Do you ever think, gee, I just can't get enough of the hackneyed tropes and predictable plot twists I remember from cheesy romcoms? Probably not, but fingers crossed “Marry Me” isn't the vehicle to deliver them in any case. This trailer hits just about every annoying romantic comedy cliche you can imagine short of a Kate Hudson cameo, but you can't fault the talent involved — Casey Wilson of “Happy Endings” plays Annie and Ken Marino of “Eastbound & Down” is Jake, the couple who just can't get this engagement thing right. Still, there was much to learn from this first trailer. What a wacky sitcom couple!
1) Always start a mud-slinging argument with your back turned.
Sure, maybe it makes sense not to make eye contact with your boyfriend when you're confronting him about his failure as a living embodiment of Prince Charming… at first. Unless we discover Annie is legally blind, has a mental illness that prevents her from making eye contact or just a really bad crick in her neck, this scene starts to become intensely stupid faster than you can say, well, turn the hell around.
2) If you want to surprise your boyfriend at work, make sure you announce something he doesn't want his boss to know.
Sure, Annie's just trying to convince Jake that she wants to start over with a good vibe, one very similar to the one they had when they were IN MEXICO A WEEK AGO. I guess he didn't tell her how he got the time off of work, but if not, this couple has more serious problems to grapple with than just working out how to propose to one another. Pssst, Jake? If you're going to pull a stunt like this, clue in the other person you've involved in the scam. Love Annie's dress, though.
3) All marriage proposals must be perfect, or you shouldn't even get engaged.
Why do people who claim they want to get married create unnecessary complications for themselves? Oh, wait, that only happens in ridiculous romantic comedies. Real people largely do not do stupid stuff like this. But sure, if it makes sense that Annie and Jake just keep dating until they're collecting Social Security, great. Don't get engaged until it's perfect! Cue the doves and the mylar balloons!
4) Wacky sitcom characters always believe in fate.
Okay, maybe I'm too much of a pragmatist, but I don't think I've ever said, wow, if I bump into someone at the right time or a car backfires at a meaningful moment or my horoscope says “check the sky for clues” that I must take that as a sign to make some important life decision on the spot. However, people (almost always women) do this ALL THE TIME in romantic comedies. This is probably because they're cute and wacky and manic pixie dream girls or whatever the hell, but God forbid we ever have a female romcom lead who isn't a screaming idiot.
5) Writer David Crespe (“Happy Endings”) and director Seth Gordon (“The Goldbergs”) should be able to do better than this hacky trailer suggests.
While I'd like to dismiss “Marry Me” as a total cheeseball mess, I won't do it yet. I loved “Happy Endings” and, while I'm not an enormous fan of “The Goldbergs,” have found it to be mostly charming. There's a good chance this trailer is showing goofball moments out of context, or the pilot is a little broader than the rest of the show, or who knows what… I just miss “Happy Endings” and I have to believe “Marry Me” will deliver a glimmer of its oddball greatness. Gosh, maybe I'm more of a romantic fool than I thought.
Are you going to watch “Marry Me”? What did you think of the trailer?