Finding Love for the Second Time

Just in time for Valentine’s Day, the Unexpected Company is performing a romantic comedy-musical about finding love for a second time.

“A Few Good Years” runs Feb. 14-17 in the Alice Hardie Stevens Center. The weeknight productions are at 7:30 p.m., while the weekend matinees start at 2:30 p.m.

Production manager Nancy Chase said the play is a fun comedy with a few poignant moments.

“It’s going to be charming,” she said.

Two middle-aged friends attempt to fix up their widowed parents, Libby and Larry. Things don’t go well at first, and then it gets complicated. As in any good romantic comedy, one complication leads to another.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Netflix's Highly Recommended Romantic Comedies

Valentine’s Day is coming up, which means you’re probably in the market for a romantic comedy — either to watch with that special someone, or to make yourself forget you don’t have a special someone.


To me, romantic comedy usually just means formulaic crap. As a movie lover, I’ve sat through my fair share of formulaic crap — and it turns out there are a few good ones out there.

Movies like “No Strings Attached” and “Fever Pitch” litter the Netflix Instant landscape. For those looking for something better, I’ve assembled a list of romantic comedies that don’t suck.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

"Quartet" Brings Delight

                            

Sometimes a gem of a movie falls through the cracks that really has no business getting lost. Such is the case with Quartet, a delightful film directed by Dustin Hoffman and starring Maggie Smith.

The film was released in late December by the Weinstein Company, and one would naturally expect it to generate a lot of Academy Award buzz. But it was overlooked entirely, which means moviegoers might now be tempted to pass over the picture in favor of Oscar contenders. However, it would be a mistake to dismiss Quartet just because it lacks the Academy’s stamp of approval.

The story is set at Beecham House, a sprawling estate in England which is a retirement home for accomplished classical musicians. At the point of departure, we are introduced to three of its residents; Wilfred (Billy Connolly), Cecily (Pauline Collins), and Reginald (Tom Courtenay), opera singers who once shared the limelight as members of a famous quartet.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

"Strictly Platonic" Romance

 

As children, we’re often prompted to imagine the apogee of our lives — to sit down and envision where, in 20 years’ time, our friends and our ambitions will have taken us.

In response, kids trace out adventurous jobs and large houses, accomplishments all sidled by beautiful, grinning families; at 8 years old, the end result is clear and shared by everyone. How one gets there is less certain.

Larry McKenna’s “Strictly Platonic,” which makes its world premiere on Feb. 7 at Hedgerow Theatre, is a romantic comedy that wrestles with the distressing truth that follows childhood: at some point or another, we are all forced to reorder the expectations we have for our lives.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Can "Silver Linings Playbook" Woo the Oscar?

“Silver Linings Playbook” reaped eight Oscar nominations, tying it for third place with "Les Miserables." It is the first film since “Reds” in 1981 to contend in all four acting categories (Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence, Robert De Niro and Jacki Weaver.) This look at the trials and tribulations of modern romance is the kind of genuine crowd-pleaser that the academy has rewarded in each of the past two years.

All of this means the film could pull off an upset victory in the Best Picture race -- we have it ranked third -- if it weren’t for one tiny problem: Oscar's almost total reluctance to reward romantic comedies.

You can literally count on one hand the number of contemporary romantic comedies that have won Best Picture: “It Happened One Night” (1934), “You Can’t Take It With You” (1938), “The Apartment” (1960), and “Annie Hall” (1977). That’s only four times in 84 years. Is romance simply not a laughing matter to the academy?

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?

Spring Film Festival to Showcase Rom-Com and Kung Fu Film Genres

In celebration of the Chinese lunar New Year on Feb. 10, Shangri-La Plaza will be holding the Spring Film Festival Feb. 1-10. Six Chinese films with English subtitles that promote Chinese culture are included on the lineup.

Sidney Christopher T. Bata, director of  Ricardo Leong Center for Chinese Studies at Ateneo de Manila University, chose the films, with the approval of the Chinese embassy. 

The selection, he said, focuses on wholesome themes, “with some rom-com [romantic comedy] and a little kung fu.”

“The Spring Film Festival has been ongoing for seven years, and most of the moviegoers are students and families,” he said. “We chose films that are relatable to the Filipino audience.”  

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?
 

"A.C.O.D." Film Brings the Laughs at Sundance

With parents who have been married for over 25 years now, a comedy titled A.C.O.D. (which stands for Adult Children of Divorce) doesn't seem like it would be immediately appealing to me. But the directorial debut from Stu Zicherman (who wrote Elektra and the J.J. Abrams melodrama TV series "Six Degrees") features a cast that includes Adam Scott, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Richard Jenkins, Catherine O'Hara, Amy Poehler, Clark Duke, Jane Lynch and Jessica Alba, and that's a bingo. Thankfully, the film which I was eagerly anticipating before it premiere at Sundance this week delivered a phenomenal comedy with some sharp writing, stellar acting and a direct line to the heart of all adult children of divorce.

The film follows Adam Scott as Carter, a man whose ninth birthday was ruined by an explosive fight between his parents (Richard Jenkins and Catherine O'Hara) which required police involvement to calm everything down. Decades later, Carter is seemingly put together with his own restaurant and a decent relationship with his mother and father (but never at the same time, for fear of loss of life). But all that changes when his younger brother Trey decides to get married and wants both parents at the wedding, giving Carter the task of helping them get along for the civility's sake. However, the shit really hits the fan when Carter discovers that his mother and father are falling back in love, all over a kitchen counter.

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For more information about a wonderful romantic comedy please visit What Would Meg Do?