Blog #3: Rom-Com Fictional Journalists Who Made Me Fall In Love With Writing
Hi my name is Lovelie and I am obsessed with romantic comedy movies. Your reply: Hi Lovelie! For the record, I have days of productivity but I definitely indulge or binge on movies for hours on end. Hey! Everyone has their vices, I mean hobbies. Mine just happens to be accessible through a monthly subscription.
I’m pretty certain that my dedication to romantic comedies throughout my 27 years not only stirred the hopeless romantic in me but also my love of writing. I’m not referring to the heartwarming, overly cheesetastic dialogue amongst the characters but the leading lady or man and their passion for storytelling.
There’s a trend where several of my go-to rom-coms feature a lead character as a writer who finds love while covering a story or are in pursuit of their writing dreams. From journalists to novelists this list includes movies I’ve repeatedly watched that have inspired me to find my inner writer and while doing so maybe find love while honing my writing voice. Spoiler alert: I met my husband in journalism school.
Before I get started I would like to add a disclaimer: I know there are a TON of classically acclaimed romantic comedies that I am not including featuring writers or love stories centralized on the art of writing, I’m looking at the "Bridget Jones’s Diary" and "You’ve Got Mail" fans, please don’t come for me. My list mostly includes my personal favorites that I’ve watched way too many times and reference lines on a daily basis. Let’s see if any of our favorites match up:
Roman Holiday
“May I say, speaking for my own... press service; we believe Your Highness's faith will not be unjustified.” - Joe Bradley
My favorite movie love story of all time, what person hasn’t daydreamed about being a princess/prince and living that royal life? Especially in the age of Princess Diaries, I think we have all thought about it, at least in a fleeting moment. But, before Anne Hathaway there was Audrey Hepburn’s Princess Ann. While on a European goodwill tour she stops in Rome, venturing off in a sedative induced stupor where "American News Service" reporter, Joe Bradley played by Gregory Peck, finds her and later realizes she is the Princess Ann he’s supposed to report a story on.
Joe embraces the opportunity and pitches his editor an inside exclusive scoop worth thousands on Princess Ann. When they finally meet, Princess Ann pretends to be a normal everyday girl, and the two embark on an adventure around Rome. The Princess uses it as a day of much needed freedom and normalcy while Joe plans to stage hidden photos and materials to use for his article.
The two end up thoroughly enjoying each others company, even sharing a passion-filled kiss, but reality sets in and they make a stealthy drop-off to return Ann to her royal life. They have a cinematically unforgettable goodbye where she asks him not to look beyond the corner when he says goodbye. Joe decides not to cover the scoop and In their last encounter during a final press conference, his colleague Irving slips her an envelope with the photos he’s taken. It's there when Joe and Ann take their last glimpses of each other before leaving their separate ways.
Probably the only rom-com I love with such a heart-wrenching yet realistic ending. As much as I would have loved that fairytale of the princess running away with the reporter I think I love the story even more because it leaves you feeling their unrequited love story that much more.
27 Dresses
“Love is patient. Love is kind. Love means slowly losing your mind.” - Kevin Doyle
Funny fact, I seem to really like movies where Judy Greer plays the leading lady’s best friend, there’s actually one more on this list. In this particular one she plays a frenemy but anywho Katherine Heigl is nice girl Jane Nichols and James Marsden is Kevin Doyle and their banter in it is truly stellar. Jane is the real life always a bridesmaid never a bride with 27 weddings under her bridesmaid gem encrusted belt. While balancing two weddings one night she meets the cynical Kevin Doyle who she later learns is actually her favorite wedding announcement reporter, Malcolm Doyle. Kevin ends up being assigned to write about Jane’s boss and longtime crush George and his upcoming wedding to her little sister Tess after a very quick whirlwind romance, in which her sister has been pretending to like the same things he's into. Eep drama!
Kevin aspires to be an investigative journalist and takes this opportunity to write a feature without Jane's knowledge about her ongoing bridesmaid role. His hope is that with this story he'll be promoted to more substantial assignments. As they spend more time together, he begins to develop feelings for Jane (does this sound familiar?) to the point he asks his editor to hold off on publishing the story because he would like to tweak it. His editor pushes the article through unbeknownst to Kevin, and while he and Jane are out together she is recognized from the article, and learns of Kevin’s betrayal.
After a broken engagement, a resolution between the sisters, and realizing her feelings are for Kevin and not George—Jane finds Kevin and a year later, the rest is history. There's so much satisfaction when you see Jane getting married at the end and the camera pans out to her 27 bridesmaids wearing the bridesmaids dresses Jane donned at their weddings.
Lessons of the story—give love a chance, consider your morals throughout the journalistic process (not after you submit it to your editor), and make sure if you’re a bride, you love your bridesmaids dresses because when they get married you might have to wear it. Fair warning!
Letters to Juliet
“I think it’s a story worth telling.” - Sophie Hall
Amanda Seyfried’s characer Sophie Hall is a fact checker for the New Yorker with the desire to be a featured writer. I feel yah girl. What I respect about Sophie’s character is that she really worked her way up, granted, I’m not sure the writing trajectory for some of the other characters featured on my list, but she went to Brown, graduated with a double-major, and eventually became a fact checker for THE New Yorker.
Sophie is engaged to her fiancé, Victor, who is in the midst of opening a restaurant in New York. The two go on a pre-honeymoon where they each focus on their own interests, his being food research, while she discovers an unanswered letter to Juliet by a Claire Smith written in the 50s. She replies, and Claire with her grandson Charlie arrive in Verona. Claire, Sophie, accompanied by a disgruntled Charlie go on a mission to find Claire’s long-lost love Lorenzo Bartolini, inspiring Sophie to write a piece about it.
Throughout the journey Charlie and Sophie butt heads, Claire meets many Lorenzo’s but after several failed attempts, she finally meets her old love riding horseback to a Taylor Swift song. Quite cheesetastic, but adorable nonetheless. (Un)fortunately Sophie and Charlie really start to learn more about each other and fall for one another. I thought their chemistry was spot on, but she is engaged, and should have broken up with her fiancé when she first started to develop feelings for Charlie. Just saying.
Minus the engaged to Victor part, Sophie really had that epic, unbelievable love story. You really can’t help but get invested while watching.
How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days
“You can’t lose something you never had.” - Andie Anderson
I think I first developed a rom-com crush on Matthew McConaughey in the Wedding Planner (I LOVE the Wedding Planner!) and Kate Hudson for me was iconic in her role as Andie Anderson. Fun fact: I recited "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" dialogue for speech class my Sophomore year of high school, thanks to my sister Gale for watching the movie and transcribing the parts I used. And many thanks to my professor, Dr. Sheehan for letting me! Andie was a writer for women’s magazine, "Composure" but she wanted to cover more serious topics like religion and politics.
In an attempt to do that, she makes a wager with her boss that she could write a story on how to lose a guy in 10 days. If successful, she could cover more worldly features, very similar to our man Kevin Doyle from "27 Dresses." You should never make a bet at someone’s expense but it does make you think, as someone in pursuit of their dreams do you take such a bet? Let’s be real McConaughey’s character Benjamin Barry, an advertising executive, simultaneously is in a bet of his own, having to make a woman of his competitor’s choice fall in love with him in 10 days for an account, so neither of them were in the right.
As problematic as they both were, they're two people willing to do a whole lot for their career. But let’s never forget Freddie Prinze Jr.'s character in "She’s All That," you don’t make a bet at someone’s expense. People’s feelings get hurt and I don't think it's worth someone's emotions.
Sex in the City: The Movie
“Some love stories aren’t epic novels, some are short stories. But, that doesn’t make them any less filled with love.” - Carrie Bradshaw
The OG New York writer, style icon character that has inspired several TV show and movie female leads determined in pursuing their creative dreams. Newspaper columnist, freelance writer for Vogue and published author, Carrie Bradshaw, is the epitome of what most fashionista writers would love to reach in their career.
She has her signature style of writing and seasons worth of infamous quotes. The movie version continues to tell the triumphs and challenges of Carrie and her three best friends. Carrie in particular goes through a whirlwind of emotions while dealing with her love life. As someone who watched the earlier seasons and the movie, Carrie had her fair share of annoying moments (who doesn’t?) but I do respect her ongoing hustle as a female writer, how she embraced her storytelling voice, and her passion for the art of writing. And to that I say, cheers Carrie!
A Cinderella Story
“I can be surrounded by a sea of people and still feel alone…then I think of you.” - Austin Ames
There are plenty of television show characters I also credit for my love of writing (that’s another blog post) but it's seriously a coinkydink that Chad Michael Murray’s most popular role, Lucas Scott in the beloved WB drama, One Tree Hill (Team Nathan always & forever!) also had a passion for writing, just like his character Austin in "A Cinderella Story." We didn’t get to see much of Austin's writing prowess, but I could definitely connect to a character having to break difficult career-driven news to their parents. Instead of going the route their parents always thought they would trek, having to be vulnerable and explain your passions and happiness lies elsewhere is a challenging, admirable feat. Also, Lizzie McGuire's Hilary Duff with Chad Michael Murray and a modern day Cinderella story with flip phones and messenger, sign me up!
13 Going on 30
“Let's put life back into the magazine, and fun and laughter and silliness…I think all of us, want to feel something that we've forgotten or turned our backs on because maybe we didn't realize how much we were leaving behind. We need to remember what used to be good. If we don't, we won't recognize it even if it hits us between the eyes.” - Jenna Rink
Technically, Jennifer Garner’s character Jenna Rink was an editor for fashion magazine, "Poise" but it’s a form of journalism so I am running with it. Jenna shows young girls to be careful in what they wish for and to never underestimate the ‘geeky boys’ because as someone who is a few years from 30, they make the best husbands. Jennifer was spectacular as a 13-year-old living as a 30-year-old. I don’t think I would ever want to experience what she did throughout the movie, even as a crazy dream sequence I wouldn’t prefer it, but for all those teens out there, as cliche as rom-coms can be its message is spot on—popularity, fitting in, peer pressure is never worth it. Discover your dreams, be your ultimate self and keep the ones who support you as you are because that’ll bring you real confidence and gratitude.