Editor's Note, 10/24

“People are always telling you that change is a good thing. But all they’re really saying is that something you didn’t want to happen at all…has happened.” Now that’s a quote from Nora Ephron’s “You’ve Got Mail,” and that quote and that movie are exactly the right way to transition into the issue at hand. Somewhere around the turn of the century, something changed in pop culture. Yes, things are always changing in pop culture, but in this particular scenario I feel acknowledgement must be shown: two types of films died in order to make way for the raunchy Judd Apatow comedies of the last decade.

This article is really an obituary to the rom-coms and high school comedies of yesteryear, when three-named actors like Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar and Jennifer Love Hewitt mattered. That’s when Julia Roberts made good movies, Sandra Bullock wasn’t recognized as Oscar-worthy and Kirsti Alley wasn’t super fat. It was a simpler time: when you could see movies with your parents because Jason Segel was not going to flash you in the first 10 minutes; when Paul Rudd was starring opposite Alicia Silverstone; and when Alicia Silverstone was a thing.

To quickly throw-in: I love these new R-rated, envelope pushing (well, when they first started—now they’re pretty standard) comedies that have emerged. Two years ago, when FX seemed to exclusively play “Forgetting Sarah Marshall,” I exclusively watched it. E! had "Knocked Up," HBO had “I Love You, Man” and “Anchorman.” You get the idea. The point is I like them, I watch them, they’re great—usually. This isn’t an attack; it’s a homage to what came before and what now seems incapable of coming back.

Let me show you what I’m talking about. I’ll begin with the teen movies (may they rest in peace). Their death is marked by the film “Not Another Teen Movie,” (2001) which is the only good genre spoof movie that’s been made in the last 20 years. I hope that some of these movies will ring a bell for every reader. If not, I sincerely hope that you immediately stop doing anything productive and watch them all. “She’s All That,” “Can’t Hardly Wait,” “10 Things I Hate About You,” “Cruel Intentions,” “Save the Last Dance,” “Summer Catch,” “Drive Me Crazy,” “House Arrest,” “Head Over Heels,” “Down To You,” “The Prince and Me”...I could keep going, but I mostly recommend visiting Freddie Prinze Jr.’s IMDB page. Some of these movies are actually really good and others are really terrible, but I’ll happily watch them all and I haven’t seen a movie like them since.

Instead, these teen movies have given way to new animals: the raunchy or the indie. Or in other words, “Superbad” and “Juno,” respectively. The leading men of the late '90s—Freddie Prinze Jr., Heath Ledger, Adrian Grenier—have morphed into Michael Cera, as in “Nick and Nora’s Infinite Playlist,” “Youth in Revolt” and “Scott Pilgrim vs. the World.” All but one of those movies are rated R, and although these stars are the same age as their predecessors, the audiences are completely different. “Easy A” and “She’s the Man” are the closest things to a throwback in the last decade, and they were both very good movies. There’s nothing wrong with that more “commercial” formula, but Hollywood’s locked them up and thrown away the key. I miss these movies. They were fun, funny and frankly, better than some of the above listed titles.

As for the '90s rom-coms, they are truly missed: “Pretty Woman,” “You’ve Got Mail,” “Runaway Bride,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “The Wedding Planner,” “Notting Hill,” “When Harry Met Sally,” “While You Were Sleeping” and “French Kiss.” To be fair, there’s been a more prominent trickling of these types of movies into the 2000s: “Two Weeks Notice,” “Hitch,” “Monster-in-Law,” but they’re few and far between. I consider 2007 the official time of death for these movies with the premiere of “Knocked Up.” This movie not only changed the style of rom-com but moved the industry away from them altogether. Far more prevalent now are movies with Will Ferrell and his crew, or Seth Rogen and his. Comedies and rom-coms have always been separate beasts, but now there seems to be a bit of a merger and Mr. Apatow wins every time. A movie that embodies this struggle is “The Ugly Truth.” It’s a bad movie, but the problem is in its failed attempt to achieve the new style of comedy that has taken over the movie biz.

Am I complaining about the loss of some of the greatest pieces of cinematic history? No, of course not. I don’t pretend that I named a should-be Oscar winner in the bunch. And I don’t want fewer “Talladega Nights.” I am pumped for “Anchorman 2.” But let’s acknowledge that these styles of movies are struggling to find their way to the big screen, and not for any particularly valid reason.