Romantic comedy chat has come up on Done Deal recently. One thread asked what's wrong with romantic comedies. I commented that they aren't living up to their namesake. There's no romance. There's no falling in love. Where has all the chemistry gone? The "New York Times" had this article awhile back: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/opinion/04dowd.html?_r=1
Most people blame the recent plummet of rom coms on their formula. We all know how it ends; the couple gets together. Well, movies are all formulaic. In general, they're going to end two ways, happily or sadly. When you go to see an action movie or a thriller, you know the bad guy gets it at the end, or he doesn't. It's either one or the other.
We don't pay to see movies because of the endings, we pay for the journey. And just because rom coms have predictable endings, doesn't mean the journey has to feel tired. The journey feeling boring and been-there-done-that is a problem within the genre, but just pointing to rom coms and saying, "Ick, formula, run!" is a cop out.
People either like the genre or they don't. Which is fine. Viewers who like rom coms will continue to pay to see them because they want a happy ending. People want to see feel good movies. Why do you think The King's Speech has been so successful? Word of mouth has spread about it's excellent performances and how uplifted people felt when they left the theatre. Can't say the same about The Social Network, Black Swan, or Inception. All, in my opinion, are better films than TKS, but they don't leave you with that fuzzy warmth in the pit of your stomach.
I'm a proud writer of romantic comedies. I focus on trying to create journeys that don't feel like a road I've been down a thousand times before. It's effin' hard to create a world that has to satisfy genre expectations and feel fresh. I like the challenge. And I find it depressing every time a rom com comes out and sucks. It feels like a little piece of my favorite genre is dying.
The thread on rom com problems led to someone creating a thread asking to name your favorite rom com. This was particularly comical because you find out real fast who likes rom coms and who doesn't.
I like Shaun of the Dead (liked Hot Fuzz better) but it is not a rom com. It was listed again and again. Yes, there's a tiny romantic storyline, but if the last scene of the movie is about a dude hanging out with another dude (and they're not making out) it's a freaking bromance! And bromance is not romantic comedy.
Someone listed True Lies. If I would've been drinking when I read that I would've spit all over my computer screen. That is a person who haaaates romantic comedies. That's like me saying that My Best Friend's Wedding is an action movie because there's a chase scene in it. Hah!
For the most part, I don't watch movies multiple times. But these are the rom coms that I can (and do) watch over and over again:
It Happened One Night
The Philadelphia Story
Bridget Jones's Diary
You've Got Mail
Kissing Jessica Stein
Love, Actually
The Cutting Edge
Green Card
While You Were Sleeping
Cousins
Clueless
I.Q.
Runners Up (They're very good, but I wouldn't watch them more than once a year):
When Harry Met Sally
Peggy Sue Got Married
Moonstruck
Fever Pitch
Return to Me
Date with an Angel (childhood favorite)
I'll keep adding to the list as they come to me.
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