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Finding Your Feet

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Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com ) is a sub-genre of comedy and romance fiction , focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles.

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38-454: Finding Your Feet is a 2017 British romantic comedy film directed by Richard Loncraine and written by Nick Moorcroft and Meg Leonard. The film stars Imelda Staunton , Timothy Spall , Celia Imrie , Joanna Lumley and David Hayman , and was released on 23 February 2018 in the United Kingdom. Sandra Abbott, Lady Abbott, discovers that her recently knighted husband of 35 years, Mike,

76-410: A romantic comedy is that two characters meet , part ways due to an argument or other obstacle, then ultimately, realize their love for one another and reunite. Sometimes the two leads meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes they are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe they do not like each other. This could be because one of

114-485: A charity dance show, she refuses. Charlie lives on a narrow houseboat, having sold his house to pay for his wife's dementia care home. After a multitude of visits to her, where she doesn't recognise him nor appreciate his coming, he stops trying. After receiving Mike's divorce petition, Sandra goes with Bif to ready her large Tudor-style home for sale, using a wood chipper on Mike's tennis trophies to release her frustration. Charlie and Ted help them remove her things from

152-409: A feel-good romance and sweet performances from its over-qualified cast." Metacritic gave the film a weighted average score of 53 out of 100, based on 15 critics, indicating "average or mixed reviews". Australian film critic Stephen Romei of The Australian awarded the film 4 stars and said " Finding Your Feet is rightly billed as comedy-drama; yet, although it’s full of rib-tickling dialogue, it’s

190-423: A few times and Ted is mourning his wife. Sandra's daughter Nicola and grandson Luke come for a visit, but Bif has a date. Sandra has to answer Luke's difficult questions. Later that night, Bif takes Gerald back to the flat; as she is doing a striptease for him, he dies from the excitement. Dancing with Charlie, Sandra gradually begins to enjoy herself. However, when their teacher seeks volunteers to participate in

228-463: A meaningful slice of warmth and humour". The film was released on 475 screens on 23 February in the United Kingdom and debuted at #4 in the chart grossing $ 1,290,495 in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $ 7,891,508. The film performed equally as well in Australia and New Zealand , grossing $ 5.53 million. As of 13 July 2018, the film had grossed $ 16,881,861 million worldwide, making it one of

266-535: A plan to see the Christmas lights with Charlie, Bif bows out. Unbeknownst to them, she is in the hospital running tests. When a tow truck is about to take Charlie's old van for illegal parking, he drives it off the back and speeds away. An Italian dance festival promoter sees a video of the dance group on social media and invites them to Rome for two days in February. Whilst Sandra and Charlie grow closer, Bif finds out she

304-799: A sense of awkwardness between the two potential partners by depicting an initial clash of personalities or beliefs, an embarrassing situation, or by introducing a comical misunderstanding or mistaken identity situation. Sometimes, the term is used without a hyphen (a "meet cute"), or as a verb ("to meet cute"). Roger Ebert describes the "concept of a Meet Cute" as "when boy meets girl in a cute way." As an example, he cites "The Meet Cute in Lost and Found [which] has Jackson and Segal running their cars into each other in Switzerland. Once recovered, they Meet Cute again when they run into each other while on skis. Eventually, they fall in love." In many romantic comedies,

342-513: A top-notch British cast". Linda Marric from HeyUGuys said the film was "a charming, oft-told tale of second chances in life and love, filled with fine performances." Francesca Rudkin of The New Zealand Herald compared Finding Your Feet to The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Calendar Girls and said the film was a charming, if somewhat predictable, crowd-pleaser about embracing life in your later years. Emma Simmonds from The List said "the joie de vivre of these convention-defying pensioners

380-531: Is closer to tragicomedy ." It was not until the development of the literary tradition of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations. They were previously referred to as the heroic adventures of medieval Romance . Those adventures traditionally focused on a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes 's Lancelot,

418-441: Is dying from lung cancer . She tells Sandra about it the day after Christmas. The only other person they tell is Charlie, who also respects Bif's wishes to not tell anyone. The group goes to Italy, enjoys themselves and performs, although Bif is in obvious pain. Sandra and Charlie go for a walk afterwards and, when it seems he is about to propose marriage and Sandra is ready to accept, he tells her about his wife. Not wanting to be

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456-449: Is having an affair with her best friend Pamela. Sandra seeks refuge in London with her estranged older sister Bif. Sandra had married for stability and security, so is a fish out of water next to her outspoken, serial-dating, free-spirited sibling who lives on an inner-city council estate. Dining and drinking in an Asian restaurant with Bif, Sandra gets belligerent and has a confrontation with

494-550: Is off to France. At her birthday party, after Mike scolds her for dancing Gangnam style with Luke at his request, Sandra realises she no longer wants her old kind of life. She leaves in the middle of the party to join Charlie on his boat. As he has already left his mooring, she literally takes a leap of faith from the river bank. The film was announced at the 2016 Cannes Film Festival and started shooting on 31 October 2016, in London and Rome. The film wrapped on 16 December 2016. The film

532-411: Is ultimately irresistible." Louise Keller from Urban Cinefile said " Finding Your Feet may be predictable fare, but it has a heart of solid gold". James Mottram from Total Film said "Its love-in-later-life insights are well-worn, but with Staunton on song, Richard Loncraine's film mines genuine feeling". In another positive review, The Film Blog called Finding Your Feet "A Billy Elliot for Seniors with

570-514: The film ends on a happy note . Even though it is implied that they live happily ever after, it does not always state what that happy ending will be. The couple does not necessarily get married for it to be a "happily ever after". The conclusion of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in the protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end (e.g., Shakespeare in Love , Roman Holiday ). Most of

608-555: The 'other woman', Sandra walks away. The following morning, Sandra finds that Bif has died during the night. Back home, Sandra scatters her ashes in the Hampstead Heath Ponds where they had swum, after a brief eulogy among friends and family. Her former husband catches up with her in the woods afterwards, persuading her to return home as his relationship with Pamela is over. Sandra returns to her old home and life. A letter from Charlie arrives telling her his wife has died and he

646-450: The 29th Palm Springs International Film Festival on 6 January 2018. The film was named as one of the 'best of the fest' and screened again for the public on 15 January. On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , the film holds a fresh approval rating of 70% based on 88 reviews, with an average rating of 5.8/10. The website's critical consensus reads, " Finding Your Feet wears its heart on its sleeve, elevating undemanding material with

684-548: The Knight of the Cart . The contemporary romantic comedy genre was shaped by 18th-century Restoration comedy and 19th-century romantic melodrama . Restoration comedies were typically comedies of manners that relied on knowledge of the complex social rules of high society, particularly related to navigating the marriage-market, an inherent feature of the plot in many of these plays, such as William Wycherley 's The Country Wife . While

722-672: The actors Timothy Spall and Celia Imrie presented the feature (re-titled Ricomincio da me ) at the festival in Turin on 24 November 2017. TFF is the second largest film festival in Italy, following the Venice Film Festival. Finding Your Feet is distributed in Italy by CINEMA owned by veteran film distributor Valerio De Paolis. It was announced in The Hollywood Reporter on 15 December 2017, the film will have its North American premiere at

760-471: The characters already has a partner or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The characters often split or seek time apart in order to sort out their emotions or deal with external obstacles to being together, which they eventually overcome. While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they love

798-708: The decades. We can see this through the screwball comedy in response to the censorship of the Hays Code in the 1920s–1930s, the career woman comedy (such as George Stevens' Woman of the Year , starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy ) post-WWII, and the sex comedy made popular by Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the 1950s–1960s. Over the years, romantic comedies have slowly been becoming more popular to both men and women. They have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory, and to explore more complex topics. These films still follow

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836-521: The drama that cuts deep". Mark Kermode reviewed the film favourably on BBC Radio 5 Live . Kevin Maher from The Times said it was "oddly adorable". Andy Lea of The Sunday Express awarded the film 4 stars and said "it’s big-hearted, touching, smartly-written and beautifully performed by a hugely talented cast". Allan Hunter said in The Daily Express that it was "a sentimental tearjerker elevated by

874-460: The fact that these films are still romantic comedies. One of the conventions of romantic comedy films is the entertainment factor in a contrived encounter of two potential romantic partners in unusual or comic circumstances, which film critics such as Roger Ebert or the Associated Press's Christy Lemire have called a " meet-cute " situation. During a "meet-cute", scriptwriters often create

912-847: The film won the Audience Award for Best Film at the Palm Springs International Film Festival . A French remake of Finding Your Feet based on the original screenplay written by Nick Moorcroft & Meg Leonard started shooting in Paris, France, on August 10, 2020. The film, entitled Alors On Danse was directed, adapted by and stars Michèle Laroque and will be ? theatrically released by UGC nationwide in France on January 22, 2022. The film features an all-star French cast including Thierry Lhermitte , Isabelle Nanty and Jean-Hugues Anglade . Romantic comedy The basic plot of

950-436: The follies and misunderstandings of young lovers, in a light‐hearted and happily concluded manner which usually avoids serious satire". This reference states that the "best‐known examples are Shakespeare's comedies of the late 1590s, A Midsummer Night's Dream , Twelfth Night , and As You Like It being the most purely romantic, while Much Ado About Nothing approaches the comedy of manners and The Merchant of Venice

988-720: The gender role that society has imposed upon them, as seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall , in which the male protagonist is especially in touch with his emotions. It can also be seen in Made of Honor , in which the female bridesmaids are shown in a negative and somewhat masculine light in order to advance the likability of the male lead. Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but they explore more adult themes such as marriage, responsibility, or even disability. Two films by Judd Apatow , This Is 40 and Knocked Up , deal with these issues. This Is 40 chronicles

1026-459: The house. Later at the pub, the four bump into Mike and Pamela and Sandra effectively shames them. At the last minute, Sandra joins the others in the charity street performance. Afterwards, celebrating on Ted and Charlie's houseboats, Charlie tells Sandra his plan to cross the Channel in his and explore the canals of France . Sandra even goes outdoor swimming with Bif. Later on, although they'd made

1064-557: The melodramas of the Romantic period had little to do with comedy, they were hybrids incorporating elements of domestic and sentimental tragedies, pantomime "with an emphasis on gesture, on the body, and the thrill of the chase," and other genres of expression such as songs and folk tales. In the 20th century, as Hollywood grew, the romantic comedy in America mirrored other aspects of society in its rapid changes, developing many sub-genres through

1102-429: The mid-life crisis of a couple entering their 40s, and Knocked Up addresses unintended pregnancy and the ensuing assuming of responsibility. Silver Linings Playbook deals with mental illness and the courage to start a new relationship. All of these go against the stereotype of what romantic comedy has become as a genre. Yet, the genre of romantic comedy is simply a structure, and all of these elements do not negate

1140-438: The most successful independent British films of 2017 and 2018. The film was released on DVD and Blu-ray in the United Kingdom on 25 June 2018. Following on from the film's box-office success, Finding Your Feet was the no.2 film in the official U.K. DVD and Blu-ray chart, behind The Greatest Showman , which narrowly took the number-one spot. Best Picture Oscar winner, The Shape Of Water , debuted at no.5. On 15 January 2018

1178-436: The other person. Then, one character makes some extravagant effort (sometimes called a grand gesture ) to find the other character and declare their love. However, this is not always the case; sometimes, there is a coincidental encounter where the two characters meet again. Alternatively, one character plans a romantic gesture to show that they still care. Then, with some comic friction, they declare their love for each other, and

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1216-524: The other zombies and even starts to cure them. With the zombie cure, the two main characters can now be together since they do not have a barrier between them anymore. Another strange set of circumstances is in Zack and Miri Make a Porno where the two protagonists are building a relationship while trying to make a pornographic film together. Both these films take the typical story arc and then add strange circumstances to add originality. Other romantic comedies flip

1254-699: The owner, throwing food at him. She is taken away by the police and stays overnight to sleep it off. In the morning at Bif's, Mike calls to inform Sandra that he is moving in with Pamela, which triggers an attack. Bif gets called to the hospital, so Charlie helps her collect Sandra, discovering it had been an anxiety attack. On the way back, Sandra butts heads with them both, appalled that they are getting high on weed. Later, Bif chastises her for putting on airs. Sandra lets Bif drag her along to her community dance class, after being reminded that she used to ballroom dance. There, she again sees Charlie and meets her sister's other friends, Jackie and Ted. Jackie has been divorced

1292-604: The potential couple comprises polar opposites, two people of different temperaments, situations, social statuses, or all three ( It Happened One Night ), who would not meet or talk under normal circumstances, and the meet cute's contrived situation provides the opportunity for these two people to meet. Roadside Attractions Roadside Attractions, LLC is an American production company and film distributor based in Los Angeles, California , founded on July 27, 2000, by Howard Cohen and Eric d'Arbeloff. Lionsgate Films bought

1330-469: The standard conventions of the romantic comedy genre. In films like 500 Days of Summer , the two main interests do not end up together, leaving the protagonist somewhat distraught. Other films, like Adam, have the two main interests end up separated but still content and pursuing other goals and love interests. Some romantic comedies use reversal of gender roles to add comedic effect. These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from

1368-401: The time the ending gives the audience a sense that if it is true love, it will always prevail, no matter what the two characters have to overcome. Comedies, rooted in the fertility rites and satyr plays of ancient Greece , have often incorporated sexual or social elements. The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines romantic comedy as "a general term for comedies that deal mainly with

1406-462: The typical plot of "a light and humorous movie, play, etc., whose central plot is a happy love story" but with more complexity. Some romantic comedies have adopted special circumstances for the main characters, as in Warm Bodies where the protagonist is a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend. The effect of their love towards each other is that it starts spreading to

1444-467: Was released nationwide in the United Kingdom and Ireland on 23 February 2018. Roadside Attractions picked up the U.S. distribution rights at the American Film Market on 2 November 2017, planning to release the film theatrically in America on 30 March 2018. On 20 October 2017, it was announced that Finding Your Feet would open the 35th Torino Film Festival . The director Richard Loncraine, and

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