Every year, Valentine's Day lists inform lovers on the perfect gifts to buy, music to listen to and movies to watch. However, traditional romantic comedies have spiraled into a pit of disgustingly sweet clich??s and stereotypical messages. Despite the overwhelming presence of happy endings and witty repartee, any normal person will inevitably gag at such saccharine garbage.
For the rest of the population-everyone out there finding themselves single, or in normal relationships that do not involve nicknames like \sweetie bear"" and ""sugarlips""-The Daily Cardinal offers up some unconventional movies for Valentine's Day.
'Shaun of the Dead'
The general philosophy surrounding horror movies is the more blood and gore, the better the movie. ""Shaun of the Dead"" decided to test if this philosophy would work in the romantic comedy genre, and it does.
""Shaun"" works because at its heart it is a really strong romantic comedy. Even without the blood and carnage, the characters are unique, interesting and funny. They would be able to carry a movie that featured far fewer zombies and it would still be a fun endeavor.
However, the filmmakers decided to take things to the next level by placing these fun characters in an insane situation involving zombies in which these character flaws are magnified for intense comic effect.
While it might be harsh seeing these graphic images, it is unquestionably unique. This different approach to the romantic comedy definitely breathes new life into the genre.
-Kevin Nelson
'Rushmore'
In ""Rushmore,"" Max Fischer is nothing but a boy trying to be a man without a mother to watch over him. He turns to his school, Rushmore, to fill that role and gives to it everything he has to offer.
Never mind that Rosemary Cross, Mrs. Calloway and Margaret Yang pop up along the way. They are distractions to Max, each serving their momentary purpose as he adjusts to his changed circumstances. They may have been flesh-and-blood women, but they didn't make Max produce hit plays or save Latin.
Fischer even competed for Cross' affection with his half-idol, Herman Blume. They ended up as skeptical friends but at least they learned something from each other, perhaps with Blume learning more from Max than vice versa. This exchange says it all:
Blume: What's the secret, Max?
Fischer: The secret?
Blume: Yeah, you seem to have it pretty figured out.
Fischer: The secret, I don't know ... I guess you've just gotta find something you love to do and then... do it for the rest of your life. For me, it's going to Rushmore.
-Ben Schultz
'The Addams Family'
""Look at her,"" Gomez Addams says as his wife Morticia sleeps in ""The Addams Family."" ""I would die for her. I would kill for her. Either way, what bliss!""
If your idea of the perfect date is cuddling with your special someone in an unused open grave, then this is the Valentine's Day movie for you.
The knife-wielding Gomez and the rose-petal-clipping Morticia have the most beautifully morose romance in the history of cinema, a grand love affair that's equal parts glamorous and cadaverous.
You can use Morticia's words to convince him or her that in any case your love is undying: ""Just think, someday we'll be buried here, side by side, our lifeless bodies, rotting together, for all eternity.""
Share sentiments like this, and you can be sure of thousands more blissful Valentine's Days together.
-Dan Wohl
'Yellow Submarine'
For people who want to feel love without worrying about a relationship, no movie is better than the Beatles' cartoon ""Yellow Submarine.""
Sailing through time and space, the Fab Four use love and music to banish the Blue Meanies and restore life to Pepperland. Plot is secondary to the music and animation, making it an excellent film to get lost in. The music videos are explosions of color, with ""Hey Bulldog"" and ""Only a Northern Song"" jarring viewers awake instantly.
""It's All Too Much"" and ""All You Need Is Love"" are some of the best offerings from their psychedelic period, positive poetry backed up by a full orchestra and distorted electric guitars.
There's no actual romance in ""Yellow Submarine,"" but it works as a romantic film through sheer energy-it is impossible not to watch it and feel your spirits rise.
-Les Chappell
'True Romance'
With a title like ""True Romance,"" it might be thought this is a light fluffy comedy-the characters probably disposable, the plot predictable and the movie unmemorable.
That would be true, had ""True Romance"" not been written by Quentin Tarantino. His mark is all over the place with plenty of guns, botched drug deals and evil personified in Christopher Walken. It is more pulp novel than movie.
But it has a heart as well. Beneath its gritty atmosphere, the story of love between Christian Slater's Clarence and Patricia Arquette's Alabama is surprisingly touching. Despite the circumstances their characters face, they have one of the purest relationships to be depicted on film.
-Kevin Nelson
'Edward Scissorhands'
The story of ""Edward Scissorhands"" is one of haunting beauty and romantic tragedy. It is quite possibly the best non-animated film ever made to capture the feel of a fairy tale, and it is also Tim Burton's most personal movie to date (the similar hairstyle of Burton and the title character is surely no coincidence).
""Edward Scissorhands"" takes the familiar themes of ""Romeo and Juliet"" and ""Beauty and the Beast"" and gives them fresh life, thanks to a heartbreaking performance by Johnny Depp.
Edward's love for Kim (a pre-shoplifting scandal Winona Ryder) is the kind of pure, aching romance that fills all quality love stories. Danny Elfman's magnificent score is also a vital element to the romance of the film, dually functioning as both creepy and tender at the same time.
-Dan Marfield
'Amores Perros'
Alejandro Gonz??lez I'?rritu's ""Amores Perros"" loosely translates to ""Life's a Bitch,"" and deals with-you guessed it-love.
Through three interwoven stories, it is learned that although love is a vital and often inescapable part of life, it is not always the solution to life's problems.
The film may facilitate endless debates as to the validity of love, of which the conclusions are nearly as endless. As opposed to the often uplifting endings of the traditional romantic comedy, this film leaves the viewer with something to think about: namely, ""do I really know the person who is sitting on the couch next to me?"" And, ""do I even want to?""
Despite this cynical view, I'?rritu embeds a positive message within El Chivo, the moralistic character of the film: it is through him that love may be seen as a virtue. If the various discussions on love are not enough to keep you interested, there's always the gratuitous sex and violence that earned this film an R-rating.
-Jayme Zwerling
'Fight Club'
""Fight Club"" is a lot of things-a subversive satire of consumer society, a critical examination of consequences arising from man's overwhelming need to ""belong""-but it is, on some level, one of the most twisted romance stories put to film.
While most fans will instantly protest that statement, consider Narrator's relationship with Marla over the course of the film. It is the definition of love/hate. As Narrator gets to know Marla, he grows more and more uncomfortable around her. Not until the end of the film is he able to deal with his true feelings. He's distracted by the allure of Fight Club and Project Mayhem, headed by Tyler Durden. In fact, the bizarre dynamic between Durden, Narrator and Marla constitutes a dysfunctional love triangle.
Certainly there are a lot of thematic elements in ""Fight Club,"" and it's practically impossible to argue it's a strict romantic comedy. But when you consider the final moments of the film, as Narrator and Marla hold hands watching various buildings tumble to the ground, you can't help but think the film was really about an insomniac struggling through his feelings for a very odd woman.
-William Temby
