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Quick List: Romance for Boys

by Jessica Barnes Jul 4th 2009 // 5:03PM

Filed under: Comedy, Romance, Fandom, Lists



It's funny, but I've been watching Kevin Smith movies for a long time now, but it was only as I was reading through Total Film's list of the Best & Worst: Kevin Smith, that I realized something that I never really thought all that much about before -- and what was my big epiphany? Well, I finally discovered that Smith's films in the end are just rom-coms with poop jokes. Smith may have been considered a foul-mouthed stoner for most of his career, but now that I've looked beyond his shtick, I've finally come to the conclusion that the guy is a big old softy. Which got me thinking: Is there such a thing as romance for boys?

Now if you're the observant type, you've probably noticed I'm not a dude, so what do I know, right? But I've been told time and again that I'm not the 'average girl' (whatever that means) when it comes to my movie tastes, so I'm going to put that theory to the test, and get in touch with my masculine side to create a list of romantic movies for men.

After the jump; My 5 picks for boy-friendly romance...
1) Chasing Amy
This one is easily one of Smith's best, and in the story of a comic-book artist's failed relationship with a lesbian the writer-director comes up with some truly insightful things to say about friendship and love.


2) The 40 Year Old Virgin
Apatow and Smith are two peas in a pod when it comes to cloaking a romantic story in R-rated humor. Andy's quest to become a man starts off as a raunch-fest, but ends up being a story about love triumphing over sex. Unfortunately, YouTube decided not to play nice today, so we'll have to settle for some outtakes.


3) There's Something about Mary
Again, we've got another movie about a hapless loser chasing the girl of his dreams, which on the surface could just be another gross-out comedy. But if you look a little closer, you'll notice there's a touch of Cyrano in this story of a high-school crush that stood the test of time.


4) High Fidelity
Personally, I found this flick a little annoying -- but it's way too long of a discussion to get into here. But if John Cusack was the romance icon for us gals in the 90's with Say Anything, then High Fidelity was his return to his 'guy roots' because this one was for the boys.


5) Punch Drunk Love
Adam Sandler's turn as the rage-hampered novelty plunger salesmen is probably the only film on the list that isn't laugh out loud funny, but there is just enough comedy to balance out Anderson's view on serious subjects like masculinity, love, and loneliness.


So now you have my top five boy-friendly romances, and just like with us gals, we usually like our romance with a little comedy...it's just unfortunate that the boys get much, much, better comedy. But now, I'll turn it over to you guys (and gals) out there, tell me if there is such a thing as 'romance for boys' and list your favorites below.

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Tags: 40 year old virgin, 40YearOldVirgin, featured, High Fidelity, HighFidelity, john cusack, JohnCusack, judd apatow, JuddApatow, kevin smith, KevinSmith, pt anderson, PtAnderson, Punch Drunk Love, PunchDrunkLove, romance

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