Prizzi's Honor: Underappreciated Rom-Com GOLD (Fight me!)

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking: "Lauren, you're calling Prizzi's Honor a ROM-COM? Girl, are you okay?" And the answer is yes, mostly. Hear me out! This movie is hilarious. Like, dark and twisted hilarious, but still delivers on the core rom-com element: two highly incompatible people falling madly in love despite every reason not to. Only, instead of cutesy misunderstandings and grand gestures, it's cold-blooded murder and betrayal. The scene where Charley and Irene are basically negotiating their hit contracts over dinner? Comedy GOLD. Kathleen Turner is a QUEEN. My theory? The Prizzis are basically stand-ins for any overbearing, meddling family in a rom-com. Instead of disapproving parents trying to tear the couple apart, it's a literal crime family. Think about it! Charley is torn between his loyalties to his family (the Prizzis) and his love for Irene. It's the exact same conflict as every other rom-com ever, just with higher stakes and way more dead bodies. Also, Jack Nicholson's performance is SO over-the-top, it's basically comedic. He's like a caricature of a mobster. Maybe I'm reaching, but I genuinely think this movie is a subversive rom-com. It takes all the tropes and flips them on their head in the most delightfully deranged way possible. It's got that perfect blend of absurdity and genuine emotion that I crave, even if the "emotion" is mostly about how much they want to whack each other. I mean, that wedding scene? So romantic! ...ly terrifying. Anyway, what do y'all think? Am I totally off my rocker, or is there something to my theory? I'm ready to defend my position! (with witty banter, not a hitman, promise).