From classic rom-coms like “Some Like it Hot” to modern heartfelt romances like “The Big Sick,” love and laughter have remained timeless for decades.
Some Like it Hot (1959)
“Some Like it Hot” opens to black-and-white machine gunfire set in Prohibition-era Chicago. The police bust down the door to an underground speakeasy with an axe and the mobsters who ran it kill the informant. Joe and Jerry, unemployed musicians and accidental witnesses to the murder, decide unwillingly that a spot in a girl’s band set for Florida is the best solution. The introduction is purposeful: enhanced with dramatic swells of music and polished dialogue. On the train platform, the two men, now crossdressing as Josephine and Daphne, eye band singer Sugar Kowalcyzk, played by Marilyn Monroe, as she walks by.
The next 30 minutes of the train ride and settling into Florida have less focus. The typical antics that come with a gender swap grow slightly grating: Kowalcyzk explains to Josephine what she’s looking for in a man, the bandleader expresses her complete disdain for men, Josephine and Daphne get hit on by men. The highlight is clearly Monroe, who plays the dumb blonde role with completely convincing innocence.
The actual romance starts only after an hour into the movie. Joe fashions himself into Kowalcyzk’s ideal type by pretending to be a wealthy oil magnate. It’s entertaining watching him try to be in two places at once as Kowalcyzk’s best friend and love interest, running back and forth and mastering changing clothes quickly. When the gags center to Daphne’s side plot of dating an elderly millionaire, however, I found Joe and Kowalcyzk’s transition into subtler dialogue even more favorable. The two embody a vision of 1920s opulence — it’s hard not to see the allure of clinking champagne glasses on a candlelit yacht. When Kowalcyzk finally realizes that Joe is not either of the people she thought she knew, she accepts it anyway and they sail away beneath the sunset to South America to escape the mob. It’s exactly what you could expect from an old movie, done well. While “Some Like it Hot” starts a much slower movie than most, the scenes are stylish and opulent and its payoff is sweet.
Some Kind of Wonderful (1987):
The 1987 rom-com “Some Kind of Wonderful” takes advantage of its high school setting to pioneer what feels like the base formula for every Disney Channel movie to come out in the early 2000s, down to the alternative best friend carrying drumsticks around school. The movie is the perfect film to put on when you’re looking for something to turn your brain off to, serving the same purpose as a Hallmark flick but with the added spice of the aesthetics from a time before.
The clothes, hair and music scream ‘80s. Hair full of product, Eric Stoltz’s portrayal of social outcast main character Keith Nelson is likable most of the time — except when he’s lurking on the girl of his dreams while she’s making out with her boyfriend, playing tennis, making out with her boyfriend, getting detention, making out with her boyfriend, breaking up with her boyfriend — so that he can swoop in at just the right time to ask her out.
An unnecessary 30 minutes of the movie are spent on his obsession with love interest Amanda Jones, portrayed by Lea Thompson. Another drawn-out third of the runtime is spent on him courting her before the pacing finally picks up in the last 20 minutes or so. The plot pivots to an intense showdown between Keith and Amanda’s abusive ex-boyfriend at the classic ‘80s movie high school party, which really only happens because of Keith’s own stupidity. Keith then realizes that the girl of his dreams has been beside him the whole time: the alternative drum-stick-carrying best friend.
This unprecedented plot twist comes after said best friend, Watts, who had been portrayed as a tom-boy and insinuated to be a lesbian the whole movie, can no longer take the chauffeur role Kieth has sidelined her to be for him and Amanda. In a sudden and mostly unprovoked personality change, Amanda tells Keith that she wants to be single and encourages him to go get the girl. The grand finale of the movie closes with Watts readily accepting Keith’s advances after he has treated her poorly for most of the movie.
If you’re looking for a nostalgic way to relax and rest your mind from thinking for the day, this movie is a sweet and romantic option.
Garden State (2004)
In “Garden State” actor Andrew Largeman returns to his hometown for the first time in nine years after his mother’s death and meets the quirky Sam. Throughout the film, thoughtful cinematography shines, providing a frame for the narrative. The colors and composition are consistently fantastic, from the eclectic orange tones of Sam’s room to the greens and grays of a small adventure in a rainstorm. At an unengaging party, Largeman’s old friends move around him in blurry lines of motion while he remains unmoving on the couch. Together it captures the essence of early 2000s New Jersey perfectly, with obvious care. Beyond this, “Garden State” is able to effectively navigate nuanced discussions about dysfunctional family dynamics and mental health issues while still incorporating genuine humor.
Ironically, I found the main couple to be one of the least compelling aspects of the film. Zach Braff directed, wrote, produced and starred in this movie, considering every song on its incredible soundtrack a part of his mixtape. As a work inspired by events in his own life, it’s no wonder his portrayal of Largeman is extremely personal. By contrast, the weakest part of the movie is Sam’s manic pixie dream girl-esque character, which stands out even more in an otherwise realistic cast. She doesn’t add to heavier conversations and she’s childish almost to the point of annoyance otherwise. Because of this difference, it sometimes felt like he was humoring her instead of actually being with someone he liked.
At the movie’s end, Largeman resolves to go back to Los Angeles to sort out his problems. He says goodbye to Sam on the airport steps, insisting that he has to go for now. Reasonable. Twenty seconds later he runs back and says he can’t be apart any longer from a girl he’s known for four days. Largeman’s development with his family and friends make for a compelling emotional core, but his relationship with Sam led to mixed feelings, especially with the movie’s irritatingly optimistic ending. As a rom-com, “Garden State” may fall short, but as a movie, it exceeded all my expectations.
The Big Sick (2017):
“The Big Sick” is a genuine and heartfelt retelling of comedian Kumail Ali Nanjiani’s relationship with his real-life wife Emily V. Gordon, portrayed by Zoe Kazan. It explores Nanjiani’s experience with Pakistani culture, familial relationships, romance tropes and an intense battle with a life-threatening illness. The movie gently handles serious topics without taking advantage of them for clumsy and insensitive humor as many comedy dramas do, while keeping the audience laughing with oftentimes blunt and satirical humor.
The relationship between Kumail and Emily takes on unique pacing as, for most of the movie, Emily is out of commission. The two meet within the first five minutes and rapidly fall in love, trading awkward yet sweet flirting, throughout a montage of dates, at first both insisting they’re not looking for a partner before quickly ignoring that promise and continuing to see each other. About 30 minutes in is the big break-up that generally happens at a movie’s climax and is a good subversion of expectations. Shortly after Kumail has begun to move on, he gets a call that Emily has gone into a coma. Immediately finding himself by her side he awkwardly supports her alongside her parents until she wakes up, becoming more sure of his love with her before she’s even conscious. Despite being based on their real-life relationship, Emily ends up feeling more like a plot device than a character as her situation dramatically shifts Kumail’s life.
Throughout this time, Kumail juggles his blossoming relationship with Emily alongside his comedy career and his parents’ desire for him to get an arranged marriage. The film introduces Kumail’s struggles with cultural and parental expectations from the start and it becomes a central theme throughout as he grows closer to Emily’s parents as they watch over their daughter and he gets further from his own. Kumail’s moments with both families are by far the funniest and most heartfelt parts of the movie.
