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22 Romantic Comedy (Chick Flick) Clichés- Inspired by Bradley Cooper, Justin Long & Kevin Connolly

Posted on August 28, 2012 Written by ripitup

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22 Romantic Comedy (Chick Flick) Clichés- Inspired by Bradley Cooper, Justin Long & Kevin Connolly

 

 Kevin Connolly, Justin Long, Bradley Cooper
From left: Kevin Connolly, Justin Long & Bradley Cooper. Shot from the video ” 10 Chick Flick cliches you will NOT see in He’s Just Not That Into You”. Image via aceshowbiz.com.

Each moviegoer has something to say (usually to complain about) about the clichés in a romantic comedy (or chick flicks as guys tend to use it as a synonym, though most romantic dramas are also categorized as chick flicks, mostly by guys.)

It’s hard to ignore the clichés in a romantic comedy since the whole genre is based on a formula. You know the drill: We at least need two people who will fall in love (or who are already in love) who will go through some difficulties and funny moments but in the end will stay together. Even when we are faced with two options for one of the main characters (This Means War, Sweet Home Alabama, Someone Like You, The Wedding Planner, The Ugly Truth…) we always know which one the girl/guy will pick, because only one of them obviously is right.

Now, I’m not going to include movies like The Break-Up or 500 Days of Summer because they break the cycle of romantic comedies by…well, not ending up on a good note (or at least not on the good note expected from them). Oh, come on! Please don’t blame me for spoiling those movies. Look at the name of the first one, and the premise of the second one (boy and girl meet, boy falls in love, girl doesn’t.)

Now, while I somewhat enjoyed The Break-Up and 500 Days of Summer (yes, this one was a lot better) , but they will never be my favorites. I get enough realism in real life or my dramas, so when it comes to romcoms/chick flicks, I want a fun and happy ending.

Not that I will say no to a touch of freshness or more action. So an R-rated romcom (such as Friends with Benefits as opposed to the common PG-13 romantic comedies), or a romcom with a lot of action (in fact some has action/comedy in the core and romance in the background-such as Knight and Day, which I adore.)

Where Bradley Cooper, Justin Long & Kevin Connolly Come In

But that doesn’t mean I’m fond of the clichés aside from a love story and a happy ending. If the movie is good enough, you may not notice or be annoyed by them. Or you might enjoy how the clichés are used.

He's Just Not That Into You Movie Poster
He’s Just Not That Into starring Bradley Cooper, Ben Affleck, Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Connelly, Ginnifer Goodwin, Drew Barrymore, Justin Long & Kevin Connolly. Image: wikipedia.

But after having watched the hilarious video of Bradley Cooper, Justin Long and Kevin Connolly, the clichés even started to be more obvious to me. They list all the obvious clichés in a fun effort to address the unwillingness of most males to scorn at the genre. So in order to show how their movie, He’s Just Not That Into You, doesn’t involve these clichés (so guys shouldn’t avoid their movie on principle), they have shot a hilarious video.

And in their defense, their movie really isn’t full of clichés. Not all couples get a happy ending, not all men and women are romantic souls that are nice to others. Based on the best-selling relationship book of the same name, He’s Just Not That Into You takes the situations in the book, and proves all the tips and advice in the movie. The book is a no-bullshit, tough love, honest look into all relationships, and how men’s behavior are only open to one interpretation in 99% of the time.

I have to add, though, I like many of the movies I mentioned in this post. My true feelings are of course explained in the reviews, which I linked to.

Not surprisingly, many movies got into several categories.

Below are their clichés, examples from movies. Oh and please watch the video for their hilarious parodies!

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K7lHJ7XkYAo[/pro-player]

*

First the 10 clichés that He’s Just Not That Into You Doesn’t Have:

1) Make-over montages:

I don’t remember if it was presented in a montage, but the movies’ premise included or centered on it (there are a lot, these are the first 3 that popped to my head):

Never Been Kissed: Nerdy reporter Josie (Drew Barrymore) goes through 2 make-overs, 1 fails miserably. Then she is turned into a regular-looking but naturally pretty and sweet high-school student with the right clothes and nice hair.

She’s All That: Popular jock gets into a bet with his friends to prove he can turn the art nerd (Rachel Leigh Cook) into the pretties date for the prom. Yes, she will find out and raise hell. Yes, he’ll already have fallen in love in the process.

2) Singing into Random Objects:

Easy A starring Emma Stone
Image via sinemag.com

Easy A: More comedy than romance (%90 comedy), and it is hilarious.However Emma Stone gets addicted to a silly pop song after receiving a birthday card that plays an overplayed pop song and starts singing everywhere, including the shower.

P.S. I hate that song!!!

3- a) Quirky best friend:

Cake starring Heather Graham, David Sutcliffe and Taye Diggs.
Image via divxplanet.com

Cake:  Lead: Heather Graham

Quirky Best Friend: Sandra Oh (a.k.a. Christina from Grey’s Anatomy.)

Though in the writers’ defense, the lead was pretty quirky too.

b) Sardonic best friend

c) Sassy best friend

Ok, can’t remember for the last two but will update once I do.

But let’s just say that Judy Greer (The Wedding Planner),  has made a niche of playing the best friend, who is often sardonic, quirky, sassy or a weird combination of all.

Oh, and don’t forget the diehard romantic best friend who swoons at the romantic gestures and outbursts:

The Ugly Truth movie poster

The Ugly Truth: Katherine Heigl’s best friend/assistant.  She is very impressed with Eric Winter’s sweet gestures, but it is Gerard Butler’s confession that really melts her.

 

4) Characters having a one-night stand only to discover that the stand is his/her new boss.

Forget about the movies. The ultimate chick-flick series Grey’s Anatomy (whose first 2 seasons I like, by the way) start with Meredith Grey (Ellen Pompeo) sleeping with cute Derek (Patrick Dempsey) only to realize that he is one of the attendings at the hospital she’ll be an intern at.

Cooper and Long even parody the elevator scene in the series that’ll take place shortly after, though the Grey’s Anatomy elevator scene has more action.

Derek and Meredith in the elevator- Grey's Anatomy
Image via greysgabble.com.

5) Sliding Down against a wall, crying.

Now does that happen that often? Can’t think of an example right now.

5-a) Laughing and crying at the same time

(Though more smiling than laughing)

you_have_got_mail

 You’ve Got Mail: Meg Ryan does it at the end, although that scene really went quite well with the mood of the movie, and her expectedly surprised state.

6) Elderly folks saying things that are inappropriate

Couldn’t remember this one, though there are lots. And I’d like to add “elderly folks intervening because they think one of the characters is hot.”

Love and Other Drugs Movie Poster
Image via shockya.com.

Love and Other Drugs: Jake Gyllenhaal is trying to persuade Anne Hathaway to get off a full bus so that he can talk to her for a bit. The old woman behind Anne prompts her:

“He’s handsome dear.”

In her defense, though, Jake Gyllenhaal is handsome, so that remark is realistic.

7) Chasing to stop them from going somewhere to stop them from doing something – at an airport or a train station, wedding….

Especially airports and weddings win the medal for being the most-overused ones.

This has to be the most common one!

Love and Other Drugs: Jake Gyllenhaal stopping Anne Hathaway to tell her how he feels and convince her once and for all that they belong together.

The Proposal: Ryan Reynolds stopping Sandra Bullock from leaving her office to go to Canada, to tell how he feels and how she can stay.

the-proposal

French Kiss: Kevin Kline stopping Meg Ryan from going back to The States. And the entire premise was on Meg Ryan chasing down fiancé to France Timothy Hutton to get him back.

What’s Your Number: Anna Faris chasing down neighbor/lover Chris Evans to a wedding concert to say how she feels.

The Wedding Planner: Matthew McConaughey chasing down Jennifer Lopez to stop her from marrying Justin Chambers (Alex Karev of Grey’s Anatomy.)

My Girlfriend’s Boyfriend: Christopher Gorham stopping his girlfriend at the start at the airport, though in his defense, he was writing a chicklit.

The Wedding Singer: Adam Sandler chasing Drew Barrymore by actually getting on the flight

How to Lose A Guy in 10 Days: Matthew McConaughey stopping Kate Hudson from moving to another city.

A Lot Like Love: Amanda Peet going after Ashton Kutcher to a wedding

8) Shot of frame while heads falling into pillows

coupling uk
coupling uk

Comedy series Coupling does it- but not for romance but for ultimate hilarity. And it is as unisex as a TV show can get.

9) Speech of the guy telling the girl all the things he likes about her- why she’s the one

It’s A Boy Girl Thing:Kevin Zegers counts why he’d rather be with Samaire Armstrong.

Love and Other Drugs: You got it. The speech after they got off the bus.

I may not be the biggest fan of the movie, but I do like the speech. Damn you, Gyllenhaal.

10) Love montages

The Ugly Truth: No love montage for the actual guy (Gerard Butler), but for Katherine Heigl and Eric.

Love and Other Drugs: Yes, there is a collection o f moments after Hathaway seems momentarily OK with being in a relationship. The soundtrack is great though, for the entire movie.

*

Now extra ideas from the video (No parodies but they mention them):

11) Public declaration of love:

The Ugly Truth: Gerard Butler to Katherine Heigl, though he doesn’t know it’s public.

Gerard Butler and Katherine Heigl - The Ugly Truth
Here, they’re declaring what they hate about the opposite sex, inspired by their anger towards each other. Then…

27 Dresses: Katherine Heigl for James Marsden, at a wedding party she wasn’t invited to.

The Wedding Singer: Adam Sandler to Drew Barrymore, through serenading on a plane. Oh, and the audience includes Billy Idol (playing himself!), so this might be my favorite audience to declare love in front of.

12) Pretending to be somebody else

Never Been Kissed – Journalist Drew Barrymore goes undercover as a high school student who ends up getting classes from the handsome English teacher Michael Vartan. Poor guy starts to feel upset for developing feelings for a student, which is highly inappropriate…though she does seem to have a much higher level of emotional intelligence and maturity and deepness than other 17-year-olds…

Killers: Ashton Kutcher, ex-hit man, not being honest about his job to Katherine Heigl.

killers_movie_poster

Let’s face it. “Honey, I kill people for a living” doesn’t work so well.

 13) Pretending to have a kid

14) It started as a bet but now I do love you

She’s All That

15) Started off something else (hate, obligation…etc) but now it is love.

Couldn’t quite catch this one, but I think it was: started off something else (hate, obligation…etc) but now it is love. This is a very popular one.

A Walk to Remember: Popular, troubled Landon (Shane West) needs Jamie’s (Mandy Moore) help so that he can pull off an obligatory school play performance. He is unhappy at the idea since she is extremely uncool, the priest’s daughter, conservative, serious and hardworking, unpopular- everything Jamie is not. But hey, in time…

A_Walk_To_Remember_Poster
To be honest, I love this one to bits- though I’d have preffered a different ending.

Keith: High school student/outcast (by choice) Keith (Jesse McCartney) decides that he’ll create a challenge for himself where he will get the popular/smart/successful/pretty Natalie to fall for him. Natalie (Elizabeth Harnois) will initially only want to hang out because he is her lab partner but then his differences will attract her, emotionally and physically. And maybe he created the challenge because he liked her all along…

keith

Dedication: Mandy Moore only suffers through working with the obsessive, rude and annoying Billy Crudup due to work obligations but when she finally tells him to shut it, he starts showing he is not that bad and well…he might just be hiding the good stuff as opposed to so many other guys hiding the bad.

Not that I’d call Dedication a chick flick. The characters are quirky, more true-to-life and the world feels real – with all the beauty, shittiness, bad choices and actual problem and conflicts coming together beautifully. I recommend it to everyone – but especially to guys. It’s Billy Crudup, people!!!  

No Strings Attached: Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman – friends with benefits pact.

no-strings-attached-movie-kutcher-portman

Friends with Benefits: Justin Timberlake and Mila Kunis –  friends with benefits pact.

Friends With Benefits Movie

10 Things I Hate About You: Heath Ledger tries to woo fellow high school student Julia Stiles to earn money, but ends up falling for her. Larisa Oleynik, sister of Stiles, tries to use Joseph Gordon-Levitt to be able to date a popular kid, and Levitt is paying Heath Ledger to try keep Stiles happy so he can date Oleynik and…

Modern take on Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew. Now, the man could write, but if Heath Ledger is there, even guys shouldn’t whine and see the film. It really is fun. R.I.P. Heath. I was a fan long before Joker. Hell, Joker didn’t do much for my admiration.

*

More clichés from me:

16) Ridiculously Cheesy Pop Soundtrack (a pet peeve of mine.)

Not all chicks like cheesy pop music!!!!

The Ugly Truth: Song during the love montage.

A Walk to Remember: Half Great alternative/modern rock soundtrack (which I liked), half cheesy pop mostly sang by Moore. However I do like the one she sings at the play- suits the mood, lyrics are great and another version is also featured.

17) Realizing that their true love was right in front of their eyes the whole time:

Made of Honor: Patrick Dempsey realizes that long time best friend Michelle Monaghan is his soulm ate only after she gets engage to Kevin McKidd (Owen Hunt) of Grey’s Anatomy.

Win a Date with Ted Hamilton: Kate Bosworth finally realizes that Topher Grace is the man for her after dating the famous actor Ted Hamilton (Josh Duhamel.)

No Strings Attached: Ashton Kutcher and Natalie Portman decide to be bed buddies, and it takes a lot longer for Natalie Portman to see that he is the one, and not just in bed.

Friends with Benefits: Justin Timberlake takes a while to admit that he really wants Mila Kunis, and not just to sleep with her. Seriously, it is Mila Kunis. Did he honestly think he could do better?

18) Serenading

A Walk in the Clouds: (romantic drama). Keanu Reeves serenades to his fake wife, but he already has a wife (Debra Messing) so…

Sweet November: Keanu Reeves. To Charlize Theron, and he hates singing!

The Wedding Singer: Well, in his defense, Adam Sandler, does play a wedding singer.

19) Jerk/Player/Badass/Apathic Outsider turns out to be a misunderstand or pretending-to-be-like-that but actually nice guy!

The Ugly Truth: Gerard Butler is a player, but not because he is shallow.See cliché 21. He’s ultimately a nice guy caring about his family, and definitely not a player when it comes to love.

Love and Other Drugs: Jake Gyllenhaal (Love and Other Drugs)- is apathetic and will sleep around bu the  falls in love with Anne Hathaway big time, and is ready to be there for her in sickness and in health- and especially in sickness since she has Parkinson’s.

Someone Like You: Hugh Jackman starts sleeping around after his heart was broken but he slowly shows his true colors when his friendship with Ashley Judd deepends.

 

20) “You’re not who I thought you were”

Prejudices/initial observations make the characters think/say negative things about the other person, only to realize, there’s more than meets the eye (or prejudices and wrong impressions):

Pride and Prejudice: One of my all time romances, and probably the most popular case of He’s so not who I thought you were!

Elizabeth (Keira Knightley) thinks Darcy (Matthew Macfadyen) is an arrogant jerk, whereas he is just shy, antisocial and reserved. He has flaws, but so does she and they are in fact a perfect match.

pride_and_prejudice

Catch and Release: The exact sentence is uttered by Gray (Jennifer Garner) to Timothy Olyphant’s Fritz, who replies “Well, neither are you.”

See, Gray thought Fritz was an insensitive jerk who didn’t even seem to display grief at his best friend’s death. The dead friend also happened to be Gray’s fiancé. And Fritz thought she was this boring, stuck-up Miss Righteous. Turned out, they were both wrong-big time.

 10 Things I Hate About You: Heath Ledger realized Julia Stiles isn’t boring or tough. And she has a secret. She realizes he is not a dangerous badass as everyone at school makes him out to be.

21) Being tough/slutty/badass/bitchy as a defense mechanisms

The Ugly Truth : Gerard Butler decent boyfriend turns into player after many bad relationships

Someone Like You: Ultimate player Hugh Jackman is only protecting his heart after his beloved/live-in girlfriend leaves him!

Love and Other Drugs: Anne Hathaway to protect herself from getting to rely on and needing others because of her disease.

22) Big/Tragic Secret or Tragic Illness (that may or may not be secret).

Forget Me Not: My favorite romantic movie and on my top 10 favorite movies list, but the premise/trailer revolves around the fact that the guy (Tobias Menzies) has a tragic secret.

forget me not 2010 movie poster

 A Walk to Remember: Mandy Moore has a tragic secret. Come on, it is Nicholas Sparks! There has to be something tragic.

Message in a Bottle: Teresa (Robin Wright) hides her real reason for being near the sailor/widower McGarrett (Kevin Costner). Nicholas Sparks adaptation.He’ll be really pissed when he finds out.

Killers: Secret: Career background

Sweet November: Charlize Theron is hiding something. Otherwise why would any sane woman designate a guy to every month, turn him into a better person/lover and dump them after the month is over.

The Lucky One: Nicholas Sparks. Soldier Zac Efron can’t confess Taylor Schlling the real reason he’s there.

Keith: Keith has a secret- hence the drama label.

This Means War: Both guys (Tom Hardy & Chris Pine) lie about their jobs. Well, they are CIA.

 

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That’s all for now. I hope you enjoyed the post and please don’t forget to add examples in the comments that you can think of.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: A Walk to Remember, Bradley Cooper, catch and release movie, chick flick clichés, gerard butler the ugly truth, hes just not that into you, jake gyllenhaal love and other drugs, Justin Long, katherine heigl the ugly truth, Keith, keith movie, kevin connoly, love and other drugs, mandy moore movies, romantic comedy clichés, The Ugly Truth, the wedding singer, this means war, this means war movie

Seven Below starring Matt Barr, Luke Goss, Ving Rhames & Val Kilmer: From Interesting to “Are You Kidding Me?”

Posted on April 25, 2012 Written by ripitup

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Seven Below starring Matt Barr, Luke Goss, Ving Rhames & Val Kilmer
Seven Below starring Matt Barr, Luke Goss, Ving Rhames & Val Kilmer.

 

In 1911, a brutal murder spree takes place in a household-the young son murders his mother, grandmother, cheating & abusive father and his two young sisters.

In 2011, a group of holidaymakers is driving to their resort. The group has the unhappily married couple McCormick (Val Kilmer) and Brooklyn (Bonnie Somerville), med student Adam (Matt Barr) and his older brother Isaac (Luke Goss) and a doctor named Lipski. On the way, they stop for drinks and meet the attractive shop girl Courtney (Rebecca Da Costa), who doesn’t seem interested in either Adam or the wandering McCormick.

When they have an accident shortly after and lose the driver, their only option seems to be going with the helpful stranger Jack (Ving Rhames). McCormick’s head injury is making him even more obnoxious, and the others just leave him lying down in one of the rooms. McCormick starts hearing noises and getting really freaked out, but no one really pays attention.

But after McCormick is murdered, the group starts freaking out. But there’s a really bad storm outsite, and it really seems safer inside.

After Adam returns home from a trip to the gas station with Courtney, things get even creepier as everyone starts to see the ghosts of the family from 1911. When they finally decide to leave, the car has been disabled. As the body count goes up, they start wondering why the hell Jack is so intent on keeping them there…

*

An ordinary concept with a cool edge gone wrong

We’re no stranger to haunted houses, psychotic strangers, stranded houses or a group of strangers finding themselves in the midst of a murder spree. But the movie successfully combines the elements up until we are revealed the motivation for Jack, and who the murderer is/murderers are. Then it goes downhill so badly and so fast that it makes you wonder what the hell the writer/director Kevin Carraway and co-writer Lawrence Sara were thinking.

I am not going to claim I could do better. I find that a solid horror/thriller is one of the most difficult genres to write, and so far I couldn’t come up with a good idea myself (yes, I do try-I also write fiction.) But what I can claim is that had I come up with this story, and found these actors, I sure as hell wouldn’t have the same last act of the film.

The ending, and the several events leading to the end, are just beyond ridiculous. You might just want to stop and write your own ending after we learn who Jack is.

 *

Fun cast note:

You can watch Bonnie Somerville as Mona-Ross’ love interest on Friends in season 8. She also plays Gerard Butler’s sister in the romantic comedy The Ugly Truth.

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Bonnie Somerville, horror, kevin caraway, lawrence sara, Luke Goss, Matt Barr, Rebecca Da Costa, seven below, seven below 2011 movie, seven below movie, seven below movie review, The Ugly Truth, thriller, Val Kilmer, Ving Rhames

Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl and Tom Selleck

Posted on October 9, 2010 Written by ripitup

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Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara
Killers starring Ashton Kutcher, Katherine Heigl, Tom Selleck and Catherine O'Hara. Directed by The Ugly Truth director Robert Luketic. 2010.

Jen Kornfeldt (Katherine Heigl) arrives in Nice, France to have a vacation with her parents (Tom Selleck and Catherine O’Hara).

Spy Spencer Aimes (Ashton Kutcher) is in Nice, staying at the same hotel and handling his deadly missions.

When the two meet, sparks fly and Spencer decides that he no longer wants to be spy. He wants a steady, normal life with Jen. So he quits. Of course Jen has no idea about Spencer’s background, she just thinks he is some sort of consultant. So Spencer quits and starts a whole new domestic life with Jen, and becomes accepted by her family.

Three years later, they are married and having the perfectly ordinary suburban life. Jen is working with internet security and Spencer is running his own firm. However, this comfortable existence is threatened when Spencer’s old boss tells him that he either finishes one last assignment or the “assignment” will finish him. Spencer is unwilling; however he is left with no choice when he realizes that his safe environment is not safe at all. He will have to confess his past, protect his wife and try save his marriage at the same time.

**

Killers is a romantic action/comedy. It is beautiful to look at and entertaining to watch, as long as you don’t try to get into the criticism mode too much. Even the smartest action movies are full of unintentional plot holes and being a romantic comedy first and an action comedy second, Killers does have quite a few. Another problem the movie has, it does fail to integrate all these three genres seamlessly. While Tom Cruise’s Knight and Day manages to be funny, romantic, exciting and sexy pretty much all the time, Killers starts as a fun romance, get a bit of a comedy, does romance again and by the time the action starts, the movie has already reached the middle. While it is not boring, knowing it is supposed to have action makes you a little impatient for the fast parts to start. And by the time the action is over, you think the movie should be in the middle, and not towards the end. So it does feel like two different movies at times.

So just treat Killers as the fluff, romantic comedy with action bits that it is, rather than an action comedy with romantic bits and you might have a good time. Katherine Heigl is OK, although I do think she is better at drama than comedy. Ashton Kutcher is s at home in a comedy as usual and Tom Selleck is priceless as always.

Fun note for Friends fans: Did the bit about the moustache remind you about Chandler and Richard? If it didn’t or if you haven’t seen that episode of Friends, it is in season 2, Episode 20. Watch that episode and have a hilarious déjà vu. Also the name of Jen’s ex is Richard, which is the name of the character Tom Selleck played in Friends.

Directed by Robert Luketic, the director of The Ugly Truth and 21.

Favorite Lines:

Jen: Are you going to kill me too?

Spencer: If I was going to kill you, I’d shoot you back in the house. That sounded weird.

**

Jen (on how many men Spencer killed): How many people, Spencer?

Spencer: Four.teen. (pointing to the one he just killed): 15.

Jen: Is 15 your real number? Or is it like when you ask a girl how many guys she slept with and  you have to double it times 10 (Spencer gives her a look). I didn’t do that.

Other Posts on Ashton Kutcher

Spread starring Ashton Kutcher and Anne Heche

16 Fun Facts Actor Ashton Kutcher – Kelso from That 70s Show

3 Happy Celebrity Couples: Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Gwyneth Paltrow, Chris Martin, Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher

Valentine’s Day starring Ashton Kutcher, Bradley Cooper, Julia Roberts, Jessica Alba and More

The Butterfly Effect starring Ashton Kutcher and Amy Smart

22 Tall Actors From Hollywood

Other Posts on Katherine Heigl

The Ugly Truth starring Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler

The Accidental Husband and Denny Duquette: Jeffrey Dean Morgan

3 TV Series About Aliens: Roswell, 3rd Rock From The Sun and V (2009)

Tom Selleck

In and Out starring Kevin Kline, Joan Cusack and Tom Selleck

Hollywood stars in Friends feat. Tom Selleck

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: 21 movie, action, Ashton Kutcher, ashton kutcher movies, catherine o’hara, comedy, Katherine Heigl, katherine heigl movies, killers, killers movie, movies, Robert Luketic, romance, The Ugly Truth, Tom Selleck

PLEASE!: Gerard Butler’s Highly Compelling Short Film

Posted on November 9, 2009 Written by ripitup

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OK, WOW!!!

It is an award-winning short movie from 1999 and it really inspired me to make and watch short movies. I don’t usually think that a powerful story can be told in a little over 13 minutes, but this film just does it. Despite the bad image quality (the only way to see this film was through youtube for me), I was hooked. I wish it had been longer and I really wished it was a theater released full-length film. It is just another example that shows why Gerard Butler is never going to be typecast. We have seen him act as muscle-bound epic heroes (Attila, 300), as a loving husband with a great sense of humor (P.S. I love You), a wiseass guys’ guy that gives relationship advice (The Ugly Truth), a seemingly perfect family and career man who just might not be actually that great (Butterfly on a Wheel) and well a phantom (The Phantom of the Opera)…The list goes on.

In this movie, Gerard Butler plays Peter, a struggling novelist who is depressed, furious and desperate. His career hasn’t taken off, and moreover his wife and kid have left him long ago. He is lonely and extremely frustrated. He has a gun in which a he puts one bullet and starts to play Russian Roulette while visiting his wife and his agent. And while the ending might not be a shock, it still blew my mind- the way it is presented is just brilliant.

The only fault I can find with the movie is that it is too damn short. Kudos to Paul Black, the writer and director, and to Gerard Butler.

Enjoy the movie here:

[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiCw8V_pF9o[/pro-player]

Gerard Butler
Gerard Butler. Couldn't find any images for Please!. So please just make do with a regular Gerard pose.

Also on Gerard Butler and his movies:

LAW ABIDING CITIZEN

GAMER

5 REASONS TO LOVE GERARD BUTLER

TOP 10 GERARD BUTLER MOVIES

Beowulf and Grendel

GERARD BUTLER Hosts SNL

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Filed Under: Movies and Actors Tagged With: Attila, award-winning short film, Butterfly on a Wheel, Gerard Butler, P.S. I love you, Paul Black, Please!, The Phantom of the Opera, The Ugly Truth

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