Top 10 Romantic Films Starring Real Life Couples
Sundance Channel blogger Kultur Kritik delivers the Top Ten Romantic Films Starring Real Life Romantic Couples.
On August 27th on and offscreen couple, Justin Long and Drew Barrymore, will co-star in the new romantic comedy, GOING THE DISTANCE. What follows is list of the top ten romance films starring real life romantic couples.
10. Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn: SWINGSHIFT
Kurt and Goldie are one of Hollywood's most enduring offscreen couples. They swung into high gear as a real life duo while co-starring in this film, directed by Johnathan Demme, in 1983 and have been together ever since. While Kurt and Goldie's film collaborations (SWINGSHIFT, OVERBOARD and THE ONE AND ONLY, GENUINE, ORIGINAL FAMILY BAND) may be a bit forgettable, their offscreen relationship, is anything but.
9. Jennifer Aniston and Vince Vaughn: THE BREAK UP
This ironically titled film seemed to allude to both where Jenn was coming from (Brad Pitt) and where she was headed with Vince Vaughn (both on and off-screen). A softer WAR OF THE ROSES, THE BREAKUP was most remarkable for documenting a time when we were all obsessed with Brad and Jenn's real world split (and secretly pulling for Jenn to rise from the ashes). While Vince might not have wound up her one true love, THE BREAKUP definitely showed us that Jenn was finally bouncing back.
8. Adam Sandler and Rob Schneider: 50 FIRST DATES
This real live Bro-mance has continued to mystify audiences for decades?!? Just why have these two continued to appear onscreen together so many times? Whether it was THE LONGEST YARD, THE WATERBOY, MR DEEDS, DONT MESS WITH THE ZOHAN, CLICK, LITTLE NICKY, THE HOT CHICK, EIGHT CRAZY NIGHTS, THE ANIMAL, and this summer's epic bro-mantic comedy GROWN UPS Schneider has shown that wherefore goes Sandler, goes tag-along Schneider. If nothing else, at least they crack each other up.
7. Woody Allen and Diane Keaton: ANNIE HALL
This real life romance led to several classic collaborations throughout the seventies including: MANHATTAN, SLEEPER, LOVE AND DEATH, PLAY IT AGAIN SAM and of course the classic, ANNIE HALL (for which Keaton won the best actress Oscar). Though their awkward, angsty, chemistry ultimately didn't endure offscreen, we'll always have ANNIE HALL to remind us just how fun it was while it lasted.
6. Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall: TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT
"You know how to whistle, don't you Steve? Just put your lips together and blow." Bacall uttered these now classic words from TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT and won our hearts as well as co-star Humphrey Bogart's. Soon after, they married in real life and remained together for 13 years, (despite their huge age difference). They went on to make several more films together. TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT however is where Bogie and Bacall's legendary romance began. Thanks Hemingway.
5. Warren Beatty and Madonna: TRUTH OR DARE
The bizarre on and offscreen pairing of these two notorious Hollywood sex symbols, is chronicled in this 1991 documentary of Madonna's BLONDE AMBITION Tour. Throughout, Beatty looks perplexed, old, disgusted and grossly out of place. His surliness is captured on camera and much to his chagrin, so are the swift dismissals of these misgivings by the material girl. TRUTH OR DARE was not their only collaboration, (lest we forget Dick Tracy) but it was certainly their most interesting one. At the time of its release it was the number one grossing documentary of all time and even today it stands at a respectable number 8.
4. Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman: EYES WIDE SHUT
EYES WIDE SHUT marks the final onscreen pairing of what was easily the most watched couple of the 90's, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman. In what would also be Stanley Kubrick's last film, EYES WIDE SHUT looked at a disturbing, seedy and empty world of sexual experimentation and partner swapping. While they also co-starred in DAY Of THUNDER and FAR AND AWAY this was by far their most daring work together and is often underrated by critics.
3. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie: MR. AND MRS. SMITH
The tabloids still haven't recovered from the outcome of this 2005 casting call. This mediocre spy thriller directed by Doug Liman may not be a classic, but the onscreen sparks are palpable and watching the birth of "Brangelina" renders Mr. and Mrs. Smith an instant classic. Let the eyecandy begin.
2. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton: WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOLF?
Taylor and Burton both deliver excruciatingly raw and personal performances as George and Martha, in this dramatic masterpiece written by Edward Albee and directed by Mike Nichols. Offscreen, Burton and Taylor were "the volatile celebrity couple" of their day. Their real life relationship was seasoned with tabloid intrigue, booze, passion and a marital history which included: marriage, divorce, re-marriage and re-divorce. One can't help wonder how much art and life were intersecting and contributing to the legendary performances of this gut wrenching epic. It was also the first (and to date, the only) film to be nominated in every eligible category at the Oscars. It also earned Taylor the win for best actress. Classic Film Quote: George: You can sit around with the gin running out of your mouth; you can humiliate me; you can tear me to pieces all night, that's perfectly okay, that's all right. Martha: You can stand it! George: I cannot stand it! Martha: You can stand it, you married me for it!
1. Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward: MR. AND MRS. BRIDGE
Woodward and Newman represent the definitive Hollywood romance. They're perhaps, The Beatles to Taylor and Burton's, Rolling Stones. Both managed to have successful film careers and remain happily married throughout (for 30 years!) MR AND MRS BRIDGE earned Woodward a best actress Oscar in 1990. Newman won his best actor Oscar in '86 for THE COLOR OF MONEY. While both may have been younger and sexier in 1958, co-starring in the sizzling, LONG HOT SUMMER, MR AND MRS BRIDGE explored a more mature relationship, one like their own, which spanned the decades. It is acted with a sense of trust and honesty that no other casting choice could possibly have yielded. Quotes: Joanne Woodward on Paul Newman: "Sexiness wears thin after a while and beauty fades, but to be married to a man who makes you laugh every day, ah, now that's a real treat." Source: Simran Khurana,
