Wednesday, February 11, 2015

Thursday Movie Picks - Unrequited Love

Written for Wandering Through the Shelves' weekly blogathon. In order to play along, just choose three films that fit the week's category.

This week's theme for movie picks is Unrequited Love. My favorite kind. But in trying to make my picks this week, I had to remind myself of the definition. According to Wikipedia, Unrequited love is "love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep and strong romantic affections." The Merriam Webster Online Dictionary defines unrequited as "not reciprocated or returned in kind."


You could argue that nearly every Romantic Comedy involves unrequited love in some way, but they usually end with the beloved's realization that SHOCKER, their true love was right in front of them the whole time! I rejected all those films outright, and insisted on some other parameters: The love must be made exceedingly clear, if not stated outright, and genuinely rejected (goodbye, In The Mood for Love, The Great Gatsby, etc.); no mid-film flings (sorry, Chasing Amy); and no anthology-type films where the unrequited love only plays a part in one story out of many (apologies, Love Actually). Fortunately... or unfortunately, depending on your point of view... I immediately thought of one perfect pick and two other picks for which I wanted to talk about anything BUT the unrequited love part. The fact that this is a gif-heavy post might give you a clue as to what I wanted to talk about instead...


Pretty In Pink (John Hughes, 1986) - Finally, a hero for the GUY with an unrequited crush on his GIRL best friend! I may never forgive Pretty In Pink for unleashing Jon Cryer on the world, but it's kind of hard to deny that this film, and Duckie, are damn good and iconic for a reason - and it's not that HIDEOUS dress Molly Ringwald wore to the prom. Much like John Hughes's previous classic The Breakfast Club, there's something here for any teenager to relate to. And really, enough cannot be said about that perfect final scene, scored to OMD's "If You Leave". No matter who you want Ringwald's Andie to end up with, it's impossible not to get caught up in the romance of that scene.


Crazy, Stupid, Love. (Glenn Ficara, John Requa, 2011) - A young boy not-so-secretly in love with his babysitter, who's secretly in love with said boy's father - at least until her own father discovers the nude pictures she planned to give her unrequited love. Oldest story in the world, right? Okay, fine, this is really just a Trojan horse to talk about Ryan Gosling's Photoshopped body. Can you blame me? The man is PERFECT. The mid-film scene with Gosling and Emma Stone is a masterpiece short film, a sex scene that-really-isn't.... a love scene in the best sense of the word. This is one of the best mainstream romantic comedies Hollywood has produced in years, primarily because it treats its characters like real people with real emotions (and perfect bodies).

The Paperboy (Lee Daniels, 2012) - Jesus, who WOULDN'T be in love with Nicole Kidman's Charlotte Bless?!? Because, really, how fucking brilliant is she in Lee Daniels's batshit, tonally confused (and still somehow slightly dull) Southern Gothic? It's one of the most audacious star turns in recent memory. You can't blame Zac Efron for going all head over heels for her crazy sexy/sexual hairdresser. It's hard to believe she doesn't reciprocate for him in those wet briefs, but, well... she kinda has a thing for creepy psycho backwoods murderers played by John Cusack at his most repugnant, so... Plus, I think it's pretty obvious she's WAY too much woman for poor little Zac - she'd chew him up and spit him out in five minutes.


BONUS PICKS:

These are two of my favorites, ones I almost picked but determined they didn't really count for some reason.


My Best Friend's Wedding (P.J. Hogan, 1997) - I was seconds away from choosing this one, but then I remembered that there's one scene where Dermot Mulroney makes it pretty clear that he wants Julia Roberts to tell him she loves him. We don't know that he feels the same way back, but the subtext is that he probably does - or at the very least is considering running away with her. If you don't know this one (and you should), Roberts's Julianne and Mulroney's Michael made a pact that if neither of them were married by the time they turned 28 they would marry each other. Three weeks before that happens, Michael calls Julianne and tells her that he's getting married to the preppy Kimmy (Cameron Diaz). Julianne freaks out that he's marrying someone so "wrong" for him and realizes it's because she really loves him. But he sees her as his best friend so much that Kimmy asks Julianne to be her maid of honor. So of course, Julianne decides to split up the happy couple before they even get married. Of course, things don't exactly go according to plan. Julia Roberts is deliciously bitchy in one of her best performances, and Cameron Diaz is perfect as Kimmy. And also, Rupert Everett plays the ultimate Gay BFF.


A Single Man (Tom Ford, 2009) - I had already written this up when I suddenly had a crisis of conscience: Does Julianne Moore's Charlie ACTUALLY say to Colin Firth's George that she loves him? Panicked, I checked. Unfortunately, the answer was yes AND no. She tells him that she is jealous that she never had the kind of love with him that he had with his now-dead lover of many years Jim (Matthew Goode at his most perfect), but then immediately follows it up by saying, far too honestly to be covering anything up, that she never had that kind of love with anybody. That would have to include George, so I have to say that it isn't true unrequited love. This is one of my favorite Julianne Moore performances, such a finely-detailed character study in really only one scene. And to say nothing of Colin Firth's heartbreaking, career-best work. And Tom Ford brings his flawless designer's eye to every single frame. He's not quite Wong Kar-Wai, mind you, but I still treasure this film, flaws and all.

23 comments:

  1. I liked The Paperboy, although it's not really a good movie, frankly. Yet, it's quite obvious that Zac has gone too far, poor him.

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    1. I liked PARTS of The Paperboy, but on the whole it didn't work for me. Yeah, poor Zac. At least he has that ass to keep him warm at night!

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  2. Nice you went with a definition and parameters to work within too. I totally forgot about the boy, the babysitter and the father thing in Crazy, Stupid Love

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    1. I had a very specific vision of unrequited love in my head, so I had to stick to it, even if it is a bit more restrictive than the actual definition lol.

      The scene in CSL in the backyard when it all comes to a head and her father beats up Steve Carell and Ryan Gosling punches Kevin Bacon is so fucking funny. Sucks that the little boy is one of the most annoying child actors I've ever seen.

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  3. Nice picks! I really liked the Paperboy, like a lot more than it seems like most did, so I'm happy to see it here. Pretty in Pink and Crazy, Stupid, Love are excellent choices as well.

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    1. I really like parts of The Paperboy, but it just never came together as a whole for me. Kidman is dynamite, though. And Cusack is so disgusting. I also love Macy Gray, but then, I always love Macy Gray lol.

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  4. Crazy, Stupid, Love...great pick! I also love the Single Man angle...that's a good one too...inspired choice.

    And I love seeing Pretty in Pink again :-D

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    1. Thank you! I almost can't believe more people didn't go with Pretty in Pink this week - it was the only film that immediately came to mind other than (500) Days of Summer, which I only didn't choose because my memory kept trying to tell me that there might have been some ambiguity as to whether or not she actually fell for him at one point.

      A Single Man just takes my breath away. Such a special film, despite its flaws. If I could, I would make Jeff Bridges and Colin Firth switch Oscars.

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  5. Pretty in Pink makes my list too! Crazy, Stupid, Love's unrequited angle escaped me, great choice! Liked your bonus picks as well.

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    1. Yay for the Pretty in Pink love! I don't blame people for forgetting about the unrequited love story in Crazy Stupid Love. After all, Ryan Gosling's abs. I'm not entirely sure, but this was the film that really launched the whole "Hey, girl" meme, right?

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  6. Love all your choices, except The Paperboy. Paperboy's a good choice for the theme but I hated the movie. The others are all great in their different ways. For a movie that stars two people I'm pretty cool on, Roberts and Diaz, it's one I can't pass on the dial without stopping and watching to the end no matter where I come in.

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    1. Yeah, My Best Friend's Wedding is a great atypical performance for Roberts. And Diaz takes a character that could easily be super shrill and annoying and somehow makes her very much those things, but also endearing.

      Really, Paperboy is only here for Nicole Kidman's genius, balls-to-the-wall performance. And Zac's ass.

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  7. Crazy, Stupid ,Love is a really good choice!

    The Paperboy was such a fucking mess, but I can't say I hated it. It's almost sort of charming? I think it's just the ridiculousness of it all.

    My Best Friend's Weeding is fucked up! How dare they give Julia Roberts a realistic turnout!!! I was slapped in the face the first time I watched it. I can't help but feel she'll still get Dermot Mulroney in the end. Wishful thinking?

    Great choices!

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    1. LOL at MBFW being fucked up! I think that ending is a large part of why it isn't as beloved as many inferior Roberts vehicles, notably Runaway Bride. But I still love it. As presented, Julianne is such a strong independent woman - I LOVE that she doesn't end up with a man (other than gay BFF George, that is!).

      I feel the same way about Paperboy - it is a fucking mess - but I kinda hated it, despite really liking parts of it. It wasn't an entertaining mess, just a mess.

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    2. Dan-I'm not even sure Julianne would really love to end up with Michael if she got him. I think it's just the idea of him being there for her as an option and her coming out on top which as the Alpha female type is what she needs. Now she can just brood over the loss. Oh the Susan Hayward of it all!!

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    3. LOL TRUE, Joel - esp. at "the Susan Hayward of it all"!

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    4. It's such a great quote, so perfect at that point in the film and Everett delivers it exactly the right cadence too. And I loves me some Susan Hayward!!!

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  8. Excellent picks this week, brother! I have never seen The Paperboy, but that GIF is rockin'! Crazy Stupid Love is an awesome one here. Love the dynamic with the son character and the babysitter. Just brilliant. And you're so right on about the "love" scene with Gosling and Stone. Pretty in Pink almost made my list. That is such a great slice of '80s.

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    1. Thanks man! The Paperboy is totally worth a watch even though it's not very good. Kidman is the only thing of note, but it's rare that we get something so defiantly bizarre as this coming from pretty mainstream people.

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  9. I almost included A Single Man too -- I loved that movie. Pretty in Pink is a terrific choice, too.

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    1. A Single Man actually did not have quite the emotional impact on me that I thought it would - perhaps it's a bit TOO designed? - but on a scene-by-scene basis it's stunning, and Firth is really just beyond.

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  10. Interesting picks.. The only movie I've seen is Pretty In Pink, which I used for this week's theme as well, not sure about some of your other ones but I was intrigued by what you said about The Paperboy and have added it to my long list of movies to watch.

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    1. Thanks! The Paperboy is a weird, deeply troubled film, but well worth a watch, if only for Kidman's insane performance. The scene where she and Cusack's character meet for the first time is a legendary test of the boundaries of "good taste".

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