Saturday, February 7, 2009

Romantic Movies


A few romantic movie recommendations for your upcoming Valentine's holiday. Too many romantic comedies are not clean enough for a really solid recommendation. But I feel very comfortable recommending these to you.

1. Last night I went to see New in Town, the new romantic comedy with Renée Zellweger and Harry Connick Jr. It was very cute--funny and charming. And clean, too. There were a few common swear words, but I would definitely recommend it. This may even be one I purchase for my chick flick collection.

2. I also recently watched an oldie but goodie called The Shop Around the Corner. This stars Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan and was the inspiration behind the movie You've Got Mail. Shop takes place in Hungary and Stewart and Sullavan play co-workers in a store who are also (unbeknownst to them) pen pals. You can watch the entire film on YouTube (although it is in ten minute segments; here is the first of the segments).

3. Another romantic oldie (also available in segments on YouTube--click here) is Adam's Rib. I adore Katharine Hepburn movies and this is a classic about a married couple who are lawyers arguing opposite sides of an attempted murder case. It was one of the first films to push for equality for women, including in marriage. It is a very funny movie; Hepburn and Tracy are great together. However, Adam's Rib is not quite as good to me as Hepburn's most famous romantic lead role in The Philadelphia Story. I recommend both very highly, though.

4. Of course I would be crazy not to recommend pretty much any and all of the Jane Austen books a la movies. I once took a film literacy course at BYU and ever since have loved seeing how books are translated into movies. I even like to compare different translations. For example, I love the more literal translation of the BBC Pride and Prejudice; however, the music and cinematography and the acting in the 2005 film version I love equally--just in a different way. One of my newest favs is the Sense and Sensibility that was part of "The Complete Jane Austen" series that aired last spring (watch it on YouTube here; warning, the opening scene is risque, but the rest of the film is clean).

5. Lastly, another more modern romantic (clean) movie I love is While You Were Sleeping. Sandra Bullock stars in a story that is not just about romantic love, but family love as well. If you watch this one, try to count how many times you see people falling down in the film.

If you have a clean romantic comedy to recommend, be sure to leave a comment so I can check it out!

Scripture of the Day: John 13:34

5 comments:

  1. I LOVE lots of these! Philadelphia Story is one of my all-time favorites. (How can you go wrong with Cary Grant AND Jimmy Stewart?!)

    ReplyDelete
  2. I love these movies. I have yet to see New In Town, but hear that is so cute.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I love The Shop Around the Corner -- I was pretty smug telling everyone that I was sure YGM was based on it (my 20 yo friends had never heard of TSATC).

    I really like A Room With a View. It's got some male nudity, but it doesn't bother me (the context is "appropriate" if that makes any sense).

    Funny -- I read a terrible review of New in Town, but I'm still looking forward to it. I think sometimes men just don't get that we enjoy that kind of movie. ;)

    ReplyDelete
  4. I just wanted to let you know I watched Sense and Sensibility last night because of this post. So I since I always do a Monday movie review, you in my review. Check it out at simplyafamily.blogspot.com

    Love your blog!

    ReplyDelete
  5. I have been wanting to watch some of these, and now I have a good list from you. Thanks!

    I'm a fan of Enchanted April.

    ReplyDelete

Comments are much appreciated!