MovieChat Forums > L'ami de mon amie (1988) Discussion > Romantic comedy...really?

Romantic comedy...really?

posted 12 years ago by idahoblue
12 replies | jump to latest

This is labelled as a romantic comedy but I am struggling to see why. I really love this film, but there is nothing remotely funny about it, apart from when Alexandre does his 'Mrs Don't Hang Up' impression.

To me, it just feels like a 'slice of life' film that brilliantly captures life in a new towns like Cergy-Pointoise. You can really feel the loneliness of some of the characters (particularly Blanche) trying to make do on their own in a place that has no history and is trying to establish itself.

If anything, the situation and what the characters do to each other is far from funny. In real life (yes I know this is only a movie), this sort of situation usually destroys friendships.

Please do not reply to this thread with abusive messages. I am just interested to see if others would put this into the romantic comedy genre or somewhere else?

[–] Slime-3 11 years ago

I agree with you. Drama - yes. Comedy - no. It does indeed have a tangible sense of time and place and that slightly other-worldly location which is fascinating in itself.
I loved it too. I though it one of the most charming of Rohmer's films and similar to Conte d'été in having a very appealing female lead character, brilliantly acted.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5965) 8 months ago

What really makes it good are the complex set of emotions that the girlfriends feel and which are depicted so believably in the actions and dialog. It's rare that one gets this level of complexity.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 11 years ago

No, you are right. Such are the perils of trying to use one of the limited numbers of standard categories to describe an indie film like this. After all, it is too light-hearted to be called simply a "drama", no?

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] idahoblue 10 years ago

Absolutely true. A lot of the conversations are light hearted and too 'every day' to make this a solid drama.

Indie films need more categories!

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 10 years ago

What would you nominate as a category for this one?

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] idahoblue 10 years ago

A category about real life dilemma? Maybe 'Exploration of Real-life Dilemma'?
Or 'Slice of Life Dilemma'?

It's so awkward to categorise! Any other ideas? There's gotta be some better ideas out there - mine are a bit rubbish.

[–] GuyOnTheLeft 10 years ago

I was hoping you could think of something.

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See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc

[–] monkey714 10 years ago

Well, how about a Comedy-Proverb?

[–] cb2369 9 years ago

The films builds it's ridiculous circumstances until the two main characters are fighting over different men. Of course, it's a comedy. It's just a Rohmer comedy. Rohmer's comedies may be a little subtle, but they can be hilarious (Summer's Tale and Claire's Knee comes to mind.) It wasn't always laugh out loud, but I was cracking up at the end so speak for yourself.

Besides, this film is also a comedy in the oldest of sense: a story that ends happily. Rohmer was a sucker for old story types... Just look at The Romance of Astrea and Celadon.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (5965) 8 months ago

That's correct. Since ancient times there have been two classifications. Think of ancient Greek tragedies and comedies. In a comedy everyone ends happy whereas in a tragedy they do not.

But also I would say that the misunderstanding scene between the two girls at the end is quite funny.

[–] 9 years ago

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[–] mgreenbanks 8 years ago

It's a comedy in the classical sense that all turns out happily in the end, despite the flux of circumstances (ie. the taboo of dating one's friend's current or former lover) seeming to conspire toward disaster. Just about every Rohmer "comedy" I've seen develops suspense along these lines and resolves itself through the wonderfully subtle, even breathtaking, insights of his characters.