I never have spare time. However, this past weekend I found myself with a two hour block. Rather than reading or writing, I hit the remote control and purchased Dan in Real Life starring Steve Carrell.
One of my high school newspaper students had done a review on the movie and he loved it, saying it was so good even a guy could stand it.
I had to agree that I liked it. What made the movie for me was the contrast: Dane Cook played the hot, sexy hero and Steve Carrell was the boring, dull every day guy. He had three daughters, a lackluster life, and when the woman of his dreams came along, she was engaged to his brother.
Let's face it, Steve Carrell is not a hot guy. He's average looking. He's the boy next door in niceness (especially in this movie). He's not the guy you often find in romance novels, but in this movie (have you ever noticed how big Steve Carrell's nose is from the side?), all the elements worked.
The thing that struck me is that the characters wouldn't necessarily work in most romance novels. (Note the most.) In many, the characters are extremely attractive. They aren't average; even the boy next door. So I guess my question is this--do we want a little more fantasy in our novels? Or are we ready for Steve Carrell type-characters instead of sexy Richard Gere in Pretty Woman?
Michele
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6 comments:
This is fiction, so I prefer the Richard Gere type heroes.
I agree with Estella... it's MY fantasy, so I'll take my hunk over the boy next door every time!
Honestly, I think anyone can be attractive. :)
There's nothing wrong with a boy next door hero. In fact I like them. They deserve romance too.
Well, considering my NASCAR cover, I think I like this guy much better than the one on The Marriage Recipe. Although, anyone who knows me knows that I like my guys to be about 5'8" at the most. Yet they are all at least six feet or so in the novels I write.
And trust me, Colin in The Marriage Recipe is much sexier in the book than they made him on the cover!
Michele
I think in our fantasies, we want the sexy hunk. I love the boy next door, but I don't know that I'd be captured by a book where the only mildly attractive guy and the goofy girl fall in love. One of my favorite books featured an overweight girl who wound up falling in love with a hunky doctor. That was great because it was nice to read about someone like me getting a gorgeous, successful man. I don't know that I would have liked it as much if the doctor was only average looking. Sad to say...
As for Steve Carrell, I will have to find the picture of my brother to post on my blog. In some family pictures, he looks identical to Steve Carrell on the cover of 40 Year Old Virgin. This would be the same brother who my friends call "the hot one"!
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