Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994): Watching Richard Curtis movies (even when they’re directed by Mike Newell) sure gives you a skewed impression of how romance works. Which is not to say that they don’t work or spark joy, but by today’s standards, nobody’s fleshed out enough and their motivations become highly dubious when questioned. Again, though, does that really matter? We have moved past the age of truly escapist cinema, so I would almost tend to agree with Wim Wenders in his appreciation of films not being inherently political. But most of modern cinema is in some way, which is why old geezers in their 40s nostalgically think back to when Hugh Grant was leaving women at the altar like it’s a thing. And you know what I realized? That’s the most daft cliché ever for a lot of the world, leaving someone at the altar, because many people will already be legally married by the time the church wedding comes along. Yeah, just now. Anyway, I digress, Four Weddings is lovely, easy, breezy, a spawn of its time and what a good time it was, the pristine, uncomplicated mid 90s. 8
Kissing Jessica Stein (2001): It used to be a funny thing, to think that a woman might search for a perfect man and instead find a perfect woman. The positive is that KJS doesn’t treat it exclusively as such. Jennifer Westfeldt and Heather Juergensen lead this movie, littered with familiar faces (even Jon Hamm makes an appearance, married at the time to Westfeldt). Jessica Stein is somewhat annoying and rigid, which is why finding a good man is tough for her. But once she meets Helen, and Helen proves insistent, a slow-paced romance unfolds. The lingering question – is Jessica really gay or is it just a phase? The movie is gentle and nuanced, which is why it has received much praise, particularly given when it was released. It finds positivity even in a pragmatic conclusion, which isn’t something that comes easy. So as far as obscure Y2K movies are concerned, this one could be less so. 7
Mike & Nick & Nick & Alice (2026): A surprising little time-traveler, that doesn’t abuse the mechanism, MNNA stars James Marsden, Vince Vaughn, Vince Vaughn and Eiza Gonzalez. Our premise is that future Nick happens upon a time machine and wants to right some of his wrongs. I reckon this is an honest time gobbler, as it keeps a single-timeline format and doesn’t overcomplicate things. It has some funny moments, but more than that, it features nuggets of real reflection upon our condition as humans. Finding present and future self working together is surprisingly unusual for time travel movies (oh, noes, the ripples, the continuum, the whatever), which is why seeing it featured highlights some of the questions the situation poses. Like, on a human level. I wish this was explored more, which is not to say that the movie doesn’t do enough to stand out. It actually, surprisingly does. 7
Cruella (2021): For no apparent reason, I did not care to watch this for half a decade. On the one hand, I was right to do so, because the movie plays like an Ocean’s Eleven style caper with a different lick of paint. On the other, heck, this thing looks gorgeous, the costumes are amazing, there are some impressive and fun set-pieces and then there’s a great set of songs to set the mood. The two Emmas leading Cruella, Stone and Thompson, make a swell pairing, so I can well understand why some people might have really enjoyed this. I am more on the fence – the caper stuff is tedious, the movie overindulges on time and it doesn’t seem to know what it wants with the moral soul of its character(s). Still, there were surprising highlights to it, so I’m rather surprised they haven’t stuck the landing on the sequel yet. Maybe Devil Wears Prada 2 is actually it! 6
Legally Blonde (2001): Only the ancient Gods know why I watched the sequel and not the original oh-so-many-years-ago. And judging by my then rating (3), I hated it. The first one, though, is a very acceptable light movie, that does show its age in parts, but also coasts on its performances. What it does best is avoid direct types – the blonde isn’t just a blonde, the mean rival who stole her boyfriend is also an actual person and not all men are terrible, only most of them. There are also some memorable one-liners which have been promoted into memehood and it’s already a funny and distinct feeling to recognize movie moments by their modern day cultural artifacts. Alright, alright, go Bruiser, go! 6
tributary stu 
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