It’s the extraordinary way she elevated the perception of her co-stars. She flirted, she sighed, she pined, she even loved. But most importantly, she had faith—not delusional, I hope you will turn out to be who I want—but utter satisfaction that he was exactly right.
It was a love that was cognizant of someone’s foibles and impersonal in its grace. A romantic comedy is about a pairing of equals—equals in wit or strength or passion. In the best ones—The Philadelphia Story, for example—there’s a larger thematic question at play and romance is the by-product not the intended goal.
