What
to Watch: Best Banter
One of my favorite parts of any good romance
novel (whether it’s written by me or not) is the banter. Give me a sharp hero,
a witty heroine, and 380 pages of verbal ping pong, and I’m a happy reader. Even
all those gushy love scenes and high adrenaline plots don’t matter as long as
there’s a playful bandying of words.
Of course, writing this kind of easy
banter is hard work. It usually takes me several passes and lots of painstaking
edits before I can achieve the perfect light-hearted note. It also takes
research—which, for me, includes hours upon hours of watching movies and television.
(I know. It’s a tough life, but someone has to do it.)
Some of the best lines of dialogue in pop
culture were painstakingly written into the script (I’m looking at you, Gilmore
Girls). Others arise from actors improving on the set (a skill I’m hugely
envious of but will never master). Either way, I find that watching these
movies and shows—oftentimes over and over again—is a great way to learn. If you
want to brush up on your own banter skills, or if you’d simply like to enjoy
some TV time that will keep you smiling, here are some suggestions.
·
Two Weeks Notice (or literally
anything starring Hugh Grant except for Notting Hill because I hated that
movie)
·
The Ref
·
Grosse Pointe Blank
·
Ocean’s Eleven (or Dirty Rotten
Scoundrels or Kiss Kiss, Bang Bang or almost any crime/heist movie, really)
·
Firefly
·
The Princess Bride
·
Party Down
·
It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia
·
Philadelphia Story (I guess
Philadelphia is pretty hilarious)
·
Archer
·
It Happened One Night
·
Bringing Up Baby
·
The American President
·
Community
·
Iron Man
·
Crazy, Stupid, Love (again, I’m
going to go out on a limb and say anything starring Emma Stone…and adding Ryan
Gosling into the mix doesn’t hurt)
·
The West Wing
·
Gilmore Girls
I’m sure I’m missing some good ones, but
these are the top banter picks that come to my mind.
…what about you? Are there
any must-watch TV shows or movies that you’d add?
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STEALING MR. RIGHT
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Tamara Morgan is the author of thirteen contemporary comedy romances and the new Penelope Blue series. Her books combine fast-paced antics and humor with heartfelt sentiment, and have been described as both “utterly unconventional and wonderfully smart.” Her debut novel was chosen as the Smart Bitches Trashy Books book club pick in April of 2012, and her books have since gone on to receive two starred reviews from Library Journal and three Romantic Times Magazine Top Picks, one of which was nominated in the 2014 RT Reviewers' Choice Awards in the Contemporary Love & Laughter category.
Visit Tamara online at:
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