Like any other girl I like watching a good romantic flick, whether it is a rom-com or a romance of a more serious nature. But like any other single girl, sometimes these movies leave us feeling wistful and maybe with the slightest feeling of sadness, rather than feeling fulfilled and satisfied at the ending.
I just finished watching 27 dresses - While an enjoyable film, it's hardly a masterpiece. The good kind of one to watch on a rainy day, when you want a bit of mindless entertainment. Through watching this movie, I went through a bit of romantic-comedy bipolar. Romantic movies, with that sweet, happy ending can be a single girls enemy.
We were raised on fairytales and false beliefs - prince charming will come along one day and rescue us all. As we grow up we meet reality - Finding your prince charming is not quite an easy take....if it even happens at all.
We all desire that happy ending - the one we first discovered in fairytales, and the ones that are played out for us in numerous movies. We want to find that man that will sweep us off our feet, that makes us smile without even having to say a word, that is our protector and defender. We watch these movies with smiles on our faces when the romance between the two central characters work out, trying to ignore the pang of jealousy in our stomachs as we inevitably think of ourselves and our own personal situation, wishing it was as simple as the movie.
These leads us to the concept of fantasy man. As I watched 27 dresses, I fell in lust with James Marsdens character - Good looking, charismatic, intelligent, with that little bit of cynical sarcasm. And this is what we females tend to do - at the end of the day, are we too caught up in finding that fairytale ending, and missing what's right under our noses?
Because while these films make us start the wishful thinking and make us ask those questions - Why can't I find a man like this? When will romance come into my life? Am I really just an ugly, pathetic single girl who has no chance of finding anyone? - Ultimately we are forgetting the bigger picture and the REALITY behind all this.
Sure romantic comedy movies tend to use the happily ever after approach - Because let's face it, if we watched 27 Dresses, only to have James Marsdens character killed in the end, and left Katherine Heigels character to wallow in self pity and ended it there, we would come away from the film complaining about the ending - How it was unfair, why couldn't it just end happily? rah rah rah. At the end of the day, we can't have it both ways.
And at the end of the day, happily ever after isn't an easy concept - While it's fine to end a movie like that, realistically we have to realise that
a) we probably won't find a man that we consider perfect and;
b) a relationship will always take hard work, and you have to give and take in order to make it flourish.
Because while 27 Dresses has a lovely ending, realistically a few years later down the track, Katherine would be shouting to James to pick up some milk on his way home from work, while she attempts to get in her workclothes and feed a crying child at the same time. James would be stressing over another newspaper deadline and massaging his temples near his receding hairline.
So when watching movies like this, it is important to remember - it is just a movie. Not a guideline to how our lives should play out. While meeting prince charming and living happily ever after may not exist, it is possible to fall in love with the right person for you, accepting flaws and all, and still live happily, if you put in the effort.
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