Which Movie is the Most “Presents”?
10 Comments January 9th, 2009 in just for fun, media Posted by Amy
When author Abby Green blogged about how the movie Ocean’s Twelve helped inspire her book The Mediterranean Billionaire’s Blackmail Bargain followed by Jennie Lucas’s recent post about movies, something occurred to me… lots of films share the elements of Harlequin Presents books we love: glamor, dashing heroes, drama, passionate romance, fantastic settings.
But what, I wondered, is the most “Presents-ish” movie of them all?
A few titles came to my mind, such as the “Ocean’s” movies for their international settings and cast of gorgeous leading men, and those over-the-top musicals and classic romances from the 1930s and 40s like The Philadelphia Story that are filled with glamorous nightclubs, cross-Atlantic cruises, designer gowns (Depression? What Depression?), and legendary Hollywood heroes like Cary Grant and Clark Gable.
But the movie that most resembles a Presents novel, in my opinion, is Sabrina. (I’m more familiar with the 1995 remake starring Julia Ormond and Harrison Ford than the original Audrey Hepburn/Humphrey Bogart classic, so my answer is based on this version).
If you don’t know the story already, here’s the gist. Sabrina is an awkward, shy young woman whose father is chauffeur to the superwealthy Larrabee family. Sabrina has a huge crush on the playboy younger Larrabee son, David. About to be sent away to France to work, Sabrina gathers her courage and declares her feelings to David – only to be surprised that she’s confessed to David’s cold-hearted tycoon brother, Linus!
Sabrina is humiliated, and leaves for Paris – where she finds herself and gets a sophisticated makeover, thanks to the help of her fashion magazine coworkers. Sabrina returns to Long Island (where the Larrabees have an unbelievably gorgeous estate) and bumps into David, who instantly becomes smitten with the transformed Sabrina.
Trouble is, David has gotten engaged while Sabrina was away, to the daughter of an important businessman that Linus hopes to make a big deal with. Linus can’t let the engagement (and consequently his big merger) fall through. His solution? Seduce Sabrina himself so she’ll leave David.
Mmm-hmmm, you know where this is going! I won’t give much more away, but needless to say Linus – the ruthless, unemotional, billionaire hero – falls for our soft-hearted heroine.
Some of the Presents elements are obvious from this description. Linus is a classic aloof alpha hero – ambitious, wealthy, determined — but ultimately honorable, and learns to open his heart and enjoy life thanks to Sabrina (like a modern-day Mr. Darcy). Luxurious international locations are also there, from Paris to Manhattan to Martha’s Vineyard, complete with extravagant garden parties and a house that will knock your socks off! And finally, there are those well-known tropes: the love triangle, the seduction with an ulterior motive, secrets and betrayal…
I really love this movie, and if you’re in the mood for a classic romance to bring a smile to your face, I highly recommend it.
How about you? Which movie would you nominate as the most like a Presents book and why?
Tagged with: movies
When I think of a “Presents” movie, I think of Pretty Woman (except for the hooker part). It’s a modern day Cinderella where an everyday woman is swept off her feet by a dashing billionaire and not only is she introduced to this glamourous world but she more importantly, she gets the ungetable. The playboy tycoon who doesn’t do love and commitment falls in love and wants the Happily Ever After with her.
I think of An Affair to Remember with Cary Grant and Deborah or Sleepless in Seattle with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan which was I think, based on An Affair.
Another Meg Ryan movie French Kiss also comes to mind.
Amy and Shannon, your choices are also favorites of mine!
Good call Shannon, I’d have to agree with you on Pretty Woman. Perfect Presents material (especially the bit where she gets her makeover on Rodeo Drive). And if we’re talking alpha males I’d have to say Clark Gable in Gone with the Wind… surely the most alpha of all alpha males… although of course he did dump Scarlett in the end which perhaps isn’t all that Presents-y
I agree with you Heidi, Clark Gable was definitely an alpha male in that movie
Oh yes, Sabrina is a good one. I just saw the Harrison Ford version a couple months ago and it made me want to read the Presents version of it. You know, for a little more passion.
There’s a movie coming out with Sandra Bullock and Ryan Reynolds called The Proposal where, in order to keep her visa in the US Sandra proposes a convenient marriage to her assistant. Very good Presents material…if the roles were reversed. No self respecting alpha would be anyone’s assistant, much less be coerced into an engagement!
Still, the plot has appeal!
Maisey
Interesting comment about “The Proposal,” but actually I disagree with the claim that “no self-respecting alpha would be anyone’s assistant.” If I remember correctly there was some discussion a while back about an author’s (Kate Walker’s?) statement that an alpha male was the ultimate nurturer, empowering and enabling the heroine to achieve her most ambitious dreams. I LIKE the idea of a romance hero as someone who not only accomplishes things on his own but also helps other people reach their goals.
It seems to me this ties in with the question that got asked an entry or two back about what occupations we’d like to see romance heroes engage in. (I mean, aside from the endless string of CEOs and billionaire businessmen! :>) Frankly, I’m more than a little tired of heroes whose work consists of MAKING MONEY. (And then more money. And after that – guess what? – more money.) I understand that there are medical romances but there are many, many professions in this world other than the medical profession that focus on helping others. It would be great to see some heroes whose careers require them to put other people’s needs and desires first. Would a male assistant fit into that category? He certainly would for me. I hope some enterprising author is working on such a manuscript right now because I’d love to read it when it’s finished.
The reformed alpha might certainly be the heroine’s assistant and help her achieve her dream. They beta up a bit by the end, don’t they? I just couldn’t imagine a true Presents alpha working in the position of PA.
I know it’s an older movie, but my choice would be ‘That Touch of Mink’ with Cary Grant and Doris Day. Her innocence and his playboy persona, not to mention the humor of the supporting cast, make it one of my faves!
I’ve come to this discussion late, but I was thinking similar things myself. I recently caught one of the movie versions of The Big Valley and that really struck me as similar. All the men – but particularly Lee Majors – are all very strong and incredibly handsome.
Also before Christmas I caught the remastered version of Star Trek’s The Menagerie. The two episodes had been put together as a cinema release, but with extra CGI effects, etc. As with Big Valley all the men are really masculine and ruggedly handsome – just don’t seem to get that from metrosexual men. Yet the love story between Chris Pike and Veener really seems to fit – if only for pure escapist fantasy. There’s a picnic scene (like Barbie and Ken!), there’s the “rescuing the princess from the tower” episode, and of course there’s the green slave girl who gets rescued by a kindly slave trader.
I reckon Working Girl is the perfedt Modern Heat, Melanie Griffith’s character is ambitious and goes through the perfect arc of being Alex Baldwins girlfriend to self confident woman who knows what she wants, and goes right for it, and Harrison Ford is charmingly alpha, but has an edge of vulnerability ‘why, what have you heard?’ he asks when he thinks people are doubting his ability.
One of my favorites, despite the shoulder pads!