Like most clichés, the tale of the tortured artist has a bit of truth to it. When a person with an artistic mind is troubled, he or she often brings that emotion to the piano, easel or paper, where those inner conflicts can make for great art. Of course, a would-be artist's sadness sometimes leads to paintings of sad clowns on velvet instead. Pain does not always make for art.

But the cliché also leads to a movie trope that I'm sure goes beyond the five examples I've got for you today. In these movies, we have an artistically talented woman who's talents are locked inside by her lack of confidence or her urge to practicality. Locked, of course, until love frees her up. Often, though, it only takes off after her creativity is loosened by heartbreak.  I'm not sure why writers like this, but it works for me. Here are my five, and one film that flips the guy and gal roles.

"A Lot Like Love" (2005) -- Emily (Amanda Peet) is first an angry punk, and later an untalented desperate actress. It's only Oliver (Ashton Kutcher) who can free her up with his openness and willingness to take chances. And its only when she sees that he appreciated her photographic talent and he gives her his camera that she turns into a photographer. It includes one of the common sub-versions of this theme: The estranged lover accidentally happens upon the gallery showing her work.

"What's Your Number?" (2011) -- Ally (Anna Faris) is one of those people who dabbles in creative things, but doesn't consider herself an artist. It's only when her obnoxious neighbor Colin (Chris Evans) notices her little tableaux, that she realizes that she's done something creative. And once she falls for him and then has a falling out, she goes at it in earnest.

"Shopgirl" (2005) -- Claire Danes is Mirabelle, the title shopgirl. Steve Martin's Ray encourages her, but he's almost literally patronizing, because he sees her as a romantic interlude, not a love. It is only after she's had enough, because she wants more (paradox), that she breaks up with Ray and throws herself into more artistic pursuits, ending with a gallery show where she gives him one of her works.

"Kissing Jessica Stein" (2001) -- Jessica (Jennifer Westfeldt) left painting behind in college, but picks it up again thanks to praise and emotional stimulation from her new lesbian lover and her old college boyfriend. It's a symbol, once again, of the character learning to open herself up to who she really is.

"Runaway Bride" (1999) -- Who is Maggie Carpenter (Julia Roberts) really? She's a chameleon taking on the personalities of her would-be husbands. But it's Ike (Richard Gere) who shows her the way to become herself. It's only after their big blow-up that he sees she's left the hardware world in favor of creating far out lamp designs in New York. Time for them to get together.

"Sweet Home Alabama" (2002) -- This is the one with the sex-roles reversed. Viewers come into this movie long after Melanie (Reese Witherspoon) breaks the heart of Jake (Josh Lucas) so we don't know the secret he's been hiding. Stimulated by the wish to get her back, he's turned to producing beautiful glassware and sculpture. Once again, Melanie comes upon the artwork accidentally and it helps to bring her back to Jake.

There are lots of films that feature Ireland, but it's hard to get romance out of a lot of them. Here are three that I really liked and one I like to make fun of.

Once (2006) -- The title invites me to say that I just can't see "Once" once. It's such a fun film and remarkable for its backstory that includes a real love that developed between the two leads despite their age difference. Glen Hansard is the Guy -- so billed in the credits -- and Marketa Irglova is the Girl. He's a busker who comes to meet this talented immigrant musician on the streets of Dublin. She encourages his songwriting, but won't get involved because she's already married, though her husband if far away. Some wonderful tunes and ecstatic scenes amid some otherwise depressing lives.
The Commitments (1991) -- Another film about Irish musicians. This time, young Jimmy Rabbitte dreams of being a star playing covers of the great Americans of an earlier time. He idolizes, among others, Wilson Pickett. He puts together a band that really rocks and appears ready to rocket upward, but then falls apart as romances and egos split the mates. More wonderful tunes and ecstatic scenes amid otherwise dreary lives. And this, that I just discovered: It also includes Glen Hansard, 15 years before "Once."
Circle of Friends (1995) -- The first film I remember seeing with Minnie Driver. Er, I mean the first I saw that had Minnie Driver in it. This one is a sober account of loyalty, love, class and sexism. Irish teens grow up and go to college, but the real lessons, it seems, must be learned elsewhere. Driver is the plain Jane in this film, but makes the more-than-suitable catch.
Leap Year (2010) -- This one is the one that's fun to ridicule. It's full of cliches -- livestock on the rural roads, colorful locals, Irish superstitions, etc. -- and ridiculous scenes -- destroyed inn rooms, runaway cars and the like. I think Amy Adams is adorable, but her character here is barely tolerable. I would probably vote this the worst film of 2010 but I have to admit I've seen it twice. Just to make sure. Adams plays an American who flies to Ireland to surprise her beau with a marriage proposal, but winds up falling in love with the guy who, of course, she starts out hating. Classic (not in a good sense) rom com.

What's so bad about merlot, anyway? Regardless of what the film "Sideways" did to sour the market for that varietal, my favorite wine of the moment is a merlot. (Yorkville, 2009) That probably speaks volumes about my taste, or lack thereof. Chances are, it is the wine equivalent of my weak-hearted love for romantic comedies. So be it. That's all the more reason to mix romance movies with wine. Instead of rom com, it's vin cin.

Here, then, are the results of my laboring in the cinematic fields -- a case-worth of films, each with at least a bouquet of winery or some vineyard notes. For many of them, wine is integral to the plot, including a whole subgenre of "Inherit the Winery" movies. Drink up! But be careful, some of these are definitely of the sip-and-spit sort.

"Love, Wedding, Marriage"  (2011) -- The wine part of this movie is still a bit of a mystery to me. The hero, we are told at the beginning, was working in wine in Napa when he met the heroine, but then the whole film shifts to Louisiana. I reckon it's prohibitively expensive to shoot in Napa these days. But he's still working at a winery. In Louisiana. The plot? Don't bother.
"Parent Trap" (1998) -- Quite likely Lindsay Lohan's best movie and a favorite of my daughter's formative years. Dennis Quaid is winemaker Nick Parker, not famous wine guy Robert Parker. Sorry aficionados. Nick Parker is also the dad to the long-separated twins (both are Lohan) who try to reunite their parents.
"Sideways" (2004) -- Probably the best known film of this bunch, it features two guys on a boys' trip to the lovely, wine-producing Santa Ynez Valley. One is a wine snob -- hence, his line: "If anyone orders merlot, I'm leaving." The other is his pal, who is having a last fling before marriage. A fling with lovely wine bar hostess Sandra Oh. 
"The Chateau Meroux" (2011) -- Wendy inherits a winery from her estranged father. We're led to believe it's Napa, since it's a quick drive from San Francisco, but it was shot in the not-so-pretty Central Valley wine region. Wendy falls for the rival winery owner's son, while her BFF falls for the assistant winemaker, played by the movie's writer. He should know you can't make a good wine (movie) with bad fruit (script).
"A Good Year" (2006) -- I quite enjoyed most of what Ridley Scott did with Peter Mayle's novel. Russell Crowe plays the heartless financier -- an investment wanker, let's say -- who finds fertile ground for love in the French vineyard inherited from his beloved uncle. Charming, and above average for this sort of film.
"Letters to Juliet" (2010) -- A minor winer. The main premise is the search for Lorenzo Bartolini, the long-lost love of an Englishwoman now in her twilight years. He is found, at last, amid the vines of Tuscany. Marriages follow.
"Bottle Shock" (2008) -- I have not yet tasted this one, suggested by wine movie sommelier Mike Dunne. It's a fictionalized version of the great Parisian blind tasting of 1976 in which a Napa wine beat the Europeans. Unexpected, but it was bound to happen.
"Corked" (2009) -- If "Bottle Shock" twits the Euro-snobs, "Corked" is the comeuppance for the Napa/Sonoma snobs. This mockumentary appears to be a send-up of the Wine and Whine Country.
"A Walk in the Clouds" (1995) -- This one sounds to me like a cloying dessert wine. A young soldier helps and then falls in love with the pregnant girl returning home to help with the harvest. 
"Autumn Tale" (1998) -- I haven't seen it, but knowing it's Eric Rohmer, I'd expect French, lust, laughs and romance. Set in the vineyards of Southern France.
"French Kiss" (1995) -- Kevin Kline and Meg Ryan: Is that annoying or romantic? Even they can't seem to decide in this film, but there is winemaking along with the lovemaking.
"Bed & Breakfast" (2010) -- This is a ghastly film billed as being about a Brazilian woman inheriting property in California wine country. The property turns out to be in arid Southern California, far from the coast, and winds up being a house, not a vineyard. (At least, as far as I could tell from the dull first 30 minutes. That's all I could take.) Wineries are mentioned and vineyards are seen along the way. If any scenes were shot in vineyards, I'm guessing it ruined that year's crop.

Bonus:
"The Language of Flowers" (in the works) -- Even though IMDB doesn't have much on this, I expect to see it in a few years. The movie version of Vanessa Diffenbaugh's 2011 bestseller will certainly have (Sonoma?) vineyard scenes including one climactic heart-breaker.

Presidents get no respect. They serve their country, hardly ever do anything illegal or immoral, and what thanks do they get? Here and there they get a coin, a school, a library, a statue. More and more, however, someone puts them in a bizarre movie that belittles their greatness (or their weaknesses) and there's nothing they can do about it. Especially not if they're already dead, as most presidents are. 

Here then, are a few examples of the strange things we (by which I mean film makers) have chosen to do with our elected leaders. (Or maybe not-clearly elected leaders, in the case of George W.) By the way, these are not for the most part romantic comedies - or romances of any sort.

1. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter" (2012) -- I wish I made this one up, but it's for real. The plot has Honest Abe discovering a plot by vampires to take over the United States. I can only hope it's some sore of political allegory.
   
2. "An Amercan Carol" (2008) -- A spoof of Michael Moore and liberals, in general, built around the concept of Dickens' "A Christmas Carol." With the Father of Our Country as Angelina Jolie's father. Well, really with Jon Voight as George Washington.
   
3. "Definitely, Maybe" (2010) -- Real Bill Clinton shows up in old clips in the movie centered around a political campaign worker/consultant. Some of them relate to the Lewinsky scandal. A fake Clinton shows up jogging in Central Park.
   
4. "Fancy Pants" (1950) -- Bob Hope and Lucille Ball in an antic film that features a visit from Teddy Roosevelt.
   
5. "The Gorgeous Hussy" (1936) -- Hey, this one sounds romantic. IMDB says, "President Andrew Jackson's friendship with an innkeeper's daughter spells trouble for them both." With Lionel Barrymore as Andrew Jackson. Can we look for Drew Barrymore to play President Hillary Clinton someday?
   
6. "Wild, Wild West" (1999) -- Kevin Kline must save Kevin Kline from the evil doctor. In this case, Kline plays Artemus Gordon and Ulysses S. Grant.
   
7. "IQ" (1994) -- The wackier portrayal in this film is probably Walter Matthau as Albert Einstein, but there is also a bit with President Eisenhower.
   
8. "Dick" (1999) -- I think Dan Hedaya's great, but I'm not so sure about this movie, which has him as Tricky Dick Nixon. I only saw bits of it and it was hard to tolerate despite cute-as-buttons Michelle Williams and Kirsten Dunst.
   
9. "Pizza Man" (1991) -- Ronald Reagan is the president in this movie with a story based on a pizza man discovering a plot to rule the world. The only stranger presidential pizza man movie would be the one based on Herman Cain's  (former CEO of Godfather's Pizza) campaign for office.
   
10. "Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay" (2008) -- I'm probably not the first to say it, but this movie sounds like torture to me. The dope smoking protagonists share some with George W. Bush, though I thought W was more into coke.
    

Special Bonus: "The Man and the City" -- I just had to include this show although it's TV and though there's no real president. I liked it because Anthony Quinn plays a character with my last name added to a president: Thomas Jefferson Alcalá. 

I'm a cyclist, so I'm a little sensitive to cars and bicycles not getting along. When there's a conflict, bicyclists usually lose. Just today, a car turned in front of me when I was in the bike lane, but guess who had to stop.

Anyway, it may be that my bike sense was triggered when I noticed two recent movies with very similar bike versus car scenes. So I decided to come up with a couple of others on the theme. 

"A Good Year" (2006) -- Investor inherits French winery and discovers himself. The character played by Russell Crowe is fiddling with a bit of technology (his phone) as he's driving and takes his eyes off the road just in time to run a cyclist -- the character played by Marion Cotillard -- off the road.  Later, they fall in love.

"Eat Pray Love" (2010) -- Writer in crisis travels to discover herself. The character played by Javier Bardem is fiddling with a bit of technology (his tape deck) as he's driving and takes his eyes off the road just in time to run a cyclist -- the character played by Julia Roberts -- off the road.  Later, they fall in love. (Sound familiar?)

"One Day" (2011) -- A charming film of long-frustrated love reaches a climax with a bike v. truck accident that was so unexpected I flinched in pain. Well, the pain may have been because I was in a sling with a broken arm at the time. Broken from falling off my bike.

"Conversations with Other Women" (2005) -- As Aaron Eckhart's character, Man, undresses Helena Bonham Carter, as Woman, he notices a nasty scar on her leg that didn't used to be there. She had been hit by a car and was in the hospital for months, she tells him.

"Bike Lanes" -- OK, so this isn't a romantic film at all, but five is a better number than four and I've always liked this YouTube short of a guy who gets cited for riding outside the bike lane and goes on to show what happens if cyclists stay in the lane. You can see the whole thing below.

Back when I was young, the offbeat female love interest was expressed in a song: "I love the flower girl/Is she reality/Or just a dream to me?" The flower girl has morphed, becoming the Manic Pixie Dream Girl of the movies.  It's roughly the same thing, but we don't have imagine how she looks because she's right there on screen. The movie writers apparently don't have to use their imagination either, just a formula for the stock figure. Take a little otherworldly cuteness, add some flouting convention and throw in a smitten guy in need of an unreality check and, poof, quicker than you can say "Who's that girl," you've got that girl. Girl, as in she never grows up, either.

Don't get me wrong. I love these characters. I looovvvve these characters. But they are easy to poke fun of and I feel lucky I didn't marry one. Here then, are some of my favorite manic pixie dream girl films. By the way, I didn't make up the monicker. Apparently a film critic (a real one, not like me) first described the phenomenon. I stole it from Cracked.com, which produced the clever send-up of the type girl in the video below.

1. "Amelie" (2001) -- With apologies to my pal Maureen, Amelie Poulain is a perfect MPDG. She even speaks French, an otherworldly language to most Americans. She sends lawn gnomes on trips, fondles lentils and has a fixation on the photo booth man. She's everything we love, or hate about the pixie.
   
2. "Benny & Joon" (1993) -- Joon wears a snorkling mask and uses a ping-pong paddle to direct traffic. Need I say more? But wait! There is more. This MPDG is paired with a rare MPDB. Johnny Depp's Sam is equally eccentric and untethered by reality.
   
3. "(500) Days of Summer"  (2009) -- Zooey Deschanel's Summer Finn plays house in Ikea and hanky panky in the copy room. She's so good at representing the type, it's pretty much her look that Cracked.com used for their video.
   
4. "Garden State" (2004) -- Look, it's another wacky Sam. This time it's Natalie Portman, conducting guinea pig funerals and lying with charm to capture Andrew. Love the way she tugs her earlobe in the falling arrows scene.
   
5. "Restless" (2011) -- Mia Wasikowska doesn't quite have the mania, but she sure has the elfin look as she gets her guy to embrace life, and bird lore, before her inevitable demise.
   
6. "Jane Eyre" (2011) -- I wouldn't have put this movie into this category except for thinking about Wasikowska made me remember how Rochester calls her a "fairy" at least once and accuses her of waiting for her little people the night his horse threw him and he met her. She was the MPDG of her time. Great film.
   
7. "Definitely, Maybe" (2008) -- Isla Fisher plays the enchanted April in this film. A pixie and a waif, but one with some steel. And guess what's the book April collects? Yep, "Jane Eyre."
   
8. "Elizabethtown" (2005) -- From what I read on Wikipedia, this is the film that spurred the critic to christen a cliché. Kirsten Dunst's version is a little more conventional, but still has the fairy propensity for popping up unexpectedly. 
   
9. "Scott Pilgirm vs. the World" (2010) -- Ramona Flowers appears in a dream before she appears in reality. Though she's gruffer than the average MPDG, she sure fits the uncoventionality requirement.
   

No matter what the season, the Chick Flick Guy is all about the sympathetic heart squeeze of romance in movies, so why make a special list for Valentine's Day? Simple: They asked me to do one for my day job.

My list is always going to be heavy on romantic comedy. I happen to think comedy is very romantic.  I can't think of any time a woman said she fell in love with a guy because he made her cry. It's always because he made her laugh.

This list shouldn't be considered the "best" or "most romantic" films. Instead, I picked 10 categories of romantic film and gave you an option from each one. Choice is good, since we don't all love the same movies any more than we love the same person. i.e. One man's "meet cute" is another man's poison. (Or "Poison Ivy.")

Whatever your taste, though, I don't recommend snuggling to the film my wife and I went out to see on Valentine's Day 1993: "Schindler's List." It wasn't a question of oddball romantic taste. It was a question of childcare and our only chance to see that year's winner of seven Oscars.

So, here, (early so you can order in time for V-Day) is my list:

Made for the Holiday: "Sleepless in Seattle" -- You could pick "Valentine's Day," but it's not that good. "Sleepless" ends on a February 14 and includes a great scene making fun of tearjerker movies.Classic Story: "Cyrano de Bergerac" -- Nothing better than the Gerard Depardieu version, in my book. For a pleasant Cyrano Lite, see Steve Martin's "Roxanne."
Vampire romance: "Paris je t'aime" -- Fans of the Twilight series will want to drive a stake through my soft heart for not picking the sexy horror films, but I'm suggesting you opt for this film for its short vampire sequence with Elijah Wood and Olga Kurylenko.  And while you're at it, enjoy a lot of other romances in this great collection of short love stories set in Paris.
Movies I Dislike: "Titanic" -- Jack and Rose have an undeniably great romance, but I found this James Cameron epic overblown. If you take this romantic voyage, get some travel insurance.
Same Sex: "Brokeback Mountain" This film has great sweep and stellar supporting cast -- including Michelle Williams and Anne Hathaway -- behind Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal. (If you want funny, check out "Kissing Jessica Stein.")
Multi-romance: "Clueless" -- I love the sharp wit, four romantic pairings and two failed romances in this high school film. It's had many imitators, but no equals.
She's Too Good For Him:  "Say Anything" -- Lloyd Dobler doesn't have much to offer Diane Court except dedicated adoration. That's enough, as it turns out.
Fake Classic: "Shakespeare in Love" -- Each time I see this movie, I fall in love all over again ... with Shakespeare's talent. And Viola de Lesseps.Jaded in Love: "(500) Days of Summer" -- If you think love sucks, this film agrees. He thinks she's Ms. Right, but she thinks he's Mr. Right Now.
Heart Goes Boom: "Speed" -- A great choice for romance surrounded by crashes and explosions. For a romance surrounded by crashes and explosions, I favor "Speed." Keanu Reeves' emotion-free acting is paired with Sandra Bullock's neurotic cuteness.

The great thing about great sports movies is that -- unlike watching the Super Bowl -- you don't have to understand what takes place on the field. You don't even need to know who's playing. Take last year's "Moneyball." If you went to the theaters expecting to see some great baseball, forget it. It was a great movie about what goes on behind the scenes in Major League Baseball. What was the team? Who cares? Brad Pitt plays the lead. (Psst, it was the Oakland A's.)

So, although I will be watching this year's Super Bowl with my friends, I'd like to offer up a way to participate for those who don't like the game. Here are five football films to give you something else you can do. Put in your rental requests now to be ready for Sunday.

"The Blind Side" (2009) -- The touching core of this film is presented in a humorous way. It's when perfectly made up, coiffed and manicured Leigh Anne Tuohy (Sandra Bullock) stomps onto the field and explains to Michael Oher (Quinton Aaron) that football is all about protecting his family. There's no one tougher on the field than Oher, but there's no one tougher about family than Tuohy. There are good laughs and several tear-worthy scenes in the film. In particular you have to like the bit at the end when Oher strips away his momma's tough shell for a moment. Bullock deserved her Oscar.

"Jerry Maguire" (1996) -- The morals to the story here have to do with loyalty and honesty, though it clearly doesn't hurt to be a darn good football player, either. The Maguire movie has some memorable quotes at its most frenzied and most tender moments. "Show me the money." "You complete me." "You had me at hello." People may remember Tom Cruise and Renée Zellweger, but it was Cuba Gooding Jr. who won the Oscar -- a darn good supporting actor playing a darn good football player.

"Brian's Song" (1971) -- I'm making and exception to my rule about focusing on movies from after 1980 because "Brian's Song" is exceptional. Not many made-for-TV movies are great enough to go from free viewing to the theaters, but this one did. And it inspired a remake in 2001, which is another excuse. I mean, another good reason. The film is based on the true story of football great Gale Sayers and his friendship with Brian Piccolo, dying of cancer. Yes, it's sad. By the way, the Baltimore (not Indiannapolis) Colts beat the Dallas Cowboys in the Super Bowl the year this came out. 

"Little Giants" (1994) -- A minor classic, or maybe I should say a pee wee classic, since that's what it's about, pee wee football. The football is just a new backdrop for an old concept: a group of misfits taking on the best. Head misfit: Rick Moranis. Added bonus, a sexual equity subplot, with a girl as the key to winning the big game. That was important to me as a dad 15 years ago, when my daughter was a budding athlete. We watched "Little Giants" a lot. Shawna Waldron was good as Becky "Icebox" O'Shea, and later good as the daughter in "The American President," but apparently hasn't done much notable since.

"Valentine's Day" (2011) -- OK, I'm cheating on this, but if you want an airy rom com with only a hint of football, this isn't a bad choice. Eric Dane plays Sean Jackson, a professional football player who is making a big announcement on Valentine's Day that looks like it may be retirement ... but it isn't. Plenty of fluffy romantic plots going on around this, so keep your eyes open or you might miss the big announcement and the surprise of who Jackson's Valentine is.

I've gone soft on traditions as I've matured. (Matured. That's the nice way to say I'm getting old.) Many traditions are empty actions carried out unthinkingly -- sometimes as holdovers of long-lost superstitions. Others, however, still have the potential to carry meaning -- as long as we take the time to think about them . Those traditions link us to times past and to others who share them. That's not such a bad thing. Innovation is wonderful, especially in art and science, but storytelling -- especially in romantic comedies -- leans on conventions that audiences will recognize and know how to interpret. That's why we're still watching "Romeo and Juliet" all these centuries later.

But that doesn't explain the wedding bouquet toss. Do you know why it's done? It began as a symbol of sharing the good luck of marriage. It has become something of an ugly spectacle -- especially when interpreted as a competition between desperate single women, who are so needy for a man that they'd fight over that good luck symbol. (Whereas men, who are more rational, would never fight over anything purely symbolic. We're too busy fighting over stuff that matters, like football and parking spaces.)

I could do without the bouquet toss. I cannot  remember witnessing a bouquet toss in any of the weddings I've attended over the years, but it shows up on a regular basis in movies. Given that we've had a film based around a wedding singer and a wedding planner, I wonder when someone's going to build a rom com around the wedding bouquet. (Tina Fey, if you want to borrow my idea, go ahead.) Everyone else, read more to see my list of some movies that attempt to use the bouquet toss for a momentary angle, albeit often a bad one.