Is there such a thing as an "ego-com"? Yes, there is -- I just made it up! Lynda Obst would be so proud...
The "Ego-com" is a subset of the romantic comedy family. And no rom-com does does it better than Paramount's "How to Loose A Guy in 10 Days".
Let me just start out by saying "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days" is my 2nd favorite rom-com of all-time. And that is saying something, as the rom-com genre is my favorite movie genre of them all.
"How to Loose A Guy in 10 Days" is about two people trying to advance in their careers, who in endeavoring to do so take a slanted foray into romantic love. The male lead, Benjamin Barry (Matthew McConaughey) wants to land a diamond advertising contract for the company he works at. While the female lead, Andie Anderson (Kate Hudson) stumbles into accepting a writing assignment to purposely push away a guy who she's dating away in order to save a fellow co-worker who has just been dumped the embarrassment of having her failed romancing becoming a story written by another callous, female writer at the magazine company she works at.
The stakes of "How To Loose a Guy in 10 Days" is a battle of the sexes in the midst of the careers, with a love story developing amist conflicting agendas.
Is the love story king in "How To Loose a Guy in 10 Days?" I say no. The magic point of this movie is in the set pieces that arrive from Andie Anderson's agenda vs. Benjamin Barry's. These set pieces are ripe with fine acting and writing throughout, which makes "How To Loose a Guy in 10 Days" a rom-com masterpiece -- in my opinion.
"How To Loose a Guy in 10 Days" is fun to watch; it's an enjoyable ride. Kate Hudson makes Andie Anderson very funny. Her facial expressions are priceless. She puts in her finest work here, it made her a star. "What do you think I'm some kind of mental person!?!" And Matthew McConahuey is the perfect Mr. Macho. Nobody does sexy and a man of dogged determination better than Matthew McConauhey.
The "Ego-com" is a subset of the rom-com division in that in the "Ego-com" competing agenda's are king. The allure of an "Ego-com" is how those competing agendas of the female and male leads play out in the context of a story in which is the element of romance.
"The Ugly Truth", "What Women Want", and "Hitch" are also what I would call "Ego-coms." In "The Ugly Truth" Katherine Heigl's character spars against the chauvinistic Gerald Butler character in the setting of a TV morning show's production. And in "What Women Want" Mel Gibson's character spars against a new boss of his agency, Helen Hunt's character. And in "Hitch" Will Smith's character gets smitten by a gossip columnist (played by Eva Mendez), while Will Smith's character is a professed romance expert who sells his skills to helping frustrated wanna-be romatics land the object of their desire.
Seeing the similarities yet?
Setting: work environment where people are trying to get ahead.
Potential romances develop amidst competing agendas by the male and female leads.
The Ego-com.
I believe the Ego-com is an important sub-division under the rom-com. AND I believe the ego-com is distinctively different other more well-know subsets in the realm of the rom-com. Like the sports romantic comedy: "Bull Durham," "Tin Cup"; or the schlub does well: "Something about Mary", "As Good as It Gets"; or the action rom-com; "Romancing the Stone", "The Princess Bride," or the high-concept rom-com: "Eternal Sunshine for the Spotless Mind," "Stranger Than Fiction;" or the destiny rom-coms: "While You Were Sleeping," and "Sleepless in Seattle" or even the fantasy rom-coms: "Enchanted" and "13 Going on 30;" and let's not forget the ensemble rom-coms which has been getting a lot of play in recent years: "Valentine's Day," and "Love Actually."
Now one of those listed rom-coms is my favorite over-all rom-com of all time -- can you guess which one? THAT rom-com will be featured on a future post. Stay tuned...
Back to "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days." I keep watching this movie over and over again because it is so well done. "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days" has the best cast of any rom-com that ever been filmed -- in my opinion. All of its support cast are superb and put in performances that are savory and worthy of special recognition. Bebe Newirth, "Lilith" of "Cheers" fame, Robert Klien, Adam Goldberg, Anne Parisse, Katherine Hahn, Tomas Lennon. Even bit players -- like the guy who punched Mathew McConahuey in the chick-flick marathon -- shine.
One caveat I would like to point out. I was not particularly drawn by the romance in this film, "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Day"; aka it didn't move me romantically and this movie never got me deeply invested in the romance that was playing out on the screen. But does a rom-com HAVE to have a stellar romantic component to shine and be memorable? By definition the romantic comedy is part romance, part comedy. So I say, no; a rom-com doesn't have to have a romance that the audience personally invests in to be successful -- but it sure does help! "How to Loose A Guy in 10 Days" shines because of its artistic considerations outside of its central romance between its leads.
Since I LOVE this movie so much, I watched the DVD extras. Did you know "How to Loose A Guy in 10 Days" kernel idea came out of picture book that Christine Peters found? She saw potential in this kernel idea, developed it, and it turned into a classic. I marvel over origin stories like that. What a visionary. I wanna work with artistic visionaries like Christine Peters and Lynda Obst.
I don't know where you, my readership stand on my proposal of introducing a new sub-set under the rom-com banner. But if you have anything to say about it, I'd love to hear from you.
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