Newspaper journalists are inclined to think they are hard-bitten cynics, but the reality is that most so-called cynics are just romantics who've been disappointed too many times. Between that and the black humor that tends to prevail at newspapers, journalists are perfect subjects for rom coms.
This list started out as a roster of 18 rom coms with a female print journalist as a significant character. But then my daughter got involved and added a few. The last several are courtesy of her and my wife.
We're talking about movies since 1980, so we can't include the greatest example, Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday." It's off by just, oh, 40 years. To be quite honest, I've only seen five of these last 14 films. Only "Hitch" and "Tamara Drewe" (a fine film, by the way) are memorable to me, but I'd like to see a couple of the others. If you missed the first nine films on the list, you can find them here.
10. "Scoop" (2006) - Haven't seen it, but Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) is a journalism student who has an affair with a murder suspect.
11. "I Love Trouble" (1994) - Another one I haven't seen, but it sounds like the classic battle of perky vs. experienced, set on a journalism stage with Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte. You can probably guess which one is perky.
12. "Sex and the City" (2008) - The movie version of a TV show that I found frustratingly obnoxious. Maybe because I'm a guy, albeit a chick flick guy. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the sex writer for a New York paper.
13. "Just One of the Guys" (1985) - Apparently a kind of cult classic, but I haven't seen it. It features an college journalist who goes so far undercover, she's pretending to be a guy. I don't think there's a single actor in this film I've ever heard of.
14. "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997)- Julia Roberts plays a food critic who tries to put the bite on her pal, who's fixing to get married to someone else.
15. "Tamara Drewe" (2010) - Tamara Drewe is a London columnist who returns to the countryside where she grew up. She has affairs with an older local writer and a childish rock star, but her true love is the one who liked her before she got her nose job.
16. "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009) - Isla Fisher plays a financial journalist who apparently thinks 12 Steps is enough to decide on buying a new pair of shoes. I haven't seen it yet, so you can't say I'm a full-fledged Isla-holic.
17. "He Said, She Said" (1991) - A comedic "Rashomon" with sparring journalists, played by Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins.
18. "Heartburn" (1986) - One of the greats of romantic comedy writers, Nora Ephron, apparently put her own life into this story, building on the breakup of her marriage to Watergate reporting legend Carl Bernstein.
19. "Marley & Me" (2008) - I'll be darned, Jennifer Aniston plays a reporter again. (See "The Bounty Hunter" in yesterday's list.) This time, she's the female half of a married reporter couple that moves from the snow to Florida to find work, sun and a dog that will make them famous.
20. "Hitch" (2005) - Can't believe I forgot that Eva Mendes plays a gossip columnist in this fun romp with Will Smith.
21. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003) - Even worse that I almost forgot this one, given that I just watched it a couple of days ago. Maybe it's because of how annoying the ploy is when she's going to extremes to get rid of him.
22. "The Holiday" (2006) - Kate Winslet is a weddings writer driven from London to California by the engagement of the guy she thought was in love with her. A nice film with some good "meet cute."
23. "13 going on 30" (2004) - By this time, I feel like this list is 13 movies going on 30. Our last is a silly age-switch film, though Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo are good in it. Garner's character, Jenna, is bewitched at 13 and wakes up to find out she works at Poise, a fashion magazine.
Movie suggestions came from Maija-Liisa Young, Vanessa Price Martin, Dale Stark, Dee Dee Gunther, Tricia Stirling, Melissa Nappan, Ken Chavez, Sam Delson, Brandy Tuzon Boyd, Erika Chavez Bleszinski, Mara Stark-Alcalá, Dan Nguyen, Pablo Roman-Alcalá, Bob Rebach, Ian Cahir, LaRae Pfeffen. Barb Hennelly and Carla Meyer, who knows more about films than I ever will. Of course, that also probably applies to the rest of the list, too. Thanks for all the suggestions. If you don't see yours, it means I didn't think it fit the rules. You can complain about it in the comments.
This list started out as a roster of 18 rom coms with a female print journalist as a significant character. But then my daughter got involved and added a few. The last several are courtesy of her and my wife.
We're talking about movies since 1980, so we can't include the greatest example, Rosalind Russell in "His Girl Friday." It's off by just, oh, 40 years. To be quite honest, I've only seen five of these last 14 films. Only "Hitch" and "Tamara Drewe" (a fine film, by the way) are memorable to me, but I'd like to see a couple of the others. If you missed the first nine films on the list, you can find them here.
10. "Scoop" (2006) - Haven't seen it, but Sondra Pransky (Scarlett Johansson) is a journalism student who has an affair with a murder suspect.
11. "I Love Trouble" (1994) - Another one I haven't seen, but it sounds like the classic battle of perky vs. experienced, set on a journalism stage with Julia Roberts and Nick Nolte. You can probably guess which one is perky.
12. "Sex and the City" (2008) - The movie version of a TV show that I found frustratingly obnoxious. Maybe because I'm a guy, albeit a chick flick guy. Carrie Bradshaw (Sarah Jessica Parker) is the sex writer for a New York paper.
13. "Just One of the Guys" (1985) - Apparently a kind of cult classic, but I haven't seen it. It features an college journalist who goes so far undercover, she's pretending to be a guy. I don't think there's a single actor in this film I've ever heard of.
14. "My Best Friend's Wedding" (1997)- Julia Roberts plays a food critic who tries to put the bite on her pal, who's fixing to get married to someone else.
15. "Tamara Drewe" (2010) - Tamara Drewe is a London columnist who returns to the countryside where she grew up. She has affairs with an older local writer and a childish rock star, but her true love is the one who liked her before she got her nose job.
16. "Confessions of a Shopaholic" (2009) - Isla Fisher plays a financial journalist who apparently thinks 12 Steps is enough to decide on buying a new pair of shoes. I haven't seen it yet, so you can't say I'm a full-fledged Isla-holic.
17. "He Said, She Said" (1991) - A comedic "Rashomon" with sparring journalists, played by Kevin Bacon and Elizabeth Perkins.
18. "Heartburn" (1986) - One of the greats of romantic comedy writers, Nora Ephron, apparently put her own life into this story, building on the breakup of her marriage to Watergate reporting legend Carl Bernstein.
19. "Marley & Me" (2008) - I'll be darned, Jennifer Aniston plays a reporter again. (See "The Bounty Hunter" in yesterday's list.) This time, she's the female half of a married reporter couple that moves from the snow to Florida to find work, sun and a dog that will make them famous.
20. "Hitch" (2005) - Can't believe I forgot that Eva Mendes plays a gossip columnist in this fun romp with Will Smith.
21. "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" (2003) - Even worse that I almost forgot this one, given that I just watched it a couple of days ago. Maybe it's because of how annoying the ploy is when she's going to extremes to get rid of him.
22. "The Holiday" (2006) - Kate Winslet is a weddings writer driven from London to California by the engagement of the guy she thought was in love with her. A nice film with some good "meet cute."
23. "13 going on 30" (2004) - By this time, I feel like this list is 13 movies going on 30. Our last is a silly age-switch film, though Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo are good in it. Garner's character, Jenna, is bewitched at 13 and wakes up to find out she works at Poise, a fashion magazine.
Movie suggestions came from Maija-Liisa Young, Vanessa Price Martin, Dale Stark, Dee Dee Gunther, Tricia Stirling, Melissa Nappan, Ken Chavez, Sam Delson, Brandy Tuzon Boyd, Erika Chavez Bleszinski, Mara Stark-Alcalá, Dan Nguyen, Pablo Roman-Alcalá, Bob Rebach, Ian Cahir, LaRae Pfeffen. Barb Hennelly and Carla Meyer, who knows more about films than I ever will. Of course, that also probably applies to the rest of the list, too. Thanks for all the suggestions. If you don't see yours, it means I didn't think it fit the rules. You can complain about it in the comments.
RSS Feed
