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Give Yourself The Gift Of Watching These Classic Rom-Coms This Valentine’s Day
the federalist ^ | February 14, 2021 | Elle Reynolds

Posted on 02/14/2021 1:55:08 PM PST by Kaslin

Whether you're cozied up with your sweetheart or enjoying a girls' night, grab some popcorn (and chocolate) and treat yourself to the classics.


Picking a movie is always a daunting task in my family. My mom and I have had to sit through our fair share of war movies with no discernible plot, while my dad and brother have patiently suffered through “Gone With The Wind.” The beauty of a good rom-com is having enough “rom” to satisfy more sentimental audiences and enough “com” to keep less romantic viewers interested.

As a connoisseur of the “rom,” I can’t guarantee all the movies on this list will please the most macho of audiences, but I can promise they’re quality classics everyone should see at least once.

Father Of The Bride

There is nothing like watching Steve Martin and a hilariously flamboyant Martin Short argue about a front yard full of swans. In this 1991 classic (a remake of the 1950 Elizabeth Taylor movie), Martin plays a practical but loving father who has a hard time coming to terms with his daughter’s marriage—and the fact that he has to pay for it. Short plays the wedding planner brilliantly with an indeterminate but comical accent.

The comedy in this movie—and in its 1995 sequel—is superb. But the film is also a heartwarming reminder of the gifts of family and memory. Especially in a year when pandemic restrictions have forced many to downsize their weddings and other celebrations, “Father of the Bride” reminds us that everyday moments with loved ones are more important than a picture-perfect ceremony. I never watch it without tearing up at the end, and I never watch it without belly laughing.

Father of the Bride trailer 1991

Hitch

This 2005 classic stars Will Smith as a “date doctor,” who helps men learn to pursue women intentionally and creatively. He successfully pairs wealthy, beautiful celebrity Allegra Cole with his kindhearted but stereotypically average client Albert. In his own romantic pursuits, however, he finds his tactics less successful.

Albert and Allegra’s relationship is adorable and heartwarming, but the movie also brings a profound message to an audience steeped in hookup culture.

The art of dating is neither a means to an inevitable one-night stand nor a drab ritual of “hanging out.” Dating shouldn’t be a passive excursion—as Hitch shows us, dating is an opportunity to be authentic but also to put thought and effort into making another person feel interesting.

Hitch (2005) - Trailer

High Society

This musical rom-com is definitely on the effervescent side, but a cast that includes Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and Grace Kelly makes up for any deep intrigue the film might lack. Kelly plays Tracy Lord, a spoiled heiress and the divorced wife of jazz musician C. K. Dexter Haven (played by Crosby), who happens to live next door.

While Lord prepares to marry another man, her ex-husband tries to win her attention, as does a journalist sent to cover the wedding, played by Sinatra. Armstrong and his band grace the whole drama with toe-tapping musical numbers.

Fun fact: this was Kelly’s last film before she left Hollywood to marry real-life Prince Rainier of Monaco, so the whopping 10-carat ring she wears in the movie is her real engagement ring.

The film is a remake of the 1940 movie “The Philadelphia Story,” which has no less impressive of a cast, featuring Katherine Hepburn, James Stewart, and Cary Grant.


TOPICS:
KEYWORDS: audreyhepburn; bingcrosby; carygrant; charade; fatherofthebride; highsociety; hitch; louisarmstrong; megryan; misscongeniality; romcoms; sandrabullock
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To: max americana

Bogie has a better attitude in the finale of The Maltese Falcon. He doesn’t play the sap for femme fatale Astor.


21 posted on 02/14/2021 2:33:35 PM PST by xp38
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To: EEGator

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RJACPfUU3nk&list=PL1iJnP-TJDzREE7Qm7ODyM2JZv3zX3d2h&index=15


22 posted on 02/14/2021 2:40:20 PM PST by EvilCapitalist (We must FIGHT, I repeat it sir, we must FIGHT! -Patrick Henry)
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To: Kaslin

23 posted on 02/14/2021 2:41:09 PM PST by monkeyshine (live and let live is dead)
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To: EvilCapitalist

I forgot about that. “We have a piper down...”

He was huge for a while, then just disappeared.


24 posted on 02/14/2021 2:43:17 PM PST by EEGator
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To: Kaslin

Give me “An Affair to Remember” with Cary Grant, and Deborah Kerr.


25 posted on 02/14/2021 2:49:38 PM PST by mass55th ("Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway." ~~ John Wayne )
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To: EEGator
Cries himself to sleep every night on his gigantic pillah!

I actually used the line "Keith! Pants! Nah!" earlier today.

26 posted on 02/14/2021 2:52:34 PM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: EvilCapitalist

Actually probably one of my top 20 favorite movies of all time.


27 posted on 02/14/2021 2:54:40 PM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Still Thinking

As a guy that’s probably the only rom com I could stand.


28 posted on 02/14/2021 2:56:05 PM PST by EvilCapitalist (We must FIGHT, I repeat it sir, we must FIGHT! -Patrick Henry)
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To: Still Thinking

“Head...paper...nah!...”

The old man is definitely the best character.


29 posted on 02/14/2021 2:57:05 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator; EvilCapitalist

Mrs. Thinking pulls the sister line on me the other day “Would you like some eggs, bacon, hash browns, fresh squeezed OJ, and some fresh brewed coffee? Yeah? Well, we don’t have any of that, here’s some cereal.”


30 posted on 02/14/2021 3:02:45 PM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: Still Thinking

LOL, that’s messed up.


31 posted on 02/14/2021 3:05:36 PM PST by EEGator
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To: EEGator

LOL, I knew she was kidding when she asked, so I wasn’t too heartbroken. XD


32 posted on 02/14/2021 3:09:24 PM PST by Still Thinking (Freedom is NOT a loophole!)
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To: cdcdawg
Father of the Bride does feature really good performances by Steve Martin and Martin Short.

One of my favorite scenes: I'll tell you what I'm doing. I want to buy eight hot dogs and eight hot dog buns to go with them. But no one sells eight hot dog buns. They only sell twelve hot dog buns. So I end up paying for four buns I don't need. So I am removing the superfluous buns. Yeah. And you want to know why? Because some big-shot over at the wiener company got together with some big-shot over at the bun company and decided to rip off the American public. Because they think the American public is a bunch of trusting nit-wits who will pay for everything they don't need rather than make a stink. Well they're not ripping of this nitwit anymore because I'm not paying for one more thing I don't need. George Banks is saying NO!

All that happened after this is bun bakeries reducing the package to 8 buns, thus cutting the amount by 33% and dropping the price by 10%.

33 posted on 02/14/2021 3:13:59 PM PST by IYAS9YAS (There are two kinds of people: Those who can extrapolate from incomplete data.)
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To: Kaslin

High Society with Frank and Bing and Grace
It was just on channel 13.3 DTV using a over the air antenna.

I think she slept with Bing and Frank during the making of movie....


34 posted on 02/14/2021 3:39:22 PM PST by minnesota_bound (I need more money. )
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To: Kaslin
I still prefer the 1940 version far ahead of the later version...

Also, to me, the movie African Queen is a top five "com-rom"... IMHO, Bogart & Hepburn are fabulous...

35 posted on 02/14/2021 3:51:49 PM PST by SuperLuminal (Where is Joe McCarthy now that we desperately need him sober?)
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To: Kaslin

First things I though of upon seeing “rom coms” was romney communists.


36 posted on 02/14/2021 3:54:57 PM PST by fruser1
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To: Kaslin

Mang = “Man” Al Pacino’s Cubano variation thereof. It’s repeated throughout the Scarface film. To the point that it’s become a punchline.


37 posted on 02/14/2021 4:09:52 PM PST by moehoward (.)
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To: xp38

‘He doesn’t play the sap for femme fatale Astor.’

with the hairdo Mary Astor had in that movie, no wonder he threw her under the bus...talk about unseductive...


38 posted on 02/14/2021 4:46:39 PM PST by IrishBrigade
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To: Kaslin

We watched a really sweet movie last night:

‘The Magic of Belle Isle’.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1839654/

(We’re watching Batman tonight - my husband gives over only so much ;-)


39 posted on 02/14/2021 4:57:20 PM PST by Jamestown1630 ("A Republic, if you can keep it.")
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To: IYAS9YAS

I think the movie expressed something we all felt at one point. It might have been the catalyst for change.


40 posted on 02/14/2021 5:02:45 PM PST by cdcdawg (Salute the marines!)
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