Romantic Comedies

RUNAWAY BRIDE

WHO IS IN IT : Richard Gere is Ike, a woman bashing New York columnist, and Julia Roberts is Maggie, a small town girl who runs her dad's hardware store. Plus a good comic supporting cast.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT : Ike runs into a guy in a bar who tells him about the "Runaway Bride", a girl in a small town who has run away from the altar 7 times, leaving her grooms stranded there. Gere uses the story in his woman bashing column. There are a few inaccuracies in the story, and it gets him sacked. So he sets off to Hale to try and write a more in depth story to redeem himself. He meets Maggie, who has her next groom just about ready to go, and you can guess the rest.
WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT : Its light and pleasant, as all good movies of this ilk should be. Its very predictable of course, but still not a bad way to spend a couple of hours if you like this sort of thing.
ROUNDUP : No sex, no bad language, no violence, and some good comedy. Suitable for girls from about 10 upwards.

NOTTING HILL

WHO IS IN IT : Hugh Grant is very appealling as a bumbling English bookshop owner William Thacker, and Julia Roberts is Julia Roberts as Julia Roberts (oops) as Anna Scott, a famous movie star pursued relentlessly by the press. Rhys Ifans makes a notable comic addition as the slobby flatmate, and a cast of other assorted British familiar faces do a fine job.
WHAT IS IT ABOUT : William lives in the charming yuppie area of London known as Notting Hill, where the more affluent reside in apartments or mansions abutting private communal gardens, and the less affluent live in small terraces and trade at the market stalls. His marriage is over and he lives a depressing existence running a failing bookstore and contending with a slobby and not too bright flatmate. Along comes Anna Scott into his shop one day and after a couple more chance meetings, she invites him to her hotel. She is the typical lonely and misunderstood movie star looking for a soulmate. After a series of ups and downs in their courtship, and a few madcap antics by their friends, the ultimate predictable conclusion arrives
WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT : The producers of "Four weddings and a funeral" have created a similar movie here. However, I felt that the plot seemed a little contrived , and the chemistry didnt seem "real". It felt like they were, well, acting. Although I did enjoy the humour and the lightness of it, it just didnt ring true.
ROUNDUP : A nice light movie for women, men and kids from about 10 upwards. A tiny bit of language and discreet sex references.

ED TV

WHO IS IN IT : Matthew McConnaughey (A Time to Kill) stars as Ed, a small town video shop assistant, Woody Harrellson as his brother, and Jennifer Elfman (TV's Dharma) as his brother's girlfriend.Supporting roles by Dennis Hopper and Sally Kirkland as his parents and Martin Landau as his stepfather. Also Ellen De Generes as the TV producer, and Liz Hurley as a "planted" star on Ed TV.

WHAT IT IS ABOUT : In an effort to boost ratings, a TV station decides to film a man's life live and run it all day every day. They run a search across the country and accidentally come across Ed while his brother is auditioning. Ed TV is born. Ed becomes a real celebrity but finds the price of fame too high, as it destroys his relationship with his brother and later his girlfriend (formerly his brother's girlfriend). His father, who he has not seen since he was a young child, shows up to complicate matters. Eventually the whole family becomes involved and is feeling the strain, and Ed tries to escape his contract and take control of his life again.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT : Ed TV is not a movie I would normally go to see, I went on a free ticket. However, I was pleasantly suprised. Ed TV was an interesting concept movie, the acting was solid, Matthew McConnaughey is appealling, and the romance and humour were enjoyable.

ROUNDUP : A light and pleasant comedy with a romantic flavour, I would recommend this movie for all ages and sexes, including older children.

MUSIC FROM ANOTHER ROOM

WHO IS IN IT: Jude Law (Gattaca) is Danny Kowalski, Gretchen Mol is his love interest Anna, Brenda Blethyn is her mother and a great support cast.

WHAT IT IS ABOUT: As a child, Danny helps his doctor father deliver a baby (Anna) one Thanksgiving.When the baby is born he declares "I'm going to marry her". His mother has died and so his father takes Danny to live in England where he grows up.Twenty four years later after his fathers death, Danny returns to the USA, following his girlfriend, but she has jilted him. He comes to work and board in a bakery , doing deliveries. One day he delivers a cake to a house which he recognises as Anna's, and the memories come flooding back. He falls passionately in love with Anna. Unfortunately she is engaged to Eric (Jon Tenney). The movie is largely about Danny's impact on Anna's family which has a variety of odd and amusing members, including a blind sister and a suicidal sister in law, as well as being very romantic.
WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT: The whole tale is delightfully told, with quite a bit of understated humour handled well by the mixed USA/English cast. Jude Law is sumptuous and the chemistry between him and Gretchen Mol is tangible. While the whole premise is a little corny , and there is humour aplenty, there is still quite a bit of substance to this movie. Its a really human story, about characters and life.
ROUNDUP: I would thoroughly recommend this movie for just about anyone over 15. Theres no bad language or serious violence , and only mild sex references, so younger children could view but would probably be bored with all the words.Its predictable but delightful- I gave it four and a half stars in this category.

OBJECT OF MY AFFECTION

WHO IS IN IT:
Jennifer Aniston is Nina Borowski a New York social worker, Paul Rudd is George Hanson , the gay man she meets at a dinner party at her Aunt and uncle's (Alan Alda) John Pankow is Vince, Nina's boyfriend, and Nigel Hawthorne makes a medium sized appearance as Rodney Fraser, an aging but refined homosexual.
WHAT IT IS ABOUT: George gets dumped by his long term lover, and Nina kindly offers for him to share her flat. They become extremely close friends, sharing among other things, dancing classesNina falls in love with George, and can't help comparing him to the ill-suited and crass Vince. When she falls pregnant with Vince's baby, she decides she would prefer George to raise the child with her than Vince. George agrees, and for a time we start to wonder if this man is going to go straight. However, as events progress, a number of other characters appear on the scene, and many new relationships are formed for all our characters. In the "five years later" epilogue, we see who ended up with who.
WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT:
I went to see this movie with high expectations, having been so enthusiastic about Aniston's big screen debut in Picture Perfect. However, this movie was a disappointment in comparison. Despite the gorgeous warmth of Paul Rudd's George, and the hysterically funny moments such as Alan Alda's food poisoning attack, I felt Aniston didnt exude the same energy in this role, and the plot was a little weak in places.
ROUNDUP:
Object of My affection is a pleasant enough story, with some good laughs, but a little lacklustre and not a must see.

PICTURE PERFECT

WHO IS IN IT:
Jennifer Aniston (Friends) stars with Kevin Bacon and Jay Mohr, while Olympia Dukakis makes a cameo appearance as her mother.

WHAT IT IS ABOUT: Jennifer Aniston is a very talented ad agency employee whose career prospects are being hampered by her lack of "image". Her friend decides to help her out by inventing a fiance - Nick(Jay Mohr), a nice guy she met at a friends wedding and got her photo taken with, right down to the wedding date. Kevin Bacon, the sexy but sleazy agency heart-throb (who she thinks she is crazy about), suddenly becomes interested in her and starts a passionate affair. All is going smoothly, her career is on the way up, when her "fiance" becomes front page news for rescuing a little girl. Her boss and a big account client want to take them both to dinner. So she offers Nick money to come to New York, pose as her fiance, and break up with her over dinner. The catch is, he falls in love with her and can't do it. The question is, does she fall in love with him too?

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT:
I thought this movie was absolutely delightful. I chuckled through most of it, It was light and refreshing and entertaining. I have never watched "Friends", but I found Jennifer Aniston very engaging, and perfect for the part. Jay Mohr as Nick was SO nice, and Kevin Bacon perfect as the louse, Sam. Olympia Dukakis was also wonderful as her protective but lovable mother.

ROUNDUP:
If you like romantic comedies, you will love this one. I give it 4 and a half stars(only I can't find a half star icon yet) for being sweet and entertaining. It's just that bit better than "wedding" (see below)

MY BEST FRIEND'S WEDDING

WHO IS IN IT:
Julia Roberts is the supposed "star" of this movie, alongside Cameron Diaz, Rupert Everett and Dermot Mulroney.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT:
Robertses character is a roving travel writer whose old friend (Dermot Mulroney) is a roving sports writer. After a brief fling 9 years ago, they decided to become "good friends", and spent many terrific times together at various locations around the world. Now Dermot has met a sweet society girl (Cameron Diaz) from New York and is getting married! Well, Miss Roberts decides that she wants him after all, and sets out to break up the wedding with the most hilarious consequences.

WHAT I THOUGHT ABOUT IT:
I tend to judge movies on how much I enjoy them, and I must say I really did enjoy this one.I laughed out loud quite a bit. Rupert Everett who plays Robertses gay confidante, George, stole the show with his wit and antics. I have not been so amused since seeing John Cleese for the first time. When he pretends to be Robertses fiance and describes how they met , I was absolutely in hysterics. The movie has an ending which most women(including me) find a bit unsatisfactory. However, the men I have spoken to think it is the correct ending. The acting and plot are good, the pace fast, and the camerawork easy on the eye. Cameron Diaz and Dermot Mulroney are both cute, as they should be for these roles.

ROUNDUP:
Rupert Everett's George is definitely the Best Man at this wedding!
If you want a feel good funny movie without any intellectual stimulation whatsoever, then this is definitely the one for you. I give it 4 out of 5 for entertainment and enjoyment value.