June 12, 2002

9:54 AM

Chickflicks? The American Film Institute's list of top 100 U.S. screen romances. But the list lacks my three favorite romantic movies: Braveheart, True Romance, and Bull Durham.

I figured out a long time ago if I wanted a guy to take me to a tearjerker I would need to combine romance with machismo like sports, violence, and medieval weaponary. If you like to see tough guys wind up with trembling lips these three movies always get the job done.

Right guys?
posted by oh posey (66 comments total)

i don't mind seeing most any movie, really, as long as it's a good movie. where's benny and joon? not that i've seen benny and joon, but it should be on here!
posted by moz at 10:04 AM on June 12, 2002

Braveheart still makes me cry like a lil girl. Gladiator nearly did the same.
posted by madmanz123 at 10:07 AM on June 12, 2002

oh posey, I've seen "Braveheart" a couple of times. Is there a girl in that film?
posted by Faze at 10:09 AM on June 12, 2002

I love ya. Always have.
posted by adampsyche at 10:10 AM on June 12, 2002

overheard at Visart, a guy to his girl: "How about Godzilla? It's got a little romance in it."
posted by Dean King at 10:15 AM on June 12, 2002

Hoosiers... oh wait, that's not a chick flick. Darn.
posted by hurkle at 10:17 AM on June 12, 2002

I would need to combine romance with machismo like sports,

Rudy? It gets my buddy every time.
posted by adampsyche at 10:22 AM on June 12, 2002

uh huh uh huh uh huh Faze ... remember? The one who gets her throat cut? It only took three viewings to get all the way thru that movie with my eyes open but it was worth it. True Romance took four.
posted by oh posey at 10:27 AM on June 12, 2002

Bull Durham? Never heard of it.
posted by mr_crash_davis at 10:31 AM on June 12, 2002

I'm glad to see they stuck Princess Bride in there. Just like little Fred Savage, it made all of us young lads at the time feel okay about enjoying a "romantic" film.
posted by Ufez Jones at 10:31 AM on June 12, 2002

I am disappointed at the non-inclusion of the laugh-your-tears-away romp Life As A House.
posted by Skot at 10:32 AM on June 12, 2002

Body Heat? Excuse me? How exactly is this a romance? *SPOILER* The duplicitous femme fatale completely screws the guy over, lands him in jail likely to face the death penalty, and is seen gloating on a beach somewhere at the end. A dark, fabulous neo-noir, but not my idea of romance! I think a romance should at least involve mutual love or respect somehow.
posted by drinkcoffee at 10:37 AM on June 12, 2002

tony scott on a tarantino script with an incredible cast! also a cool soundtrack oh and an unforgettable hans zimmer score :)
posted by kliuless at 10:40 AM on June 12, 2002

Posey, we'll go to anything you want to see as long as it's not Beaches yet again. . ..I'll even drive this time.
posted by Danf at 10:41 AM on June 12, 2002

Double Indemnity, too? Wow. Nothing like COLD HEARTED BETRAYAL to give me that warm, loving romantic feeling.
posted by drinkcoffee at 10:41 AM on June 12, 2002

damn straight.
posted by ericdano at 10:42 AM on June 12, 2002

quite right. you just can't beat medieval weaponary
posted by quarsan at 10:42 AM on June 12, 2002

King Kong and Bonnie and Clyde?

That is so cool
posted by stefanie at 10:50 AM on June 12, 2002

Breakfast at Tiffany's is only 61? What kind of cold hearted bastard doesn't put that at least in the top 20 if not the top 10? And, where is Frankie and Johnny?
posted by willnot at 10:53 AM on June 12, 2002

Pretty Woman?!?

"Hey! It's fun to be a prostitute! I can't wait to spread my legs across Hollywood Boulevard because maybe some rich handsome millionaire in a Jag will take me shopping on Rodeo Drive! Because that's what a woman's all about, right? Sucking and shopping..." -- Ann Magnuson, Folk Song.
posted by RJ Reynolds at 10:57 AM on June 12, 2002

I don't know how it would rate against the top 100 romantic movies of all time, but I always liked Bottle Rocket alot.
posted by stifford at 11:01 AM on June 12, 2002

Hey I like coffee too...I think they might be confusing incredibly sweaty and sexy love-making with romance but what do I know.

Dan - I think it's time you had a little of the Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood or some
Y Tu Mama Tabien placed upon you. :) (both excellent by the way)
posted by oh posey at 11:01 AM on June 12, 2002

Y Tu Mama. . .I'm waiting (eagerly) till it gets to my burg. . . Divine Secrets. . . .sounds like one of those flicks that has Shirley McClaine or Olympia Dukakis or both. . .
posted by Danf at 11:07 AM on June 12, 2002

The fact that the list does not include "Say Anything" proves that it ain't worth a tinker's damn.

"I gave her my heart, she gave me a pen." Hey, Lloyd! Lighten up. It was a MontBlanc, after all.
posted by ColdChef at 11:16 AM on June 12, 2002

that seems like a better list than these people usually come up with. i'm fine with the exclusion of Frankie and Johnny, Bull Durham, Braveheart as I think they're all poo.

however, the inclusion of Working Girl, Moonstruck, To Catch a Thief, The Bridges of Madison County? eek.

My biggest gripe with it is the order. The Apartment, Philadelphia Story, Tiffany's, Bringing Up Baby, The Graduate, The Awful Truth so far from the top. and Out of Africa, Love Story, and The Way We Were so close to the top? *shiver*

and Pretty Woman? i've never understood the attraction to that film. Notting Hill was considerably better but wasn't on the list.

neat list, though.

oh, and posey, i'd have to disagree with your "manly" things being necessary in chick movies. i hate seeing romances in those kind of movies. always reminds me of that line in The Player: "if i'm gonna be staring at gas chambers and court rooms for two hours the stars better have sex." (paraphrasing).
posted by dobbs at 11:16 AM on June 12, 2002

I was glad to see Harold and Maud made the list.
posted by mariko at 11:18 AM on June 12, 2002

woohoo, for a second there, i thought they didn't put in "bringing up baby." they really need to release that on dvd already.

princess bride was a good movie, but it couldn't surpass or reach the bar that the princess bride shark-puppet movie raised.
posted by lotsofno at 11:19 AM on June 12, 2002

I've always a soft spot for Broadcast News. Holly Hunter, William Hurt and Albert Brooks.
posted by UncleFes at 11:20 AM on June 12, 2002

oh, and posey, i'd have to disagree with your "manly" things being necessary in chick movies.

...but necessary for the kind of men I like to hang out with...:)~
posted by oh posey at 11:24 AM on June 12, 2002

But RJ Reynolds, wouldn't you rather see Brigadoon than Henry, Portrait of a Serial Killer?

Seriously though, the films on that list are lost on me. My favorite romance movies--if I could call them that-- are probably Crash and Hustler White.
posted by cowboy_sally at 11:27 AM on June 12, 2002

I figured out a long time ago if I wanted a guy to take me to a tearjerker I would need to combine romance with machismo like sports, violence, and medieval weaponary.

Methinks you've been dating a very stereotypical crowd! Ugh.
posted by rushmc at 11:43 AM on June 12, 2002

this list is terrible! i don't know where they're getting "romance" out of half of these films. oh yeah, that great romance streetcar named desire where stanley rapes blanche! i love it! and don't even get me started on pretty woman. ugh.

i have never understood the appeal of the romance in casablanca, either. all ingrid bergman did the whole time is look weepy. stare mournfully into the soft focus lens and say "i don't know, you decide, i don't know!" in cute accented english. is it a requirement for romance in movies that the main woman is a stupid spineless lost girl? give me barbra streisand in what's up doc? anyday over demi moore's big fat tear in ghost.

end rant.
posted by witchstone at 12:06 PM on June 12, 2002

Probably because I don't go for the whining hypocritical type. :)~
posted by oh posey at 12:11 PM on June 12, 2002

How about Mulholland Drive? Hubba-hubba.

Okay, maybe it was more sexy than romantic, but still...
posted by almostcool at 12:12 PM on June 12, 2002

Life is Beautiful got me. It's like it rips your heart out of your chest and stomps on it. I also let a few tears drop (I rarely cry for a movie, after all, it's usually fake) for Maborosi.

Of course, tearjerkers aren't always romance movies, but my favorite romance movie would have to be Princess Bride, and its not a tearjerker.
posted by insomnyuk at 12:13 PM on June 12, 2002

all ingrid bergman did the whole time is look weepy. stare mournfully into the soft focus lens and say "i don't know, you decide, i don't know!" in cute accented english

Heh, heh. It was darned cute, though.

(great rant)
posted by rushmc at 12:37 PM on June 12, 2002

My wife and I watched this on tv. Her reaction: "What about Ladyhawke?" So, even girls like medievel combat with their love stories.

I would have liked to include "The 7 Year Itch", the funniest unrequited love story ever told.
posted by groundhog at 12:38 PM on June 12, 2002

One thing I find fascinating about the list is that all of the films involve, for the most part, strict heterosexual romances (discounting Lady and the Tramp and King Kong). What about the gender-bending of Victor/Victoria? Or the innovative Desert Hearts? Or, courtesy of Gore Vidal's sneaky rewriting, Ben-Hur?

It would seem that the idea that people other than white heterosexuals can have romance is sadly lacking here.
posted by ed at 12:40 PM on June 12, 2002

I think the real tragedy is the lack of low budget or indie product in the list ... and or films made for a non-hetrosexual or non-white audience ... let's see ...

Chasing Amy
Map of the Human Heart
Before Sunrise
Next Stop Wonderland
The Incredible True Story of Two Girls in Love
She's Gotta Have It
Go Fish
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon

... and in their own ballpark ... why no 'Pretty In Pink', 'The Sure Thing' or 'High Fidelity'?
posted by feelinglistless at 12:40 PM on June 12, 2002

Feelinglistless: what about Happy Together?
posted by insomnyuk at 12:45 PM on June 12, 2002

Probably because I don't go for the whining hypocritical type.

I deny hypocritical.
posted by rushmc at 12:47 PM on June 12, 2002

anyone ever seen wonderland? movie just about kills me, but i have to watch it at least once every four months or so.

oh, and right when it goes into the chorus of stevie wonder's "i believe" at the end of high fidelity. damn, that's good stuff.

of course, i am also a sucker for magnolia, so take it for what it's worth.
posted by grabbingsand at 12:49 PM on June 12, 2002

I hate generalizations

circa 1998 "My Best Friend's Wedding"....I'm male....I'm straight.....& (at the time) single. I thought it was a good movie and I even caught myself identifying with Julia Roberts' character. I actually thought all the movies you listed sucked.
posted by mkelley at 12:51 PM on June 12, 2002

...but necessary for the kind of men I like to hang out with...:)~

~I love men who deny their emotions, too!~
posted by anildash at 1:14 PM on June 12, 2002

I can't wait to spread my legs across Hollywood Boulevard because maybe some rich handsome millionaire in a Jag will take me shopping on Rodeo Drive!

I think it was a Lotus, my recollection of which apparently bolsters Posey's premise... But seriously, if it's well crafted, I'll watch anything. If it's a bad movie, the addition of swords, explosions, body parts (of both the "severed" and "nude-female" varieties) will not make it a better one.
posted by jalexei at 1:14 PM on June 12, 2002

If I've said it once, I've said it a thousand times...a great romantic movie for both the guys and the gals is The Boxer with Daniel Day Lewis.

What happened to my insert link option?
posted by vito90 at 1:17 PM on June 12, 2002

tough guys + trembling lips = emotion
posted by oh posey at 1:26 PM on June 12, 2002

anyone who thinks that casablanca is the most romantic movie ever made seriously needs to see the miracle of morgan's creek. is there nothing more romantic than a whole slew of horny soldiers? does the entire cast of that overrated wwii chestnut have an iota of eddie bracken's sex appeal? and howsabout that quintuple-birth, eh?

and the sad part is, i'm not kidding, either.
posted by pxe2000 at 2:38 PM on June 12, 2002

last tango in paris is not even an american film. what's up with that?
posted by boltman at 2:54 PM on June 12, 2002

In the mood for love
last tango in paris
la dolce vita
the cook, the thief, his wife and her lover
y tu mama tambien
body heat
delta of venus
the sheltering sky

My take on romance, perhaps. Otherwise it needs to be about soldiers and war or something.
posted by vacapinta at 3:09 PM on June 12, 2002

The fact that the list does not include "Say Anything" proves that it ain't worth a tinker's damn.

Hear, hear.
posted by Ty Webb at 3:22 PM on June 12, 2002

I agree...where's "Say Anything"? But yeah, damn straight about "Harold and Maude". Love that movie.

Woulda added: The Fisher King

I still get sniffly at the end of it.
posted by Windigo at 3:49 PM on June 12, 2002

Where's Four Weddings and a Funeral?
posted by szg8 at 4:06 PM on June 12, 2002

Vacapinta, I'd agree on In The Mood For Love.

Also (if we're not bound by US films):
Wings of Desire
Blade Runner has romance too, right?

and, of course, Life Is A House.

also, is it just me or is Who's Afraid Of Virginia Woolf not terribly romantic? I mean unless your into the make-up sex and mental abuse that is. It's like calling Death of a Salesman romantic.
posted by Kafkaesque at 4:29 PM on June 12, 2002

Angel Baby is a great romance film, methinks (and not the cheezeball Hollywood-handicapped uplifting schlock you might expect). However, for mannish romance, can you get any better than Tango & Cash? Granted, the romance is all subtext, but just barely.

Come to think of it, there should be more "buddy-cops fall in love" movies.

On preview: Kafka, we could restrict ourselves to US movies and count Wenders' Paris, Texas instead. I love that film.
posted by D at 4:35 PM on June 12, 2002

no say anything? no room with a view?

i call bullshit on this list.

heheh.
posted by sugarfish at 4:43 PM on June 12, 2002

Non-US?

Leos Carax's (visually astonishing) "amour fou" trilogy:

Boy Meets Girl

Mauvais Sang (Bad Blood) - premise: hero wants to get rid of the cure for a virus that kills those who make love without being in love, plus skydiving.

Les Amants Du Pont Neuf (The Lovers On The Bridge) - premise: hero wants girl to go blind rather than leave him, plus fire-breathing and guerilla water-skiing.
posted by liam at 5:19 PM on June 12, 2002

4. "Roman Holiday," 1953

As a guy, I gotta say this movie has no sports or action (ok, it does have a comedic chase), but it's still a great movie.
posted by Bag Man at 5:33 PM on June 12, 2002

It's a draw: John Boobsack's acting ability in Say Anything vs. Mel Gibson's dirty squatter's ass in Bravefart. The two could bring just about anyone to tears, but not in the 'gotcha in the soft spot' kind of way.
Uh, guess I still am left with a vulnerability for the schizophrenic-adolescent naivete of Donnie Darko.
posted by Quixoticlife at 5:50 PM on June 12, 2002

re: heterosexual romances i was just thinking about bound :) by the wachowski bros!

oh and prolly the best romantic comedy i've seen in awhile (on WE!) boy meets girl (canadian :)
posted by kliuless at 8:06 PM on June 12, 2002

I gotta second Mr. Chef and Ms. Fish and ask:

Just where the hell is Say Anything?!

That movie did more to shape my ideas and fantasies about love and romance than any peice of non-musical pop culture.

I'm also kinda bummed that Chasing Amy isn't on the list. It's definitely a love story for it's time, and I don't mean that in a glib way. Love stories of the kind depicted in that movie are increasingly common and I think Kevin Smith, as always, handled a delicate topic with humor and emotional resonance. Not to mention the movie also deals very frankly and compassionately with male insecurity, another angle you won't see in the earlier romance films. Plus the fact that the hero in the end dosen't get the girl, another innovative move.

But instead they put a piece of shit like Ghost on the list. Oh well.
posted by jonmc at 8:15 PM on June 12, 2002

oh but they're still white though. oh well :)

also boy meets girl (1998/II) is better than amelie!
posted by kliuless at 8:34 PM on June 12, 2002

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck, they're just the best of friends.
posted by holloway at 9:42 PM on June 12, 2002

the only one missing: the pillow book.
posted by elphTeq at 3:02 AM on June 13, 2002

Also missing, one of the best "first date" movies of all time: A Life Less Ordinary.
posted by theRegent at 10:07 AM on June 13, 2002

Where is Billy Madison? Why does Sandler always get snubbed?
posted by uftheory at 11:04 AM on June 13, 2002