Men: Movie Choices will determine your romantic success
Chick flicks to watch for a perfect evening, and flicks to avoid at all costs
It’s not too late. Valentine’s Day is here - as are the weekends before and after - and the woman in your life wants to do something romantic. How about snuggling up on the couch and watching a movie? Be careful here, renting an action or horror flick is not the way to go. She is expecting a ROMANTIC COMEDY. You know about these types of films, only because you actively try to avoid them. But on Valentine’s Day or other romantic occasions, sometimes you have to bite the bullet and watch something SHE wants to see. Here is a list of safe choices that men may actually enjoy and another list that should be avoided at all costs.
MOVIES MEN WILL WATCH:
1. The Wedding Singer (Adam Sandler, Drew Barrymore). Men usually can’t go wrong with Adam Sandler, his juvenile humor and over-the-top antics (not to mention occasional potty jokes) strike the right cord with men and surprisingly women too. Drew Barrymore is attractive but approachable, which both sexes like. The film takes place in the ‘80s, so has a rocking soundtrack, and is about a wedding singer who gets stood up at his own wedding, then has to continue to work wedding gigs even though he hates them.
A very funny and romantic film; an overall good choice.
2. Jerry Maguire (Tom Cruise, Renee Zellweger, Cuba Gooding Jr.). Be careful with this one, as long as your lady does not actively hate Tom, then he gives a great performance as a sports agent who has to go out on his own after being let go by his agency. Renee is very cute in this film, her first big performance, and Cuba is outstanding and exciting as a football player and Tom’s only client. Romantic comedies with a sports theme help men remain interested, while women focus on that other stuff.
3. Fever Pitch (Drew Barrymore, Jimmy Fallon). Once again, sports themed romantic comedies attract both men and women (especially if they’re sports fans). This story is about a man who is perfectly normal, sweet, a wonderful catch, who Drew starts dating in the off-season, but once baseball season starts, this crazy Red Sox fan turns into a completely different person. Fallon’s only decent movie performance to date and we already know both men and women like Drew.
4. Hitch (Will Smith, Kevin James). Yes, there is a romantic angle in this movie, though the two stars are men. Will is an underground professional matchmaker, who helps men get the woman of their dreams. Will does not anticipate falling in love with someone, and having none of his tricks of the trade work on her (in fact, they backfire horribly). Kevin plays an everyman who is one of Will’s clients, and seems to do everything backwards from what Will tries to teach him. A funny and intelligent film, both men and women will like.
MOVIES MEN SHOULD AVOID
1. Sleepless in Seattle (Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan). When you see Tom and Meg in a movie together, run the other way. Tom broods away the movie as a widower with a young son, who actively tries to fix dad up on dates, so he’ll start living again. The stars of the movie don’t even spend that much time together on screen. Nothing really happens in the whole film and it’s not particularly funny.
2. The Wedding Planner (Jennifer Lopez, Matthew McConaughey). Lopez plays a - you guessed it - wedding planner who plans other people’s special days but can’t find someone special herself, unless it happens to be McConaughey, who’s the fiancée’ of one of her clients. A painfully uninteresting film about that special day that men usually wish to avoid conversations about (let alone whole movies). McConaughey has been in much better films and Lopez has a nasty habit of popping up in romantic comedy after romantic comedy.
3. The Runaway Bride (Julia Roberts, Richard Gere). In this poor stepchild to Pretty Woman - don’t insult that movie or you’ll never get a date - Julia gets into serious relationships with men, than leaves them at the altar. This seems especially cruel to men watching the film, if you can want to get us to the altar. Gere is a newspaper reporter who comes to investigate this -fascinating- story, and falls in love with her. Guess what she does to him? Need I say more?
4. Father of the Bride 1 & 2 (Steve Martin, Martin Short). Though not technically a romantic comedy - since the focus is on Steve Martin as the father - it is still a movie she will try to get you to watch with her. If the other two wedding films on the list (not including the Wedding Singer) have taught you nothing, these two films may make you want to swear off Steve Martin indefinitely. Don’t blame him entirely; this film was not made for men. It is solely about the planning of a wedding, and Martin’s difficulty in letting go of his little girl. If that sounds interesting to you, go ahead and watch it. But remember, I warned you.