BEST OF MOVIES: ROMANTIC-COMDIES
Think like A Man Friends With Benefits Bridesmaids
Rated: PG-13 Rated: R Rated: R
Director: Tim Story Director: Will Gluck Director: Paul Feig
Run Time: 122 Run Time: 109 Run Time: 125
Rank: #3 Rank: #2 Rank: #1
Rated: PG-13 Rated: R Rated: R
Director: Tim Story Director: Will Gluck Director: Paul Feig
Run Time: 122 Run Time: 109 Run Time: 125
Rank: #3 Rank: #2 Rank: #1
In life we make decisions every day. We have our easier decisions, such as going to school or staying home, staying in or going to that crazy house party, or cleaning our room when we can simply be lazy for the day. However, one of the hardest decisions, I think, a person can ever make is what film to choose for a group to watch on a movie night. Out of all the movie genres, I believe, that most enjoy romantic-comedies. These are the movies that center on ideals such as true love but have a humorous plot-line with obstacles that land the main characters in a happily ever after. Three romantic comedies that have sparked my interest are Think Like a Man, Friends with Benefits, and Bridesmaids.
In the movie Think Like A Man, director Tim Story who brought to the movie world Taxi, Barbershop, and Fantastic Four, brings his viewers a romantic yet extremely funny film to the big screen. This story creates a romantic-comedy that depicts what happens when ladies read and discuss comedian and radio host Steve Harvey’s best-seller, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment. From the title, one can see that this novel is written specifically for women who are seeking knowledge about how men truly think when it comes to love. In this movie we are to believe that the women in the film have bought the book and begun to live their lives according to the book’s suggestions without the men in their lives knowledge. However, the plot twist arrives when the men discover the women have been secretly reading and experimenting with the suggestions in the book. So the men believe that too should study the book for themselves. Now the men are aware of the ladies plans to figure them out.
Think Like A Man is set in Los Angeles, California, which fits the theme of the movie perfectly. The characters are young, adventurous, dating and fit for the fast L.A. lifestyle, which revolves around love and fun. In the beginning of the movie Steve Harvey introduces his book on a talk show, and continues to appear throughout the film giving advice straight to the audience. The film takes the book and breaks it down into different categories, such as "The Mama's Boy" vs. "The Single Mom", "The Non-Committer" vs. "The Girl Who Wants the Ring", "The Dreamer" vs. "The Woman Who Is Her Own Man", and "The Player" vs. "The 90 Day Rule Girl". It is funny to see how each character plays these contradicting roles with his or her partner.
The cast plays these roles superbly. The leading roles are Terrence J, Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union, and Meagan Good. My favorite character is Cedric (Kevin Hart), who plays the odd ball of the love circle as “The Happier Divorced Guy.” While the ladies are stuck on figuring out the rules in the book and the men are studying what there is to know, Cedric is enjoying life. “He spends most of his time in so-called gentleman's clubs, having 30-minute relationships that all have happy endings, and it's hard to argue he isn't happy” (http://www.rogerebert.com/). Also, Kevin Hart (Little Fockers) is one of the funniest individuals ever, and it is almost impossible not to enjoy a movie with him in it.
Other great assets of the movie would have to be the soundtrack, makeup, and setting. Each song chosen by Christopher Lennertz sets the mood for its scene just right. Most of the special effects in the movie are visual. The ladies are appealing to the eye and desirable through their flawless makeup, manicured hair, and business attire. Their flawless beauty made them appealing to the men, yet intimidating because they all seemed to have control. This movie is different from most romantic-comedies because it is setup similar to a sitcom, which is becoming more popular in the entertainment industry today. Although Think Like a Man is a hilarious picture, the downfall of the movie would have to be how the book is taken so serious. The characters in the movie are actually naïve enough to live their lives by Steve Harvey’s exact words; however, we know in real life that people ,generally, do not live their lives by a book. This movie has its laughs but does not give a dying laughing effect.
Unlike Tim Story, director Will Gluck (Easy A) creates a more realistic storyline that asks whether it is possible to have sexual relations without falling in love. Friends With Benefits, starring Mila Kunis (Black Swan) and Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) tells the story of how friendship is all about helping each other in times of need, even if it involves intimacy with no strings attached. It appears to be an easy concept to grasp, but Gluck shows just how complicated this can be.
The movie is set in New York, where Jamie Rellis (Kunis) is a head hunter of GQ Magazine and Dylan Harper (Timberlake) is an art director from Los Angeles who is being offered a job position at GQ. Meanwhile, both are going through a heartbreak. Dylan is stuck on Hollywood love stories while Jamie wants someday to find her Prince Charming. He ends up accepting the job, and because they are coincidently going through the same experiences, this gives them even more reason to bond outside of the workplace.
They go on a dinner date to celebrate his big move, and one date leads to many more. They begin to share their relationship problems, funny stories, and typical friend conversations. We all know that friends are the ones that are supposed to help you move on after a bad break up and this is exactly what they do for one another. However, they do not take the appropriate route when trying to help friends get over a past relationship, which leads them to label their friendship as “no strings attached.” This means they are not to catch emotional feelings for one another, no matter what activities they take part in (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/). However, the plot twist occurs when they soon realize that the best intimate relationships start off as good friendships.
The chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake is smooth, perfect, and just hilarious. They play these roles the best way possible showing that something we all think is so simple, is not easy at all. My favorite scene in the movie is when both characters reenact a 90s jam, “Jump” by Kris Kross. This scene shows how much of a perfect match they are for one another even though the plan is to avoid a relationship from ever happening. Similar to Think Like A Man, the special effects are also visual. However, the characters have a more urban style and are more focused on sophistication. This contributes to the New York setting of the movie. Also, the soundtrack consists of more pop and retro-jams, which fits the personality of the characters and scenes in the movie.
Friends With Benefits did a great job showing how not to fall for the cliché movie love story. Of course no movie is perfect. The biggest issue of the film is including unnecessary characters. The film moves well enough on its own; however, it is as if the screenwriters did not have enough confidence in the leading characters to carry the message of the film and through in other characters that they felt helped out the main characters. Despite the added dimensions in the film, Friends With Benefits is an amazingly hilarious movie to watch.
Although Friends With Benefits is quite hilarious, Bridesmaids is the best romantic-comedy to watch no matter how one is feeling. The incredible Paul Feig, who directed The Heat, brings yet another priceless film to the viewers. Feig allows his audience to witness a group of women who are just as “unbehaved” as the men in The Hangover (http://www.rogerebert.com/).
The film is set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which allows one to focus even more on the great storyline of the movie. Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) , a thirty year old woman whose bakery just shut down, rooms with an annoying British brother and sister, and whose best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), is getting married. Annie is chosen to be her friend’s maid of honor until she meets her rival Helen (Rose Byrne), the trophy wife of the groom’s boss. This starts nothing but trouble . Helen, who is so use to getting everything she wants and does not know how it feels not to be in charge, makes Annie feel as though she is trying to steal her spot light. Yet, in reality ,Helen does not get that she is not the one in charge of the wedding but Annie..
One thing that stands out the most about the movie is that it is not your typical “Chick Flick”. It offers a male-seeming dimension that most of the romantic comedies about engagements and weddings do not have. The movie is more centered on the relationship of that the women have with each other, more so than with the men. The movie also does a good job of keeping all the members of the bridal party in action. Which includes Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who is a mother of three teenage songs, Ted (Jon Hamm), who ends up becoming Annie’s lover and friend, and the hilarious Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who is the positive person that kind of keeps everyone together.
My favorite scene from the movie is when they take off to Vegas for the bachelorette party. Helen of course rides in first class with the bride, while Annie is stuck in coach. Annie arrives with a headache so Helen decides to “help” by giving her some medicine that only makes things worse and more hilarious. Annie unfortunately lands on “cloud 9.” She makes her way to first class to go pick on Helen as well as the flight attendants. This scene is only one of the crazy scenes in the movie, and it only gets better.
Compared to Think Like A Man and Friends With Benefits, this movie could easily be relatable. We all have friends that have other friends besides us, and when we are all together there is always some conflict that is waiting to happen that deals with competition. Most of the time there is not an argument, exactly, but it could be disagreements over who has the best memories, the most things in common, knows more about the mutual friend, etc. The movie has scenes that make us all laugh because many of the incidents have most likely happened to us before. Also, the soundtrack chosen by Michael Andrews is not as appealing as the soundtrack to Think Like A Man, but the songs did fit most of the scenes. Along with the previous films discussed, visual effects were most prominent in the film. One could tell the personality of the Mid-Western characters by the way that they are dressed, which made the movie even more enjoyable. There is never a dull moment in this picture.
Although I think that Feig does a wonderful job with this film, there is one main issue. This issue is that the language is somewhat vulgar. I think that on some scenes of the movie he could have made other characters seem just as sophisticated as Helen. All in all, I enjoyed this movie, and always will.
All three of these movies are excellent choices for a movie night, if you are one of the many viewers who enjoy a good romantic-comedy. Each one has a different plot, a complex group of characters, good soundtracks, and a setting that is conducive to the plot. While I tend to lean more favorably towards Bridesmaids, I believe on any given Movie Night, either movie will satisfy a group of stay-at-home college movie watchers.
In the movie Think Like A Man, director Tim Story who brought to the movie world Taxi, Barbershop, and Fantastic Four, brings his viewers a romantic yet extremely funny film to the big screen. This story creates a romantic-comedy that depicts what happens when ladies read and discuss comedian and radio host Steve Harvey’s best-seller, Act Like a Lady, Think Like a Man: What Men Really Think About Love, Relationships, Intimacy, and Commitment. From the title, one can see that this novel is written specifically for women who are seeking knowledge about how men truly think when it comes to love. In this movie we are to believe that the women in the film have bought the book and begun to live their lives according to the book’s suggestions without the men in their lives knowledge. However, the plot twist arrives when the men discover the women have been secretly reading and experimenting with the suggestions in the book. So the men believe that too should study the book for themselves. Now the men are aware of the ladies plans to figure them out.
Think Like A Man is set in Los Angeles, California, which fits the theme of the movie perfectly. The characters are young, adventurous, dating and fit for the fast L.A. lifestyle, which revolves around love and fun. In the beginning of the movie Steve Harvey introduces his book on a talk show, and continues to appear throughout the film giving advice straight to the audience. The film takes the book and breaks it down into different categories, such as "The Mama's Boy" vs. "The Single Mom", "The Non-Committer" vs. "The Girl Who Wants the Ring", "The Dreamer" vs. "The Woman Who Is Her Own Man", and "The Player" vs. "The 90 Day Rule Girl". It is funny to see how each character plays these contradicting roles with his or her partner.
The cast plays these roles superbly. The leading roles are Terrence J, Michael Ealy, Jerry Ferrara, Romany Malco, Kevin Hart, Taraji P. Henson, Regina Hall, Gabrielle Union, and Meagan Good. My favorite character is Cedric (Kevin Hart), who plays the odd ball of the love circle as “The Happier Divorced Guy.” While the ladies are stuck on figuring out the rules in the book and the men are studying what there is to know, Cedric is enjoying life. “He spends most of his time in so-called gentleman's clubs, having 30-minute relationships that all have happy endings, and it's hard to argue he isn't happy” (http://www.rogerebert.com/). Also, Kevin Hart (Little Fockers) is one of the funniest individuals ever, and it is almost impossible not to enjoy a movie with him in it.
Other great assets of the movie would have to be the soundtrack, makeup, and setting. Each song chosen by Christopher Lennertz sets the mood for its scene just right. Most of the special effects in the movie are visual. The ladies are appealing to the eye and desirable through their flawless makeup, manicured hair, and business attire. Their flawless beauty made them appealing to the men, yet intimidating because they all seemed to have control. This movie is different from most romantic-comedies because it is setup similar to a sitcom, which is becoming more popular in the entertainment industry today. Although Think Like a Man is a hilarious picture, the downfall of the movie would have to be how the book is taken so serious. The characters in the movie are actually naïve enough to live their lives by Steve Harvey’s exact words; however, we know in real life that people ,generally, do not live their lives by a book. This movie has its laughs but does not give a dying laughing effect.
Unlike Tim Story, director Will Gluck (Easy A) creates a more realistic storyline that asks whether it is possible to have sexual relations without falling in love. Friends With Benefits, starring Mila Kunis (Black Swan) and Justin Timberlake (The Social Network) tells the story of how friendship is all about helping each other in times of need, even if it involves intimacy with no strings attached. It appears to be an easy concept to grasp, but Gluck shows just how complicated this can be.
The movie is set in New York, where Jamie Rellis (Kunis) is a head hunter of GQ Magazine and Dylan Harper (Timberlake) is an art director from Los Angeles who is being offered a job position at GQ. Meanwhile, both are going through a heartbreak. Dylan is stuck on Hollywood love stories while Jamie wants someday to find her Prince Charming. He ends up accepting the job, and because they are coincidently going through the same experiences, this gives them even more reason to bond outside of the workplace.
They go on a dinner date to celebrate his big move, and one date leads to many more. They begin to share their relationship problems, funny stories, and typical friend conversations. We all know that friends are the ones that are supposed to help you move on after a bad break up and this is exactly what they do for one another. However, they do not take the appropriate route when trying to help friends get over a past relationship, which leads them to label their friendship as “no strings attached.” This means they are not to catch emotional feelings for one another, no matter what activities they take part in (http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/). However, the plot twist occurs when they soon realize that the best intimate relationships start off as good friendships.
The chemistry between Kunis and Timberlake is smooth, perfect, and just hilarious. They play these roles the best way possible showing that something we all think is so simple, is not easy at all. My favorite scene in the movie is when both characters reenact a 90s jam, “Jump” by Kris Kross. This scene shows how much of a perfect match they are for one another even though the plan is to avoid a relationship from ever happening. Similar to Think Like A Man, the special effects are also visual. However, the characters have a more urban style and are more focused on sophistication. This contributes to the New York setting of the movie. Also, the soundtrack consists of more pop and retro-jams, which fits the personality of the characters and scenes in the movie.
Friends With Benefits did a great job showing how not to fall for the cliché movie love story. Of course no movie is perfect. The biggest issue of the film is including unnecessary characters. The film moves well enough on its own; however, it is as if the screenwriters did not have enough confidence in the leading characters to carry the message of the film and through in other characters that they felt helped out the main characters. Despite the added dimensions in the film, Friends With Benefits is an amazingly hilarious movie to watch.
Although Friends With Benefits is quite hilarious, Bridesmaids is the best romantic-comedy to watch no matter how one is feeling. The incredible Paul Feig, who directed The Heat, brings yet another priceless film to the viewers. Feig allows his audience to witness a group of women who are just as “unbehaved” as the men in The Hangover (http://www.rogerebert.com/).
The film is set in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, which allows one to focus even more on the great storyline of the movie. Annie Walker (Kristen Wiig) , a thirty year old woman whose bakery just shut down, rooms with an annoying British brother and sister, and whose best friend, Lillian (Maya Rudolph), is getting married. Annie is chosen to be her friend’s maid of honor until she meets her rival Helen (Rose Byrne), the trophy wife of the groom’s boss. This starts nothing but trouble . Helen, who is so use to getting everything she wants and does not know how it feels not to be in charge, makes Annie feel as though she is trying to steal her spot light. Yet, in reality ,Helen does not get that she is not the one in charge of the wedding but Annie..
One thing that stands out the most about the movie is that it is not your typical “Chick Flick”. It offers a male-seeming dimension that most of the romantic comedies about engagements and weddings do not have. The movie is more centered on the relationship of that the women have with each other, more so than with the men. The movie also does a good job of keeping all the members of the bridal party in action. Which includes Rita (Wendi McLendon-Covey), who is a mother of three teenage songs, Ted (Jon Hamm), who ends up becoming Annie’s lover and friend, and the hilarious Megan (Melissa McCarthy), who is the positive person that kind of keeps everyone together.
My favorite scene from the movie is when they take off to Vegas for the bachelorette party. Helen of course rides in first class with the bride, while Annie is stuck in coach. Annie arrives with a headache so Helen decides to “help” by giving her some medicine that only makes things worse and more hilarious. Annie unfortunately lands on “cloud 9.” She makes her way to first class to go pick on Helen as well as the flight attendants. This scene is only one of the crazy scenes in the movie, and it only gets better.
Compared to Think Like A Man and Friends With Benefits, this movie could easily be relatable. We all have friends that have other friends besides us, and when we are all together there is always some conflict that is waiting to happen that deals with competition. Most of the time there is not an argument, exactly, but it could be disagreements over who has the best memories, the most things in common, knows more about the mutual friend, etc. The movie has scenes that make us all laugh because many of the incidents have most likely happened to us before. Also, the soundtrack chosen by Michael Andrews is not as appealing as the soundtrack to Think Like A Man, but the songs did fit most of the scenes. Along with the previous films discussed, visual effects were most prominent in the film. One could tell the personality of the Mid-Western characters by the way that they are dressed, which made the movie even more enjoyable. There is never a dull moment in this picture.
Although I think that Feig does a wonderful job with this film, there is one main issue. This issue is that the language is somewhat vulgar. I think that on some scenes of the movie he could have made other characters seem just as sophisticated as Helen. All in all, I enjoyed this movie, and always will.
All three of these movies are excellent choices for a movie night, if you are one of the many viewers who enjoy a good romantic-comedy. Each one has a different plot, a complex group of characters, good soundtracks, and a setting that is conducive to the plot. While I tend to lean more favorably towards Bridesmaids, I believe on any given Movie Night, either movie will satisfy a group of stay-at-home college movie watchers.