Straight up, Oscar season wore me out. For some reason(s), I put myself through the gauntlet every year just before these glorified theater nerds and liberal english lit majors walk the 1.2 mile red carpet. I make a point to see as many of the nominated films as I can. This year, the last couple weeks leading up to the lackluster-Franco peering off cause he is awesome-awards show, were filled with Biutiful, Blue Valentine, Winter's Bone, I am Love and The Black Swan. In other words, the night before the-Anne Hathaway giving 25 Arsenio Hall like 'woops'-awards show, I needed a breather. I thought about watching The Proposal for a second time. I also thought about Dan in Real Life for a third time. Lucky enough for me, I appreciate Rom-Com's enough to not allow No Strings Attached to deter my unbridled respeckt for Natalie Portman. As a result, I kept my sanity and was reminded that Blue Valentine is as much of a motion picture as No Strings Attached is. Sure, in one nothing works out, eerily mirroring real life for 60% of American couples. While in the other, everything works out just as it did in Clueless, White Christmas, and How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days. The bottom line is, though, after seeing all these phenomenal actors take me to really dark places (Javier, Portman, Lawrence, Swinton etc.), I remembered that it is just as much of an experience to watch the picture book version. Call it a cheap thrill, a solid Rom-Com that is, but don't knock it until you can prove that Jerry McGuire, When Harry Met Sally, and You've Got Mail aren't worth our time. NSA may not join the ranks of said epic-rom-com's, but it just may keep you out of the Indie movie theaters long enough to remember that there is a reason to give Blue Valentine and Biutiful and an Indie movie theater a hard earned chance.
I am glad to hear to say you love a good romantic comedy! There is nothing wrong with the "story book" version sometimes.
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