Romance for dummies, romance for smarties

I got sucked into signing up for Blockbuster Online, their answer to the "threat" of Netflix, and it has allowed me to finally watch some movies that I've always intended to see... and to be more spontaneous when I go to the video store. We've had some amazing viewings and some bombs as a result.

I picked up "The Holiday" one evening for two reasons - I was weary and wanted some fluffy, mindless entertainment, and I've totally got the hots for Jude Law. There's something magical about the look of polite inquiry he often gives. I don't know, it's hard to define his charm. He smiles well.
Kate Winslet and Cameron Diaz star as two women who meet online in their quest to trade their homes (in L.A. and rural England, respectively) for a vacation. In the process they meet two nice guys (Jack Black and Jude Law) and have romance.
Anyway. The movie was a meaningless fluff of overblown Hollywood pablum... through which bits of genuine sweetness and charm shone. There were setups that made me cringe, ridiculous mood-establishing shots that could have been dropped with absolutely no damage to the plot. But still moments, moments, only moments of real romance and beauty. Dialogue that sounded horrendously in need of editing, and then a glance, a moment of contact. The revelation of Jude Law's life as a widower and single parent after the first impression of him as the drunken younger brother willing to jump into bed on first aquaintance is quite nice, and then the girls playing his daughters were absolutely wonderful.
Kate Winslet is sweet and talented. She does a good job, has no chemistry with Jack Black, but pulls off the role of the Brit rediscovering herself in L.A. I've always found Cameron Diaz appealing, and this role is no exception, but she's kinda over the top and really plays to the Hollywood excesses of the movie. Jude Law helps save her performance; he is disarming and adorable from the start. Jack Black is actually quite fun to watch playing it straight. He could do better as a romantic leading man, but it's so interesting watching him not be Jack Black that I could forgive him his faults.

Then we watched "Before Sunset" which I had read about years ago and never seen, but always kept in the back of my mind. I read about the sequel a few years ago and it reminded me forcibly that I did indeed want to watch them both someday. And now that day finally came, and it was every bit as good as I thought it would be.
Richard Linklater has created something fine and true with these movies, something that touches the truth of what we are and what we want and how we reach out for contact.
"Before Sunset" occurs over a single night, as Jesse, an American travelling in Europe, meets Celine, a French woman on her way to Paris. They connect, get off the train together in... Vienna? and walk around the town for a single night. They share thoughts, drift about town, drifting closer and closer to the possibility that neither speaks of but both have imagined from the start - that they might sleep together on this, their one night together. Their thoughts and expressions tell us so much about them, about their romantic ideals, their dreams, their cynicism. It is almost as wrenching for us as for them when they part, Jesse on his way to catch a flight, promising to meet again six months later.

"Before Sunrise" picks up later, 10 years? Jesse is in Paris on a book tour; Celine sees his picture on a poster and shows up at his talk. I just found myself utterly and completely wrapped up in these movies. They made me think, imagine, dream. Most definitely something more than mindless entertainment.