Romantic comedies are great. I love them more than you, probably, though maybe not as much as Mindy Kaling. A lot of them are even more realistic than they’re given credit for. But, alas, sometimes they spew lies, just like everyone else in your life. Here’s five of the worst offenders.
1. Say Anything
Look, we’ve all dreamed about John Cusack in a long trench coat standing outside our window with a boombox. But it only works in surreal dreamland. My parents would probably assume I had a stalker, and neighbors would complain about the noise level. And nowadays, an intense guy in a trench coat would probably seem kind of creepy, and boomboxes are a bit harder to find. Also, imagine that dream of yours with something like “Call Me Maybe” instead of Peter Gabriel. Not as swoon-worthy, right?
2. Love, Actually
The idea that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (who just told off the US, basically) would be allowed to walk around a local school on the night of a holiday pageant really makes no sense at all. His bodyguards would never have let him sneak off to snog his former coworker (accidentally on the school’s stage, no less).
3. Never Been Kissed
Look, Drew and her teacher were super cute, and I’m glad everything worked out for them, but let’s be honest with each other. Mr. Coulson would definitely have been run out of the school district. His picture would have been in the paper, and not one of he and Drew Barrymore getting there mack on on the baseball diamond. He wouldn’t have been allowed to teach ever again, and he’d resent the journalist who outed him for her own romantic fantasies forever.
4. 10 Things I Hate About You
Believe it or not, this movie is not on here because of Heath Ledger’s perfect-in-every-way rendition of a Frankie Valli song (which if you try to tell me is not realistic, you will ruin my life, so please don’t.) A girl flashing her teacher and high school soccer coach, however, is, sadly, not something that would be possible, at least in today’s high schools. If Kat did that in real life, she’d end up in the principal’s office afterward, rather than on a super cool paint-covered date with her detention-hopping bad boy.
5. The Wedding Singer
Unfortunately, travelling by plane is a bit different now than it was in the eighties, and a passenger so much as getting up out of his seat, let alone a rockstar helping someone to take over the intercom for a song, would definitely cause a major problem.