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| Director/writer/producer Nancy Meyers on the set of Columbia Pictures’ The Holiday – 2006 |
It would be too easy to label Nancy Meyers as a writer of chick flicks. True, her movies are often light comedies and, yes, they typically feature and are geared toward women. But if Meyers belongs to the chick flick camp at all, she should be recognized as a writer who breathed life into the genre with complex female characters and often sparkling wit. Meyers first gained attention with the Goldie Hawn comedy Private Benjamin, co-written with Harvey Miller and her then-husband Charles Shyer. The trio picked up an Oscar nomination as well as a WGA Award for the screenplay, and Meyers continued to collaborate with her husband on the scripts for such hit comedies as Shyer’s I Love Trouble and Father of the Bride (I and II). After a brief lag, Meyer reenergized her career by taking on the role of director as well, starting with the 1998 remake of The Parent Trap, but earning commercial and critical acclaim with 2003’s Something’s Gotta Give, which earned Diane Keaton her fourth Best Actress Oscar nomination and her second Golden Globe statue. Now, Meyers returns with The Holiday, which stars Jack Black, Cameron Diaz, Jude Law and Kate Winslet as a quartet of lonely singletons who meet cute during a cross-continental house swap.With an as-yet untitled project in the works for 2007, it seems that Meyer’s 20-plus year career shows no signs of slowing down—and why should it? Meyers has a knack for writing crowd-pleasing films that are fun without being vapid—and that’s a talent that’s all too rare nowadays.
Sound Off: What, in your opinion, is the last great romantic comedy? Is it possible to make a quality film in this genre without taking the quirky route (Ã la You and Me and Everyone We Know or Punch Drunk Love)? Let us know your stance in the comments section of the blog!
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