Oh Woe the Romantic Comedy!

A fellow member of the ARWA (the best group ever as far as I’m concerned) put up a link to this article from the New York Times on our loop. I’m a big old-time movie buff. Spencer Tracy? Katharine Hepburn? Cary Grant? Elizabeth Taylor before “Glad-ee-a-tuur“? Sign me up for a movie marathon! But are romantic comedies really on the downhill slide or even, heaven forbid, already mired in the muck at the bottom?

The examples I thought of when reading this article were The Shop Around the Corner, In the Good Old Summer Time, and You’ve Got Mail. Why did I think of these three particular movies? Because the last two are both remakes of the first.

The first stars Margaret Sullaven and one of my personal favorite leading men, Jimmy Stewart. I love this film. It’s one of my all-time favorite movies. Not only is the cast wonderful (who could ever go wrong with Jimmy Stewart?), but it’s understated, witty, and charming. The dialogue is layered and full of surprises, and the warm fuzzy feeling from the finish doesn’t leave you worried about your intellect.

The second, In the Good Old Summertime, is the musical adaptation of “The Shop Around the Corner” starring Judy Garland and Van Johnson. Personally, I disliked this movie quite a bit despite the fact that one of my favorite character actors, S. Z. Sakall, is in it. Ignoring the fact that a very large part of the movie takes place during Christmastime (so why “Summertime”?), as well as all the obvious plot ploys used to give Judy Garland a reason to sing (she does, after all, have a gorgeous voice), the movie chops up the screenplay, losing all the subtley and charm as it scatters about bits and pieces of the original dialogue. It’s strange to watch the one film right after the other, to hear Jimmy Stewart and Margaret Sullavan’s lines periodically parroted. 

Made only nine years after the original, I’d point to “In the Good Old Summertime” as an example of a corporate slapdash vehicle created to do nothing more than generate income.

And, finally, there’s You’ve Got Mail with Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks. Now, I must acknowledge the argument that, as Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks are tried and true leads in romantic comedies (who here hasn’t at least heard of Joe Versus the Volcano or Sleepless in Seattle?), this film could also be considered a corporate cash machine, but I argue against it. Yes, the basic plot is the same. Yes, some of the scenes are the same. And yes, even a little of the dialogue is the same, but with this film there’s new creativity, new perspective, and new twists that give it a fresh vivacity that “In the Good Old Summertime” lacked.

Enter a Mr. Wrong for Meg Ryan’s character and a Ms. Wrong for Tom Hanks’s character. Now both have to realize that their current significant other is not right for them before they can discover each other.

Enter his womanizing father and her idealized mother. Now both characters have backstories they must contend with and overcome.    

There’s more to the story in this remake; a new depth added. Granted, I still feel it’s nowhere near as good as the original, but at least it’s not a parody of it.

I don’t argue the fact that many romantic comedies are created as “fluff” to fill seats at the box office, even as I feel inclined to point out that there’s nothing really wrong with that. Everyone needs some light-hearted escape now and then. I don’t argue with the New York Times article in that regard. What I do argue with is the idea that this is anything new. Heck, they’ve been doing the same thing since at least 1949. Or haven’t you seen “In the Good Old Summertime”?