Is this the first good romantic comedy ever?
April 2nd, 2007 by Frank
Went to see Michel Gondry’s ‘The Science of Sleep‘ (which I wrote about previously) in the Kino cinema in Cork.
Michel Gondry wrote and directed ‘The Science of Sleep’, and it covers some of the same territory as ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind‘ which he also directed and co-wrote.
The films are quite different though, and come at the subject matter from different angles. The Science of Sleep approaches the relationship theme from a much sweeter premise, and to be honest I was afraid the film would be too sweet and too romantic. For the first part of the film I held on to my fears, but as the film went on I began to relax as Gondry got the mix just right.
Overall, I felt the film was a bit too loosely directed in the first half and lacked a certain cohesiveness, particularly compared to the incredibly tight ‘Eternal Sunshine’, however as the film went on it seemed to find it’s footing and the pacing, dialogue and editing all seemed to gel.
The way Gondry interweaves the central character’s dream world and reality is just amazing, in particular as the film progresses and the distinctions become increasingly harder to tease apart - this coupled with the gradual way in which the full implications of the character’s blurred view of the world are revealed make for quite compelling watching.
The humour, sweetness and melancholy are almost as tightly bound together as the reality/dream world, and perhaps the huge point of difference between ‘The Science of Sleep’ and ‘Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind’ is the humour. ‘Eternal Sunshine’ had it’s humour, but was a much bleaker film, ‘Science of Sleep’ had me laughing out loud throughout.
Well worth a watch.
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April 2nd, 2007 at 10:56 am
I too saw this movie and thought it was very good from star to finish.
To answer your title question though…perhaps. I am very suspicious about romantic comedies and “chick flicks” om general, but I would nominate a few romantic comedies as being good movies. When Harry Met Sally, Sleepless In Seattle, Brief Encounter, Casablanca.
That’s all that’s coming to mind right now.
April 2nd, 2007 at 11:34 am
I admit I was just being provocative with the title, I know there’s a few good ones, and the way the genre is generally defined this wouldn’t even be included. I was just making an idle point I suppose…
April 2nd, 2007 at 1:33 pm
How in hell is Casablanca a romantic comedy?
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:00 pm
You got me there Bif. My mind wandered into what romantic films were any good and the sensor hadn’t woken up yet. (doh!)
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Now that you mention it Brief Encounter isn’t a comedy either! That means I only came up with one!! You got any Bif?
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:18 pm
As good as it gets is probably the only one I’ve even remotely enjoyed.
April 2nd, 2007 at 4:38 pm
Oh, good one. I forgot that. I like that film a lot.
December 2nd, 2007 at 3:01 pm
Eternal Sunshine was a great film. The old Romantic Comedy’s do give a lop sided view of love and passion though. They are not realistic. But maybe they are not meant to be.
December 3rd, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Eternal Sunshine was great. A few films like Eternal Sunshine and As Good As It Gets often get over looked when romantic comedies are considered as they are more intellectual than the normal romantic comedy. As a result the genre as a whole gets look down upon despite having produced some good films.
Of course I’m not sure the comedy part fits for Eternal Sunshine either…
December 22nd, 2007 at 6:03 am
I really loved the Science of Sleep it was amazing. When I first saw the movie I was expecting a funny and quirky romantic comedy. But what I found was an intellectually stimulating piece of genius work.
March 1st, 2008 at 11:41 pm
[...] Went to see Be Kind Rewind last weekend, written and directed by Michel Gondry, who co-wrote and directed Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, and wrote and directed Science of Sleep (previously reviewed here). [...]