Much of the dark and uncomfortable humor of Modern Romance<\/em> emanates from Robert\u2019s almost instantaneous regret at breaking up with Mary. Though Brooks co-wrote and directed the film, he\u2019s not remotely interested in flattering his onscreen self. Apatow-era comic heroes like Andy Stitzer in The 40-Year Old Virgin<\/em> go through reams of embarrassment, like painful chest waxing. But while Brooks-the-writer is emphatically aware of how awkward Robert is, he lets his hero march through life with an almost criminal lack of self-awareness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Robert\u2019s sweaty attempts to gain validation from others that breaking it off with Mary was the right thing to do leads him to get high on Quaaludes, randomly ask out a woman from his Rolodex, and eventually take up running as a new hobby. The salesman quoted above (portrayed by Brooks\u2019 late brother, Bob Einstein) slickly guilts Robert into purchasing high-end equipment, despite it being plainly clear that Robert\u2019s interest in running is rapidly vanishing. The cringey aspects of this scene, and of the entirety of Modern Romance<\/em>, is rarely reflected in more recent comedies, eschewing that largely for gross-out humor, which may be an easier sell for audiences than encouraging them to wallow with a discomfiting protagonist whose selfishness is perversely rewarded in the end. When modern comedies do<\/em> try to lean hard into that style, as in the cult 2009 comedy Observe and Report<\/em>, they wind up feeling both spikier and less popular.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Only in the final scene of Modern Romance<\/em> do Brooks and co-writer Monica Johnson make it evident that Mary\u2019s side of this relationship is built on similarly wobbly footing. Is she charmed by Robert\u2019s humor, or is she worn down by a man who declares at a quiet and secluded cabin that she wouldn\u2019t want to be with someone who doesn\u2019t \u201cthink about you every minute\u201d? Instead of breaking up, Robert now wants to make the ultimate commitment: marriage, a family, and a house in the country. Robert\u2019s proposal isn\u2019t remotely romantic; in fact, the last scene isn\u2019t just a situational reversal, but it\u2019s a role reversal. Whereas Robert was once the rube being worn down by a passive-aggressive salesman, now he\u2019s<\/em> the passive-aggressive one wearing down Mary, who probably realizes that she should know better but can\u2019t help herself any more than Robert could at the athletic store.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The crucial difference between comedies like Knocked Up<\/em> or Forgetting Sarah Marshall<\/em>, and Modern Romance<\/em> is that the latter is emphatically aware of how mismatched its leads are. If the ending scene wasn\u2019t cringeworthy enough as we see how Robert pushes his way into getting what he wants and in how Mary becomes more willing to buy his line, its crane-shot ending is clear. As the camera moves away from the cabin, three sentences appear onscreen: \u201cRobert and Mary were married three weeks later in Las Vegas, Nevada. They were divorced the following month. They are currently dating with plans to remarry.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern Romance<\/em> may not have been a massive hit, but it had some notable fans. Brooks would later recount <\/a>that no less than Stanley Kubrick praised the film to him, stating that he\u2019d \u201calways wanted to make a movie about jealousy.\u201d Though Brooks was amazed at the amount of praise from such a legend, it makes sense. \u201cDo you want somebody who doesn\u2019t think about you every single minute?\u201d That\u2019s the question Robert puts to Mary in the concluding moments of Modern Romance<\/em>, as clear a description of the character\u2019s jealousy as possible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Modern Romance<\/em> treats this couple more effectively and with more emotional precision than so many genuine modern romantic comedies, in which (typically) the male character behaves in a way that would get him arrested in real life. (You know, the type of behavior inspiring this classic Onion<\/em> article<\/a>.) The written epilogue is a bone-dry and snappy punchline to what we\u2019ve seen, spelling out the sense that Robert and Mary are horrible for each other but are locked in a spiral that they can\u2019t escape. It\u2019s clear to us when Robert is sold running gear that he\u2019s never going to use it, and he\u2019s unable to tell himself the truth. It\u2019s just as clear when Robert and Mary decide to get married \u2013 it\u2019ll never stick. One day, they might figure it out themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Modern Romance” is streaming on Tubi<\/a> and available for digital rental or purchase<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/crookedmarquee.com\/stage8\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/modern-romance2-1024x576.jpg\")
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