For me, the romantic comedy Top 10 is the most solid compilation of the group. Not only is the rom com a clearly established American film genre, but the individual selections are all eminently reasonable and defensible. This is not to suggest that I wouldn't make alternate suggestions, because I would, but I understand the reasoning behind each of the ten films on the AFI's list. And I don't have any strong contrarian or idiosyncratic preferences that would lead me to tilt at a windmill like arguing against the selection of, say, City Lights (1931) as number one, or its inclusion on the list altogether.
The one film on this list that I do question is Sleepless in Seattle (1993). There isn't anything outstandingly wrong with the film, but it isn't especially remarkable, either. It doesn't represent a particularly clever or innovative take on the genre. It doesn't push any boundaries. It doesn't mark any point in the development of the form (indeed, I would argue that it is fairly typical of the post-Harry and Sally rom com, including being less enjoyable than its progenitor). And Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan do not have any special chemistry together (maybe one reason why they spend most of the movie apart).
Replacing Sleepless in Seattle is fairly easy; the one gaping hole in the AFI's list is the absence of anything by Preston Sturges. But what to pick? Just about any of his films would be a better choice than the more contemporary film, but, for me, it's a tough call between: Sullivan's Travels (1941), The Lady Eve (1941), and The Palm Beach Story (1942). I probably lean in the direction of Sullivan's, largely because of how sharply written the first meeting between Sullivan (Joel McCrea) and The Girl (Veronica Lake) is; all I'll say here is that Nora Ephron wishes she could write dialogue like the snappy back-and-forth in this scene. On the other hand, there are moments of clear genius in The Lady Eve, from both Barbara Stanwyck and Sturges. However, the film does have one central flaw, and it's an important one from a genre perspective: the lead characters are not evenly matched. At no point does Henry Fonda's Charles Pike have a chance against Stanwyck's Jean Harrington, and practically each time I watch the film I want her to take her revenge without taking him back; he's that much of a drip.
While I would replace Sleepless in Seattle with Sullivan's Travels, I would not list it at the bottom. In deference to people who know silent film better than I, I'd put it at number two. I could make an argument for either of the other two Sturges movies, but, as I indicated in the opening, the existing selections are reasonable enough that I don't feel compelled to argue for taking off, even, a film like Moonstruck (1987), the appearance of which I found to be surprisingly charming.
I think "charming" is a good word choice for Moonstruck. Especially because I was thinking muchly of stuff I would have put on the list instead of Moonstruck, but your use of that word somehow skewed my whole perception of its inclusion. Nice work.
Posted by: amd | June 18, 2008 at 06:04 PM