Like so many great films about love, The Romantics explores the challenges of romance through an extremely awkward love triangle between three college friends, Laura (Katie Holmes), Lila (Anna Paquin), and Tom (Josh Duhamel), who are forced to endure the uncomfortable nature of being reunited at Tom and Lila's wedding. The film is based on the novel of the same name, also written by Galt Niederhoffer, who had the rare and privileged opportunity of adapting her own work. Although Niederhoffer has often worked on films in a producer capacity (including Prozac Nation and Grace is Gone), this was her first foray into the dual title of writer-director. Her passion for the material shines through in the nuanced execution of the dialogue, as well as the studied manner in which her actors nonverbally respond to one another.
The Clashing Personalities of Laura and Lila
The opening of The Romantics uses the technique of crosscutting to subtly reveal the differing natures of Laura and Lila, who have managed to remain cordial to one another since Laura learned of Lila's engagement to Tom, Laura's former long-term boyfriend. As we are introduced to each of these vastly divergent characters, Neiderhoffer shows Lila sitting impatiently with her mother, Augusta (Candice Bergen), and sister, Minnow (Dianna Agron), for her wedding dress to arrive while interchanging the scene with Laura driving anxiously to Lila's house. Both parties express tensions that are derived from very discrepant mental sources. Laura is nervous about seeing Tom and Lila together and Lila is simply nervous about her wedding dress being delivered safely. It immediately reveals the self-involved and childish personality of Lila.
Seeing Old Friends
The only comforting fact about serving as the maid of honor at her best friend and ex-boyfriend's wedding is that Laura is able to see all of her old friends again. Even before she gets to the wedding, her friends come to her rescue, knowing how emotional it is going to be for her. As she drives to Lila's house, she pulls over to collect herself. Her friends, Tripler (Malin Akerman), Jake (Adam Brody), Pete (Jeremy Strong), and Weesie (Rebecca Lawrence), stop to say hello and let Tripler crawl out of their car window and into hers. It is the first indication of the group's playful, jocular nature.
The one friend Laura is most reluctant to see is Tom, who she cannot bring herself to talk about openly with the others in the fold, let alone Lila. It is clear from the moment Laura tries to prepare her speech for the toast that the entire ordeal of being betrayed by both Tom and Lila is affecting her more than she thought.
Tom's Indecision and an Uncomfortable Rehearsal Dinner
In spite of Tom's resolve to marry Lila, the instant he sees Laura again for the first time, it is evident that he has been dealt a psychological wallop. Laura tries to play off the reunion, barely acknowledging him and instead putting up with Lila's lascivious brother, Chip (Elijah Wood). At the rehearsal dinner, however, Laura is less adept at holding herself back from speaking the truth. In discussing her past with Lila, she recounts, "We got the nickname Lala because we loved each other and we loved our friends. Our friends got the nickname the romantics...um, because of our incestuous dating history." Laura then makes the mistake of referring to Tom and Lila as Tom and Laura.
Once Laura is completely finished with her speech, Lila leaves the table and rushes back to the house. Tripler follows her out to console her, but Lila insists on being alone until she is ready to be "tucked in" at midnight. Tripler consents and returns to the rest of the group, each member in different states of drunkenness.
A Night of Debauchery
With Lila out of the picture, Tom, Laura, Tripler, Jake, Pete, Weesie, and Chip steal the rest of the liquor from the open bar and head to the beach where Tom gives a rueful speech of his own, expressing, "We are all so uninspired." To end his thought on a positive note, he takes his clothes off and jumps into the water, and the others follow suit.
After everyone is finished swimming, they realize Tom is missing. From this point forward, the night becomes a ceaseless quest to find him. At times, the hunt for Tom is derailed by the dormant desires of each search party. Although Weesie and Jake are together and Tripler is married to Pete, the search parties end up being divided into Weesie and Pete and Tripler and Jake. These unlikely pairings lead to even unlikelier attractions as the night progresses.
Naturally, Laura is the one to stumble upon Tom before anyone else, leading to a heated argument over the way Tom handled his relationship with both Laura and Lila. Ultimately, Laura and Tom both give in to how they feel and end up sleeping together on the beach.
An Ending as Indecisive as Tom
Lila, who has remained oblivious to the goings-on of the night, awakens to her wedding day none the wiser to her fiancé having cheated on her. Too racked with guilt to let Lila walk down the aisle without knowing the truth about Tom's continued feelings for her, Laura confesses everything to Lila and urges her not to go through with the marriage.
Unmoved by Laura's pleas to let her have the man she loves, Lila asserts, "Unrequited love is the perfect romantic construct. It allows two cowardly people to act out a fantasy of love without having to face any real consequences." With a few more unkind words, Lila storms out of the room to get on with the ceremony. The fates have other ideas in mind when a downpour prevents Tom and Lila from finishing the exchange of vows.
As everyone else runs back inside, Laura and Tom remain standing in the rain. In a moment of frustration and pronounced confusion, Tom screams. Lila simply laughs at him and the screen fades to black, presumably just as Tom's relationship with Laura is about to.
Genna Rivieccio - Genna Rivieccio's brain was designed specifically to retain an amalgam of pop culture images, references, and sound bites.
