A Critical Investigation of Your Favourite Nostalgic Films

By Matilda Douglas-Henry

 

Is there anyone who doesn’t relish the comfort of a good rom com? If you’re having a sick day, a movie night, or a lazy afternoon, there’s nothing quite like the nostalgic feeling of toes-up time with a tacky romantic comedy that you loved as a kid. I lean towards movies that transport me back to my primary-school self – to the days of illicit slumber parties with too much junk food, or slotting the rented tape from Civic Video (RIP NORTON STREET CIVIC) into the VCR after my parents had gone to sleep.

In the days of young adulthood – with menial stresses like paying rent and finding a job dominating your life – I’ve often watched the romantic comedies I used to love as an attempt to seek out those simpler days. As the years go on, however, it’s becoming significantly harder. The movies that once comforted me – some of which made the list of my all-time favourite films – I now acknowledge to be blatantly misogynistic and homophobic, without an inch of self-awareness. A reflection of more conservative times? Perhaps. But it’s pretty depressing that the commercial film market was once dominated by these blockbusters, and us kids thought they were mint. Of course problematic films still exist, but (at least in my social circles) they are called out as such, and subsequently boycotted.

Some movies subvert this. I have watched a few old favourites recently and picked up on things I didn’t register as a child – characters or themes in films that represent surprisingly progressive values. The painfully obvious queer subtext in Bend It Like Beckham is actually the best, and I realised that Kat Stradford in 10 Things I Hate About You was one of my first subconscious crushes. But more often than not, these films do not stand the test of time. As a queer person it’s particularly disheartening, as we’re so aware of the media’s portrayal of us. In these sorts of films, we’re a source of comic relief, or we’re erased from the narrative completely.

Below is a list of films that I used to think were soothing, re-watchable fare – a more recent viewing, however, proves that they are kind of the worst. I hope my official “Movies That I Once Loved But Are Actually Very Problematic So Now I Hate Them” list offers some guidance, if ever you are in need of a film choice.

The Wedding Singer (1998), 50 First Dates (2004), and anything else with Adam Sandler in it

If you think Adam Sandler used to make you laugh in the nineties, I implore you to revisit his material. A true master in the act of casual racism, homophobia and misogyny, a project with Sandler’s name attached to it is bound to be a minefield of insults and cringe-inducing moments.

I thought The Wedding Singer was a sweet and hilarious love story when I was young. I re-watched it recently with friends, and we turned it off after fifteen minutes, shocked at Sandler’s ability to destroy everyone in his path. Playing the goofy and loveable wedding singer Robbie Hart, Sandler pokes fun at women, the queer community, and anyone who isn’t white – all the while coming across as a charming hopeless romantic. Worst of all is the treatment of trans actress Alexis Arquette’s character – a Boy George impersonator who gets booed off the stage every time she sings.

50 First Dates sparked my longstanding Drew Barrymore obsession, and over the course of my childhood I watched it approximately sixty times – but now, the story of a guy manipulating a girl who has short-term memory loss to fall in love with him just doesn’t stick. The trivialisation of Barrymore’s character Lucy’s mental illness is enhanced by the character Alexa – a person who doesn’t identify with a gender, and is the butt of every joke as a result.

Also to avoid: I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, Jack and Jill, and everything else affiliated with Sandler.

Never Been Kissed (1999)

This film is nowhere near as bad as Drew Barrymore’s aforementioned cinematic efforts. The story of Josie Geller – a geeky news reporter who lands a gig as an undercover high school student – has a lot of good things about it. Leelee Sobieski’s turn as the kind-hearted Aldys (do you remember how she looked at the prom?) is a highlight, and it’s fun to see Jessica Alba and James Franco in early roles. But I couldn’t shake how deeply inappropriate the relationship is between Josie and her high school teacher, even if he is played by the dreamy Michael Vartan. He thinks she is a teenager! He does nothing but constantly leer. No no no no no no no no no no no.

Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994)

I have always been weirdly into Jim Carrey – maybe because the Medieval Times scene in The Cable Guy makes me laugh more than anything else. I thought I would love any of his 90’s films, but the disgusting transphobia in Ace Venture is inexcusable. Sean Young (Rachael in Blade Runner) plays a trans police lieutenant who is ultimately revealed to be the story’s villain. This realisation plays out in the most offensive way possible, but perhaps what is even worse is Ventura’s response to realising that the character is trans. I am baffled by this film having a cult following. Ace Ventura is the worst of the lot.

Manhattan (1979), and anything else by Woody Allen

 Some see him as a visionary, but there is no denying that Woody Allen is an abusive miscreant. It was heartbreaking that Dylan Farrow’s open letter in 2014, confirming the allegations, was swept under the rug by the film industry. Allen’s 1979 feature Manhattan is considered one of his best, and it used to be a favourite of mine for its soundtrack and the presence of a young Meryl Streep. Streep, however, is playing Allen’s ex-wife who has recently come out as a lesbian and is writing a tell-all book about their marriage. She is undoubtedly the villain of the film – Streep was quoted as saying working with Allen was unpleasant, because he simply “hated her character”. To top that off with Allen’s character dating a 17 year-old, Manhattan is the creepiest of the director’s creepy repertoire.

It’s Complicated (2009)

Meryl Streep shines in any role that is handed to her, but she was made to play a Californian pastry chef. It feels somewhat unfair to include this in my list because It’s Complicated does endure as a deeply comforting film. Nevertheless, I think it’s important to flag this Nancy Meyers rom com as one that is blindly unaware of the privileged lives the narrative portrays. Watching Streep float around her Santa Barbara mansion in bohemian chic despair, agonising over the renovation of her ‘pokey’ kitchen (which is already the size of a casual palace) sat pretty uncomfortably with me. It may also be something to do with the blatant irony of the title, and that all of California is white-washed to the nth degree. Still watchable, but approach with caution.

Wedding Crashers (2005)

This Vince Vaughan/Owen Wilson ‘bromance’ is problematic from the start, but I loved it when I was younger (I obviously had a ghastly sense of humour as a younger person). The premise – two men who crash weddings to pick up girls – is foul, and it only gets worse when the narrative starts to unfold. When Jeremy (Vaughan) and John (Wilson) end up developing relationships with two women whose family’s wedding they crashed, they encounter Todd Cleary – the black sheep of the family, who is an artist and closeted gay man. There’s a painfully drawn-out scene in which Todd sexually propositions Jeremy, where he is portrayed as creepy and perverse. The gags made at Todd’s expense hit way too close to home, and it hurts to think what young, repressed queers make of these sorts of characterisations at such an impressionable age.