Sometimes, romance films are the worst culprits of all when it comes to problematic movies that have ceased to age well. A handful of these movies we still love and will continue to watch religiously, but that doesn’t mean we can’t critique them and point out the glaring flaws in these films that would fail to be acceptable today.
Some of these movies may be iconic but it doesn’t stop them being problematic. So what are some classic romance movies that have aged poorly? Read on to find out.
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY’S
The beloved classic Breakfast At Tiffany’s will always be an iconic movie, thanks to the brilliance of Audrey Hepburn in her role as Holly Golightly. The 60s movie would be absolutely nothing without her charms and effortless style. Yet just because this movie has a lot of great aspects to it doesn’t mean we shouldn’t acknowledge all of the unacceptable issues in the film. (There are a lot).
The most obvious problem in the movie is the blatant racism throughout Breakfast at Tiffany’s as depicted through Holly’s neighbor, Mr. Yunioshi. His character exists as a Japanese stereotype, and the worst part of all is that he is played by the white actor Mickey Rooney. Another uncomfortable element to the film is the way Paul becomes so possessive of Holly. He even goes so far as to claim that he “owns her”. Oh, how times have changed since the 1960s (and most certainly for the better).
THE UGLY TRUTH
Unfortunately, some of the most sexist films of all are not that old. The Ugly Truth is the perfect example of that. Pretty much every moment of this film is problematic from start to finish. It relies on extremely cliché and overdone stereotypes about men and women and it treats women like objects who need to be tamed. Katherine Heigl plays a successful producer and Gerard Butler is the overtly sexist “love expert” who sees all sorts of problems with Heigl’s character because she isn’t a replica of a Stepford Wife.
Even the supposedly “tender” moments manage to be outrageously belittling. It’s just a mess of a film and the 14% rating it received on Rotten Tomatoes somehow feels generous. Although it isn’t necessarily a “classic” romance film, it is wildly popular and it did exceptionally well at the box office. And that’s the ugly truth.
GARDEN STATE
Garden State was praised back in the early 2000s for being an indie classic rom-com, promising to be unlike your typical Hollywood flick- except it’s pretty much just like every other disappointing Hollywood romance film that does an exceptionally good job at degrading its female characters.
Natalie Portman succumbs to the role of the manic pixie dream girl, who only exists to make the leading character, Zach Braff, more happy and fulfilled. Because who cares about her journey and desires through all of this? She’s just there to serve as a two-dimensional character in Braff’s three-dimensional narrative. Plus, this movie is filled with wildly cringy moments that never fail to infantilize Ms. Portman despite her being a grown, intelligent woman.
SIXTEEN CANDLES
Another older classic, Sixteen Candles is perhaps the worst and most problematic of all on this list, which is saying a lot because some of these films are just downright offensive. Yet Sixteen Candles takes the cake (pun intended) for having so many moments that are incredibly uncomfortable to watch, yet they are supposed to be seen as humorous.
One of these uncomfortable elements is the consistent racism as seen through the character Long Duck Don. His entire character is one huge stereotype, and nothing about it is humorous. Secondly, there is a date rape scene in this film where the character Caroline is unconscious and her boyfriend Jake gives the nerdy kid permission to do whatever he wants with her. And this is supposed to be knee-slapping funny? Man, has this film aged terribly.
SHE’S ALL THAT
She’s All That will at first glance seem like a harmless rom-com that is simply overflowing with one cliche after the other. The flick got brutally burned in the hilarious parody film Not Another Teen Movie. What makes the movie cringe-worthy is not just the consistent overuse of rom-com tropes, but the message behind the film.
It suggests to women that if you want to have a life, you must change yourself and get a makeover first. It also implies that young ladies are not capable of love unless they first have a makeover montage scene, even if they end up wearing clothes and sporting styles that they are uncomfortable with.
13 GOING ON 30
13 Going On 30 is a great film, no doubt, and it’s one we will continue to watch over and over again. Yet there are some glaring elements to this film that deserve to be discussed, particularly when it comes to the whole “women bashing women” arc that practically dominates the narrative.
The new film Isn’t It Romantic starring Rebel Wilson smartly questions this romantic comedy trope, asking why these films so often have to pit women against each other. It’s kind of unnecessary if you ask us because it promotes an ugly depiction of female friendships as being competitive and petty.
SHALLOW HAL
Shallow Hal starring Jack Black and Gwenyth Paltrow claims to be a film about body acceptance. In some small ways, it is, yet this isn’t to say there aren’t a number of problematic moments the movie faces along the way.
While Shallow Hal wants to send a message that “looks don’t matter”, all it does is make overweight and conventionally unattractive individuals the butt of every joke. This does seem quite hypocritical to us, and the final message feels a bit condescending as well.
GREASE
The iconic but flawed Grease has so many moments in the movie that would never fly in 2019. We couldn’t even list all of the problematic moments in this film because it would take a whole novel to list all of the “hilarious” scenes that just make us cringe today.
For starters, in the song “Summer Nights”, the character Kenickie asks through song “did she put up a fight?”. He is implying that consent is not a thing to be considered at all. There is another moment in the movie during the Drive-In scene when Danny pressures Sandy into sex, followed by him trying to grope her after she clearly expressed her discomfort. Plus, Danny and Sandy both have to change themselves in order to be together. Nice going, movie.
THE NOTEBOOK
The Notebook will go down in history as a romantic classic, there is no doubt about it. Yet there is one scene from the film that really hasn’t aged well. At the beginning of the movie, Ryan Gosling’s character asks out Rachel Mcadams’ character by threatening to kill himself if she refuses.
Note to readers: threatening suicide in order to win a love interest is in no way, shape, or form an act of romance and is considered abusive behavior. There are loads of better and less problematic ways to ask someone out. For example: asking someone politely if they would like to go on a date…
THE PROPOSAL
The Proposal is a movie that suggests women in power are not to be trusted or respected. Starring Sandra Bullock as the tough boss, she must succumb to constant humiliation throughout the film in order to “bring her down” as a woman in power.
It seems like the whole time in the movie she has to pay for being a strong businesswoman. Ryan Reynolds, who plays her love interest, continuously disrespects her and her boundaries, but it’s supposed to be okay because they are fake married. Newsflash: it’s not okay.
