange for a woman of her status to be without a man, have no money and reveal her reasons for not being able to contact anyone.

 The next morning provides passengers of the train 30 minutes to shop, eat and stretch their legs before the train pulls off. Warren warns Ellie that she does not have enough time to go to the place she wants to but she believes the conductor will not pull off without her. Ellie arrives at the train station minutes late and it is revealed that Peter has gotten off of the train to wait with her belongings upon her return, yet another example of her privilege. Due to a copy of that days newspaper, Ellie's identity is discovered by Peter who has no chance to speak before she begins insulting his character and threatening him to turn her into his father.

 He responds by telling explaining how her nature to attack him only solidifies her spoiled manner and advises her to have a slice of humble pie. After several hours the next bus has arrived and they board taking separate seats near by one another. Immediately Ellie is bombarded with conversation by the passenger beside her. After a few moments Peter intervenes and informs the guy that he is her husband and they switch seats.As a beverage and refreshment cart rolls along, Ellie tries to order champagne. Peter remembers the four dollars she had left in her pocket after her belongings were stolen and advises her against it. She doesn't agree with him and believes he should mind his business but he takes control of the situation and tells her to shut up.

 There is a lot of male-dominated behavior exhibited in this movie that is no longer acceptable in our modern culture but in the 1930's behavior of this sort was not frowned upon and in a way expected. While telling Ellie to shut-up was what some may consider harsh, it definitely was not ill-advised. Here they were on this several day long trip and she only had four dollars to hold her over, in less than a day she managed to go through more than half of it trying to maintain her fancy life-style, which reveals another moment where her prior lifestyle threatens to disrupt her current one.

As a heavy thunderstorm threatens the conditions of the roads, the passengers are let out at a motel where Peter books a room for the two of them informing the owners again that they are husband and wife. This is the second time Peter has done this and both times they provide comical relief from the previous situation while also ensuring her protection. If he is seen as her husband then he does not have to worry about any man trying to gain her interest while also making sure that she doesn't come off as noticeable. It's easier to remember a beautiful young girl alone by herself opposed to a beautiful woman on the arm of her husband. 
Shortly after we come to find out that Peter is interested in her story. He assures her that his intentions are not to return her to her father but in fact capture her journey as she makes her way to happiness. To make it known just how uninterested in Ellie he is, Peter drapes a bedspread divider

Figure 2: Peter creating the bedspread divider for privacy

between the two of them offering as much privacy as he can for Ellie's comfort. Ellie is shy and prompts Peter to turn the light out so that she can undress.( See Figure 2) Once in bed, Ellie recalls that she hasn't been told Peters name and even though we're 30 minutes into the movie and shes known him for well over 24 hours, we come to know him as Peter.

 As morning creeps into the hotel room Ellie is tasked with the lifestyle of the common people. She is forced to wait in line outside for the next available shower, as she walks out with her toiletries he makes a joke that her hair looks cute and she should never comb it. There seems to be a healthy balance between jokes they share with one another and the 1930's way of talking to a woman.

Its not long before officials come looking for Ellie, with a raised reward of 10,000 many people are eager to get her home. Detectives come around the hotel rooms asking both Ellie and Peter questions. Ellie makes sure not to look them directly in the eye and her and Peter put on their marital ruse to fool the investigators. Acting as husband and wife, they began yelling and screaming at one another, there's crying and as the intruders leave, the hotel manager reminds the detectives that he told them already that Peter and Ellie were but a regular married couple.

Back on the train, a guy reading a newspaper notices the increased reward and the similarities between the girl in the picture and the woman seated a few rows behind him. Luckily Peter too notices him looking and at the next stop converses with the man on how they should split the money. Peter convinces the man that the plan will involve murder and as long as he participates he too can receive a portion of the reward. This doesn't sit well with the guy and promises Peter not to say anything about the plan and rushes off in fear.

Figure 3: Piggybacks along the river 

The image above shows Ellie and Peter at a lake, he has removed his shoes, picked her up in one hand,briefcase in another and walks across the lake as they share stories of what a real piggy-back ride is. Throughout the movie, they have numerous conversations like this one where they playfully disagree about a topic but not to the extent where Ellie would be seen as being out of line. In instances that that does occur we see Ellie quieted with a verbal warning and in some cases a verbal threat.

As they prepare for bed, Ellie complains of hunger pains and Peter goes off in search of something for her to eat, not knowing where he went Ellie began to freak out screaming his name repeatedly.After returning he kneels beside her to make sure shes comfortable upon her hay stack and as the camera zooms in they each lean in forward as if to kiss and at the last second Peter turns away and stands up. He looks her right in the eye and says, "What makes dames like you so dizzy". In this moment you can tell that he wanted that kiss just as bed as her but he respects the integrity of her marriage.

Figure 4- Ellie hitchhiking with Peter

It is the next morning and this is probably my the most comical scene in the film.After several minutes of man-splaining the proper way to cock your thumb when hitchhiking, we see an unsuccessful Peter retire to the wooden fence to give Ellie a try. With a slight reveal of the ankle we watch as,within the first try a vehicle stops for the two of them.
(See Figure 4)

Riding along in the backseat we seen an annoyed Peter seated next to giddy and proud Ellie who cant wipe the smile off her face. After a few miles, the man pulls his car into a lot and offers the couple a bite to eat, Ellie accepts and Peter declines. After the man leaves Ellie claims she going in after him, knowing she has no money and for fear of Ellie being seen in the light of a gold-digger he threatens to break her neck if she goes. After an awkward silence Peter suggest they step out to stretch their legs and apologizes for his comment. Before he can finish the man comes out of the store, notices they have left the vehicle and proceeds to speed away. Peter chases after him yelling about the suitcase and in the next scene Peter is seen pulling up to Ellie with the mans car and a cut on his face.

Figure 5: Laying down telling Ellie about love.

As all of this occurs, back in New York Ellie's father and husband have agreed to meet and put their differences aside for her safe return home. Ellie reads of this in the paper while Peter secures a room for them that night. Although Peter knows they can make it to New York by morning, it doesn't seem like Ellie is quite ready to leave him yet. Its as if she need one more night to make him hers. Back in the room Peter prepares the privacy boarder and Ellie she asks whether or not she'll see him in New York to which he responds that it is not his style to run around with married women.

Although they have been playing husband and wife on this trip, once settled back into society, to be in the presence of Ellie as a married woman leaves the public to conjure up their own intentions. As this conversation occurs we see that Ellie's comfort levels have evolved quickly. When Ellie undressed at the first hotel they stayed in, she needed for the light to be off in addition to the privacy boarder, but as she has this conversation about what life will look like for the two of them once they arrive in New York, you can see her slowly undressing to his words. She asks him if hes ever been in love and he begins describing what love would look like to him and the plans he would have with that lover. Ellis creeps over to his bed and kneels at his side to express that she wants to be that girls he was just describing. Peter looks at her with a knowing pain, he rejects her, embraces her for a moment, then rejects her one more time before sending her off to her side of the room.

Figure 6: Crazy in Love

By morning Peter has thought of a way to ensure their new start. The story he will sell is the one that has occurred over these past few days, 'Girls Leaves Father for Husband and Falls in Love with Another Man on that Journey'. All of this occurs while Ellie is still back at the hotel, convinced that Peter wants nothing to do with her. Remembering what she read in the paper the day before Ellie decides to phone home. As Peter returns to back to Ellie with the $1,000 he received from the story, he see's Ellie on the opposite side of the road in route to New York with her father.

News of Ellie's return grace the papers for weeks with information about her upcoming wedding at the church. Mention of the church in the paper solidifies the authenticity and tradition of marriage, whereas before they had ran away and done it at a courthouse. Although Ellie is finally in New York with her husband neither her or her dad are really happy, he knows something is wrong and it isn't long before she reveals her love for Peter. Her father shows her the letter Peter sent informing Mr.Andrews he was coming to collect his finances. Both Mr.Andrew and Ellie assumes its related to the 10,000 reward. After Peter's arrival its clear that those were not his intentions at all, instead he wanted less than $40 for the money he had spent during the trip. Mr.Andrews ask whether or not Peter loved his daughter and he responds that he does, but not to hold it against him cause he must be crazy.( See Figure 6) Peter leaves the room hurt by the accusations and the upcoming wedding brewing about outside the door.

 On Ellie's wedding day, her father walks her down the aisle reminding her that she doesn't have to do this and if at any point she wants to back out, he has a getaway car for her near by. As the pastor seals this union we see Mr. Andrews anxious not to interrupt as they ask whether anyone has objections. After King Westley say his 'I Do's, it is now time for Ellie's turn, instead of answering she hikes up the trail of her dress and dashes towards the getaway car. Guest from the wedding began following her as she pulls off down the road.

The end scene ties everything together although we do not see the couple anymore during the movie we hear hotel owners conversing about the items the newly weds had requested, a rope and a blanket from the woman and a toy trumpet from the man. We hear the trumpet sound, the blanket drop and the lights dim. As viewers we can infer that, this will be the night they will consummate not only their marriage but their relationship as well.

This movie reflects a very conservative and highly patriarchal society but it is definitely one for the times, once you get past the gender inequality and remember what the early 30's were like for women we definitely get a well crafted version of a romantic comedy. There is love, lust, laughs a little bit of lost and despite the areas that Peter falls short, he is a gentleman. He has taken care of her physically as a protector, financially as a provider, and they come off as a naturally happy married couple well before they're married. Peter respects her enough not to take advantage of her vulnerabilities.
 It definitely deserves the 98% it received on Rotten Tomatoes.

The Overnight

Characters: the blond on the left is Charlotte, the
man being groped is Alex (Emily's husband), the
man looking at Alex lustfully is Kurt (Charlotte's
husband), and the other blond with a look of confused
disgust is Emily. 

Those who have seen this movie may not consider it to be a romantic comedy, but I would argue that it is. For one thing, it's damn funny; that takes care of the comedy part. But it also has the same elements that viewers are used to when watching rom-com: a beginning with a small problem (he he -- you'll get that later) but everything else is relatively fine; our main characters find themselves in a seemingly unreal situation that has the audience gasping for air; a fight ensues about said situation that then turns to discussing fundamental problems in the relationship; and the two decide that being together is better than being apart and they try to overcome their challenges.


The small (😆😆) problem

Emily and Alex are the main couple in the movie, and they have just moved to LA with their son and are eager to make friends in a new city. They seem to be the perfect couple, and they would be, if it wasn't for Alex's abnormally small dick.





Emily tells him throughout the movie that his size never mattered to her, but just look at the thing
←  clearly, it would matter!!!





(There is an awesome interview where Adam Scott, who plays Alex, talks about the tiny prosthetic penis he had to wear for the movie here.)


The unreal situation

So as I said, Emily and Alex really want to make some new adult friends in LA, and they run into a man when they take their son to the park. This man, Kurt -- who's a fellow parent and not a creeper -- sees how well his son and theirs are getting along and invites them over for dinner that night with him and his wife Charlotte, to which Alex and Emily agree. The night starts off normal -- dinner, some dinks, and a few hits off a bong while the kids sleep upstairs. But then Kurt take Alex to the garage to show him his paintings, and that's when stuff starts to get weird:

Emily then walks in as Kurt is about to convince Alex to be one of his "models", and she tries to convince him to leave. They don't, and it gets weirder.


The fight

After some skinny dipping, more drinking, existential break-throughs, and hand jobs, Emily once again walks in to see Charlotte giving Alex a massage . . . in a bedroom . . . with Alex only wearing a towel. A fight naturally ensues, in which both Emily and Alex admit that neither is completely happy with their sex life, despite repeated reassurances to the contrary, and both are curious about what it would be like to have sex with other people. Alex storms in a fit of insecurity-filled rage and asks Kurt (who, naturally, has a giant dick) if he wants to sleep with Emily. This leads Charlotte to blurt out that Kurt actually wants Alex, not Emily. An apologetic group hug then turns steamy as Alex and Kurt kiss, and with a nod of approval from Emily, the two couples begin to have a foursome -- only for the kids to wake up and interrupt them.


The reconciliation

Some time passes, and Alex and Emily are in the park again with their son, holding hands on a bench as they chat and watch kids play. All seems well with them, and once again they are the picture for the all-American couple. Kurt and Charlotte arrive to the park with their son, and the four have an awkward conversation with minimal eye contact. They make hesitant, flaky plans to have dinner one night -- at a restaurant this time -- then go over to their kids.

Gender

In some ways, the gender is addressed in this movie is pretty typical for rom-coms, even today. Kurt redesigned and rebuilt the house all by himself, his wife is a sexy mysterious foreigner, and Emily is the nagging wife who can't seem to let her husband have a good time. However, there are certain aspects of the movie that challenge gender roles; Alex is a stay-at-home dad and it's actually Charlotte's money from modeling that allows Kurt to pursue his "hobbies."

There is no doubt that this movie is absolutely outrageous, and watching it for the first time left me shocked, confused, and a little scared. But, if one looks deep, deep, deep down, there are some important social issues addressed: Western social stigma about polygamy, American rigidity about sex, body image, and so much more. While it may not seem like a romantic comedy in the traditional sense, The Overnight highlights some of the same controversies like a lot of the newer rom-coms do in a new and interesting light. 

Moonstruck

Moonstruck: Is Love Really Worth Waiting For?

By Breyana Rolon

Quirky duo Cher and Nicholas Cage

Moonstruck, directed by Norman Jewison, was brought to audiences in 1987 - a great decade for romantic comedies showcasing strong and powerful women such as the women seen in this one. Bringing to it a wonderful quirkiness stars Cher (Loretta) and Nicholas Cage (Ronny) show us that love does, in fact, sweep us right off our feet in the most surprising ways. As all movies the pair are in, they are able to bring something much different to the screen, and I couldn't have been more excited to see the two of them together in a way that I found delightful and unexpected.

I found myself surprised by the portrayal of women in the film as I was expecting a more conservative look at women's roles and marriage, but I ended up getting a film that was definitely a precursor to the feminist movement of the 1990s. Loretta is a working woman of 37 who has been married once already and has no children. The less feminist parts of the film are based more on culture and religion rather than the men in the film being more blatantly misogynistic. As a Catholic, Italian, widowed and only daughter, her living at home with her wealthy parents rather than on her own is more than justified. She makes her own money, was raised by a strong stay-at-home mother (Rose) who takes zero shit (including from her cheating husband), and is works alongside her aunt and uncle, who show her that a man and woman can be equal in every way just as they are.

The film does provide us with some interesting conversation starters, sometimes giving us the conservative view of those surrounding Loretta, but doing so in a way that is so subtle it's almost unnoticeable. As she does live at home, Loretta's whereabouts are often questioned when she is not home, with there being a bit of confusion when her location is unknown. We also are introduced to a gentleman who gets drinks thrown at him on more than one occasion by the young female students he chases around and unintentionally insults. The first time this happened was in the opening scene right before Johnny Cammareri (Danny Aiello) proposes to Loretta where he laughs and jokes: "A man who can't control his woman. It's funny." This was said so quickly I almost missed it and had to rewind just to make sure I heard him right.

I was quite unsure about the movie up until about 20 minutes in where Loretta sat down with her mother to tell her she was getting married.
Rose: "Do you love him, Loretta?"
Loretta: "No."
Rose: "Good. When you love them they drive you crazy because they know they can."

The whole reason behind Loretta choosing to marry Johnny Cammareri is that she waited for the love of her life, married him, and then he died. She talks about her bad luck throughout the entirety of the film: "I was raised that a girl gets married young. I held out for love." She's come to the conclusion that if everything is done "right", everything will turn out right in the end. We all know that's as false a fact as any and Johnny's brother Ronny proves that to her with their sweeping affair. They did everything wrong but ended up both getting their happily ever after.

Hitch 2005 (Blog #2- The Perfect Mix of Romance and Comedy)

Hitch Movie Poster

Growing up, I seemed to have watched every single Will Smith movie that was out, except Hitch.  After recently seeing it for the first time, I am willing to admit I messed up on not watching it sooner. I mean, how did I miss a romantic comedy that happens to be pulled off so well starring Will Smith, Eva Mendes, and Kevin James? I'm so glad however, that I watched it now,  in this time of my life where I view and critique things much more than I could've in 2005 when the movie aired.

Alex Hitchin's is a dating professional. His profession involves secretly helping men get into relationships with women who otherwise may not have ever noticed them. He also always intends to help the men stay in the relationships. The process Hitch goes through involves careful attention to details of the women's life and interests to help make "natural" situations in which the man and the women fall in love.

There is a bromance/ romance that is equal in measure throughout the whole movie. Two plots essentially intertwined and meshed together. Hitch meets Albert Brennamen, who is an extremely awkward, bubbly man who is helplessly in love with the rich and famous client of his investment firm, Allegra Cole. While the task seems almost impossible we watch as Hitch helps Albert win over  the woman of his dreams.

During this process, Hitch becomes drawn to a busy gossip columnist, Sara Melas, who is not the least bit interested in love.  Sara is a career driven women who doesnt let anyone get in her way.  Hitch and Sara confide in eachother and let their vulberability about love out to each other. Somewhere between, jet skiing, kicking her in the head, reminding her of her murderer great grandfather,  an allergic reaction, and a whole lot of  Benadryl Sara and Hitch admittedly have fallen for each other.

Sara, however, is focused on finding the latest drama to stay on her bosses good side, with latest drama being the fact that Allegra Cole is being caught around the city with Albert Brennamen, who clearly doesn't fit society's standards.  After realizing the so-called "dating doctor" is Hitch she sets out to expose his services to the public and break things off with him, feeling scammed by a con artist with cheesy pick up lines. Simultaneously, things between Albert and Allegra are over because of the scandalous report.

Ending scene at Albert and Allegra's wedding. Everyones dancing and happy 

Hitch ends up going to confront Sara on her actions informing her that he only tries to give men the confidence they need to pursue a woman they respect and want to be with. He explains to her than he wouldn't work with the source who she had gotten her information from (which we will get to in a minute) was someone he wouldn't work with because the man was only interested in sex. He then attempts to save Allegra and Alberts relationship telling Allegra the truth and finding out that Allegra liked Albert for all the thing Hitch told him not to do. The film ends with Hitch begging for Sara back and like a true romantic comedy, happily ever after takes place.

This movie is for sure funny in some areas, but I really got a more serious vibe from this rom-com than some of the others I have watched before. 

Here are some of my favorite funny scenes throguhtout the movie: 

Hitch is helping Albert get comfortable with the upcoming kiss with Allegra. He explains the guy should go in 90% and let the women go in the rest of the 10%.

Hitch has a food allergy which causes his entire face to blow up into an allergic reaction. Sara takes care of him the rest of the night as he is high on a bottle of Benadryl.

Albert is showing Hitch his dance movie, claiming he has nothing to worry about when it comes to dancing. " You just need a little bit of this, that's it!" 

Gender equality? 

Gender and social equality always comes into question with romantic comedies. For your typical romantic comedies you often times will see a very familiar and very similar plot from movie to movie or even book to book. But something about them is great enough to continuously pull us back in every time.

One thing I found pretty interesting was the fact that I didn't feel like this romantic comedy was made predominantly for a female audience, which is typically the norm. I thought this movie would appeal to a lot of couples in general and while the film appears to be trying to wow a female audience by endearing them to the men presented as gentlemen, we also rely heavliy on a male perspective regarding relationships and dating.  

It was really nice to see a scene that a man condemns another man for being driven by shallow impulses. The source that Sara went mentioned above is a prospective client named Vance. Let me put this in the best way I know how (skip past if you don't like harsh language)  

VANCE  IS A PIECE OF SHIT! Dont believe me? 

Here is the restaurant scene where we FIRST meet Vance.. Enough said. 

  

In this scene we see Hitch really show that he is serious about what he does and is passionate about helping men be with women for love, not for sex. Which is definitely a great message and admittedly- I thought it was kinda hot to see a man act like that towards another man, reguarding the saftey and care of a woman. 

Now if we look deeper into this movie, deeper than the general fact that it's a rom-com and does a great job at being a rom-com, it can get ugly pretty fast.  Because this movie is still fresh for me being this was my first time watching it, I am able to put aside some of my feelings for young Will Smith and get to the root of things. Its arguable that this is a 2 hour movie about the realization that women aren't rocket science problems that are impossible to figure out, but are in fact humans who take a liking to honesty and having their own opinions and thoughts. The outer layer of the movie, which is really intriguing, is something one can easily be fooled by. 

Sara, chugging the wine before she throws the vegetables at Hitch.  

Another complaint I have regarding our lead female character, Sara, is how she is painted out to be a villain. Though played as a "power woman" she is also the typical "love skeptic" whose eyes have to be opened by a man to realize she might be wrong...  And as much as Sara worked so hard for her job and wanted respect, the most her coworkers did was cared about her love life... including her boss!  She also has a gay co-worker who does nothing the entire movie except get in her case about having a boyfriend. Her best friend (which is again, very typical for these rom-com movies) is seemingly convinced that she won't be successful in her life until she has found love. And then we have our high class woman,  the only other woman that is shown in this movie more than one time, who NEEDED the love doctor to help her notice the lower class man who is seemingly perfect for her. This is just overall frustrating, three beautiful, powerful women, being told or thinking they need a man to somehow complete them. But hey, it wouldn't be a romance movie if it wasn't doing these things.  

I think that it was messed up to portray Sara as such a childish character throughout some parts of the movie. Of course she would get an inaccurate assumptions that Hitch had done something to hurt her friend and she, though portrayed as a smart woman, goes about this in an incredibly immature way. Honestly, the scene where she is throwing vegetables and throwing a child-like fit about all of it in his home was  uncomfortable to watch. I just kept thinking about the ways Hollywood portrays women: women know that all men are just liars and they won't tell the truth anyways. And of course- in the middle of her well planned tactic to go to his house and make a fool of herself, Hitch is there to calm her down and ask her is she had a bad day. This part of the movie really seemed to suggest that even when you're wrong about your assumptions you can still be justified in acting out on men based on the fact that they're men and they're evil.  And lets not forgot they added the typical "cry on the couch eating watching a romantic movie" scene for her to do to just to add to the stereotypical ways of a romantic comedy movie. 

Part of Hitch's rousing speech in the speed dating room to Sara.

There is also a point where Hitch is trying to prove himself to Sara in a rousing speech claiming no woman would respond to a man who walks up to her saying " I like you" as the crowd of men around him agree. It is a condemn towards women for not instantly falling into a mans arms if he has feelings for her. This, is not respectful towards women as people. Placing my personal opinion and life in here quick: My fiance walked up to me 6 years ago and told me he liked me... so this scene is a little too much for me to just ride along with. With that being said, no woman should have to be tricked or conned into falling in love. 

Obviously, my issues with this movie were those of gender inequality. I am forcing myself to remember that gender roles can be exaggerated at times and in films such as this one, it is expected and almost always generally accepted for a woman to be won over by the male. I think however, it is important to note than women can and do make their own decisions in the society we live in today and men do not need anyone to tell them how to "win a girl over". I think that taking a deeper look into productions moving forward will help to see the true importances of gender and the society we live in and how it matches with what we are watching. I also think it is important to be able to see the differences and point out the not-so-good things hollywood does to portray genders.  

Hitch could appeal to a variety of ages and audience members. I think that overall the movie has a light-heartedness with a deeper romantic vibe and it really isn't the worst thing. Keeping in mind that romantic comedies can sometimes be a little similar to one another- this one doesn't disappoint when you're looking for one of those good, old fashioned romance movies with a little bit of laughter. 

Sources: 

Hitch and Sara dancing GIF https://media.giphy.com/media/3ohzdCFBY1uYLpOv5K/giphy.gif

Youtube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H42jVUavXiA

Hitch and Albert kissing: https://fierce.wearemitu.com/entertainment/13-reasons-why-hitch-starring-eva-mendes-had-the-best-formula-for-a-romantic-comedy-of-all-time/ 

Hitchs allergic reaction: https://blog.fauquierent.net/2012/01/food-allergy-reaction-video.html 

Albert dancing for Hitch: https://coub.com/view/13lkbe

This is exactly why falling in love is https://tenor.com/view/hitch-will-smith-gif-8926077

Sara chugging wine: https://fierce.wearemitu.com/entertainment/13-reasons-why-hitch-starring-eva-mendes-had-the-best-formula-for-a-romantic-comedy-of-all-time/

I read this and found it pretty amusing and interesting. Check it out if you want! https://fierce.wearemitu.com/entertainment/13-reasons-why-hitch-starring-eva-mendes-had-the-best-formula-for-a-romantic-comedy-of-all-time/

A Film You Can't Faaahhgettabouttt

Ronny (Nicolas Cage) and Loretta (Cher) are steamy, forbidden lovers in this 1987 romcom. Here they are depicted gazing at the moon after their first spontaneous sexual encounter. Does it get more romantic, I mean come on?!! (Loretta is only wearing a blanket by the way)

Here the couple are sitting at Loretta's kitchen table with her family present, eating breakfast together, nonchalantly coming to terms with their adulterous (yes you heard that right) relationship.

Moonstruck Will Leave You Smiling, Laughing, and Perturbed

I decided to give the 1987 film Moonstruck a go, because well, Cher is a fierce queen, and judge me or not, young Nicolas Cage is a heartthrob. Although I am a 90s baby, both actors have really great careers in the 80s in my opinion, and this movie attests to that.
Going into the film, I knew Cher won an oscar for her role in this, but in all honesty I wasn't prepared for the hilarity and iconic moments. I don't know about you, but growing up I always heard people repeating the famous lines with a thick Italian accent, "Snap out of it," and now I know exactly where it came from.

Given the fact that the movie came out 32 years ago, I was expecting some seriously outdated moments, and trust me there are plenty. Frankly, however, I was fairly pleased with the film's ability to navigate gender representation given the context that the movie was made in.

Cher plays Loretta, a 37 year old catholic Italian-American widow, who deems herself "cursed" in love, because the men that have proposed to her have always half-assed their way into asking her to be their bride. More importantly, the men that she has ended up becoming engaged to, haven't really been "the one" and Loretta knows it. One of these men is a character named Johnny, played by Danny Aiello, who awkwardly proposes to Loretta in a restaurant, and clearly is seeking to marry Loretta for stability and someone to look after him (just like his mother; YIKES). Loretta's ideas about marriage aren't much happier. Loretta feels the pressure of becoming an older woman, and at one point in the film she directly correlates her ability to be happy to finding a husband. So when her boyfriend, Johnny asks her to marry him, she accepts, although she tells her mother later that she doesn't even love him.

I understand many of us want to find a partner to wholeheartedly love, desire, and share our lives with and although that is the overall gist of this story, there were clearly some traditional conservative values being enforced in this movie; ie. marriage, family, and religion. For instance, Loretta still lives with her parents in a big home, and when she becomes entangled in a steaming hot, sexual knot with Ronny, Johnny's brother, she understandably feels guilty. However, this guilt is present not because she feels bad for hurting Johnny, but because she fears hell and shame from society.

Ronny is also depicted in one seen standing up, throwing a table out of the way, and man handling Loretta (his brother's fiancee). He grabs her tightly and pulls her in for a kiss. This scene would most likely not be as popular in today's culture, but the movie did a nice job inserting a line from Loretta. "No! Stop!" she says, and he stops, but then she continues in for another kiss from him. I can see now why this movie was so popular when it first came out. Throughout the entire film, Loretta is a female character that tells men what to do; she does it with Johnny, Ronny, her father, and her boss. It is so satisfying and I hate to admit this, but I was taking notes. Did I mention Loretta actually slaps Ronny across the face twice in one scene? Oops.

Loretta came to Ronny to invite him to her wedding with Johnny (Ronny's brother). Ronny's temper and animalistic tendencies won Loretta from the beginning.

Another very strange outdated element of gender portrayal in the movie was that of Loretta's parents. Loretta's father, Cosmo, is actually cheating on his wife the whole time, and both Loretta and her mother know. Loretta's mother is upset about this, but doesn't really do much about it, and actually at one point has the ability to cheat on her husband with a much younger attractive man, but turns him down because, "She can't," and, "She knows who she is." This is semi-sweet, but mainly reinforces the double standard of men being able to be selfish and promiscuous and women not so much. Technically, Loretta is adulterous, too, but in her case she is not much invested in Johnny and him not much invested in her either. Cosmo and his wife fell in love decades before and have shared an entire life together, so I was surprised by the wife's reaction to him cheating. Also, one of the final scenes shows Loretta's mother telling Cosmo that he must not see his mistress anymore and that he will start going to confession. I am not going to lie I gagged at that part. Cosmo slams the table, but then agrees.

Now I know why Moonstruck is an iconic romantic comedy. It is filled with realistic humor, and the chemistry between Cage and Cher is enticing. Every woman deserves a man that feasts on her beauty, like a wolf. My favorite scene from the movie is when Ronny tells Loretta after she explains to him their relationship is over and she can't keep doing this, that he would gladly go to hell and take Loretta with him just to have her in his bed. Definitely not a line you would hear in modern romances, but hotdamn, I felt it.

Bringing Up Baby (1938)

Here is a trailer for the film, it features many of the important (and hilarious) moments.

Bringing Up Baby (1938) is a classic romantic comedy following David Huxley (Cary Grant) and Susan Vance (Katherine Hepburn). This is completely full of witty banter and crazy, hilarious situations that Susan keeps pulling David into. Susan is an heiress belonging to a well-connected and influential family. David is an paleontologist reconstructing a giant brontosaurus skeleton and is also engaged to his assistant Alice Swallow. They are due to be married the next day at the start of the film. The meeting of Susan and David starts by the two running into each other at a golf course where David is attempting to win over a potential investor of $1 million towards the museum. Immediately, Susan is so taken with David that she acts quite mischievously to get him near her at any possible moment. Much of the major conflict of the movie centers around a leopard named "Baby" brought to the heiress' home. Susan enlists David's help to deliver Baby to her country home in Connecticut where it will be safer. Of course, Baby escapes and it is a wild and hilarious chase to get him back. Almost the entire family gets put in jail for being 'crazy' and allegedly lying about their identities.

There are many classic romantic comedy tropes in this film, all of which I believe are highly effective. Many of these smaller aspects work really well in the film. The witty banter is at the forefront of the film. David and Susan are constantly arguing, but it is often really funny because it is David complaining about the situation Susan has pulled him into and Susan just egging him on. Similarly, the treatment of gender in the film really surprised me. The dynamic of the relationship is interesting as the character of Susan is so far above David in almost every way. She is richer, well-connected, funny and charismatic. He is the classic absentminded professor type. He is too involved in his work to care about anything else and he is willing to marry someone who he doesn't love because Alice promotes his work.

Susan is the dominant one in the relationship, but her gender is never undermined or criticized. She is never told to stop what she is doing because she is a woman, rather just because she creating wild circumstances for everyone because of her choices. The best part is that she really does not care at all! Susan is living her live how she wants, without bothering to worry about society or her family/friends' expectations. The only person's opinion that she truly cares about his David's. Overall, Bringing Up Baby is progressive in the representation of gender for 1938. As a woman watching this film, I really felt empowered by Susan's attitude toward life. She is not bothered by other's opinions of her and lives life excitedly with confidence.

This film was hilarious from beginning to end. I highly recommend it to even those who dislike romantic comedies. Bringing Up Baby has such a distinct and unique tone compared to many contemporary romantic comedies. The relationship between David and Susan is so cleverly played.

*Spoiler Alert*

The end of the film was not extremely mushy or unfitting for the film; David realizing that his time with Susan was the most fun day of his entire life was such a beautiful touch to the scene and revealed his immense respect for her even though he constantly complained about her actions. The ladder falling and breaking after Susan's extreme happiness upon David telling her he does love her is so fitting. David's love is tested further after the Brontosaurus skeleton breaks but he is too in love to care.

Does the World Really Need a "Dating Doctor"?

Hitch's allergic reaction on bad date number two.

The 2005 movie, "Hitch" starring Will Smith and Eva Mendes, tells the story of Alex "Hitch" Hitchens (Will Smith) who makes a living as a professional dating consultant. His job is to help men woo women who otherwise would have never noticed them. Hitch is tasked with helping Albert (Kevin James), a sweet but clumsy/dorky man, woo Allegra Cole (Amber Valletta), a celebrity who barely knows of Albert's existence. In the mean time, the "date doctor" himself is in the process of trying to woo Sara (Eva Mendes), a gossip columnist workaholic and all around most standard female lead in a rom-com. All of his dates with her end very unfortunately, whether it be reminding Sara of a terrible family legacy, or accidentally discovering Hitch has severe food allergies. Despite all of the misfortunes, the dates still end with the other wanting another.

The dating consultation service that Hitch provides is the central detail that the plot is based around. His service involves creating a meet-cute, encouraging a scene where the woman is more likely to notice the man, and then coach the man on how to be cool through the first two-three dates. After the first kiss, Hitch leaves his clients to build the relationship from there. Hitch also makes a clear distinction between the types of clients he will take. His service is about helping men start a genuine, romantic relationship with a woman they care about. He makes a scene where he turns down a man who wanted Hitch to

Hitch coaching Albert through how to get Allegra's attention.

help him get a girl to sleep with him. The main question throughout the story is whether or not the dating service is socially acceptable. Does this service help men manipulate women? Does it lead to women getting hurt? Can a woman trust her partner after discovering that he used this service? Hitch makes the argument that his service just provides men with the opportunity to make themselves noticed. The rest of the service isn't about changing the man to make the woman fall for him, but to help him get through his awkwardness so that he is given a chance.

The movie has an interesting discussion on the treatment of women. The service can feel very creepy and manipulative while at the same time also makes sense in a way. After his service being outed to the world, Hitch explains that the reason his service is needed is because women are so guarded that good men are unable to make themselves noticed. At the same time, Hitch doesn't blame women for being guarded. He acknowledges that the reason women are so guarded is because of the men who manipulate women into sleeping with them just to dump them the next morning. It is the same reason why he does not offer his service to men like that. He explains that he just makes the opportunities

Hitch and Sara

happen, he doesn't orchestrate the entire relationship. The movie ends with Hitch helping Sara's best friend woo a beautiful man at the end, showing how he set up the opportunity for her to be noticed. The movie asks a complicated question about how far is too far to gain a woman's attention.

The movie doesn't flip too many expectations about gender. Sara is a feminine woman with a job as a gossip columnist. Hitch is literally so well known for being a calm and collected ladies man that he makes money from it. The side couple shows a little more flips in gender expectation. Allegra wants more control in her investments and wants to be in control. Albert is not an assertive man at all. At the same time, his character is the average caricature of the male nerdy character, socially inept, unable to talk to women, and extremely quirky. These features are what women are supposed to fall over.

This movie uses so many of the standard romantic comedy tropes. Sara is a fairly textbook example of the female lead in a romantic comedy. She is a workaholic, dating cynic, who thinks that love is a myth. She has a gay best friend whose role in the film is to encourage her to get out in the world and open herself up to dating. Thankfully though, we do know that this character has a job and we can assume a life that exists outside of the main characters. The characters also have a dance montage at the end of the movie, my personal favorite trope in romantic comedies. While it sticks to some of the tropes, the movie tries hard to break a few as well. Instead of the lead woman hating her female coworkers simply because of the perpetuated myth that women can't get along, Sara is best friends with her female coworker and that friendship never waivers throughout the entire movie.

This movie was very interesting to watch. It might not be smashing any gender barriers or rewriting the genre but it does discuss how the dating world has become more complicated, especially by men who hurt women. It asks a lot of important questions about how to treat women respectfully while still having an honest chance.

Blog #2: Set It Up

Netflix's Rom-Com Set it Up Needs to Step It Up

Movie Poster

Two overworked assistants, two lonely bosses, and plenty of romance. Charlie and Harper concoct an elaborate scheme to get more time off of work. The plan? Set up their equally picky bosses Rick and Kirsten! But as Charlie and Harper are working together for the common goal of freedom, they end up falling in love with each other. What could go wrong? Apparently, a lot.

Although the movie makes subtle jabs at the cliches found in romantic comedies, it's hardly different from others.

The Meet-Cute

As Harper herself said, "We need a meet-cute. Like, every great romance has a meet-cute."

Rick and Kirsten at a Yankees game

Rick and Kirsten's meet-cute is, simply put, a disaster. Placing their bosses in an elevator, the assistants bribe someone to stop/crash the elevator. However, when another person enters the elevator, the controls stop working! Forced to watch a claustrophobic mail-carrier panic in the elevator, causing Rick and Kirsten to argue over how to handle the situation, the meet-cute is deemed an unromantic catastrophe.

 After a failed attempt to spark flirtation between the two, Charlie and Harper resort to manipulating the Kiss Cam at a Yankees game. This proves to be an equally frustrating situation since their bosses refuse to kiss each other, much to the dismay of their assistants
and the entire stadium crowd.

Although, these instances are framed as the opposite of the stereotypical meet-cute where fate pushes the couple together instead of tired assistants, the movie's second couple (Charlie and Harper) are victim to fate.

Harper and Charlie's first meeting, dividing the dinner order.

Charlie and Harper first meet in the lobby of their office building, both rushing to deliver dinner to their respective bosses, Rick and Kirsten. After arguing over food and explaining the severity of the situation they reach a compromise, which later sparks a friendship between them. Throughout the movie, their relationship slowly becomes romantic.

The Gay Best Friend

Even in 2018, it seems that rom-coms can't escape the use of a gay man as a protagonist's best friend. Meet Duncan, Charlie's best friend and roommate. While Set It Up doesn't exactly follow this cliche, placing Duncan as the male lead's best friend instead of the female lead's, Duncan is still a side character who exists only to provide much-needed romantic advice and make comments about his sexuality.

Charlie (left) receiving advice from Duncan (right)

Duncan appears in approximately 6-7 scenes, as expected for a side-character, but the overwhelming point of these scenes is just to re-enforce stereotypes about gay men. "Not all gay men are about sex all the time," Duncan explains after Charlie asks him if he has a guest over. Charlie's assumption is actually correct, proved seconds later as someone walks out of Duncan's room. Despite such a proclamation being Duncan's first line in the movie, for the majority of his scenes he is frequently presented in sexual situations: At Suze's (Charlie's girlfriend's) pool party Duncan is sitting eye-level to the crotches of men in swim-wear. He makes multiple comments about it yet receives no response from any character, main or otherwise. Later, Charlie and Harper go to the apartment to eat pizza. Charlie quickly runs out of the door and refuses to let Harper in because, "Duncan's playing Third Eye Blind in there, that means he's got a guy over. We can't go through there."

Duncan's second role is that of a "love guru," as he mentions to Charlie that Suze and him never talk and therefore are not a good couple. This advice prompts Charlie to realize the connection he lacks with his girlfriend and instead finds in Harper.

The Airport Scene 

SPOILERS BELOW! Skip the following section to avoid spoilers.

Charlie at the airport

Another scene Set It Up flips on its head is the 'airport scene', this scene plays on what the audience would expect after the male lead runs through the airport. Instead of running to reconcile with the female lead, Charlie runs to catch Rick and Kirsten before they leave for a vacation. Why? To break them up, of course!

After discovering that Rick was cheating on Kirsten, despite them being engaged, Charlie and Harper get into an argument. Harper believes that they should tell the truth, especially since Kirsten seems to actually like Rick. Charlie disagrees, claiming that Rick cheating/lying shouldn't matter since the entire relationship was fabricated by them (Charlie and Harper).

Eventually, Charlie realizes his mistake and runs to break off the relationship, also using the situation to quit his job as well. This scene pokes fun at the romantic movie classic, as many background characters shout that Kirsten should leave with Charlie instead of Rick, with the assumption that they are actually caught in the middle of a reconciliation--not a breakup.

The Gender Problem

While Set It Up attempts to modernize rom-coms to the millennial/Gen-Z viewer, exampled by Harper's use of the hook-up app Tinder, it falls flat in many ways, most prominently in its presentation of gender. A multitude of interactions between the characters often reference one of these two concepts: fragile/toxic masculinity and women in the workplace. Conversations about these two topics are more common these days and, more often than not, current media is expected to contribute meaningfully to these discussions. Obviously, Set It Up is a romantic comedy first and may not necessarily be providing social commentary. However, even if it was, this movie still has a multitude of problematic scenes and lines.

Masculinity

Charlie convincing Rick to call Kirsten back

The majority of the scenes exhibiting behavior related to fragile/toxic masculinity feature Rick. Although they are relatively subtle, they are still important to the overall conversation of gender treatment within Set It Up.

Firstly, the most common insult used against men in this movie relates to the size of their penis. While yelling at an intern in passing, Rick calls him a "pencil-dick" before promptly firing him. The unnamed intern defends himself to Charlie; "Pencils can vary in length and girth, so joke's on him." 

Later when Charlie attempts to "subtly" convince Rick to call Kirsten back he claims that "dating has changed so much these days. You used to wait three days before calling back. Now, the longer you wait, women think that...your penis is small." In both instances, the reference to somehow "inadequate" genitalia is used to imply ineptitude (in the intern's case) and cowardice (in the case of Rick not calling Kirsten). These comments add very little to the plot (Charlie could have easily found another excuse for Rick to contact Kirsten again) and serve as the basis of jokes and misconceptions that must be fixed for the sake of the character's masculine identity.

 

Femininity

Kirsten in the hallway outside her office. Note the word wall.

Like the above mentioned scenes, these scenes are often subtle and short. These clips often reinforce stereotypical ideas about women and romance but are far more numerous than any scene that represents fragile masculinity.

Kirsten is undeniably the boss, she's at the top of her game and she runs her own sports website successfully. As a female sports reporter, Kirsten is most likely viewed as an "anomaly" of sorts for taking an interest in a typically "male" interest. Like her boss, Harper is also a super fan of sports, which Charlie comments on at the Yankees Game Set Up, after taking a picture of her in Yankees themed clothing to supposedly add to the Tinder profile he's making for her: "Guys like girls who are into sports." Harper replies that "Guys do not like girls who are into sports. They like girls in tight jerseys who they can correct..." adding that said women wouldn't know what they're talking about. It's unclear exactly what Harper meant, whether she was implying that "she's not like other girls" or not, however it's clear that her comment was defensive. This scene is interesting to note as it succeeds Charlie and Harper's comments about Kirsten.

Kirsten and Rick announcing the news about their relationship.

When discussing how to make Kirsten "desirable" to Rick, Charlie advises that Harper's boss should be represented as a "really good deal," comparing her to a business contract. Harper then suggests mentioning Kirsten's work ethic because "...she treats her website like her baby." Charlie responds with "Probably because she can't have any." Harper agrees.

Multiple times throughout the movie, Kirsten is named as Harper's hero and role model and is clearly established as a successful woman. However, when presented with the chance to defend Charlie's sexist comment Harper does not defend her boss in the same way she defended herself at the Yankees' game. Despite being an incredibly successful businesswoman, Kirsten is still expected to be a mother first. These comments reinforce the idea that women must choose between the "female sphere" or the "male sphere" (working outside of the home). If Kirsten had kids she would be expected to leave work and become a full-time mother, regardless of her passion of being a reporter. This scene is not the only time Kirsten is expected to conform to Rick's ideas for women, or the only time Kirsten's importance is defined by ability to conform to typical ideas about women.

Charlie and Harper discussing their plans

When Rick casually mentions to Charlie that he despises body hair on a woman, and would likely feel sick and break up with her because of it, it's up to Harper to get Kirsten waxed. Harper then "reminds" Kirsten about a non-existent waxing appointment, framing the hair-removal as Kirsten's idea instead of Rick's. Later in the movie when Rick and Kirsten are together, Kirsten asks Harper to "uncancel" her invitations to a multitude of baby showers and engagement parties from estranged female friends. Her reasoning? Kirsten will "...finally be able to talk about something they're interested in."

Harper also expresses a seemingly problematic idea about women and love when Charlies suggests she plays hard to get with Golf Guy, Harper's Tinder hookup turned 2-week boyfriend whose name we never learn. "Play hard to get? That's like evolutionarily impossible. What guy would date a girl who's like 'Go get me food and maybe there'll be a cave for you when you get back or maybe not.' [Harper uses cavemen as a reference]. Men should want women who are going to keep the coziest, warmest caves. Men need shelter."

Throughout this movie, anything concerning love, romance, and family is subtly presented as the job of a woman. Rick is described, by Kirsten, as having mansplained Korean barbecue to her, even though he claimed that the cuisine was his favorite. After Kirsten realized he had, in fact, never eaten Korean barbecue she attempted to explain the situation to him, resulting in Rick refusing to listen or apologize after offending her. Rick is not expected to apologize when Kirsten wants him to but Kirsten must have absolutely no body hair for Rick. 

Kirsten is critiqued for not having any kids. However, Rick is actually a father! There are no comments made about his the fact that he spends more time at work than as a father. It's expected of Kirsten to sacrifice her passion for kids that she seems to not want.

Conclusion

Sneaking into Charlie's apartment. Note the fairy lights.

Although Set It Up is a modern romantic comedy, released in 2018, it still seems incredibly old-fashioned. While it may attempt to, or pretend to, rewrite the romantic comedy, this movie still keeps a majority of the cliches found in the genre such as: the accidental slow dance, romantic (and unrealistic) New York at night time, the camera pan out for the final scene, etc. 

However, my greatest critique of this movie is its message. Although Rick and Kirsten do not work out (thankfully!), it is only because Charlie and Harper discover that Rick is cheating on her. That is the instance where Charlie and Harper realize they do not want Kirsten marrying Rick. The many, many, sexist ideals Kirsten is forced to conform to, often at Rick's request, are not seen as offensive or as deal-breakers. They're normal.

Secondly, commenting on a person's genitalia to "threaten" their masculinity is also extremely problematic. Yet, no one mentions these public comments in the movie. They're also normalized. 

Netflix's Set It Up may be one of the many praised modern romantic comedies on the service but after a closer examination it fails to live up to expectations of a "new generation" of rom-coms. In a time where conversations about gender, sex, and sexuality are becoming especially prevalent, modern romances should at least attempt to catch up. If not now then when?