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ME Exclusives
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| Accidental Husband | Judith Klassen
Movie Entertainment
February 2010
Romantic comedies exist because love endlessly both fascinates and repels us. Like death, romantic love is inevitable, darkly intriguing, and the victim of so much propaganda that otherwise perfectly reasonable folks believe in the equivalent of pixies and talking frogs. Hey, monogamy’s a breeze if you meet your match! The desire to make sweet love won’t ever morph into the compulsion to whack the focus of your ardour with a small appliance ... will it? People go on about aggressive, bloody films leading to violence – perhaps a study also needs to be conducted that explores the link between improbable love scenarios in movies, and unrealistic expectations in reality.
For instance, how many flicks recommend that we shag our best friend? That’s always a great idea, because when the relationship tanks you have no one to call because, “duh” – you just broke up with your best friend. And then there’s the really excellent idea bandied about by rom coms – dump the nice-but-dull human at the altar in front of his or her friends and family. Don’t make an adult decision beforehand. Wait until the last possible moment to say, “I’m actually in love with that person who just burst in on a motorcycle. And since we have the room, the crowd, and the cake, I may as well marry him/her right now!”
Just like Valentine’s Day, the idealized love in romantic comedies is all candlelight, flowers and chocolate. Conventions dictate happy endings, improbable choices, and beautiful people. And oddly enough, rom com heroines are almost always blond.
In the chipper romantic comedy The Ugly Truth, über-adorable blond Katherine Heigl plays Abby Richter, an officious morning show producer who strategizes her romantic life like Churchill mapping out the Battle of Britain. Abby believes that there is a man out there with good cheekbones who shares her love of cats, and she is happily willing to sell her soul to land her “soulmate.” Enter Mike Chadway, a raw and raunchy TV host with attitude. Mike coaches Abby: if she wants to nab a Dr. McDreamy she must ramp up the rack with a bolstering bra, clip on some humpability via hair extensions, and shove her opinions to the back of the underwear drawer with the granny panties.
In The Accidental Husband, lying for love, bad advice, and romantic political intrigue also abound. This film pits blond radio romance guru Dr. Emma Lloyd (Uma Thurman) against snacky firefighter Patrick Sullivan (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). After Dr. Lloyd advises Sullivan’s fiancée to move on, Sullivan turns his fire hose on the good doctor’s nuptials. Uh-oh, I think we all know where this kind of conflict leads – that’s right: the elevator! Yes, despite cruel lighting, elevators remain the location of choice for passionate make-out sessions: it’s not the muzak, it’s the containment. Both The Accidental Husband and The Ugly Truth have rock ’em, sock ’em elevator scenes. And true to romantic comedy form, both Abby and Emma fall stupid-in-love with the dude who is pushing the buttons.
In reality, romance is utterly intoxicating, and often devastating, and it seems that the only way we can make sense of it is to put it in the category marked “irresistible insanity.” And since romantic comedies are put on this Earth to make us feel good, going crazy for love is celebrated. Despite better judgment, characters always fall for the person they initially detested. The notion has been drummed into us since Jane Austen penned Pride and Prejudice. It’s in our DNA to suspend belief and buy into these film fantasies. So, the next time you meet someone appalling, who meets zero of your relationship criteria, beware. Your addiction to romantic comedies may lead you to mistake them for the love of your life. At least for a few weeks – before they trash it.
Related Articles
Rom Com Rules-10 Things We’ve Learned from Romantic Comedies
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