Pitching for Cupid

I was on the beach this morning,  just in time to catch the opening act of a new enactment of the war of the genders.  Two very young boys were working on on what could have passed for a sleeping octopus.  The taller boy was barking out work orders in a menacing tone.

Still wet and half-wrapped in a towel, I surrendered my front row seat to see what was going on. “We gotta beat them,” Cooper told me and pointed to two small  girls about 20 feet away.  Then he shook a tiny crab under my nose.  “Afraid of crabs?”  he taunted.  I held my ground politely and dropped by to see how their competition was coming along. The  girls were hard at work on a walled settlement, a little too close to the tide. “We’re going to beat them,” they boasted.  One wall kept sinking while they patted wet sand on the other sides. I smiled at their fort and let their foes know that they were in for a battle.

The war between the sexes will never be won.  We used to throw M&M’s at each other while Beatles 45’s revolved in the background, parents hidden away.  That’s how we got our feet wet.  One day they’ll all lay down their crabs and open the fortress, while a dreamy sunset rolls in.

Meanwhile, they say that romantic comedies just aren’t quite filling seats like they used to — heartless bean counters are chasing them  away  — exactly when we need to be ignited by more happy endings. Nancy Meyers, the maven of romantic mix-ups, walked out on “Royal Wedding,” and producers are steering clear of boy meets girl sagas.  Cupid, won’t you please step in?

Look around–such a disaster that our access to inside knowledge is now outracing stolen glances!  And chance encounters have all but slipped out the door.  How can romantic comedies, where the moonlight’s spell comes alive and it all  finally works out for the stars, be shelved while labored sequels bust the block?   Cupid — Cupid, please, come home!

www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2013/09/grindr-can-save-romantic-comedy/69916/

www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/rip-romantic-comedies-why-harry-634776

Romantic comedies that I still adore:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=7DcWLNVwu8E