Better than what I expected

Rating: 8/10 (4 October 2009)

The problem with romantic movies is that they are plagued by recipes and formulas, relentlessly walking the same path until nothing remains but a dusty, barren, tasteless thing. And then they reinvent themselves, making fun of their former selves, like high school children entering a new phase and then dismissing anyone not sharing their view. But somehow, romcoms always get back to the same idea, like the tail eating snake.
This one started as these 2.0 types, with the manly type showing a control freak beauty the ways of true love. And then it went the usual way. The thing is that Katherine Heigl and Gerard Butler really had chemistry (even if I dislike the chick personally) and then the whole thing kind of made some sense. And I enjoyed it.
And then the clichés started butting in where they had no business doing so. Somehow, there must be a guy with a cliché checklist for romantic comedies and he insisted that at least half of them should be checked by any movie. Something like a romcom MPAA, maybe?
Bottom line: I rated the movie high because it really was better than the crap in the genre. But it could have been so much better without some of the obvious, shoddy scenes in it. Less is better sometimes! So, the final feeling was of disappointment, as the whole thing held so much promise and yet, it ended up just another romcom.