Over the holidays I watched more movies than I usually do, and I found myself bored by the generally dull and repetitious story lines.
Among the light-hearted romantic comedies, the formula is much the same: woman meets man who is either a nemesis or an unwanted suitor. The situation becomes complicated, forcing them to work together and get better acquainted. There is usually a further complication before the movie ends with a sweet kiss before a charming background and a fading scene of their tender embrace.
The Christmas Train (Hallmark) is one "romcom" that I enjoyed enough to watch more than once at the holidays. The plot holds surprises, and the performances by Dermot Mulroney, Kimberly Williams-Paisley, Danny Glover, and Joan Cusack are excellent.
The mystery movies offered more for the mind to consider. The Glass Onion (II) was exciting and entertaining. The unlikely scenario was carried off by good acting.
Some of the foreign films offered beautiful scenery and different narrative elements. I enjoyed 1000 Miles From Christmas and the campy 7 Women and a Murder. I also enjoyed In for a Murder, a Polish movie with an engaging plot and a lovable main character.
Overall, I have not been impressed with the quality of the movies. The plots are predictable. The dialogue is such that I get the impression that the actors sometimes are laughing inside or cringing.
Getting paid is probably the main concern of most screen writers. As the former American writer Ben Hecht once joked, "I'm a Hollywood writer, so I put on a sports jacket and take off my brain."
If only we had more like Hecht who wrote some of the most beloved American screenplays, including It's a Wonderful World (1939) and Angels Over Broadway (1940).
In Hecht's day of Nazis, War, and the KKK, people didn't want to watch movies showing extreme cruelty. Too many of that generation had seen or experienced it firsthand. Today, there is a demand for fast action, loud noises, masochism, horrific crimes, pornography, homosexuality, extraterrestrial threats, catastrophic end-of-world movies, and more. Every type of movie can be found in this global market. But not everything should be marketed to the public.
It is time for better screen writers. It is time for them to rise above the mediocre. Give us more complex plots involving inspiring people, more profound relationships, and more convincing dialogue.
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