Trailerwatch: The Vow

Ok – let’s face it: I am a girl, it’s nearly Christmas time so yes I am really enjoying this trailer of “The Vow”! Is it totally cheesy – YES, will it get only 40% on Rotten Tomatoes – most probably, will I watch it – HELL YEAH!

Sugar-sweet-feel-good Romance with otherworldly beautiful people combined with a Taylor Swift Song. Channing Tatum, Rachel McAdams and Sam Neill star in this Rom-Com and if I hadn’t looked it up on IMDB where it say written by some people who are not Nicholas Sparks – I would have bet my life on it, that this is another book of his.

Weekend comfort food: movies based on Nicholas Sparks Novels

According to the urban dictionary a guilty pleasure is something that you

shouldn’t like but do so anyways. So for me this definition fits perfectly on any movie based on a Nicholas Sparks novel (or any Rom-Com for that matter). I am very aware that the plot is as see through as plastic wrap, it’s as cheesy as can be and usually the conclusion is pretty forced. And if you’ve ever seen one movie you pretty easily figure out all the other ones (hint: you’re gonna bawl your eyes out). Maybe it’s the familiarity that makes it such a pleasure to watch – there are no surprises just intimate stories. So I like to cuddle up on the sofa with a big jar of Ben & Jerry’s, nice bottle of wine and a big box of tissues.

My first book I read by Nicholas Sparks was “The Notebook” and it is also the movie that most people will know being from him and the movie made from this book is also probably the best out of the 6 that so far were made. Of course it helps having Ryan Gosling, James Marsden, Rachel McAdams, James Garner and Gena Rowland as a cast. Or that it takes place in gorgeous South Carolina (the place for all of his novels). Or that it simply is a fairy tale for adults with no substance and no grasp on reality but it just makes you feel better inside.

I also liked “A walk to remember” and was surprised by the quality of acting by both Mandy Moore and Shane West. And as with every Nicholas Sparks movie in the end I am always (having seen it way too many times) to a sobbering blob. But because it is set in High School it just seems too young for me now. And where “A walk to remember” feels too young “Nights in Rodhante” for me feels a little bit too old (apologies for anybody who might be offended by this) – seeing 2 people trying to have a second go at love after their first try ended unsuccessfully is something hard to relate to for me. Even though Richard Gere and Diane Lane are great actors and as usual the scenery is breathtaking – it doesn’t have the passion of “The Notebook” (but as usual I was reduced to tears in the end).

So if you fancy an old fashioned movie and are not ashamed of crying once in a while – go and get yourself any of Nicholas Sparks movies!

 

My take on…. Chick Flicks

If someone raided through my DVD collection they would most probably find a lot of  so-called “Chick Flicks”. Ever tried defining what they are? Here are some ideas:

A simple definition from www.phrases.org.uk
“A film with characterization and storylines that appeal especially to
women.”
Something more sarcastic on Urban Dictionary:

“A film that indulges in the hopes and dreams of women and/or girls. A film that has a happy, fuzzy, ridiculously unrealistic ending. ie: My best friend’s wedding, Mona Lisa Smile, Runaway Bride, The Wedding Planner, Maid in Manhattan, Josie and the pussycats, Mean girls, A cinderella story, Freaky Friday…. I could go on forever!”

And finally my favourite definition (also found on Urban Dictionary)

“A film that has the following formula:
Two people fall in love
They get along fine
There is some kind of misunderstanding
They break up
They get back together
The end.”

So apparently chick flicks have to endure some ridicule and even some hatred even though they are so extremely popular because why are they still around and studios are still producing them?

I grew up with Chick Flicks. I grew up with the idea of love that was portrayed in those movies (Only you, Sleepless in Seattle, When Harry met Sally were early examples) and it sure didn’t help understanding love – though marketing likes to tell us differently. Later after my first couple of heart aches I started to watch chick flicks from a different point of view and found that there are huge differences to be found – mainly in the perception of women and their love life. Some movies portray women as this love crazy something that is only able to define herself through the perfect match. Others like to tell the lie of a successful but heartless career woman who is only able to see the beauty of the world when a handsome but unsuccessful man comes along and woos her off her feet. Every successful woman knows that it is pretty damn hard to find a man who is not equally successful as her because oh big surprise men might have a problem with women who are higher up the ranks than they are.

So today I am still enjoying chick flicks but I am not watching blindly any – ok maybe if they have a topless Gerard Butler in it – but try to find the ones where the protagonists are at least appealing and somehow closer to reality than say a Jennifer Lopez character. In recent years I thoroughly enjoyed “27 dresses” and did not like “The ugly truth” at all (see even though Gerard Butler was in it). But going through my favourites it seems to me the times of great chick flicks is  over. For every “Steel Magnolias”, “Terms of Endearment”, “When Harry met Sally” you might get one “The Notebook” and don’t even get me started on the SATC Movies…

So in order to give you an idea of what I call great chick flicks, here is my list of top 20 chick flicks in no particular order:

1)                Serendipity (2001)

2)                When Harry met Sally (1989)

3)                Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

4)                One fine day (1996)

5)                Waitress (2007)

6)                Miss Pettigrew lives for a day (2009)

7)                27 Dresses (2008)

8)                Just like Heaven (2005)

9)                Sweet Home Alabama (2002)

10)           The Notebook (2004)

11)           A walk to remember (2002)

12)           Dear Frankie (2004)

13)           Bridget Jones (2001)

14)           Pride and Prejudice (1995)

15)           Steel Magnolias (1989)

16)           Love story (1970)

17)           Animal Attraction (2001)

18)           Devine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)

19)           While you were sleeping (1995)

20)           Pretty Woman (1990)