It’s Valentine’s Day–again, as Phil would say in GROUNDHOG DAY (a different holiday. On Groundhog Day you of course watch GROUNDHOG DAY and on St. Patrick’s Day you watch LEAP YEAR and on Easter you watch CHOCOLAT, but what do you watch on Valentine’s Day?
Here’s some of what we watch around here, a short list of romantic comedies, both new and old, that you may never have heard of (I tried not to list the ones you HAVE heard of), but which are guaranteed to make you feel good no matter what your romantic situation:
1. THE DECOY BRIDE (with David Tennant and Kelly Macdonald, two reasons to watch right there)
2. WALK, DON’T RUN (with Jim Hutton, Cary Grant, and Samantha Eggar, or you could watch the original, THE MORE THE MERRIER)
3. PICTURE PERFECT (with Jennifer Aniston, Kevin Bacon, and Jay Mohr)
4. HE SAID/SHE SAID (with Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins, who both give their version of their sometimes rocky relationship and what really happened…)
5. HOW TO STEAL A MILLION (with Audrey Hepburn and Peter O’Toole.)
6. A LITTLE ROMANCE (the story of two kids (one of whom is a very young Diane Lane) who run off to Venice, helped by Laurence Olivier, of all people)
7. BALL OF FIRE (with Barbara Stanwyck, Gary Cooper, and a bunch of gangsters and absent-minded professors)
And what are WE watching tonight? Preston Sturgess’s THE LADY EVE, also with the incomparable Barbara Stanwyck as a card sharp and her pathetic dupe, Henry Fonda. (Note: If you’ve never seen a Preston Sturges movie, you’re in for a real treat. My husband’s favorite is SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS, and mine is THE MIRACLE OF MORGAN’S CREEK.)
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Connie Willis
