Romantic comedy

Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice-of-life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles.[1] One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily".[2] Another definition suggests that its "primary distinguishing feature is a love plot in which two sympathetic and well-matched lovers are united or reconciled".[3]

For other uses, see Romantic comedy (disambiguation).
Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell in The Seven Year Itch (1955) trailer.

Romantic comedy films are a certain genre of comedy films as well as of romance films, and may also have elements of screwball comedies. However, a romantic comedy is classified as a film with two genres, not a single new genre.[4] Some television series can also be classified as romantic comedies.

In a typical romantic comedy the two lovers tend to be young, likeable, and seemingly meant for each other, yet they are kept apart by some complicating circumstance (e.g., class differences, parental interference, a previous girlfriend or boyfriend) until, surmounting all obstacles, they are finally reunited. A fairy-tale-style happy ending is a typical feature.[3]

Description

Kathryn Grayson in Seven Sweethearts (1942), a musical romantic comedy film

The basic plot of 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 that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner, or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together, only to later come back together.

While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they love the other person. Then, one party makes some extravagant effort (sometimes called a grand gesture) to find the other person and declare their love. This is not always the case as sometimes there is an astonishing coincidental encounter where the two meet again. Or one plans a sweet romantic gesture to show that they still care. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other and the film ends on a happy note. Even though it is implied that they live a happily ever after, it does not always state what that happy ending will be. The couple does not necessarily get married, or even live together for it to be a "happily ever after". The ending of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end (e.g. Shakespeare in Love, Roman Holiday).[5] Most of the time the ending gives the audience a sense that if it is true love, it will always prevail no matter what is thrown in the way.

There are many variations on this basic plot line. Sometimes, instead of the two lead characters ending up in each other's arms, another love match will be made between one of the principal characters and a secondary character (e.g., My Best Friend's Wedding and My Super Ex-Girlfriend). Alternatively, the film may be a rumination on the impossibility of love, as in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall. The basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources, such as Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream.

The convention underlying a romance book or film is there is two people, normally male and a female, who fall in love with each other. They have a good situation going on for a while, but then the couple finds a major obstacle in their way, which usually starts to pull them apart or makes one of them leave. Before they can overcome this obstacle, one (or both) realizes that they are perfect for each other and proclaims their love for the other. The films usually end with the couple either getting married, engaged, or giving some indication that they live "happily ever after".

Evolution and subgenres

Over the years, romantic comedies have slowly been becoming more popular to both males and females. They have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory. This territory explores more subgenres and more complex topics. These films still follow the typical plot of "a light and humorous movie, play, etc., whose central plot is a happy love story"[6] but with more complexity. These are a few ways romantic comedies are adding more subtlety and complexity into the genre. Two ways they are adding to the complexity are through the general obstacles that come between the couple and the general morals that the characters feel throughout the entire film.

Extreme circumstances

Some romantic comedies have adopted extreme or strange 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 the other zombies and even starts to cure them. With the zombie cure, the two main characters can now be together since they don't have that barrier between them anymore.[7] 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 porno together. Both these films take the typical story arc and then add strange circumstances to add originality.

Flipping conventions

Other romantic comedies flip 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.

Reversing gender roles

Some romantic comedies use reversal of gender roles to add comedic effect.[8] These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from 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, and 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.[9]

Serious elements

Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but 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 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 the fact that these films are still romantic comedies.

Contrived romantic encounters: the "meet cute"

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[10] or the Associated Press' Christy Lemire[11] have called a "meet-cute" situation. During a "meet-cute", scriptwriters often create a humorous 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."[12]

In many romantic comedies, 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.

Use of "meet cute" situations

Certain movies are entirely driven by the meet-cute situation, and contrived circumstances throw the couple together for much of the screenplay. However, movies in which the contrived situation is the main feature, such as Some Like It Hot, rather than the romance being the main feature, are not considered "meet-cutes".

The use of the meet-cute is less marked in television series and novels, because these formats have more time to establish and develop romantic relationships. In situation comedies, relationships are static and meet-cute is not necessary, though flashbacks may recall one (The Dick Van Dyke Show, Mad About You) and lighter fare may require contrived romantic meetings.

The heyday of "meet cute" in films was during the Great Depression in the 1930s; screwball comedy films made a heavy use of contrived romantic "meet cutes", perhaps because the more rigid class consciousness and class divisions of this period made cross-social class romances into tantalizing fantasies.

History

The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms defines romantic comedy as "a general term for comedies that deal mainly with 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 is closer to tragicomedy."[13]

Comedies since ancient Greece have often incorporated sexual or social elements.

It was not until the creation of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations, rather than the heroic adventures of medieval Romance. These adventures, however, often revolved about a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, and so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes's Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart.[14]

Shakespearean comedy and Restoration comedy remain influential. The creation of huge economic social strata in the Gilded Age, combined with the heightened openness about sex after the Victorian era and the celebration of Sigmund Freud's theories, and the birth of the film industry in the early twentieth century, gave birth to the screwball comedy. As class consciousness declined and World War II unified various social orders, the savage screwball comedies of the twenties and thirties, proceeding through Rock Hudson–Doris Day-style comedies, gave way to more innocuous comedies. In the 1970s What's Up, Doc? was a success, although the film follows the conventions of the screwball comedy, as its tagline confirms: "A Screwball Comedy. Remember them?". The more sexually charged When Harry Met Sally had a successful box office run in 1989, paving the way for a rebirth for the Hollywood romantic comedy in the mid-1990s.

The French film industry went in a completely different direction, with less inhibitions about sex. Virginia Woolf, tired of stories that ended in 'happily ever after' at the beginning of a serious relationship, called Middlemarch by George Eliot, with its portrayal of a difficult marriage, "one of the few English novels written for grown-up people."

Effects

On society today

With the increase of romantic comedy movies, there has been an apparent change in the way society views romance. Researchers[15] are asking whether the romances projected in romantic comedies are preventing true love in real life. The increase in use of technology has also led the society to spend a great amount of time engaging in mediated reality and less time with each other. Even though researchers have only started to explore the impact of romantic comedy films on human romance, the few studies conducted have already shown correlation between romantic comedies and the love delusion. Romantic comedies are very popular. They depict relationships that some scholars think affect how people view relationships outside of this virtual world.

The illusion of love

In the past, love has not always been the real reason for people coming together. In some cultures,[16] arranged marriages were common to adhere to and propagate caste systems or to join kingdoms. Today, love is the root of all romance, and it is over-emphasized through these films. It tells viewers that love conquers all and will ultimately bring a never-ending happiness that is rarely affected by any conflict. When people do not experience the romance portrayed in these movies, they often wonder what they are doing wrong. Although people should be able to tell between an overly romanticized love and realistic love, they are often caught up in constantly trying to echo the stories they see on screen.[16] While most know that the idea of a perfect relationship is unrealistic, some perceptions of love are heavily influenced by media portrayals.[17]

Conducted research

A study was conducted at Heriot Watt University in Edinburgh to understand this phenomenon. They studied 40 top box-office films released between 1995 and 2005 to establish common themes. Then they asked hundreds of people to complete a questionnaire to describe their beliefs and expectations in romantic relationships. Researchers found that people who enjoyed movies such as You’ve Got Mail, The Wedding Planner, and While You Were Sleeping often failed to communicate with their partners effectively. They also believe that if someone is meant to be with you, then they should know your needs without you telling them. Although this study is just one of a handful, it shows a correlation of how people's expectations are distorted through watching romantic comedies.[15]

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See also

References
  1. Johnson, Bill. "The Art of the Romantic Comedy". Archived from the original on 2012-09-10.
  2. "romantic comedy (noun) American English definition and synonyms - Macmillan Dictionary". www.macmillandictionary.com.
  3. "Comedy and Tragedy".
  4. Romantic comedy: boy meets girl meets genre. Tamar Jeffers McDonald. Wallflower Press, 2007. p.3
  5. Mernit, Billy. Writing the Romantic Comedy (Harper Collins, 2000)
  6. "Romantic comedy – Define Romantic comedy at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com.
  7. Johnson, Bill. The Art of the Romantic Comedy. A Story is a Promise. Archived from the original on 6 March 2012. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  8. The Big romance of Something Wild?: romantic comedy today
  9. Guys Are the New Girls
  10. Ebert, Roger (18 April 2004). "Ella Enchanted". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 7 September 2004. Retrieved 13 February 2019. She has a Meet-Cute (three, actually) with Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy)
  11. "Review: McGregor, Plummer delight in 'Beginners'". Yahoo! News. Yahoo!. Retrieved June 20, 2011.
  12. Ebert, Roger (28 June 1979). "Lost and Found". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on 3 August 2006. Retrieved 13 February 2019.
  13. Cited in Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/romantic-comedy-1 Accessed June 20, 2011
  14. C.S Lewis, The Allegory of Love, p 19 ISBN 0-19-281220-3
  15. Harrell, Eben (23 December 2008). "Are Romantic Movies Bad For You?". TIME. Time Inc. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  16. "Does Media Distort Love?". Relevant Magazine. 13 April 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
  17. Alleyne, Richard (15 December 2018). "Romantic comedies make us 'unrealistic about relationships', claim scientists". Telegraph.co.uk. Telegraph Media Group Limited. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
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