Tag Archives: The Notebook movie

Coupling

Chemistry.  Some couples got it.  Some don’t.

We were all reminded of this fact during Sunday’s Oscar broadcast — for three plus painful hours.   Co-hosts Anne Hathaway and James Franco were oil and water on stage; no casting director is going to be beating down their doors any time soon to pair them up in a movie.

But what about the truly great film couples?

I pondered this very important question as I vegged out in front of the TV last night, re-watching City of Angels. (I was tired, okay?  Plus, that movie was made back in the days when Nicolas Cage was a good actor.)

Here’s my list of great film couples (in no particular order):

  • Rachel McAdams and Ryan Gosling, The Notebook
  • Vivenne Leigh and Clark Gable, Gone with the Wind
  • Matthew MacFadyen and Keira Knightley, Pride & Prejudice
  • Colin Firth, Renee Zellweger (and Hugh Grant), Bridget Jones’ Diary
  • Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman, Casablanca
  • Patrick Swazye and Jennifer Grey, Dirty Dancing
  • Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal, Brokeback Mountain
  • Robert Redford and Barbra Streisand, The Way We Were
  • Billy Crystal and Meg Ryan, When Harry Met Sally
  • Ryan O’Neal and Ali McGraw, Love Story

It’s not an exhaustive list.  In fact, I’m sure I’ve missed one of your favorites.

What couple would you add to the list?

Remember — you can’t win if you don’t play.


Trophy love

There’s something in the air of late, and it sure ain’t love.

I’ve been chronicling the sad events on my Facebook page:  Couple after celebrity couple calling it quits, even though the holidays are just around the corner.

Is there some kind of tax incentive to ending things before year’s end?  A public relations advantage to starting the new year with a clean relationship slate? More product endorsements available to single stars?

I for one am shocked and truly saddened.

When you look like Ryan Reynolds and Scarlett Johansson, don’t other problems lessen in importance as soon as you glimpse your partner in the mirror?  Or does looking that good simply give you too many other options with too many other people who are equally good looking to remain faithful to just one?

While I never thought Scarlett was funny enough for Ryan — sorry, I’m not big enough of a person to keep that opinion to myself — I wanted the relationship to succeed because Ryan did.  (I love him that much.)  I hate that it failed.

Same thing for my other favorite Ryan — Ryan Gosling and Rachael McAdams.  I have loved them as a couple ever since The Notebook. Sure, they broke up a while back, but then they got back together — showed that they were really working on things, ya know?

But then they broke up for good.  Now she’s dating Michael Sheen, who is a brilliant actor (and a better Tony Blair than Tony Blair himself).

But she’ll always be Ryan’s gal in my mind.

And let’s not forget Zach Efron and Vanessa Hudgens, Disney’s dynamic duo, who also called it quits this week.  Let’s face it — they’re young.  I have actually been expecting that one for a while.  And Zach’s star has been rising so much faster, it’s no wonder Vanessa is being left behind.

But seriously, folks, these celebs need to start putting in the work.  If Natalie Portman is willing to study ballet for a year to earn an Oscar for “Black Swan,” and Christian Bale will starve himself down to skin and bones for “The Machinist” and “The Fighter”…

…can’t actors put just a little more effort into their own love lives?

Maybe if we come up with an award…