Monday, March 28, 2011

Romance Ain't So Bad

After spending an hour trying to find a movie on itunes we settled for turning on the television in the unlikely event that something watchable was on RTE at 2200h. RTE mostly shows reruns of Friends* and The Simpsons. It's 2011 people, enough already with The Simpsons. 

"The Bridges of Madison County" was on and we initially started watching mostly so we could crack jokes about how Clint Eastwood was playing the 'sex symbol' in a romance movie. I hadn't seen the movie or read the book so we decided to stay with it for a while. 

Warning: spoiler for those of you who still have this 1995 movie on your "must see" list!!

Ok, I may get flamed for saying this but...it was actually quite a good movie (as long as you can stomach geriatric sex scenes involving Eastwood). I mean, it was as good and as realistic as a romance from Hollywood can get. Of course, unrequited love movies always hit the soft underbelly of my heart, but some scenes just ruined me!  Oh, the fact that she tried to find him after her husband died...sighhhhhhhhhhhhh. But she couldn't reconnect with him because he was no longer working for National Geographic. Nooooooooooooooo!

This morning I commented that the movie could never be as realistic now because she could have easily tracked him down on google or FB. To which Tobie replied, "yeah, it would have kinda killed the movie if she'd just looked him up on FB after her husband died".

Then again, he would have had a GPS and would have never needed to drive up to a strangers house asking for directions in the first place.


Which, I guess means that new technology has killed any possibility of realistic, meaningful romance movies.

I was just thankful that I didn't meet Tobie after getting married and having two children with a farmer from Iowa. 

--

*Was Friends ever good? I try and go back to my 90's brain and watch it with that question in my mind. I realize that most comedy has a period shelf-life. Unless the person writing it is Lenny Bruce.

5 comments:

Absentbabinski said...

a) No, Friends was always terrible.

b) A bit of romance is always good and a willing suspension of disbelief is essential for the full enjoyment of any film, I'd say.

Anonymous said...

1) Friend was a product of its time. Same way that "Jersey Shore" is funny today :P

2) Yes, technology has ruined romance. Can you imagine our parent's generation showing their special gal they were thinking of them by 'poking' them on Facebook?

Cartoon Characters said...

Well, I don't know if technology has killed ALL romance!

After all, I found my husband online...a dating site, believe it or not, and we only lived 35 minutes from each other, in different countries!

I don't think I would have ever met him otherwise! ;)

One thing replaces the other. Love finds a way! :)

Albinoblackbear said...

AB: Agreed and true!

IANH: Haven't seen Jersey Shore but have been warned that I would hate it. Guess that shows how unhip / old I am. :)

Indeed, gone are the sealed letters and in their place, a poke or a txt. Shame indeed.

CC: Ok, I will concede that internet dating has succeeded in bringing many people together thus providing some argument that technology has not killed romance (completely).

I never had any luck with the online dating thing, unless you count meeting completely bizarre maladjusted stalkers "luck". ;)

PGYx said...

If our separated-at-birth theory holds then you will hate Jersey Shore. I saw one episode. Not funny in the least. Lots of boring people sharing their STDs in the unsexiest way possible (and getting paid tons of money to do it). Blech.

I have a soft spot for unrequited love movies, too. I'm less ashamed to admit it as I grow older! :-)