Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Isn't Romantic Comedy redundant?
RedRiver
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Post by RedRiver »

Wow! Masha, your comments continue to fascinate me. Again, this is due to the social perspective you bring. In the USA, we like to think our lifestyle is more individual than that. Frankly, there are neighborhoods here where all houses look exactly the same. You could wake up downtown in any major city and not know where you were. The design is pretty uniform. Banks, office buildings, Macdonald's. Welcome to...
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JackFavell
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

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Masha, I probably would have run out of gas, then frozen to death trying to find my way home if I lived in one of those neighborhoods in the Soviet Union. I have a hard enough time trying to find my way here in the U.S.! I have a terrible sense of direction, and rely a lot on landmarks to find my way. You've really opened my eyes to how different our lives are to that of everyday Russian people.

Did they allow people to paint or decorate their homes as they wished? Has this kind of planning changed over the years due to mixups and problems it could bring? Have they loosened the strictures over time?
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JackFavell
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

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Another case of something that looks good on paper but doesn't seem to work in real life.

I love the altruistic ideal of the equality of all men and women, but it seems to me that this good spirited thought process, when put to the test, in fact created an atmosphere that devalued people rather than uplifting them, as is the case with so many ideologies put into practice. With Socialism, the model tends to degrade as people age or become infirm, or seek extra power because of the years they've put into the system or their personal strength. Unfortunately, people are not all equal, or perhaps I should say, interchangeable. It actually ends up being no different from the way Democracy degrades. We get sectors of people who are trapped within a certain economic position, who simply don't have access to benefits and educational opportunities, even though we try to afford them education and jobs within reach under our ideal. Our problems mainly stem from a divergence in ways to govern - one group of officials sees their duty as put forward only by the people's voice, no matter how foolish, and another group thinks that govt. should be run by an elite sect who knows best for everyone, which sometimes includes some very skewed viewpoints. This doesn't necessarily fall along party lines. My beliefs fall in between, with a little of one and a little of the other. Some people are prone to seek power under the guise of altruism, and a system must foresee that and make adjustments to it's code accordingly. Loopholes are always going to be taken advantage of, and here we constantly battle and battle to close those loopholes until nothing gets done at all. So we are very much like the Soviet Union in that regard. :D

The individualism shown in that apartment is amazing! I love the colors and the style. What I want to know is, how to afford such paintings and furnishings?
Last edited by JackFavell on August 19th, 2013, 12:40 pm, edited 1 time in total.
RedRiver
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Post by RedRiver »

Capitalism is not a very good system, but I don't know of a better one.
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JackFavell
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

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I agree Red, I'm not ragging on our system at all, I'm lucky to be here! just saying it's not perfect either.
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JackFavell
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

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I understand. Sorry for getting too political, Masha. I didn't want to talk politics, just find it interesting how the ideal and the reality can be so far apart.

Thanks for the link!
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JackFavell
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Post by JackFavell »

I try to be as broadminded as I possibly can. And for me, it's rarely ever black and white, at least politically. :D I certainly understand your hesitance to get into political discussions, and think perhaps it was a bit thoughtless for me to continue on that particular tack.

I just found this short created by Lloyd Hamilton. Hamilton was considered one of the great funny men of silents by Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton. They were both fans. Charley Chase told interviewers that much of his comedy was based on Hamilton's persona. He reminds me a bit of Roscoe Arbuckle, with a sweet, yet opportunistic character. Hamilton's career ended up taking a nose dive by the late 20's, because of bad creative, business and studio decisions.

I found his style charming. Hamilton seems to be one of those whose possibilities seemed endless at the time, but somehow it just didn't pan out for him. Thought you all might be interested in this short from his early days.

[youtube][/youtube]
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movieman1957
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Post by movieman1957 »

Love Before Breakfast.

It's a catchall nondescript title of a mildly entertaining film with Carole Lombard, Cesar Romero and Preston Foster.

"Let's take the Bible story of David and Bathsheba and turn it into a screwball comedy." Okay. Foster loves Lombard who loves Romero. Foster loves Lombard so much that he hires Romero and sends him off to Japan to run his business there for the sole purpose of stalking Lombard while he is gone. It is not quite as creepy as it sounds. It doesn't take Lombard long to figure this out but has a hard time staying mad at Foster though she can't let him know.

One night Foster decides to give up his pursuit and in the crazy world of comedy her whole perspective changes. Foster is even going to being home Romero. But..... now Foster and Lombard are aggravated with each other and that can only mean one thing - they are in love.

It's a cute film. Lombard is wonderful. Romero plays an ordinary guy and not his Latin lover thing which is nice. Nothing great going on here but if you stumble on it you might stick with it.

Part of a box set of Lombard films courtesy of Netflix.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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JackFavell
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Post by JackFavell »

It sounds great! I think this was a big winner when Frank and MissG talked about it some time ago. I remembered the title but never got to see it.
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movieman1957
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Re: Comedy - Romantic and Otherwise

Post by movieman1957 »

Then I watched "The Princess Comes Across." It is from the same set and stars Fred MacMurray along with Lombard. This as much murder mystery as it is comedy. Carole plays a "princess" coming to America to star in a film. Someone knows who she really is and is out to blackmail her, as well as a few others. He doesn't fare too well and the chase is on for the person that dispatched him.

Some fun things and a lot of familiar faces give this one a different flavor. Three things worth noting were Lombard does a wonderful Garbo impression. Fred can sing and, Wendy, just for you, the bad guy shared your last name. (no word on spelling though.)

It's different and Lombard is just so easy to love.
Chris

"Time flies like an arrow, fruit flies like a banana."
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