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| You again? Tom and Meg in Sleepless in Seattle |
So far, in my many (7) posts, I have discussed King Arthur, Mountains, Goats, and, strangely enough, Football. I haven't asked any tough questions, or asked anybody to choose between two perfect entities.
Until now.
That's right, it's time for an epic, two-dimensional, and frankly, unfair question. This is the real fridge-opener that you've been waiting for. Oh yes, it's time - past time, actually - to discuss the two heavyweights of early 1990s romantic comedy involving Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan.
Some people may call them the only two romantic comedies that Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan were in together.
These people have obviously not seen Joe versus the Volcano.
These people have obviously not seen Joe versus the Volcano.
Others may call them movies that have an unprecedented amount of brown suits in them.
These people have obviously not seen One Fine Day.
Others still may refer to them as examples of why not to go to internet chat rooms/write people letters because you heard them on the radio.
These people are just wrong.
As you can see, this is a diverse and divisive topic, this You've Got Mail/Sleepless in Seattle (henceforth YGM/SIS) debate.
First, some things to think about.
1. Are these movies cliches? Well, ask yourself this: why did they decide to make two (three, if you count the aforementioned Joe versus the Volcano) movies with the same two people in them that weren't sequels? This kind of thing is fine, if not usual, in such films as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the Star Wars movies. Recurring roles are definitely usual in TV series, where seeing different people playing the same role every week would probably result in mass confusion and, ultimately, death - but it is not usual in films. So these two films are - here's the clincher - not cliches, but very unusual pieces of art along the lines of The Artist or some other poncy arthouse flick. Sorted.
2. If you put Tom and Meg together you get Mom.
Creepy.
3. Both have eerily similar taglines considering their COMPLETE DIVERSITY as films.
Guess which is which:
'What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew, was the only someone for you?'
And: 'Someone you pass on the street may already be the love of your life'.
Ok, so the first one's SIS. This is where the difference really stands out: in YGM, they hate each other. In SIS, they don't know each other.
Clever.
4. Why are Meg's boyfriends so passive in both of them? In YGM we've got Frank, seems alright, pretty steady. Then she leaves him. Shock. What will Frank do? Will he get mad? Will he get even? Will he throw a telephone?
Nah, he'll just be like, I don't love you either, but I'm seeing this hot TV personality. And then they'll have a laugh and she'll go off to find Tom.
What about SIS? She's got another boyfriend with a drab name: Walter. Seems alright, pretty steady. He buys her an engagement ring. She accepts. Then she leaves him. On the same day.
What will he do? Will he break down in tears? Will he take the shotgun to Tom?
Nah, he'll just be like, I love you, but I don't want be someone you're settling for. Grand. Go and find the love of your life (you guessed it, it's Tom).
5. Finally, Tom has a dog in one - YGM. He has a kid in the other. Meg's always alone, except for some weird friend. She's got Rosie O'Donnell in that role in SIS. So maybe there is one reason not to see it, after all.
6. Tom has a one syllable name in both - Sam and Joe. Meg has a two syllable name - Annie and Kathleen.
Interesting.
These are the things I was discussing with myself this weekend, when I should have been reading 100 pages of a Renaissance text and explaining the Arch of Titus to 12-year-olds (weird assignment). I was also watching YGM and SIS, on consecutive days. Believe me, it's worth it. If you don't find the meaning of love in them, you can at least think about the one syllable/two syllable name conundrum (it's probably significant) and wonder where they are now (he directs abysmal movies with Julia Roberts in them: she got a lot of plastic surgery and appeared in a movie without any men in it.)
See you on the other side.
Bon Blog!
These people have obviously not seen One Fine Day.
Others still may refer to them as examples of why not to go to internet chat rooms/write people letters because you heard them on the radio.
These people are just wrong.
As you can see, this is a diverse and divisive topic, this You've Got Mail/Sleepless in Seattle (henceforth YGM/SIS) debate.
First, some things to think about.
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| I've seen you before: Meg and Tom in You've Got Mail |
1. Are these movies cliches? Well, ask yourself this: why did they decide to make two (three, if you count the aforementioned Joe versus the Volcano) movies with the same two people in them that weren't sequels? This kind of thing is fine, if not usual, in such films as the Lord of the Rings trilogy, or the Star Wars movies. Recurring roles are definitely usual in TV series, where seeing different people playing the same role every week would probably result in mass confusion and, ultimately, death - but it is not usual in films. So these two films are - here's the clincher - not cliches, but very unusual pieces of art along the lines of The Artist or some other poncy arthouse flick. Sorted.
2. If you put Tom and Meg together you get Mom.
Creepy.
3. Both have eerily similar taglines considering their COMPLETE DIVERSITY as films.
Guess which is which:
'What if someone you never met, someone you never saw, someone you never knew, was the only someone for you?'
And: 'Someone you pass on the street may already be the love of your life'.
Ok, so the first one's SIS. This is where the difference really stands out: in YGM, they hate each other. In SIS, they don't know each other.
Clever.
4. Why are Meg's boyfriends so passive in both of them? In YGM we've got Frank, seems alright, pretty steady. Then she leaves him. Shock. What will Frank do? Will he get mad? Will he get even? Will he throw a telephone?
Nah, he'll just be like, I don't love you either, but I'm seeing this hot TV personality. And then they'll have a laugh and she'll go off to find Tom.
What about SIS? She's got another boyfriend with a drab name: Walter. Seems alright, pretty steady. He buys her an engagement ring. She accepts. Then she leaves him. On the same day.
What will he do? Will he break down in tears? Will he take the shotgun to Tom?
Nah, he'll just be like, I love you, but I don't want be someone you're settling for. Grand. Go and find the love of your life (you guessed it, it's Tom).
5. Finally, Tom has a dog in one - YGM. He has a kid in the other. Meg's always alone, except for some weird friend. She's got Rosie O'Donnell in that role in SIS. So maybe there is one reason not to see it, after all.
6. Tom has a one syllable name in both - Sam and Joe. Meg has a two syllable name - Annie and Kathleen.
Interesting.
These are the things I was discussing with myself this weekend, when I should have been reading 100 pages of a Renaissance text and explaining the Arch of Titus to 12-year-olds (weird assignment). I was also watching YGM and SIS, on consecutive days. Believe me, it's worth it. If you don't find the meaning of love in them, you can at least think about the one syllable/two syllable name conundrum (it's probably significant) and wonder where they are now (he directs abysmal movies with Julia Roberts in them: she got a lot of plastic surgery and appeared in a movie without any men in it.)
See you on the other side.
Bon Blog!
This was awesome. I think you really hit on something with the number of syllables in the characters' names. You should have more blogs mentioning syllables.
ReplyDeleteA comment! Yay!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank you. I really thought I hit on something there alright. You're right. Maybe I could have an entire blog full of syllables.