Category: cheesy but i love them

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2021 films cheesy but i love them reviews

in the heights

I’ve been excited about the In the Heights movie since the production was announced…three years ago? I love musicals and I love Lin-Manuel Miranda, so I considered this a gift to me personally. When Jon M. Chu was announced as the director, I got even more giddy. The big, bold, over-the-top flair of Crazy Rich Asians seemed like a perfect fit for this joyful celebration of a musical. So my expectations were pretty high. And this beautiful film met every one of them. Watching this in the back of a theater with my sisters was one of the highlights of my year.

The music that greets us at every corner is catchy and moving and so clearly Lin-Manuel Miranda’s work. I’ve listened to the soundtrack more days than not since I saw the movie. Add in huge, glorious dance numbers and I’m all in. The scale of some of the musical numbers is outrageous, with dozens of dancers in pools and streets. Everything is colorful and moving and so overflowing with vibrant life, and I love it so much.

‘96,000’ is one of my favorite numbers–I can already tell it’ll be near the top of my most-played list in my Spotify year in review, since it’s almost impossible for me to listen to it just once. The overlapping parts that all come together are incredible, and the number in the film is one of the biggest and most joyful. Jon Chu’s direction shines here, as he manages to showcase all the different performers, throw in some lighthearted illustration, and never leave us behind. The number for ‘When the Sun Goes Down’ is equally fantastic, blending magic and reality as the singers dance on the side of a building. This blend of grounded love for a very specific place and over-the-top imagination seems unlikely to mesh, but it works stunningly to illustrate the big dreams of the characters we’re walking with.

Behind the song and dance is a compelling story, which weaves together the lives of different members of this community and gives us a glimpse into their corners of Washington Heights. Since he narrates the story, we see the most of Usnavi’s perspective as he tries to make a living, honor his heritage, and get back to his parents’ homeland. But we also see Nina’s struggles with the burden of her community’s high expectations, Vanessa’s dreams of success as a fashion designer, Benny’s fierce work ethic, Abuela’s love to the kids on her corner, Sonny’s challenges in navigating life as an undocumented immigrant, and so many more. These characters’ lives and experiences come together to form a mosaic, each piece helping us understand the community a little more. 

It’s clear that Lin wrote this out of a deep love for a community that shaped him–his affection for the characters and the physical place is evident in every moment. His love elevates things we might overlook: the corner bodega, the open fire hydrants, the fireworks, the family dinners that include everyone who walks through the door. He takes the time to honor the generations who have gone before and made their children’s dreams possible in the first place. And he reminds us to look around and appreciate the beauty and the value of our community.


It’s easy for me to romanticize city life, to imagine that it’s always like the Washington Heights depicted in the film. That everyone is part of a tight-knit community, sharing meals and dreams and daily life. That everyone dances when it’s hot or sets off fireworks when the power goes out. That spontaneous musical numbers break out in the street or the pool every day (Okay, I’m aware that doesn’t actually happen but I wish it did). But even as I know that my imagination paints an overly rosy picture of city life, I think this film captures something real and beautiful. The power of life in a community, of sharing both joy and sorrow with others. The value and the joy of building roots, of investing in a place and committing to the people there. And the way the anchor of a community like this can give you the strength you need to move out into the world if and when you must leave. My experience of this kind of community is through church, not a neighborhood, but I see a lot of parallels and I love the way this film reminds me to appreciate the people around me and to pour into them. To rejoice at being able to walk through life with others by my side. And maybe to dance in the streets just a little more.

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academy award nominees all time favorites cheesy but i love them reviews romantic comedies

pride and prejudice

There’s a never-ending discussion in my family about which adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is the best. Most of my sisters prefer the BBC miniseries led by Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, with its period-accurate costumes and closer adaptation of Jane Austen’s original novel. But as much as I appreciate that series, my heart has been captured forever by the beauty and joy of the 2005 film. When the soundtrack starts to wash over me as the film opens, I feel somehow like I’m coming home.

As we wander through the Bennets’ house at the beginning of the film, we meet five sisters and their slightly-overwhelmed parents and glimpse the chaos and the joy of their shared life. The Bennet sisters, both in their close bonds and their petty squabbles, remind me so much of me and my own sisters. I can’t help but smile as I watch them. And, though they are trying to navigate a very different society than my own, their struggles are so familiar. They’re looking for love and security, worried about their futures, their reputations, and ultimately their hearts. 

This rendition of the classic story allows the characters at its center to be open with their emotions, less tied to the reticence that would have been expected in their era. As a result, we get to see their confusion and their longing, their hope and their fear, more clearly than in other adaptations. We witness the awkwardness they experience as they try to navigate the etiquette of their complex society with varying levels of success. We cringe with Elizabeth at the self-absorption and naivete of her younger sisters, and we feel foolish with her when she realizes the ways she has judged others incorrectly. We see Darcy’s discomfort and uncertainty, which give those who don’t know him the impression of arrogance. We hope for the best with Jane, and mourn with her when her expectations are dashed. And, of course, we experience Mr. Collins’ complete obliviousness to all social expectations and the general cloud of discomfort that surrounds everyone who interacts with him. We get to enter into these characters’ lives, to experience their emotions along with them, and we care more deeply for them as a result.

Beyond the excellent performances of the cast, which beautifully capture Austen’s iconic characters, the craftsmanship of this film makes all the difference. The cinematography is breathtaking, full of life and color and gorgeous landscapes. The soundtrack matches it for beauty: the piano-led score is one of my favorite musical pieces on earth. And the costumes, while criticized by some of my sisters for being less than period-accurate, play a key role in helping us understand the characters better. To give just one example, we first meet Darcy dressed in stiff, formal, dark clothes. Later, when he meets Elizabeth at Pemberley, he’s wearing a brighter coat with the buttons undone–he’s opening up. And, of course, when he and Elizabeth meet on the moors, he’s lost all the formality, the layers of vests and waistcoats that represented the barrier he’d built, and he approaches her in vulnerable hope.

I could talk about the moments in this film I love for hours–the scene where Darcy and Elizabeth dance and the rest of the world falls away; the sheer panic when Elizabeth realizes that Mr. Collins is about to propose; the delight of watching Mr. Bingley rehearse his proposal with Darcy by the lake…and so many more. But more than anything, I love this story. It’s the story of two people whose lives intersect, and who make snap judgments about each other. Who choose the wrong paths and communicate poorly, so it seems impossible that they could ever find their way to each other. But who are wise and humble enough to reconsider their original perceptions and to realize that the other is worthy of love. It may be set two hundred years ago, but it’s a story that never gets old.

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all time favorites cheesy but i love them reviews romantic comedies

the princess bride

I have trouble grasping the fact that there are people in the world who don’t love The Princess Bride. Even though I nearly have the ninety minutes memorized, I could watch the film any day and be delighted by the humor, the romance, the adventure, and the sheer joy overflowing from this treasure of a story.

At this point, it’s hard to tell whether The Princess Bride was written perfectly for my sense of humor or whether it’s been part of my life for so long that it has molded my taste. Either way, it’s one of the wittiest films I’ve ever seen. Dozens of lines from the film have become iconic for my generation–it’s almost impossible to make it through a wedding weekend without delivering the “mawwage” speech. The dialogue throughout the film is delightfully written and impeccably delivered, especially by Wallace Shawn and Billy Crystal. I know the punch line to every joke but still find them hilarious every time.

The Princess Bride is funny, but it’s also so much more. It’s a romance, with Westley and Buttercup’s love story at its heart. Unlike many modern romantic comedies, the film’s belief in the power and beauty of love is always earnest, never ironic. When Westley declares that even death cannot stop true love, only delay it for a while, we believe him. And as we watch him and Buttercup defeat every obstacle that stands between the two of them and happily ever after, we’re convinced that they’ve got it right. 

While the hopeless romantics among us (me) are enthralled by the love story, The Princess Bride is just as much a swashbuckling adventure as it is “a kissing book.” Inigo Montoya’s quest to avenge his father’s honor is thrilling, and his riveting duel with Westley is one of the best sword fights I’ve ever seen on screen: perfectly choreographed, perfectly scored, and perfectly filled with surprise reveals. Throw in pirates, shrieking eels, cliffs of insanity, giants, poison, fire swamps, and rodents of unusual size, and the story is bursting at the seams with excitement. Plus, the ideas behind some of the slightly-dated effects are genuinely scary. A machine that could suck away years of your life? Absolutely terrifying.

For me, at least, I think the movie owes much of its success to the frame narrative: a grandpa reading a story to his sick grandson. Even the most cynical, uninterested viewer finds their reluctant counterpart in the grumpy child, but they can’t help being entranced along with him. But, more importantly, this frame immediately lets us know what kind of story to expect. The film is a fairy tale, and it never pretends to be anything else. So we aren’t surprised by the elements of fantasy–we know what kind of world we’re entering as the story begins. And, though it may be cheesy and over-the-top at times, it’s a world I love visiting. It’s a world where the heroes overcome every obstacle. Where the villains are defeated. Where true love is not only a reality but an unstoppable force.

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cheesy but i love them reviews romantic comedies

set it up

If you can make it through the baseball scene in Set It Up without smiling, romantic comedies may not be for you. Harper and Charlie get their bosses on the kiss cam at a Yankees game, the second stage in their attempt to push the two into a relationship and get them out of the office more often. Their efforts seem doomed to fail, their bosses uninterested in sharing a first kiss with a stadium of baseball fans. But the camera keeps panning back to them and the crowd gets interested, booing a mild kiss on the cheek and chanting encouragement. And finally it happens, and Harper and Charlie jump up and cheer at the top of their lungs. Everyone else is staring and thinks they’re crazy, but they are so overjoyed by their success that they don’t care.

Zoey Deutch and Glen Powell are a constant delight as they plot together to set up their bosses, as they banter over pizza and science projects, and as they ultimately fall in love. I identify with Harper’s desire to be a writer as well as her paralyzing fear of writing something terrible, so I’m rooting for her success from the start. Add in gorgeous sets and Pete Davidson and Harper’s excellent wardrobe and Creepy Tim, and you get a funny, romantic movie I’ve seen at least four times–and would happily watch again tomorrow.

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all time favorites cheesy but i love them reviews romantic comedies

(500) days of summer

On the surface, (500) Days of Summer looks like half of the films in my Netflix queue. Full of glowy lighting, quirky characters, and songs by Regina Spektor, and more interested in mood than plot, many of these films are stylish but quickly forgotten. However, while (500) Days of Summer might look like a dozen other indie rom-coms, it uses the tropes of its genre to tell a smart, humorous, and heartwarming story that we’re still talking about ten years later.

The narrator opens the film by telling us, “This is a story about boy meets girl. But you should know up front, this is not a love story.” We nod and smile, and immediately forget his warning. Five minutes later, Tom announces, “I’m in love with Summer,” and we are certain that they’ll end up together despite any hardships the film throws at them. We’ve seen a ring on Summer’s finger, so we ignore every warning sign that comes next. And as a result, we begin the film in the same frame of mind as Tom: expecting true love to prevail and certain that he’ll find it with Summer.

As the film continues, we realize that this story is told entirely from Tom’s perspective, shaped completely by his feelings and perceptions. We are, essentially, another member in the group of friends listening to Tom’s stories and trying to diagnose what went wrong with his “perfect” relationship. Even when we’re not hearing directly from Tom, the film makes it clear that we’re in his head the whole time. The world reflects his moods, with a warm glow lighting the exuberant first days of his relationship and the city around him fading to gray and disappearing when he starts to lose hope. In perhaps the clearest example of Tom’s feelings reshaping reality (and one of my all-time favorite movie moments), Tom is so happy that he steps out his door and into a musical number. He proclaims along with Hall & Oates, dozens of strangers, and even an animated bird that Summer “makes his dreams come true”. Even as the moment reminds us that Tom’s perceptions of Summer are more fantasy than reality, the sheer joy of this scene is so infectious that I can’t help grinning along with him.

Of course, Tom’s inability to see past his own perceptions dooms his relationship with Summer. Trapped in his fantasies, he’s unable to hear what Summer is trying to communicate or to see past the “manic pixie dream girl” persona he’s constructed for her. So her rejection is a heartbreaking surprise, leaving Tom hurt, angry, and confused. He starts to wonder if his belief in love has been misguided, if people can truly find happiness together. More cynical films might leave Tom here, alone, certain that love itself is a fantasy. The most he could hope for, in such a film, would be to find moments of fleeting happiness with someone else, knowing that the relationship was doomed and would end in hurt sooner or later. 

But the magic of (500) Days of Summer is that disappointment does not ultimately leave its characters disillusioned. Summer never believed in love, but she finds unexpected happiness after a chance encounter in a diner. And, though it may be cheesy, the film’s ending gives us hope for Tom as well. He was a hopeless romantic when we met him, and I think the film is ultimately on his side, even though he initially pursues the wrong object for his affections. He grows as a result of his relationship with Summer and meets Autumn as a better version of himself, more honest about his desires and ready to pursue his dreams even through rejection. 

The narrator told us in the beginning that this isn’t a love story, and it certainly doesn’t fit our expectations of a typical romantic comedy. However, this film believes in love and encourages us not to give up hope. It reminds us that relationships are hard work, that we make mistakes and struggle to communicate, but that love is real and beautiful and joyful and messy and worth it.