Daily Trojan USC.edu

RSS

Anti-Valentine's Day films for the dateless

Lauren Barbato

Issue date: 2/8/08 Section: Lifestyle
  • Print
  • Email
If you've wandered down the candy aisle at Rite Aid - the SweeTarts, stuffed animals and movies with "aw" factors - you know that February 14 is just around the corner.

Film snobs, beware: Hollywood has left the box office graveyard and entered the Land of Fluff, where subpar chick flicks reign.

Fortunate enough to have a living and breathing significant other on Valentine's Day? Well, if you're into snuggling for 90 minutes in the depths of a crowded theater, then there's an assortment of movies opening in time for the big day.

There's "Fool's Gold" featuring power couple Kate Hudson and Matthew McConaughey, "Definitely, Maybe" with the all-too-adorable Abigail Breslin and "Step Up 2 the Streets," starring a horde of shirtless break-dancers. All are guaranteed to leave your heart warm and fuzzy as the end credits roll.

For those without a heart, but with a brain, there's an array of "anti-Valentine's Day" films to rent while your roommates are professing their love over candlelit dinners.

Unlike most romantic comedies, these films focus on painful endings rather than promising beginnings, painting the last legs of relationships in the most harrowing, beautiful ways. They're offbeat, twisted, existential and even bloody; these films can change your life.


"Annie Hall" and "Manhattan"

The charismatic and neurotic Woody Allen is known to only discuss a few topics - literature, philosophy and foreign films. Somehow, he interrelates all of them, and usually within the context of his relationships with women.

In "Annie Hall," Allen documents his relationship with Annie, a woman he believes he could love.

Allen never exaggerates or heightens the relationship, but portrays it for what it was: fleeting moments of chasing lobsters around kitchens and contemplating sleeping with other women; moments that come and go like the passing New York City traffic in the film's final scene.

In "Manhattan," Allen takes a darker turn. He plays a 42-year-old TV writer divorced from his ex-wife turned lesbian, currently dating a high school senior while lusting after his best friend's mistress.
Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools

Be the first to comment on this story

  • NOTE: Email address will not be published

Type your comment below (html not allowed)

  I understand posting spam or other comments that are unrelated to this article will cause my comment to be flagged for deletion and possibly cause my IP address to be permanently banned from this server.

Comments and Forum Posting Policy


Thank you for your interest and participation in the Daily Trojan comments and online forum system. To safeguard USC's Principles of Community while fostering a healthy campus dialogue, we require users to follow these basic posting guidelines:

Right to Delete Posts
Any postings that the Daily Trojan deems incongruent with its policies - including messages that are defamatory, obscene, abusive or in violation of copyright or trademark laws - are subject to editing or deletion. Although the Daily Trojan cannot reasonably expect to review every forum posting and is not responsible for any posted content, it reserves the right to monitor forums and remove posting privileges of users who violate these terms. All messages must be written in English.

Posting Rules
Comments, interactive areas, discussion boards, and the Daily Trojan Forums are intended to encourage public debate. We expect participants to differ ? judgment and opinion are subjective, and we encourage freedom of speech and a marketplace of ideas. But by using these areas of our website, you are participating in a community that is intended for all our users. Therefore, we reserve the right to remove any content posted on our site at any time for any reason.

Decisions as to whether content violates any Posting Rule will be made by the Daily Trojan at its sole discretion, after having received actual notice of such posting. Without limiting our right to remove content, we have attempted to provide guidelines to those posting content on our site. When using our website, please do not post material that:

  • contains vulgar, profane, abusive or hateful language, epithets or slurs, text or illustrations in poor taste, inflammatory attacks of a personal, racial or religious nature, or expressions of bigotry, racism, discrimination or hate.
  • is defamatory, threatening, disparaging, grossly inflammatory, false, misleading, deceptive, fraudulent, inaccurate, unfair, contains gross exaggeration or unsubstantiated claims, violates the privacy rights of any third party, is unreasonably harmful or offensive to any individual or community, contains any actionable statement, or tends to mislead or reflect unfairly on any other person, business or entity.
  • violates any right of the Daily Trojan or any third party.
  • discriminates on the grounds of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, sexual orientation or disability, or refers to such matters in any manner prohibited by law.
  • violates any municipal, state or federal law, rule, regulation or ordinance, or attempts to encourage such an evasion or violation.
  • unfairly interferes with any third party?s uninterrupted use of the Daily Trojan.
  • advertises, promotes or offers to trade any goods or services, except in areas specifically designated for such purpose.
  • uploads copyrighted or other proprietary material of any kind on our website without the express permission of the owner of that material.
  • uses or attempts to use another?s account, password, service or system except as expressly permitted by the Terms of Service.
  • includes images, photos, or articles or other content that constitutes, promotes or encourages illegal acts, violation of any right of any individual or entity, violation of any local, state, national or international law, rule, guideline or regulation, or otherwise creates liability.
  • uploads or transmits viruses or other harmful, disruptive or destructive files.
  • disrupts, interferes with, or otherwise harms or violates the security of our website, or any services, system resources, accounts, passwords, servers or networks connected to or accessible through our website or affiliated or linked sites.
  • "flames" any individual or entity (e.g., sends repeated messages related to another user and/or makes derogatory or offensive comments about another individual), or repeats prior posting of the same message under multiple threads or subjects.

(Adapted from the Los Angeles Times Forums Policies with permission.)

 

Advertisement

Advertisements

Advertisement

Sections


Site Features

On The Go

Information

Poll

Which attribute of housing around the University Park Campus is most important to you?

Submit Vote

View Results