Romantic comedies, once a reliable (if sappy) source of human warmth and true comic heart, seem to have become even lazier than usual. This is a generalization as well, but it seems that producers are just blindly picking one male and one female from this month's "hot list" and shoving them into a film together. These films rarely bomb and sometimes become surprise successes, so studio execs don't see the need for a good screenplay.
This is all a great generalization, I realize. I certainly don't mean to say that all comedies have been bad for fifteen years. But it does seem to me that there aren't as many genuinely good comedies as there used to be, and a lot of it comes back to charm, compassion, and humanity. You can embrace these qualities without going over the line and being sappy, as a lot of indie comedies have shown us.
I guess what I really want is more of what John Candy gave us. Candy is not alone; the style of comedy I'm referring to is timeless; it's best exemplified by the work of Laurel and Hardy, or other classic comedies like Harvey or The Princess Bride or even the classic Muppet films. I don't hate films like Tropic Thunder or Napoleon Dynamite, I just wish that somewhere between the Hollywood blockbusters and the indie niche comedies there was a happy medium to find something a little more human. Every once in a while, a film like The Impostors or Mouse Hunt comes along to reaffirm my faith in modern comedy.
We don't need to stop making crazy comedies. We just need to start making more human comedies. So let's get out there and find the actors, writers, directors, and producers who can make it happen. And once we find them, let's be sure to tell everyone we know. Because in times like these, we need more John Candys.
Article comments
1 - Walter Raab
Great and fitting tribute. Please give Only the Lonely another chance. Candy, Ally Sheedy and Jim Belushi are great and the movie has a fantastic supporting cast. One of my favorites!
2 - Matthew T. Sussman
Moose outside should've told you.
3 - Al Barger
Second on the thumbs up for Only the Lonely. There was more heart and real personality than in most romantic comedies. Ally Sheedy and John Candy made a fine pair rather than the usual cookie cutter characters, and a much more thoughtful and memorable film than, say, Sleepless in Seattle.
4 - Aaron Whitehead
Thanks, guys. I will give Only the Lonely another try. Not only was I very young when I saw it, but I was probably expecting another Uncle Buck and was completely thrown by the different tone. I'll see if I can't find a copy sometime soon and add a comment with my reaction.
Matt -- I can't believe I forgot to mention Candy in Vacation. Candy, Chevy Chase and Eddie Bracken are just too much to handle in that last scene.
I also forgot the film Hot to Trot, a Bobcat Goldthwait vehicle with Candy as the voice of a talking horse. Surprisingly enough, it holds up pretty well today, mainly because of Candy and a HILARIOUS preformance by Dabney Coleman.
5 - Lisa McKay
Nice piece, Aaron, I'm a fan of Candy's work too and you've done a good job of capturing the essential sweetness at the core of his personality. You've made some good choices here (I'll confess to liking Uncle Buck more than most critics did, though), and your comments about Plains, Trains and Automobiles are spot on, it's a really enjoyable and heartfelt film.