Critics and audiences alike have long despaired, “Where’d the rom-coms go?” A bright, ambitious gloss on Nancy Meyers’ work (her latest was pulled by Netflix in March after it reportedly cost over $130 million).
Instead, modern viewers mostly receive pale, painstaking imitations. The frenzied Jennifer Lopez and Josh Duhamel’s insane ‘Shotgun Wedding’ and the empty Ana de Armas and Chris Evans vehicle ‘Ghost’. In a project like this, romance is an empty act. Chemistry, a distant dream. (The long-distance courtship dry kiss “Your Place or Mine,” released earlier this year, literally couldn’t stand having Reese Witherspoon and Ashton Kutcher physically in the same frame for more than three scenes. .)
Moviegoers were unashamedly hungry for something grown-up, and the movie gods rejoice, actually funis probably lucky to find it this summer in the resurgence of another dormant genre: romantic comedy’s sexier cousin, sex comedy. However, post-#MeToo, post-pandemic, and in the midst of the online culture wars, his 2023 Hard-R prank could be very different from 1993, or even his 2013.
In a situation dominated by bloated blockbusters and soul-dead sequels, it’s a bit of a stretch to admit that the simple and radical thing of making the lens female could offer a fresh perspective. I feel blue. Still, it’s refreshing to see Oscar-winning actress Jennifer Lawrence star in a lustful silly movie like No Hard Feeling, which hits theaters June 23rd. She stars as a cash-strapped Uber driver and agrees for a fee to seduce her clumsy teenage son. Wealthy couple in New York.of red band trailer Over 45 million views in its first 24 hours online. Perhaps this is evidence of the moviegoer’s all too long undeveloped desire for hilarious slapstick sets and “can I touch the wiener?” joke.
a prodigal as well “Joy Ride” A sunny “Hangover” redux-like production starring and produced by an Asian-American woman, almost universal rave When it premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival in March. (Scheduled for wide release on July 7.) Over 95 minutes of extravagantly wild content, Ashley Park from “Emily in Paris” and “Everything Everywhere All at Once” star Stephanie Hsu leads a loose quartet to China on a journey of friendship and self. In the process, he broke dozens of statutes on Class A drugs and public indecency.
The same week at SXSW, the sleazy low-budget film Votoms (releases in theaters Aug. 25) was hailed as a queer Gen Z twist on the classic high school maiden tale. Directed by Emma Seligman (Shiva Baby), the film features Shiva star Rachel Sennot and The Bear’s Ayo Edeviri in a fight club to woo their dream cheerleader. She plays the role of a teenage lesbian who launches . Hickeys and hematomas develop.
All the sex they show on screen is messy, messy, and sometimes medically unsound. It also unapologetically centers the desires and pleasures of a woman in all its twists and stripes, expressing “what she has I get” to the nth degree. increase. If these films are successful, they’ll join the shortlist of equal-opportunity multiplexes. 2011’s scat flick “Bridesmaids,” Amy Schumer’s 2015 hit “Trainwreck,” and 2017’s raucous ensembles are touchstones for female misbehavior. Girls Trip turned Tiffany Haddish into a loving meme of grapefruit overnight. (For a PG-13 starter her kit, think Emma of the Scarlet Letter Her Stone-starring “Easy A” (2010).) But they’re all male directors, often middle-aged. was the director. Even rarer are those that are actually directed by women, such as Kay Unger’s “Blockers” and Olivia Wilde’s “Booksmart.”
So some of the demographic shifts here seem worth mentioning. ‘Joy Ride’ is the directorial debut of Malaysian-American screenwriter Adel Lim, co-writer of ‘Crazy Rich Asians’, and written by ‘Family Guy’ alum Cherry Che. Vapravadumron is in charge. and Teresa Shio. Most of the players on either side of the camera in “Bottoms” (with a refreshing switch between references to Bell Hook and Avril Lavigne in mid-August) were born after the first Clinton administration.
Unsurprisingly, however, audiences rarely appreciate the variety of leisure time. Covid-battered, horrified by the economic downturn, and perhaps finally cooling off on endless Marvel tentpoles, their only directive seems to be ‘entertain me’. A dizzying and esoteric choice of prize bait, such as “Tar” and “Woman Talking,” respectively a classical music conductor’s self-imposed disgrace and Mennonite women discussing rape in a barn. Come to think of it, they flocked instead to the hilariously silly undercards like “M3gan” and “Cocaine Bear.” (The latter shares two of his three producers with “Bottoms.”)
However, wiener jokes also carry the weight of history. Seth Rogen, whose career took root in the animal pen built by Judd Apatow and is credited as a producer on Joy Ride, has stated in numerous interviews that much of his catalog does not stand up to today’s scrutiny. admits A quick review of canon classics like Porky’s and American Pie, as well as most of Apatow’s extended world movies (Knocked Up, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, Superbad), winks. It reminds me of a moment of contempt for women. Casual racism and to a lesser extent homophobia now seem like obvious third rails.
How Hollywood can adapt to an era so strongly conscious of identity and islam, and to a younger generation who reportedly have sex far less often than previous generations, is as uncertain as the future of cinema itself. It feels like a social experiment going on. After all, the most outlandish comedy gift is that in a dark room he lets us do our best and leave the safe place at the door for an hour or two. At a press preview in April, co-stars Sidney Sweeney and Glenn Powell gave “Easy A” director Will Gluck a modern take on Shakespeare’s “No Worries,” due out in December. He proudly touted his new album, “Anyone but You.” No small amount of nudity is included, as is the combative romance between “Real Nightmare” and Donkey. The internet has boiled.
However, those who fit certain archetypes, like Powell and Sweeney, will naturally be given more latitude than others to push the boundaries of mainstream taste. Projects that showcase traditionally underrepresented groups, or those who really fall into the non-heterosexual, thin, non-white spectrum, still carry full weight of representation. It is often made in Outkast’s R-rated gay romantic comedy The Brothers wrings out a performance over last year’s box office failure after being hailed as the first film of its kind to receive widespread acceptance. Please see how it is. Theatrical release.
Perhaps for all of these reasons, there are no clearly embedded teachable moments in “Bottoms’ deranged and rampaging teendom,” despite certain life lessons creeping sideways from corners. Or Joy Ride, with one main character searching for his Chinese biological parent, one non-binary character, and two people who treat sex like an all-you-can-eat buffet around the world. appears. Here, the medium is the message. The rest is as nasty as it wants to be, ultimately chaotic, kind-hearted, and yes, enjoyable.
