Vampiric Romance to Southern Hardships

Yep, I'll be talking about Twilight. Deal with it.

To be honest, I have never found these movies worthy of the ardent fury lavished upon them. Yes, the fans of the series are naive schoolgirls with little idea of true romance. However, I think the anti-fans are much more numerous. Therefore, they are also more annoying.

I have never watched one of the Twilight movies (I have seen three, thank you) and thought, "wow, that was the worst film I have ever seen." I found them all painful and mediocre, but hardly deserving of hatred. Maybe this is merely a result of my wide cinema experience. I have simply seen worse.

Oh, the painful memories of "Babe 2: Pig in the City"...

Anyway, this latest iteration sees the oft-troubled Bella and Edward dealing with the consequences of their marriage and honeymoon. Bella gives birth to a half-vampire child (a process that nearly kills Mrs. Cullen), Edward must deal with his family problems, and third-part-of-the-love-triangle Jacob Black brings unforeseen and shocking developments. In other words, cue angsty melodrama.

This week, I am stretching all the way back to 1939.

As a male, romance movies are not my forte. However, I know a good one when I see it. The worst thing about Twilight is the poor production value, not the story or the characters. In better hands, I don't think these films would have been so polarizing. So let's take romance and melodrama, but put them with better productions.

This week, I will speak about "Gone With the Wind."

"Gone With the Wind"... I feel like a synopsis would not be fair to this massive romance. Viewers follow Scarlet O'Hara into adulthood, starting right at the beginning of the Civil War. She lives in Atlanta, Georgia, so all her beaus are going off to war with the North. Throughout the war, she uses men and circumstances to her constant favor. However, Rhett Butler, a slimy gentlemen, decides to control Scarlet through his own nefarious means. The pair end up together as the war ends, but their private battles continue long after the slaves are freed.

First, I will address the cinephiles that decry my comparison. If you don't believe these movies can be fairly compared to each other, look at the pictures I provide. Tell me they are not strikingly similar.

Okay, now that I have that out of the way, I will compare the films themselves. "Gone With the Wind" has an epic story with large characters, real people who have flaws (major flaws, in the case of the two main characters) and epic triumphs over adversity. Twilight has a complicated and interesting setup, but that story is carried by bland characters played by bland actors. It doesn't work great, but the casting is the job of production. And therein lies the biggest rub.

Twilight is atrocious in production value. Shaky cameras and close-ups should be accentuators, not main features. The color palette is uninteresting, and the special effects look like cheap computer graphics. "Gone With the Wind," on the other hand...well, just watch it. Everything is perfect. Period. I would describe my adoration in specifics, but there is too much in this 3-hour film. Let's just say it never feels like a 3-hour film, a testament to great and energetic editing of great actors.

The Final Stretch:
Romance is not dead. Anyone can find a good romance film, no matter the gender. Too often, I think people associate romantic movies with schmaltz and contrivance. This could not be further from the truth. Classic films are great sources for complicated drama and heart-melting moments. I could have easily written this post about many 50-year-old movies. However, modern romance has devolved into teenage angst, making the result seem hollow and dull. Romance can be bigger than life, and movie-goers should be able to distinguish masterpieces from mediocre melodramas.