Cupid's Fabled Arrows Strike Movie Audiences

The telltale signs of Valentine’s Day have emerged on campus, like the heart-shaped candy now available at Ferris Booth and JJ’s Place, which have many Columbians wondering how they will survive yet another year of Cupid mania. For those nostalgic for the good old days of handing out valentines in second grade, you can see some classic Valentine’s Day movies that celebrate the core of this holiday across New York City.

Several city theatres will celebrate Valentine’s Day on Friday and Saturday this weekend by screening classic romantic comedies from the 1920s and ’30s. The diverse selection is sure to please, regardless of your outlook on the Hallmark holiday itself.

For the hopeless romantic: The Museum of Modern Art will show 1939’s Love Affair, an unabashedly romantic film staring Irene Dunn and Charles Boyer, that is directed by Leo McCarey. This film can be summed up by its last line—“Anything can happen, don’t you think?” Two strangers meet on a cruise ship and fall in love, despite their respective commitments back on land. They then arrange to meet up six months later, at the top of the Empire State Building, to determine their fate. Dunn and Boyer are charming in their roles and the story line is a true treat.

For the optimistic realist: The Brooklyn Academy of Music will show another McCarey film, 1937’s The Awful Truth. Dunn once again stars, along with Carey Grant in this enjoyable tale of a suspicious couple that rushes to divorce, realizing their true feelings only after sabotaging each other’s attempts to find new love. Grant and Dunn’s passive-aggressive banter and entertaining antics breathe life into a predictable plot, making it a truly funny and enjoyable film.

For those who’d choose Jack Black over Jack Dawson from Titanic: Film Forum emphasizes the comic side of romantic comedy, screening a double feature of screwball films My Man Godfrey and Easy Living. In Godfrey, a flighty socialite played by Carole Lombard hires a derelict as a butler. She falls in love with him and complications ensue. Easy Living starts when a wealthy businessman tosses his wife’s expensive cape out of a window, setting into motion a chain of events that ultimately find him new love and happiness. Both films draw their laughs from absurd situations and witty dialogue, addressing romance and social issues with a comedic tone.

Finally, for those who would rather forget about romance altogether: the Walter Reade Theatre at Lincoln Center is showing Henry King’s Stella Dallas, a compassionate silent film from 1925 about class and sacrifice, illustrated through the story of a wacky, ostentatious mother (Belle Bennett) and her reserved daughter (Lois Moran). Although formulaic in parts, the film is poignant and sweet overall. Though the silent format is not universally appealing, the mother-daughter story is a refreshing change from Valentine’s Day sappiness.

All of these movies offer entertaining, low-calorie ways to celebrate this holiday, whether it be with your sweetheart or your suitemates. So snap out of your sugar coma, grab some friends, and check out one of these films—at least for the quality, if not for the love.