Favorite Romantic Movies

As you've likely figured out, this week's theme is all about LOOOOVE. As for me, I love a good romantic movie. Dark, light, funny, serious--I don't care, just give me the romance, bay-bee! I want to release cathartic tears during the dark moment where all seems lost. I want to sigh with breathlessness at the ultimate declaration of love. I want to experience those highs and lows of falling in love--I think that's part of the reason I really enjoy writing romantic comedy.

There are quite a few tried-and-true movies I return to again and again whenever I want to watch a good romance:

The Thorn Birds. The forbidden love between Meggie and Father Ralph in this miniseries always, ALWAYS leaves me on the edge of my seat (and it doesn't hurt that I totally think Richard Chamberlain is HOT in it, LOL). The scene where Meggie's on the beach and running away from him, and then he runs after her and catches her, and they start to kiss--BAM! It gets me every time.

Little Women. I looooove Behr so much--he's so romantic and sweet and gentle and nervous toward Jo! *swoon* And they both bring out the best in each other in such a quiet, strong way. LOVE it.

Love, Actually. I adore Colin Firth, and when he proposes to his love in Portugese after studying hard to learn how to speak her language...I bawl like a baby!

Pride and Prejudice. Yup, another Colin Firth one. His portrayal of Darcy is magnetic--the way he tries to conquer his feelings for Elizabeth but just can't...it's so intense to watch.

The Princess Bride. Okay, we all know this one HAD to be on here, LOL. Carey Elwes, as a romantic pirate hero who rescues his true love? Classic.

Return to Me. The scene where David Duchovny is weeping in agony over the death of his wife tears me up EVERY TIME. I root for him to find true love again with Minnie Driver! They both SO deserve it.

Never Been Kissed. The baseball field scene at the end of the movie, where she's waiting for him to show up...and she thinks he isn't going to...and then he does, and he plants a whopper of a kiss on her! *siiiiiigh*

Sabrina. A great makeover story with heart. I love how the love slowly develops between the hero and heroine, until they just can't be without each other.

There are SOOO many other movies I could add to this list, but right now, I'm more interested in hearing your favorite romance movies. Share, share, share!!

MSNBC needs a course in logic

In a poll this week on whether their readers read romance novels, MSNBC has shown itself to either be blatantly biased against the best-selling fiction genre, or that its reporters desperately need a course in logic.

The question reads: "Do you read romance novels?" and the answers are as follows:

* Yes, yes, yes! Bodice-rippers are my ultimate escape.
* No way. I don't touch those books.
* Sometimes, while on vacation or at the beach.

OK, let's think about this. If you read romance novels while on vacation or at the beach, then by definition, you read them. Therefore, the answer should be "yes."

But splitting this into two categories just reinforces the idea that we should be ashamed of reading romance novels (as does posting an excerpt from Danielle Steel's latest...wow, that was painful), that it's something we should be reading hidden away at home.

I live in a town where people read the most pretentious cr@p while they're riding the Metro. Seriously. I'm not sure whether they truly enjoy this stuff, or whether they just read it to show how smart they are. And I admit it. I used to choose the books I'd read on the Metro by whether their covers would embarass me or not.

But I got over that. Screw 'em. I know I'm smart. I don't need to prove it by choosing the most boring esoteric reading material possible. I do enough dry reading in my day job...I'd rather escape and enjoy myself when I read for fun.

Anyway, what about you? Do you enjoy escapism in your reading material? There's nothing to be ashamed of. After all, 70% of the respondents (as of the time I'm posting this) agree that escapism is a good thing.