I have a story about this.
My revelation regarding this was spurred by a little-known film that actually didnât do very well in theatres at all, from the early 90s called Corina Corina.
Starring heartthrob of the time Ray Liotta, fresh off his Goodfellas fame andâĻ..Whoopie Goldberg??? as his love interest??????
Corina Corina is the story about a man whose wife died, leaving him alone to parent his 8-9 year old daughter alone in what appears to be the late 50s-early 60s.  His daughter, Molly, is non-verbal due to the trauma of her motherâs death and is dealing with feelings of isolation as a result of her mourning process. Ray Liottaâs character makes a concentrated effort to be a good dad for her, but itâs real clear that both of them are still dealing with the death of his wife. Because Rayâs character works full time, he needs to find a nanny to watch his girl and pick her up from school. After a couple of terrible experiences (one with a hilarious appearance by Joan Cusack) he decides to hire Whoopie Goldberg.
Whoopie Goldbergâs character is a college educated black woman (in the 50s!!!!) who appears to be doing domestic work because its the only work white 50s America will hire her for. She and Rayâs daughter Molly get along well because she is the first person to take Mollyâs decision to be non-verbal seriously and learn an alternate way to communicate with her.
Long story short, Whoopie Goldberg and Ray Liotta fall in love and live happily ever after.Â
But, more importantly, the way the movie built their love changed the way I was able to process hetero couples on screen forever.
1. First, they were both provided with alternate romance options from the beginning of the movie. Ray was given an extremely attractive white lady love interest, and Whoopie was given an attractive and charming black man love interest. Both of them were given opportunities to return their affection but both pointedly chose not to.
2. They were attracted to each other based on common interest. They both liked the same music, they both bonded over their ability to play the piano, they both loved molly, they both helped encourage each other in their chosen fields (whoopieâs was english, and rayâs was being a songwriter), they both respected each otherâs opinions and they both were honest with each other about the circumstances they were in.
3. They were realistic about the issue of a black woman being in a relationship with a white man in the era, and didnât glide over racial identity issues. Ray made sure that his white neighbors knew that he loved her and didnât care what they thought. He even explained to his mom that Molly emulating black culture wasnât shameful and that she should mind her business about the way he felt about Whoopie Goldberg.
4. When Ray confessed his feelings, it was incredibly heartfelt and he was literally crying.
5. They didnât pursue a romantic relationship until Whoopie wasnât working for him anymore. And they didnât gloss over the issue of power disparity in that equation. Ray doesnât condescend to Whoopie at all through the movie, but once heâs aware he has feelings for her, his new goal is to let her know that he unquestionably considers her his equal both in private and in public And its clear that heâs aware that this is the first thing that must be settled before anything else.Â
By the time you get to the end of the movie, the entire concept of Ray Liotta being with Whoopie Goldberg seems not only normal, but exceptionally romantic and youâre left wondering why you thought they would be a gross couple to begin with when theyâre sO cLeArLy MaDe fOr eAcH oThEr
I now call this the Corina Corina standard.Â
If a movie has a hetero couple and their relationship isnât as fleshed out as Ray/Whoopie, I now have difficulty accepting whats occurring.Â
The concept that two hot straight people who are vaguely near each other just doesnât do it for me anymore after watching Ray Liotta walk through a black neighborhood in the 50s and knock on Whoopieâs door to beg her to come home to him.
Oh so you say your characters are in love?
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