America's Sweethearts

The Story: Movie publicist Lee Phillips wrangles a separated movie-star couple in order to promote a movie while keeping the press from discovering that the film is being held hostage by its crazy director.

I almost never like movies that are about the film industry. I’m not entirely sure why. Maybe it’s because they tend to be a little self-indulgent. America’s Sweethearts, however, is a glaring exception.

We’ve been meaning to recommend this one for a while as it is both one of mine and A’s favorite romantic comedies, but I’ve had a hard time putting my finger on the exact thing that makes me love this movie. I watched it again today to see if I could uncover the mystery and it hit me. It’s a good story with likeable characters. Duh.

The movie starts out with our hero, Lee Phillips, a good guy in a world full of schmucks, as he’s just been fired from a big Hollywood studio. Lee is given the opportunity to win back his job. All he has to do is get two co-stars to attend a press junket. Easy right? Not exactly, the movie-stars just happen to be an estranged married couple with an excellent back story. They’re separated after wife, Gwen, cheated on her husband, Eddie, with a Spaniard. Eddie became so enraged with jealousy that he accidently tried to kill them. Now Gwen is shacked-up with lover boy while Eddie attempts to overcome his nervous breakdown at a new-age wellness center. To accomplish his task, Lee turns to Kiki, Gwen’s sister and over-worked assistant who also happens to be in love with Eddie.  Who doesn’t love a good love triangle?

America’s Sweethearts is fast paced for a romantic comedy and exceptionally funny. We’d expect nothing less from a film co-written by Billy Crystal. It also holds a special place in my heart for introducing me up to Hank Azaria.

Here’s the preview.

Princess Diaries 2

 While I am a fan of the first Princess Diaries, this one is my favorite. I watch it every Sunday at work, seriously, EVERY Sunday. I have a problem.

The Story: Princess Mia has one month to get married or she forfeits her crown to someone else.

Don't worry, you don't have to have seen the first one to understand this movie. They do a very nice re-cap. in the opening seen.

What I love about this movie is the concept.

WARNING HERE BE SPOILERS!

Girl falls for boy while planning her wedding to someone else.

I've seen several attempts at this concept, but no one does is as good as PD2. Another plus, I don't feel like I'm watching a kids movie when this one is one. This movie has it all, great story, beautiful set, and  an awesome cast. 

So watch PD2 and see Ann Hathaway and Chris Pine before they were big stars.

Love Happens

 The Story: Burke is a motivational speaker on grief, whose wife died three years ago. His life isn't as together as it seems. He's a closet drinker, afraid of elevators, has child-like mood swings and is very much alone. Until he bumps into a woman arranging flowers in a hotel hallway and attempts to come out of his shell.

Love Happens, there is only 1 reason  why I saw this, Judy Greer. I love her! Whether she is playing a dumb blonde or a killer werewolf, she is marvelous!!!

Judy is not the star, but I ended up really liking this movie.  It's not your typical cheesy "girl" movie and it has a great cast.

For some reason critics have been very cruel to this movie. I think that's because it's not your typical romance movie. It doesn't have that "appropriate sparks are flying, someone que the power balled" moment (can you name the  movie I just quoted?) 

We see only the beginning of the romance that Burke and Eloise could have. What this movie is really about is a man's journey to re-start his life. And that my friends, makes me cry like a baby every time I watch this movie.

If you liked: Return to Me, Elizabethtown

Blind Dating

The Story: A blind young man has his brother set him up on a series of dates in an attempt to find "the one".

Liz made me watch this one night, and I was not happy about it. I mean, a blind guy on blind dates just sounds kind of dumb, but this is another battle I lost. I watched, and I loved every minute of it.

Blind Dating is a funny, feel good kind of movie, with a sweet romantic story. It also has Chris Pine in it, so you know you're going to watch it!

New In Town

I hate chick flicks
I hate chick flicks
I hate chick flicks
I hate my self for loving this movie

I was never going to watch this movie. I have this immediate bias against silly looking chick flicks. My luck, I picked it up by mistake this week at work. Thought I was getting Never Back Down, but I gave it a shot anyway. I've been a bit under the weather and obviously out of my mind.

The Story: A high-powered consultant in love with her upscale Miami lifestyle is sent to a midle of nowhere town in Minnesota to oversee the restructuring of a blue collar manufactoring plant. From IMDB.com

The concept is a bit predictable, but I was still completly wrapped up in this story. I attribute this to its great cast. Connick and Zellwegger have excellent on screen chemistry. But the story really comes to life when you meet the rest of the crazy residents in this small town.

If You Liked: The Proposal, Confessions of a Shopoholic, Overnight Delivery, Fools Gold.

Life As We Know It

 LAWKI has Josh Duhamel in it, so you know we saw this one in theaters. But, who knew he and Katherine Heigl wound make a good couple? They have great chemistry, which allows their relationship to seem more real on screen and less make believe. This story is a bit heavy on the emotions, but it never goes over the top, which is nice.

A lot of the comedy comes from moments that I bet most first time parents have. One of my favorites is when Duhamel's character lets the baby smell her food in the grocery store to determine what she does and does not like.

Also, Melissa McCarthy plays the ring leader to a group of nosy neighbors and she is hilarious!! (We're still waiting on a Gilmore Girls movie!!!!!)

Anyway, I bought LAWKI as soon as it came out on DVD and was happy to find that I still love it. Some movies are only meant to be watched once, and that's not the case here. While it does have some typical romantic comedy moments, every time I have watched this movie I have been just a captivated by its story and the actors who tell it.

The Bounty Hunter

Rating: PG-13
Length: 110 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released: 2010
Staring: Jennifer Aniston & Gerard Butler

What It's About...
Milo is an ex-cop turned bounty hunter whose luck changes when his boss offers him five thousand dollars to arrest his ex-wife for jumping bail. Bring in her in turns out to be harder than he expected, especially since he's not the only one after her.

Why We Like It...
Allie and I finally both had the same night off and were planning on spending it at the local Malco. When I opened the newspaper to get the movie show times for the weekend I was a quickly disappointed. Nothing was on that I wanted to see. C'est la vie. No?

So, we did what any self-respecting movie lovers would do, we went anyway. We ended up seeing The Bounty Hunter, and I was pleasantly surprised. It was good, and cute, and funny, everything you'd expect from a romantic comedy without all the cheesy, and sometimes painfully embarrassing, crap we hate about them.

The Bounty Hunter is delightful and not just because Gerard Butler gets punched in the balls by Jennifer Aniston, twice. It hits all the right beats without running too long, and most importantly, I didn't feel like it was a movie I'd already seen. So, we give TBH an A plus for original concept and for bringing back the hate in the love/hate relationships that make romantic comedies great.

If You Liked...
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days, The Break Up, You've Got Mail, The Rundown

Confessions of a Shopaholic

Rating: PG
Length: 104 minutes
Genre: Comedy
Released: 2009
Staring: Isla Fisher, Hugh Dancy, Joan Cucask & John Goodman

What It's About...
A debt-ridden material girl takes a job at a financial magazine to get in good with the publisher.

Why We Like It...
Allie prides herself on her amazing action movie collection. If there is a movie about blowing things up, she has either seen it or owns it. Murder, mystery, cop, horror, slasher, and action are basically the only genre’s she pays attention to; but as contrite as this sounds she has a confession of her own to make. There is a SMALL group of chick-flicks that she really likes to watch; and for some reason or another, Confessions of a Shopaholic is one of them.

First of all, Hugh Dancy is dreamy and she will watch any movie that he is in. Evening, Coach, Adam, Blood and Chocolate, she’s seen them all. Nevertheless, Confessions gets and A plus for Isla Fisher’s portrayal of Rebecca Bloomwood. It is easy to identify with Miss Bloomwood, and her inability to take her own advice as the Girl in the Green Scarf. I’ll admit that it was a little silly at parts; because I definitely didn’t believe Joan Cusack was old enough to be her mother. But I cheered on Miss Bloomwood through every part of her journey.

If You Liked...
Bride Wars, 27 Dresses, Miss Congeniality

TiMER

Rating: R
Length: 99 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released: 2009
Staring: Emma Caulfield (Buffy the Vampire Slayer), Michelle Borth, & Desmond Harrington

What It's About...
In this comedic fantasy, science has facilitated the search for a soul mate via biotechnological implants that count down to the moment one is supposed to meet his or her match. But Oona is worried: She's nearly 30, and her TiMER isn't ticking yet. Will her dream guy get snatched up by someone else? (Netflix)

Why We Like It...
I love this movie! I LOVE love this movie. It's an Indie with actors you've probably never heard of, but it is so good. It is extremely well-written. It's hilarious. And it is most definitely the best movie I've seen this summer.

TiMER has a bit of a sci-fi twist: man has created a technology that will tell you who the love of your life is and when you're going to meet that person. Allie and I aren't usually into fantasy stuff, but the world created in TiMER is one that doesn't seem too far fetched. This world also allows the film to raise some interesting ideas and themes on love.

We give TiMER an A+ for story. Yeah, we've talked about it already, but we liked it that much. By the end, Allie was so into this movie that she was yelling at the TV, which is something that our mom does that we both hate. I was so caught up in the story that I was totally surprised by the ending that I had already seen coming, if that makes since. Also, we have to add that we both highly enjoyed the sister and her inappropriate humor.

If You Liked...
The Proposal, Only You, Blind Date, The Invention of Lying

Overnight Delivery

Rating: PG-13
Length: 87 minutes
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Released: 1998
Staring: Paul Rudd, Reese Witherspoon, & Christine Taylor

What It's About...
When Wyatt suspects his longtime girlfriend of cheating, he sends her a pretty nasty dear John package. The next day, he learns it was all a big misunderstanding. With the help of a classmate/stripper, Wyatt must travel across country to see his girlfriend before she opens the package or their relationship is over.

Why We Like It...
We decided to kick things off with this one because it's one of our favorite movies. Usually, our recommendation goes something like this, "It's good. You'll like it. Trust us." In case that doesn't work for you, we'll try to do better.

First of all, it's laugh-out-loud funny. Reese and Paul are comedy gold together. They give the audience a beautiful mixture of physical and verbal comedy. Second, there's a story line, and it works. So many comedies today seem to rely on Vince Vaughn talking fast or Will Ferrel acting like an idiot. Don't get us wrong, we love Will and Vince, but it's nice to take a break and actually care about a movie because we like the hero and we have to find out what's going to happen next to him. OD does that for us, and the best part about it is that no matter how bad things seem to be for both the hero and the villain, there's always something worse waiting just around the corner. The last two reasons why we love this movie are, one, Sarah Silverman's in it and two, Christine Taylor's performance as a bimbo, Marsha Brady, total wench of a girlfriend is totally fantastic. So, trust us, it's amazing.

If You Liked...
Just Married, Forces of Nature, Just Friends, The Proposal