Love Starts Here!

Romantic Comedies are on a resurgence thanks mostly to the success of The Proposal in 2009 and to a lesser extent Knocked Up in 2007, which combined gross-out boy humor and romance. Ad this to the Love Starts Here event on Valentine's Day at my church and you can see why romance is on my mind.

We had our ring fingers anointed at church and then we attended marriage classes where we read about and discussed Adam and Eve's marriage relationship(the book of Genesis)and our marital roles inspired by the word of God i.e. for men to love their wives, for women to submit to their husbands and men to be like Jesus to the Church9Colossians Chap 3, Ephesians Chap 5) and for a man to leave his parents and cleave to his wife(the Book of Genesis again). Then the next day, I heard that there are 7 new romantic comedies bowing between now and Christmas. So it would seem that both God and Hollywood are eager to see us all pair up(lol).

All the talk of romance was enough to inspire me to list my all-time top 10 romantic comedies. As, rom coms are just funny chick flicks, I will give the men 2 minutes to flee the room(lol).

The Players:
First a discussion about the actors and actresses known for their romantic comedies 1950's - the present.

Classic Old School:
Audrey Hepburn, Katherine Hepburn and Doris Day- these women practically invented the genre and became iconic figures from it. Now these women set the standard for the genre.

70's and 80's: The Time of Barbara, Bette, and Cher
Barbara Striesand, Bette Midler and Cher owned theses decades and they are amazing actors and singers (Oscars and Grammies) with great comedic timing and great romantic chemistry with their leading men.

Diane Keaton - her appeal has spanned over 3 decades and she can deliver the goods.

The Modern Era Women:
Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts - Girl next door-America's sweet heart types that everyone roots for.

Rene Zellweger, Cameron Diaz, Kate Hudson, Drew Barrymore - pretty, blond, quirky
These women rely on more physical humor and pratfalls in their movies.

Up and comers:
Vera Famigalia, Katherine Hiegel

Wanna-be's or Has Beens?
All the people up for this category are named Jeniffer and all are associated in some way with a TV show and with someone who shares the name of the youngest son of the Old Testament patriarch, Jacob (I couldn't resist throwing in a little Bible Trivia). Personally, I like all three of these women and hope that they get back on the top of their game.

Unlikely Leading Women:
Queen Latifah, Whoopi Goldberg - different sizes and races from the mainstream choices.

Now for the Men:

1950's-60's:
Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Jack Lemmon

1970's -'80's
Gene Wilder, Dudley Moore

1980-90's
Billy Crystal and Mel Gibson had a nice ride but Tom Hanks is the gold standard of this era.

The Present Stars:
Hugh Grant(the Brit), George Clooney (debonair), Matthew McConaghey (the abs), Luke Wilson(the butterscotch stallion), Ben Stiller

The New Guys:
Gerard Butler- with The Ugly Truth (with Katherine Hiegel) and The Bounty Hunter(with Jeniffer Aniston), he's becoming the new go to guy for Rom Coms.

Ashton Kutcher - not my fav but he grows on you.

Out of the Box:
Jack Black - a surprise addition but women just love him! I saw him at the Iron Man premiere in '09 and everyone went wild for him. Plus, I loved him in Shallow Hal (see top ten list).

My Top Ten Romantic Comedies:

The Proposal
Meet The Parents
My Best Friend's Wedding and My Big Fat Greek Wedding (tie)
Something About Mary
40 Year Old Virgin
What Women Want and How To Lose A Guy in 10 Days (tie)
Somethings Gotta Give
Shallow Hal
Brigette Jones Diary
Moonstruck and The Mirror has Two Faces (tie)

Honorable Mention:
Arthur - a bit on the sad side for me
When Harry Met Sally - funny, if a little dated
While You Were Sleeping - a funny Sandra Bullock starrer
The Replacements - a goofy sport movie with nice rom-com elements
50 First Dates - I thought Sandler showed his dramatic chops in this one.
The Holiday - 2 rappers-turned actors but still good
WALL-E - a lovely but "nontraditional" animated rom-com

Misses:
Despite all it's buzz, Knocked Up didn't make the list for me neither did The Ugly Truth... sorry if I offended any Katherine Hiegel fans. Notably missing from the list is anything with Bette Midler. I wanted to add The First Wives Club but it was far from a rom com... it was more a male bashing, dumped ex-wife revenge com(lol). Also, as gross-out boy humor goes, I think 40 Year Old Virgin works as a rom com but from a male angle so I included it on my list. Beware though, it's rated R for language.

Take the 'Top Ten Romantic Comedy poll and tell me what you think.

Update:
I realize that with the ties on the list, it's really a Top 13 list(lol).

Rom Com Star Sightings:
I've seen some of these women around town just going about their normal day or all decked out and walking the red carpet(see older posts).

Movie Trivia:
The hotel where Pretty Woman was filmed is just off Hollywood and Highland.

Note: I do not separate artists from their personal lives so there are certain actors, directors and writers etc. who will never be mentioned in this blog or if mentioned it's just very briefly for context.