Adult Romances
Richard Nokes at Unlocked Wordhoard discusses the upcoming Tristan and Isolde film, and, in a bit of classic understatement, gently suggests that the film might turn out to be a disappointment: "Sometimes the Tristan and Isolde myth is silly and trite, while other times it is powerful and adult. I fear the coming film may be the former."
I liked Nokes's observation about the dearth of adult film romances these days: "As an aside here, why can't we have filmmakers today who portray ADULT romantic relationships, like Hitchcock used to do? Watch Notorious and see if you can stomach seeing Meg Ryan or Leonardo DiCaprio on the screen again." [Though I think Nokes is dead on about Notorious, I might quibble with his characterization of Hitchcock in general. Yes, the characters in Hitchcock's films -- as opposed to characters played by DiCaprio -- act like adults, but often the relationships they form are stunted in some way. That's a subject for another post, I suppose.]
I've previously decried the lack of real men, and of adults in general, in contemporary film. My Thanksgiving movie watching, however, reminded me of at least one real man from an endearing little romantic comedy of a while back. I have yet to meet a woman who disagrees.
I liked Nokes's observation about the dearth of adult film romances these days: "As an aside here, why can't we have filmmakers today who portray ADULT romantic relationships, like Hitchcock used to do? Watch Notorious and see if you can stomach seeing Meg Ryan or Leonardo DiCaprio on the screen again." [Though I think Nokes is dead on about Notorious, I might quibble with his characterization of Hitchcock in general. Yes, the characters in Hitchcock's films -- as opposed to characters played by DiCaprio -- act like adults, but often the relationships they form are stunted in some way. That's a subject for another post, I suppose.]
I've previously decried the lack of real men, and of adults in general, in contemporary film. My Thanksgiving movie watching, however, reminded me of at least one real man from an endearing little romantic comedy of a while back. I have yet to meet a woman who disagrees.
posted by Kate Marie | 10:08 AM | Permalink
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5 comments
5 Comments:
Yep. While you were sleeping, a chick flick even the guys can enjoy. But you have the wrong picture for the real man. The Real Man in the movie was "Joe Jr.".
I greatly enjoyed Batman Begins, which I saw this weekend. Well worth a look.
Now, you want a challenge, do a post based on all the word verifications that Blogger spits up.
I dnzpf your znlvv greatly.
Joe Jr.? You're delusional. (And yes, I've stooped to quoting the chick flick.)
Good idea for a post, but I believe the esteemed Horace Jeffery Hodges beat us to it.
This may be kind of a tangent, KM, but I've spotted another rare potrayal of a competent male on television: the husband on the show "Medium." While his wife uses her psychic powers to solve crimes (yeah, that's the premise), he's supportive, if occasionally, understandably frustrated by her unpredictable absences from their house. He's a professional engineer, but he's not depicted as some bumbling nerd, and he's a competent dad whether his wife is around or not. Whatever else the show is, it's also one of the more believable portrayals of a decent marriage and a two-career family that I can remember seeing.
Have no fear of tangents here, Jeff. This whole post was a tangent.
I haven't seen Medium, but I have a friend who -- being familiar with my quest to find portrayals of competent men -- said exactly the same thing you did about the character of the husband. I'll have to give it a try.
The psychic stuff and the business with the ghosts is all rather silly, but the family stuff is surprisingly low-key and interesting, especially the ethical discussions the husband and wife have about what to do when one has inside knowledge that could affect others. The show hits the occasional clunky note, but it's typically pensive and generally worth the kind words it's earning.
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