Awhile back, I wrote about what was wrong with the face of the romantic comedy in my post, The RomCom Conundrum. Part of what I said in the article was the fact that there are less and less likeable actors these days that make you even want to watch them have fun and get laughs in comedies. Part of this is due to the fact that the internet makes every star so accessible, that we start to see what narcissistic jerks most of them are. Yea, it’s true. The other part of what makes the romantic comedy less than enjoyable to watch these days is how incredibly insipid a lot of them are. Take The Ugly Truth, for instance. Holy Hot Mess.

But while brainless RomComs run abound, there are plenty that are enjoyable and endearing. Critics, though, fail these days to make the distinction between a breezy and fun RomCom and a terrible one. They look at the names on the marquee, and it seems that if it lists Kate Hudson, Katherine Heigl (okay, Killers was awful, too), or even Drew Barrymore, they automatically decide to give the film a horrendous review before it is even screened. The last RomCom I can recall that got a rave review was 500 Days of Summer. And guess what? It wasn’t that great. But since it has indie names above the marquee, the critics decided it was “deep” and “took a fresh perspective.” But Zooey Deschanel’s character was flat out unlikeable. So were many parts of the movie.

So I am here today to defend the likes of No Strings, Life As We Know It, Going the Distance, He’s Just Not That Into You, etc… and most recently, Something Borrowed. Something Borrowed is at 16% approval on Rotten Tomatoes and it’s absolutely ridiculous. Granted, the film has a couple of pacing problems and some of the plot points are not quite fleshed out (for example, what does Kate Hudson’s character, Darcy, do professionally?), but overall it was a good film.

Kate Hudson stars as Darcy Rhone who is engaged to her best friend, Rachel’s (Ginnifer Goodwin) friend from law school, Dex (Colin Egglesfield). Little does she know that Rachel has harbored feelings for Dex even before Darcy crashed their bar “date” one night and took Dex away from Rachel. Throw in the always fabulous John Krasinski as Rachel’s friend and conscience, Ethan, and you have a nice set up for a story. The movie kicks off with Rachel and Dex hooking up at the beginning, and then we follow Rachel on her ethical journey of what to do and what not to do.

What actually makes this a story worth watching are the questions and dilemmas the film raises. There is not necessarily a right or wrong answer as to the what the characters should do. All of them are likeable, though Rachel does get a tab needy and weepy from time to time. What makes the film really good is the impressively dynamic performance from Kate Hudson. She completely steals the movie away from Goodwin and Egglesfield. Her selfish and narcissistic Darcy is a wonder to behold and she manages to make a complete bitch of a friend likeable, almost loveable. The only one onscreen that can compete with here, almost, is Krasinski. His comic timing is absolutely impeccable. When is HE going to get his starring role? (License to Wed doesn’t count).

This is a story that people really can relate to on so many levels – not just if you have ever deceived a best friend. It’s a film that makes you appreciate your own friends and confidants in your life and explores how something, at any moment, can be a game changer. People you thought you would be close to forever can be gone in a minute due to any trivial matter. And then people you never thought you would hold in such a close regard are by your side for the long haul.

All in all, my point is this: Critics, quit killing the RomCom genre. Not all of them are bad. Just because an actor or actress chooses to reroute their career and pick films that appeal to them that may be lighter in fare does not make them a shallow actor. Many strong performances in RomComs as of late have been fantastic. Josh Duhamel was hilarious in Life As We Know It as well as he and Heigl having great chemistry, Ashton Kutcher gave a strong lovelorn performance in No Strings, and Drew Barrymore and Justin Long gave engaging performances in Going The Distance. Just because they don’t “stretch” and try to become a “masterpiece” doesn’t mean they aren’t worthy. They have lessons and pose questions and make you actually be able to relate the movie to instances in your own life.

And that is worth a whole lot more sometimes. That, and a good girly dance scene.

Filed under: Comedy, Kate Hudson, Opinion, Relationships, Romantic Comedy, silver screen, Taking Critics to Task by admin