468. So tell me darling do you wish we'd fall in love?

[scornedsaint]

Even though I am a big old hypocrite about real-life love, I am a fictional relationship addict. So what better way to say goodbye to this decade, a decade of me learning that fandom obsessions are the best kind and a decade of some very good movies, television, and books.

So I present to you!

The Best Romances of The Aughts (In My Very Educated Opinion)

Movies

Runners-Up

(Satine and Christian, Moulin Rouge; Yvaine and Tristan, Stardust; Amelie and Nino, Amelie, Torrance and Cliff, Bring it On)

Best Movie Romance

James Bond and Vesper Lynd, Casino Royale

Bond: You know, I think I'll call that a "Vesper."
Vesper: Because of the bitter aftertaste?
Bond: No. Because once you've tasted it, it's all you want to drink. I thought it was a quite a good line.
Vesper: It was a very good line.
Bond: But you're laughing at it.
Vesper: Not so much it, as you.
Bond: Oh, well, that's fine, then.

First of all, these two GQ Motherfuckers get two quotes, because that's how awesome they are (and I also had some white space to fill). Second of all, I firmly believe that Casino Royale would not have been nearly as good without their relationship.

What makes Casino Royale so good is because it made Bond human, in a very scary, violent way. But because they got rid of all the “I’ll use my jetpack to escape!” absurdity and made him into a real, not entirely endearing person, the writers had to add something to make him sympathetic. Enter Vesper. They were such a perfect match: bitchy, witty, and extremely attractive. They played off each other so well and the two of them made me want to run around Europe wearing very good clothes. The Post-Le Chiffre Torture Recovery scenes went on way too long, but I can forgive the movie that. Vesper was a fabulous character, and she helped make Bond into a better one as well.

Books

Runners-Up

(Penelope and Harry, Eva Rice's Lost Art of Keeping Secrets; Blue Van Meer and Zach Soderberg, Marisha Pessl's Special Topics in Calamaity Physics; Remy and Dexter, Sarah Dessen's This Lullaby; Liesel and Rudy, Markus Zusak's The Book Thief)

Best Literary Romance

Georgia Nicolson and Dave the Laugh, Louise Rennison's Georgia Nicolson series (On the Bright Side, I am Now the Girlfriend of a Sex God through Are These my Basoomas I See Before Me?)

I looked at him.
He has the loveliest smile.
I said to him, “You said ‘Are these my basoomas I see before me,’ and everyone heard you.”
He said, “I know, I am the vati.”
I said, “Yeah, you are the double-timing vati.”
He said, “What do you mean?”
“You know, your secret girlfriend that you dumped Emma for.”
He looked at me. “You may be the thickest chick alive. You’re the secret girlfriend, you daft tart.”
And he kissed me.
I said, “So, do you want to be my girlfriend? I mean, do you want to…”“Go on then, Sex Kitty. I’ll be your girlfriend. It’ll probably all end in tears. Mine. But I am Dave the Biscuit. I will survive.”

So I know that NO ONE reads these, but you should. Because they are the funniest books ever. And this is the greatest relationship ever. That quote? It’s from the last book. Last pages, actually. But it’s not a spoiler. You know that they’re going to get together sometime around book 5, and you know it’s going not going to happen until the very end. But that doesn’t matter. They are awesome 24/7.

Louise Rennison is a really clever writer and I love how she set up the dynamic between these two. With Robbie and Masimo, Georgia was always wondering how to act around them (or, in Masimo’s case, translate things into English). But there was never any of that with Dave. He just gets Georgia. He gets that sometimes German is funnier than English; he understands that sometimes you need to dance, preferably while wearing reindeer horns; he likes playing with Georgia’s little sister Libby (something most small children don’t); and most importantly he understands how important Angus is to her. And isn’t that something we all should strive for? Someone who understands us almost completely and is okay with who we are? And also is prone to saying things like “I’m away laughing on a fast camel”?

Television

Runners-Up

(Bright and Hannah, Everwood; Booth and Brennan, Bones; Wesley and Fred, Angel; Daniel and Charlotte, Lost)

(Bright and Hannah also get this youtube clip, because it makes me believe in love. True facts

Best Television Romance

The Doctor and Rose Tyler, Doctor Who

The Doctor: I promised Jackie I'd always take you back home
Rose: Everyone leaves home in the end.
The Doctor: Not to end up stuck here.
Rose: Yeah, but stuck with you - that's not so bad.
The Doctor: Yeah?
Rose: Yes.

OH, LIKE IT WOULD BE ANYONE ELSE.

There is not a whole lot I can say here that I and many others have not said before. I love these two. And I don’t care which Doctor it is, either. Nine, Ten, Other Ten, it doesn’t matter. Because none of that impacts the core of their relationship: these are two people who are always happy to be around each other. That’s all. Throughout season 1, 2, and 4, it’s so clear that they just love to be together. It never had to be sweeping and romantic, because they were both so aware of how much they cared about each other. That’s also why they never had to verbalize their feelings (I don’t think it’s a coincidence that when Rose said “I love you,” it was one of the saddest scenes on the show).  Theirs is a lovely little relationship, pure and simple.

note: megalion and the LOVELY Georgia/Dave the Laugh art is by midnight_ljc.

Comments

My name is Frances and I approve this post

[goldy-dollar.livejournal.com]

CLAIRE, THIS IS AWESOME.

I mostly zeroed in on the TV romance because, well, what can I say. I like your runner-up picks. Aww, Booth and Brennan.

And I don’t care which Doctor it is, either. Nine, Ten, Other Ten, it doesn’t matter. Because none of that impacts the core of their relationship: these are two people who are always happy to be around each other. That’s all. Throughout season 1, 2, and 4, it’s so clear that they just love to be together. It never had to be sweeping and romantic, because they were both so aware of how much they cared about each other.

YES. And so different from the will they/won't they dynamic you usually get. I liked that it was just sort of there between them - just about how much they loved being together and nothing else really mattered quite as much.

Um, here have this gif:



PUPPY CUTE.

Re: My name is Frances and I approve this post

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

I'm glad you approve!

And yeah, it was hard coming up with non-TV romances (although TV was sort of hard too. I wanted to put Logan/Veronica on there, but I'm still sort of bitter with how the show turned out. And I thought about putting Pete and Peggy from Mad Men, but it takes me about a year to explain why I like them.) But I got to peruse my bookshelf and movie area, which is always fun!

I LOVE THE GIF

[la-petite-singe.livejournal.com]

Oh, Bond and Vesper. So sexy and wonderful. Excellent choices!

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And god, Vesper and Bond. You are so right about sexy and wonderful. I still kind of hope the series will go full-on sci-fi and bring her back from the dead, even if that would be insane.

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

I approve of your movie choices! Amélie and Moulin Rouge! are two of my absolute favourite movies ever. So, well done :)

And of course Doctor/Rose. No debate there, really.

I have not read any of those books. Pretend I said something positive about those as well. XD

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

Amélie and Moulin Rouge! are two of my absolute favourite movies ever. So, well done :)

Why thank you. We have excellent taste!

You should SO read all of those books. Lost Art of Keeping Secrets is a 1950's England coming-of-age tale, Special Topics in Calamity Physics is also a coming-of-age story but with death and conspiracies and parenthetical citations. This Lullaby is really, really great young adult lit. And The Book Thief is, without a doubt, one of the best books I've read; it's a story about 1940s Germany narrated by Death, which sounds odd and cliched, but it's amazing.

(I feel very strongly about these books, can you tell?)

[muneca-brava.livejournal.com]

Those do sound great! I'll put them on my to-read list. Which, predictably, only grows larger ;) At this rate, I might get to them in a couple of years XD

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

Haha, don't worry, I have a similarly long list.

[sheswatching.livejournal.com]

OMG THIS MAKES ME WANT TO REWATCH STARDUST RIGHT NOW!

[scornedsaint.livejournal.com]

YOU SO SHOULD. THAT MOVIE IS 100% AWESOME.

[sostrangechild.livejournal.com]

My mother always said she thought Rose was a tart. :/ I SAY OTHERWISE *smashes fist onto table* She was AWESOME! I ADORED Rose, and thought she was extremely pretty! Her and the Doctor had such a great dynamic!

Anyway, I can't say that I've read/watched all of the books/tv series/films you've nominated, but from what I know, they are brilliant choices! (Amelié! Casino Royale! Doctor Who! YES!)

Ah, I'll be going back to my corner now. (Got here from Fandom Secrets :D )