By Jeong Park /Searchlight Pictures /Courtesy Everett Collection. The takeaway, perhaps, is that “romantic comedy” is an elastic designation, one that lies at least partly in the eye of the beholder-appropriate enough for a genre all about falling in love.įIRE ISLAND, from left: Tomas Matos, Joel Kim Booster, Conrad Ricamora, Matt Rogers, Margaret Cho, Torian Miller, 2022. Which got us thinking: what are the best romantic comedies of all time, the films that most perfectly exemplify this beloved but under-appreciated genre? Vanity Fair’s Hollywood team decided to find out by making individual top 10 lists, then crunching the numbers and consulting unimpeachable rom-com standards (extra points for a running-through-the-airport or musical serenade scene) for the 42 rom-coms that ultimately made the list. Meanwhile, real-life couple Alison Brie and Dave Franco team up for Somebody I Used to Know, a 2023 refresh on the mayhem of 1997’s My Best Friend’s Wedding. Genre stalwart Aline Brosch McKenna ( Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, 27 Dresses) makes her directorial debut with Netflix’s Your Place or Mine starring Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher. This Valentine’s Day offers two heart-on-their-sleeves rom-coms. That’s been clear for years now, since Netflix hit pay dirt by releasing scores of rom-coms, Crazy Rich Asians made bank at the box office, and Licorice Pizza became a critical darling. Yes, rom-coms have faltered in popularity since their 1990s heyday-but even as time passes, audiences are hungry as ever for banter, meet-cutes, and happy endings. Had this been done to Delibes or even Tchaikovsky, “Whipped Cream” would have, more likely, been cloying.As this list of the best romantic comedies ever proves, the death of the genre has been greatly-and downright shamefully-exaggerated. Then again, time-tested ballet scores by Prokofiev and Stravinsky aren’t always easy on the ears either, and Strauss’ subtle use of dissonance adds a kind of raised eyebrow to the whole thing that serves Ryden’s surreal settings and Ratmansky’s zany characters. You won’t hum this music as you exit the theater, never mind hear it in Walgreens as you assemble your Easter baskets. Variations trail off, leaving little opportunity for the dancers to enjoy applause or even hold a pose long enough for us to realize we should clap. His brand of heady romanticism just doesn’t lend itself to dancing the whole way through. Strauss is, surprisingly, the weakest link here. I honestly loved this wacky world of “Whipped Cream,” but wouldn’t purport confidence that it will inspire other companies to add it to their repertoire. Boy wonder Simkin finds a way, gleefully bouncing off the stage in an extraordinary solo expressing wonder and delight at escaping that weird doctor and finding love with Princess Praline (danced by the sweet Sarah Lane) in a sugar-coated paradise. Still, it’s hard to inject such a strange ballet with virtuosity. He’s escorted to the magic candyland of his dreams to live happily ever after with Princess Praline – Oh, and is now a good time to mention that, in this world, there are weird furbies, and a snow yak, and a slithering salamander dressed like Where’s Waldo gliding around the stage on a wheeled scooter? I’m pretty sure Ryden painted Abe Lincoln into the backdrop, too. She’s joined by two off-brand bottles of vodka (Duncan Lyle and Marshall Whitely), who dance a flirtatious pas de trois before peer-pressuring the nurses into intoxication to allow the boy to escape. He’s accosted by a giant-headed doctor (Alexei Agoudine) and an army of nurses, and things really go off the rails when the doctor self-medicates with a bottle of cordial.īy now, you know where this goes: the doctor’s liquor comes to life as Mademoiselle Marianne Chartreuse, terrifically danced by Catherine Hurlin. After intermission, the curtain opens on a dark stage with the boy, danced by Daniil Simkin, laying in a hospital bed.
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