Formal Film Study #2: TOP Romance Films in the 80's

For my second formal film study I decided to research and watch romance films in the 80's, and not just any, but ones that were ranked (by Timeout) the best. The reason I chose this particular category of movies, and in this time period is because I wanted to see what movies were like after censorship laws stopped being followed as closely. The three movies I chose were Say Anything, When Harry met Sally, and Pretty Woman.

                                       
                                                       

 The movies I watched are made in the mid to late 80's and are to this day still being referenced through other more modern movies. For example, you could have never seen the movie Say Anything and still be familiar with the iconic scene of John Cusack outside of a window in an oversized trenchcoat with music blaring from a boombox as he declares his love for the beauitful Diane Court (played by Ione Skye). You also see modern day remakes of friendships that despite all things said turn into more being a common plot-line. Or the rich guy falling for not not so rich girl. Love stories tweak things here and there, but the plot-line generally tends to remain the same.

Even though the three movies are all kind of the same synopsis we've all seen before. Its your typical cheesy lovey dovey movie that just gets remade over and over with new faces. However, the costume design was unique in Say Anything, and that stood out to me. One of the first things I noticed was how strange the main character Lloyd (John Cusack) dresses. We mostly see him in jeans with big sneakers a tshirt and a oversized trenchcoat and occasionally a black hat. The Daily Beast wrote an article on this particular choice of wardrobe design saying, "I think he's hiding it by wearing it, but its actually a statement." I think the creators were sending a message with this particular choice of clothing, they were trying to show us how different the main character is, and how he stands out and feels different. He wears his too big trenchcoat and kickboxing outfit, kind of symbolizing that he's unsure of who he is, he's still conflicted in choosing the path to go down on for his future, which is a huge contrast from his costar Ione (Diane Court) who wears nicely put together dresses, and casual clothes, that make her appear to be sure of herself (and her future). I think it was unique how this movie conveyed subtle messages about the characters solely through what they wore, as opposed to how they interacted.
                                                         
Another thing I noticed about these movies is the way the shots were all mostly close-ups or medium shots. Nothing was really far away besides very few scenes and typically those were because they weren't relevant. I think the directors wanted us to feel the closeness and intimacy that they shared and make the audience connect with that on a personal level since it is a romantic movie. There weren't a lot of fast paced shots or jump shots because I noticed love movies tend to be slower paced. The movies were all also very bright and took place mostly during the day, and the more intimate scenes at night typically in a small space, setting the tone. Going along with that, I noticed some of the more questionable scenes, and from what I know about the rating system, and the way the censorship regulations affected these movies. It seems the movies typically did not follow guidelines, and some of the scenes were a little too exposing for that time period (Even though its nothing compared to today's romantic chic flicks) which says something about how the rating system was probably impacted by this genre of movies.
                                                        

Another thing I noticed about love story movies is that they all have memorable quotes, or lines that get re-referenced in more modern films as well. Like in Say Anything where John Cusack says, "She gave me a pen. I gave her my heart, and she gave me a pen." or in When Harry met Sally another quote is "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." (Harry Burns) and "You and I are such similar creatures Vivian. We both screw people for money." (Edward Lewis) in Pretty Woman. I think romantic movies focus a lot on dialogue because its a genre all about emotion and connecting with people, so the way the script is written, and the way it flows plays a huge role in whether or not the movie will be taken as a cheesy love story movie that makes you want to set your t.v on fire, or if it gives the intended romantic escapism that I'm noticing is very hard to truly achieve successfully.
                                                           
                                                              
The music in the movies Say Anything and Pretty Woman was typically classical, not a lot of lyrical music played in the movies, it was more really short periods of soft music in the backround. So I dont think the music was intended to be a huge role in the movie, which is unlike When Harry met Sally, as the first scene started out with a song playing, and it was loud not just backround music, so music was more of a crucial part of that movie. It was also more of a comedy so I think that had to play a role in the way music was incorporated.
                                              

Another thing I noticed is in all the late 80's movies, a lot of the deeper scenes that were intimate occured in a car. Which I thought was funny. All three movies had distinct car scenes which added depth to the relationships of the main characters. I think this says a lot about the time period these movies were made in, more than that movie relationships have more sentimental depth whenever filmed in a car.
        
                                         


Another thing I noticed being portrayed in the movie Say Anything is the father daughter relationship between Diane and her crook of a father. He's apparently been involved in some illegal business all while appearing to be the perfect father on the side who is encouraging his daughter to go study and giving her everything she could possibly want and need. They also appear to be very close, because she tells her father everything, and I think that's a unique angle to play in a family relationship in this genre of movies, because typically the adolescent is rebeling against their parents, but we see a different dynamic here. Another thing I noticed was that the movie focused a lot on their senior year summer, where they would unquestionably go their paved out paths for the future, maybe shining a light on the education system during the time, that teens were expected to continue going to school after high school, which wasn't as common in earlier years, especially for girls, so the movie is shown in a very progressive manner. Also showing progressiveness, in Harry met Sally it shows the dynamic of a boy girl friendship and how the the dynamic of that relationship is as well. In Pretty Woman we see an unlikely relationship, so I feel like romantic movies want to portray unlikely things happening. Typically its opposites attract, or friendships on fire, or being with someone who you would never imagine yourself with.
                                               

Overall, I think the one common thing all the movies shared in common was the way the stories tend to unfold in this genre. It is very predictable, and even when it seems like there is a plot twist, the couple your rooting for tends to win out 9 out 10 times. Honestly, I think what grants these movies the title of classics is probably when they were made, and who the A-list actors were that were hired for the leading roles. The plots no matter how good, are not unique, and have been remade with better technology and they wouldn't be labeled classics, chances are they would be deemed cheesy and typical love story movies. The tone in all the movies is happy and offers escapism, probably because a lot of movies in the 80's were like that, so it was not uncommon to see these types of cheesy stories being made.