“Beaches” Director GARRY MARSHALL: WHAT MAKES A GREAT ROMANTIC COMEDY

PRETTY WOMAN DIRECTOR GARRY MARSHALL: WHAT MAKES A GREAT ROMANTIC COMEDY
Thursday February 11 2010 by Emily Garnham for Express.co.uk

FILMMAKER Garry Marshall – who directed cult classic Pretty Woman and new release Valentine’s Day – tells Express.co.uk what makes a truly great romantic comedy.

With the words ‘filmmaking is not a democracy’ emblazoned across his baseball cap, white-haired Hollywood veteran Garry Marshall has declared the formula for romantic comedy films will never change.

Despite less than glowing reviews for his latest movie Valentine’s Day – boasting an all-star cast of award-winning Tinseltown greats – Marshall still believes the classic ‘boy meets girl, boy marries girl’ plot is what a great love story is made of.

But in the wake of heavy criticism over his latest film, Marshall – who was behind Bette Midler film Beaches and The Princess Diaries starring Anne Hathaway – also admitted movie makers can get it wrong.

He told us: “I think the beginning and end will remain the same – it’s what’s you do in the middle that makes a great love story – or not. And sometimes we try but we miss.”

He added: “With the classic boy meet girl [plot] there has to be conflict, something has to go wrong.

“If you had a love affair where nothing went wrong it would probably be a blast but – to go back to [the message in] Valentine’s Day – you have to take the good part and the bad part of a person to be in love.”

Touching on one of the storylines in the film – which is out in UK cinemas tomorrow – the 75-year-old says the genre has moved on since he began filmmaking.

He said: “Chekov wrote that he and she is the engine of all drama. But now I think there’s also room for a he and a he.

“There’s all different types of love stories that are now allowed and being told and I think that’s a good thing.”