Aug/092
Opposites Attract: Romantic Comedies
I just saw THE UGLY TRUTH and it was ugly. There is nothing worse than a mediocre or bad romantic comedy and that is what we usually get. In my opinion romantic comedies are the most difficult genre to write because they are all about character and dialogue. The story is always the same. Guy and girl meet, but for some reason they can’t immediately be together so they spend the movie lying and arguing until they realize they love each other. For simplicity’s sake the lovers are almost always polar opposites, giving lots of opportunity for conflict. In the movies, opposites really do attract.
For some reason women in romantic comedies are often uptight, control freaks. The danger is that these characters come across as shrewish and unlikable. Abby (Katherine Heigl) is indeed an uptight control freak. These qualities make her a great producer of a morning news show, but a terrible date. She not only tells her date that she has a checklist of her perfect guy, but she prints out talking points for their dinner. As a side note, she makes a point of telling him she likes to drink red wine, but we see her drink white throughout the movie. If you’re going to give a character a habit make sure it is consistent. None of this is remotely believable or funny. I doubt a woman smart enough to be a news producer (let alone someone who looks like Katherine Heigl) would be this crazy on a blind date. The control freak persona can work when it is presented as quirky and endearing with some vulnerability underneath, for example Sally in WHEN HARRY MET SALLY. In THE PROPOSAL Margaret (Sandra Bullock) is uptight and mean, but we see her in silly situations (trying to get the dog back from an eagle) and vulnerable ones (trying on the wedding dress.) Both Sally and Margaret are well-rounded charming characters. Abby is not. Her control freak persona is not grounded in reality. Further more, we never see her be vulnerable. A scene or two of her longing for love, even being thrown off by something crude that Mike (Gerard Butler) says would go a long way towards making her likeable.
On the other hand, Mike the boorish host is not extreme enough. We learn that he is really a good guy early on when we see him with his nephew. His advice helps rekindle the married anchors’ marriage. He seems genuinely trying to help people, instead of lude and crude. Since he is such a softie, he immediately falls for Abby while he is playing Cyrano. We know this because he glances longingly at her a lot. The movie would have been much more interesting if he was a real slickster who believed what he was preaching – relationships are trouble and women are only good for sex. It is through spending all the time with Abby coaching her that he has his first real relationship with a woman and develops feelings. A guy going from louse to lover would have been entertaining and compelling to watch. He would still be the devoted uncle, which would add to the mystery. The audience would wonder who is this guy and is he meant for Abby.