The list of "romantic comedies" that are surprisingly not sh*t

Every now and then you will want to (have to?) see a movie with a Girl. In the event you can't find anything in theaters you want to watch, you can get yourself down to the local Blockbuster and rent one of the following. Here, in no particular order, is my list of romantic comedies for guys that don't like romantic comedies.

1. The Princess Bride - I covered this one at length already. And even though this list is not in any kind of order, Princess Bride should always be at the top.

2. Enchanted - It has Dr. McDouche, who is vaguely annoying and tedious, but it also has Amy Adams, who is ludicrously good looking. So they balance out. And the movie is surprisingly funny and watchable. And it's an excuse to suggest another Amy Adams movie to the Girl later, because she was "so good in Enchanted."

3. When Harry Met Sally - It's an old movie at this point, but it's held up well. Enjoy the part about whether or not men & women can actually be neutral friends. And you can be reminded why Meg Ryan used to be the cutest girl in Hollywood.

4. Love Actually - It's Christmas, it's in London, it's got relationships that succeed and some that don't. Good ensemble cast, plus hugs and (mostly) happy endings. Watch this around xmastime with your girl and you will definitely get a nice happy ending yourself, if you know what I mean. (And I think you do.)

5. Definitely, Maybe - I was prepared to hate this but the movie ends up being more about relationships that fail than the ones that succeed, and it features an underrated Isla Fisher. I could watch Isla Fisher read the phone book. And Ryan Reynolds isn't as pretty as, say, Brad Pitt, and thus easier to watch. Until he takes his shirt off. Then he's just being a dick.

6. Strictly Ballroom - Early work by Baz Luhrmann. It's got a love story, it's got ballroom dancing, and it's legitimately funny.

That's all I can think of for now. I'll update/repost this if I remember any more that should be on this list.

(Image courtesy and copyright One Love Photo - it's a piece of artwork the artist put together for a newly-married couple that loved sloths. Not sure if the couple ever met schadenfreude sloth and his cousin hangover bear. Or if they read the tagline of GJAW. But we're glad they got married. Even if they put living bug carpets on their wedding invitations. )

the psychology of love

I have long told my friends (and self) that it's not about the girls you like, it's about the girls that like you. easier said than done, but logically it makes sense.

this short article over at scientific american suggests that there is an evolutionary advantage to infatuation ("crazy love"), in that it demonstrates possible long-term commitment to a partner. and that's good, says the scientist, because from a reproductive-advantage standpoint it indicates that the person won't trade up later on. In other words, it's not about about the girls you like, etc., etc. you can read the explanation here:

http://www.sciam.com/podcast/episode.cfm?id=A8EF82B7-E827-7A68-1201682731D31045

in other news, this video may or may not have caused a stirring in my loins.

lolcats picture courtesy of icanhascheezburger, which I hear is cute and funny but I wouldn't know because I've only been to that website by accident. seriously.