Romantic movies with a twist

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  • Romantic movies with a twist

    Hey guys,

    Do you know any movies where boy and girl meet briefly, like each other, somehow lose each other, and then struggle to find each other only to realize that they have nothing in common and that girl really loves boy's best friend, for example. Something anti-SERENDIPITY.

    I know there are bunch of movies like this out there, but can't remember any single title. If you can drop any titles here, please do!

  • #2
    Re: Romantic movies with a twist

    Forces of Nature, with Ben Affleck and Sandra Bullock, did this. It basically played like a straight-up romantic comedy all the way through, until the SUPER annoying ending where they don't end up together and he realizes he should go back to his finance.

    I think it would be really hard to do a movie like this that audiences would find satisfying. About Forces of Nature Roger Ebert asked in his review "if this is how the movie ends, then what was it about?"

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    • #3
      Re: Romantic movies with a twist

      Annie Hall, kinda

      Comment


      • #4
        Re: Romantic movies with a twist

        Last Tango In Paris, maybe?
        Know this: I'm a lazy amateur, so trust not a word what I write.
        "The ugly can be beautiful. The pretty, never." ~ Oscar Wilde

        Comment


        • #5
          Re: Romantic movies with a twist

          Forces of Nature is a good example, and also why as you point out the movie tanked. It just wasn't a satisfying ending, though the chemistry between Bullock and Afflect was pretty good and the road trip was enjoyable.

          Are you familiar with the concept of "the Bellamy"? Devised by Billy Mernit and elaborated on in his book Writing the Romantic Comedy (from Ralph Bellamy, the oh-so-obvious Mr. Wrong in many classic romantic comedies of the 40s, such as The Awful Truth and Carefree).

          So having the film end with the main character choosing Mr. Wrong instead of Mr. Right (or Ms. Wrong, in the case of Forces of Nature) is hard to pull off in a clever way. Not thinking of any movies that did this well, usually the Mr./Ms. Wrong character seems like a stodgy, safe, gold-digging or parent-pleasing choice instead of the more dashing Mr./Ms. Right.

          Then there are movies where the main character chooses no one at the end, which might seem like an unconventional twist but it's often unsatisfying for the genre. Broadcast News did this at the end, it's often described as a romantic comedy but it doesn't really play that way. Also Same Time, Next Year when Ellen Burstyn refuses Alan Alda's proposal. Also All about Steve in a way, a comedy that people seemed to despise but I liked a lot; Sandra Bullock gives up the chase for Steve and chooses being her odd/unconventional self.

          On the Bellamy:

          http://reversals.blogspot.com/2006/1...gh-choice.html

          http://livingromcom.typepad.com/my_w..._of_the_m.html
          Last edited by castilleja32; 06-30-2016, 12:08 PM.

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          • #6
            Re: Romantic movies with a twist

            Pretty in Pink, although the original was intended to have Andie end up with Duckie. The test screenings didn't go well, so they gave her Blaine, the major appliance. Bleh.

            Comment


            • #7
              Re: Romantic movies with a twist

              Maybe something relevant in these titles:
              (then again, maybe not relevant at all)


              My Best Friend's Wedding
              Just Go With It
              Doctor Zhivago
              Housesitter
              LA Story
              The Freshman
              Jerry Maguire
              Cast Away
              Outlander? (TV)
              Count of Monte Cristo
              Weird Science
              Seems Like Old Times
              Arthur
              There's Something About Mary
              The Heartbreak Kid (1972)




              and It Happened One Night. Not relevant except that it is the great-grandmother of all romantic comedies that ever followed...two opposites forced together, despise each other, need to rely on each other, then the misunderstanding and the realization moment.

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              • #8
                Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                Thanks guys, I'll check out those titles. Nobody suggested WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING. So far it's been the best example I could come up with. A girl thinks she's in love with a boy without actually knowing him. While he's in coma, she spends a lot of time with his brother and falls for him.

                Comment


                • #9
                  Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                  The Human Centipede?

                  Comment


                  • #10
                    Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                    The ultimate example has to be Gregory's Girl. That entire movie is about the romantic twist ... the twisted machinations of the fairer sex that is.
                    Know this: I'm a lazy amateur, so trust not a word what I write.
                    "The ugly can be beautiful. The pretty, never." ~ Oscar Wilde

                    Comment


                    • #11
                      Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                      Originally posted by nobodysperfect View Post
                      Thanks guys, I'll check out those titles. Nobody suggested WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING. So far it's been the best example I could come up with. A girl thinks she's in love with a boy without actually knowing him. While he's in coma, she spends a lot of time with his brother and falls for him.
                      I was just going to say, While You Were Sleeping sounds like the closest thing to this idea that's been done well.

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                      • #12
                        Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                        A Boy and His Dog?

                        Comment


                        • #13
                          Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                          Forces of Nature also seemed off in tone and cinematography. It was not shot like a comedy.


                          Originally posted by castilleja32 View Post
                          Forces of Nature is a good example, and also why as you point out the movie tanked. It just wasn't a satisfying ending, though the chemistry between Bullock and Afflect was pretty good and the road trip was enjoyable.

                          Are you familiar with the concept of "the Bellamy"? Devised by Billy Mernit and elaborated on in his book Writing the Romantic Comedy (from Ralph Bellamy, the oh-so-obvious Mr. Wrong in many classic romantic comedies of the 40s, such as The Awful Truth and Carefree).

                          So having the film end with the main character choosing Mr. Wrong instead of Mr. Right (or Ms. Wrong, in the case of Forces of Nature) is hard to pull off in a clever way. Not thinking of any movies that did this well, usually the Mr./Ms. Wrong character seems like a stodgy, safe, gold-digging or parent-pleasing choice instead of the more dashing Mr./Ms. Right.

                          Then there are movies where the main character chooses no one at the end, which might seem like an unconventional twist but it's often unsatisfying for the genre. Broadcast News did this at the end, it's often described as a romantic comedy but it doesn't really play that way. Also Same Time, Next Year when Ellen Burstyn refuses Alan Alda's proposal. Also All about Steve in a way, a comedy that people seemed to despise but I liked a lot; Sandra Bullock gives up the chase for Steve and chooses being her odd/unconventional self.

                          On the Bellamy:

                          http://reversals.blogspot.com/2006/1...gh-choice.html

                          http://livingromcom.typepad.com/my_w..._of_the_m.html

                          Comment


                          • #14
                            Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                            Originally posted by ihavebiglips View Post
                            The Human Centipede?
                            Seriously

                            Comment


                            • #15
                              Re: Romantic movies with a twist

                              Originally posted by omjs View Post
                              I was just going to say, While You Were Sleeping sounds like the closest thing to this idea that's been done well.
                              Yeah

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