Both of these films fall into the Romantic- Comedy genre. They both typically consist of a young and beautiful lead woman and a young handsome lead male role.
'The Ugly Truth' starts off with a plain birds eye view of an American city where everything is the same. There are tall,grey tower blocks nestled in networks of long straight roads for as far as the eye can see. Straight away, this suggests that the film is set in an everyday location with everyday people in an everyday situation. There is nothing special or different about this setting to immediately set it apart from anywhere else. The fact that the beginning suggests this, contrasts with where the main female role 'Abi' lives. She lives in an apartment building that all looks similar however, it is far from the city and everything seems perfectly symmetrical. Even the trees and the shrubs in the pots seem to be symmetrically matched either side of the walkway. This could suggest that Abi is a bit of a 'neat freak', that she likes everything to be absolutely perfect and in place which is also reflected in her costume. However it could imply that she is different to an everyday person you would find in the city.Immediately you can tell by her neat, clean and smart appearance that she has a well paid job and we are first introduced to her character as she is bustling out of her door in a hurry with her phone to her ear ( a call that is without doubt related to her job). Her costume is quite plain and so are the colours of her house, the setting and her workplace. This could all imply that she is a bit plain herself and that she has no variety in her life; that she has a set routine and she follows it strictly. The fact that she is dressed in a pale blue striped shirt and her workplace is shrouded in shades of blue could suggest that she is in need of a man in her life which is the typical plot of a Rom-Com or on the other hand could imply that she needs to get in touch with her feminine side more. Also, Abi wears glasses which automatically makes her look more intelligent and authoritative and makes us believe that she is more intelligent because of stereotypical views of people with glasses.
When she pulls up into her workplace in her plain and simple car it also highlights how plain her personality may be and the van parked behind implies that she works in a studio. Because of her body language and costume, it is obvious that she is some kind of leader within the work place. She stands tall and walks like she is on a mission. Everyone comes running to her with problems that need to be sorted and they just follow her as she carries on her path wherever she is headed. The fact that she is dressed in a plain suit and the majority of people that are coming to her with problems are dressed less formally or with brightly coloured patterns, suggests that she is the type of person that can keep everything together and under control because she doesn't bring complications or variety into her life to disrupt her ways. Which, consequently allows her to stay calm and collected in the busy hustle and bustle of her chaotic work place.
The panning shot of the TV studio confirms that she does in fact work in a television studio as you can see all the props, the entire studio with all the cameras and different sections for weather, the kitchen area and the anchor room. When she gets called into an office, you can immediately see who is the more authoritative figure. Usually, a character closer in the frame is the more dominant authoritative figure but in this case it was obvious that that the man in the suit sitting in the big comfy, black, swivel chair was the much more dominant person. The plain fact that he is sitting behind the desk automatically make us assume he has a higher position in the workplace because of typical stereotypes we have.
Baring this in mind, the two films are similar in terms of dominance. It appears that both the lead women hold some sort of authority over other people. In 'P.S I Love You' it suggests that the main female role 'Holly' is the more dominant person in the situation because she seems to be leading the main male role 'Gerry' down the street with him obediently following behind. From this you can automatically see that there is something wrong between them; that they have had an argument. You can tell this because of Holly's stiff and strong posture and her expressions. The fact that they emerge from the underground station could suggest that they prefer to keep their problems hidden from everyone else until they get into the comfort of their own four walls.
Likewise in 'The Ugly Truth' the setting is an everyday, busy scene suggesting that these are everyday, regular people. Which is also reflected in the appearance of the apartment block. Everything looks the same. It's nothing fancy, it's just a regular apartment block.
As soon as they enter the lobby into the apartment, you are swallowed into a sea of red. All the doors are red and so are the walls. This emphasises perhaps the anger that she feels towards him or perhaps tries to emphasise the underlying love and passion between them. When walking up the stairs Holly is always looking down on Gerry and Gerry is always looking up to Holly. This could imply that this is how their relationship is or alternatively could imply that Holly always has to depend on Gerry to 'catch her when she falls' and that he is always her safety net.
From the very first beginning five minutes of this film you can tell a lot about Gerry's character because of his body language and facial expressions. For example, even though they are arguing about something he still has a bounce in his step and still manages to laugh and tease Holly. This suggests that Gerry is a very carefree kind of character that likes to have fun and laugh all the time whereas Holly brings more seriousness and reality into the situation.
Once inside the apartment it becomes apparent that shoes will have an importance in the film as they always seem to be in the frame and Gerry keeps hold of the shoe that she throws at him. There just seems to be shoes everywhere in their apartment and later on in the film you do in fact discover that she becomes a successful shoe designer. So this is a perfect example of a prop which has some importance in letting the audience know where the plot could go. Also, Gerry keeps playing with his braces which could also imply that they have an importance in the film too or it could perhaps imply that he is just nervous because of their argument. However, they do in fact help Holly's inspiration to be a shoe designer later in the film.
One other main thing in 'PS I Love You' is that Holly always seems to be in the light whereas Gerry is in the dark. Her chest of drawers are light whereas Gerry's are dark and in shadow. This could suggest something ominous is going to happen to Gerry or it could simply be to highlight the innocence and purity of Holly's personality and characteristics or, in addition, because it's as if the frame is cut in half and they are both stuck on their separate sides could imply that they get divided from each other in some way.
Overall, both of these films conform to the stereotypical views of a Rom-Com. They both have attractive and young lead roles who face a problem or learn a lesson. It's obvious where the plot of a Rom-Com can go- the main lead characters are going to fall in love. However in 'P.S I Love You' it appears that the couple are already together so there must be something that goes wrong from them both to learn from. Similarly both of these films are set in everyday locations which makes them easy to relate to in real life because it shows that these people are just regular people and that they have similar problems to us. However, no matter how much they make the settings and situations realistic, there are always elements which make these films a place of escapism which is what most films are for people. Rom-Coms are ways to escape from your own love problems or perhaps to lift your spirits that there is always a happy ending.
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