Well then. I was watching this cute little flick Definitely Maybe the other day. It's a pretty solid romantic comedy - more than solid, it's smart, fun, and everything a good rom-com should be, without descending into completely cliche and overdone and silly - it doesn't sell out. The story is a little worn, but dressed up to play out better, and it works. The casting is excellent, which the great acting proves, the direction is good, the music is wonderful, the editing is complementary, and bottom line, it's a quality chick flick. Even though I enjoy it immensely for being good work and a fun movie, I was watching it the other day for a different reason.
It takes place in New York. While I am a sucker for any movie that takes place in New York, this paints a particularly wonderful image of the city. The main course aim of the global seminar I took this summer, "The Myths of Venice," was to study the image of Venice, how the city is presented in art and history, and its relevance and role as a setting in literature and film. Since then, I notice that I tend to give the setting of a piece of fiction more consideration. I realized that in Definitely Maybe, I fell in love with New York as much as I did the characters. The streets, the apartments, the parks - it's truly a beautiful city.
In this sense, so many films are as much love letters to their locations as they are stories. Little Manhattan, When Harry Met Sally. Garden State and Clerks. for New Jersey. Good Will Hunting is an ode to Boston; Elizabethtown, to the American South. Before Sunrise is dedicated to Vienna; Before Sunset to Paris. Roman Holiday is a tour of Rome the same way Summertime is a tour of Venice. I really like that.
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Now playing: John Mayer Trio - Who Did You Think I Was
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