Anyone care to give me a reasonable explanation as to why this is the most profitable romantic comedy of all time not to mention one of the most profitable films in all history?
I don't understand it and I have no interest in seeing the film. It's not even particularly well reviewed, especially now 12 years later. And has no real actors of note.
Just weird.
I'm curios why you think someone would bother to explain it to you if you aren't going to watch it.
Of course you don't understand it.
I'm not interested in wasting my time on something that's generally considered to be pretty average or even below. I am however curious why a film, as I mentioned in OP, with little broad appeal, would be so resoundingly profitable.
Maybe someone will have an answer that's a bit less passive aggressive.
it's a bit of fluff dressed up with some cultural issues. that appeals to a lot of people by being able to relate to it and laugh at the same time. why not watch it and see?
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let's not go to camelot, it is a silly place
Some of the things that made the movie so profotable, IMO...
1) It's production cost was very low at only about 5 million. So if it did even reasonably well at the movies, it would be decentally profitable. It did much much better than anyone ever expected though, but it's low production costs was one of the main reasons it was so profitable.
2) It was the perfect date movie especially for people on first/second dates. It didn't have too much sex/nudity (only one scene where they are laying in bed and he proposes), and the movie didn't rely on tasteless humor which too many comedies use these days. This was a cute humorous movie perfect for watching with someone you were just getting to know. I can remember many friends going on dates to see this movie. I think it was a very popular date movie.
3) The characters are very likeable. Another thing missing in many recent comedies. I think occasionally people just like to watch movies about good things happening to good people.
There are definiely other reasons this movie did well in theaters but I think these are three big reasons.
This movie was a sleeper hit. It relied very much on word-of-mouth. It wasn't a movie that made millions in the first few weeks. It took months of people recommending the movie to friends, etc. It very much reminded me of Dirty Dancing which garnered success much the same way. Both were slow-growing hits that relied very much on word-of-mouth as their main source of advertisement.
Do yourself a favor & watch. I hope you enjoy the fantastic character actors and performances by Lainie Kazan, Tony (2)award & Emmy winner Andrea Martin, John Corbett & Emmy winner Michael Constantine. Good chemistry & timing by an excellent cast.
shareIt's safe, bland, has romance, food, and covers basic topics like in-laws, love, marriage, family feuds, etc.
1) Sheer financial reasons: it was cheap to make, and not a lot of money was spent on marketing, so it made more profit than any movie that sold just as many tickets.
2) It's a light hearted romantic comedy without anything that might be considered seriously offensive. You can take your family to see it sort of thing, or go for a date without worrying about having to blush and sink into your seat during some embarrassing scene.
3) Surveys have shown that most movie choices are made by women. In this case, the movie was about a woman who is average looking, has issues, has dreams, and is a whole person who has a story arc that's even separate from the romance of the plot. This is really not that common a thing to see.
4) A lot of people have immigrant parents or at least can relate to having parents that are stricter/have expectations of you that you don't have for yourself. A story about having those differences but still loving your family and dealing with it connects to a lot of people.
5) The actors throughout are just charming and the characters likable, even when they're acting as obstacles.
6) John Corbett is quite the heart throb, the sort of man women really do tend to get crushes on, rather than the kind of man Hollywood thinks we really get crushes on.