Tuesday Guilty Pleasure: Indie romantic comedies

Look, I posted two weeks in a row! I'm back, baby!

Have you ever thought to yourself, "Man, I'm really in the mood for a romantic comedy right now?" If you're a guy, the answer is probably no.

I might just be the exception.

The guy at the box office or clerk at the local Blockbuster usually assumes that I'm seeing that romantic comedy because I'm with my girlfriend and she somehow tricked me into it. Well, that's not always the case. Sometimes I'm really feeling a good romantic comedy.

Now let me clarify. I'm not talking a crappy, stereotypical romantic comedy like "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (biggest waste of two hours ever...) where a guy and a girl don't realize how much they care for each other, then they do, then one of them screws up and works the rest of the movie trying to get the other one back and they ride off into the sunset together. No. Forget that.

I'm talking the cute, indie-style romantic comedies that have become popular recently, where the two characters just have a good relationship and that's it. They go through life's problems and deal with them.

What made me think about this was seeing "Away We Go," with John Krasinski (Jim from the Office) and Maya Rudolph. The two characters are undeniably in love and they go across the country seeing old friends and trying to find a new place to live. Sounds simple, and it is. But it was hilarious and heartwarming.

Even though it's a little different, and definitely not as good of a movie, I would put "Garden State" in the same category. Same with "Juno."

I hate the formulaic, boring and overacted romantic comedies. But give me a fun and cute love story and I'm so down. I can't wait until "500 Days of Summer" comes out....

Tuesday Guilty Pleasure

Good morning, readers!! You all are looking especially lovely this beautiful spring Tuesday morning! Wait, did I say Tuesday? That means it's time for me to spill my guts on something that I love that I really, really shouldn't.

This week we're going the movie route. I think that everyone has their comfort movie. It may change over the years, but there's always that one movie you can watch and it just makes you feel better. It could be funny, sad, romantic, action-packed, whatever floats your boat. Well I definitely have my comfort movie and I've grown hesitant to tell people how I really feel about it. When I first saw it, it was one of my favorite movies out there, but after more views I've realized that there are a lot of things to be desired of it. But despite this, it's still the movie that I can watch to make me feel better and it even gets me choked up at the end. 

Here is a clip:

Despite all its cheesiness, "Garden State" has some really funny moments and is a solid story overall. This quarry scene is one of my favorites, with the shot flying back when they scream and Simon and Garfunkel's "The Only Living Boy in New York" perfectly fitting the mood of the moment. 

I always loved Zach Braff in "Scrubs," even if he does have a flair for the dramatic. I'm going to miss him on that show. Maybe that means he'll start putting out some more solid movies.