Romantic comedy: Difference between revisions

'''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 [[Romance (love)|true love]] is able to surmount most obstacles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.storyispromise.com/wromance.htm|title=The Art of the Romantic Comedy|last=Johnson|first=Bill|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120910202127/http://www.storyispromise.com/wromance.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-09-10}}</ref> One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.macmillandictionary.com/dictionary/american/romantic-comedy|title=romantic comedy (noun) American English definition and synonyms - Macmillan Dictionary|website=www.macmillandictionary.com}}</ref> Another definition suggests that its "primary distinguishing feature is a love plot in which two sympathetic and well-matched lovers are united or reconciled".<ref name="depaul.edu">{{cite web|url=http://condor.depaul.edu/dsimpson/tlove/comic-tragic.html|title=Comedy and Tragedy}}</ref>

The basic plot of a [[Romance film|romantic]] [[comedy]] is that two characters [[meet cute|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 [[happy ending|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]]'').<ref>Mernit, Billy. ''Writing the Romantic Comedy'' ([[Harper Collins]], 2000) </ref> 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 [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]] plays like ''[[Much Ado About Nothing]]'' and ''[[A Midsummer Night's Dream]]''.

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 [[subgenre]]s 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"<ref>{{cite web|url=http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/romantic+comedy|title=Romantic comedy – Define Romantic comedy at Dictionary.com|work=Dictionary.com}}</ref> 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.

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 (2009 film)|Adam]]'' have the two main interests end up separated but still content and pursuing other goals and love interests.

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]]<ref>{{cite web |quote=She has a Meet-Cute (three, actually) with Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy) |first=Roger |last=Ebert |author-link=Roger Ebert |title=Ella Enchanted |url=http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040409/REVIEWS/404090304/1023 |date=18 April 2004 |access-date=13 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040907034225/http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=%2F20040409%2FREVIEWS%2F404090304%2F1023 |archive-date=7 September 2004 |work=[[RogerEbert.com]] |url-status=live }}</ref> or the Associated Press' [[Christy Lemire]]<ref>{{cite news |title=Review: McGregor, Plummer delight in 'Beginners' |url=https://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110601/ap_en_mo/us_film_review_beginners |access-date=June 20, 2011 |work=[[Yahoo! News]] |publisher=[[Yahoo!]] }}{{dead link|date=August 2020|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> 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").

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.

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]]."<ref>Cited in Answers.com [https://www.answers.com/topic/romantic-comedy-1 http://www.answers.com/topic/romantic-comedy-1] Accessed June 20, 2011</ref>

Comedies since [[Ancient Greek comedy|ancient Greece]] have often incorporated sexual or social elements.

== Effects ==

With the increase of romantic comedy movies, there has been an apparent change in the way society views romance. Researchers<ref name="Harrell">{{Cite news |title=Are Romantic Movies Bad For You? |url=http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1868389,00.html |magazine=[[TIME]] |date=23 December 2008 |access-date=13 October 2015 |issn=0040-781X |first=Eben |last=Harrell |publisher=[[Time Inc.]]}}</ref> 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.