From Love to Hate: the Fall of the Rom-Coms
One of the most polarizing genres of the movie industry is no doubt romantic-comedy which has been subject to both heavy scrutiny and a cult-like following. Regardless of where you stand on the love-hate spectrum, rom-coms have indisputably created countless iconic moments, from the Dirty Dancing lift to Mandy Patinkin’s performance in The Princess Bride. Though the romantic-comedy genre dates back centuries, seen in Jane Austen and Shakespeare, it seems to have skyrocketed in popularity in the eighties and nineties, followed by a sudden and mysterious loss in popularity. As a hardcore lover of rom-coms, I set out to discover just what about the rom-coms had so much initial appeal, why the industry faded out, and whether there is hope for the future of the genre.
The romantic-comedy seemed to have appeal for all parties involved. For actors like Hugh Grant, Julia Roberts, or Tom Hanks, it was a massive launching point in their careers. For producers, it only seemed natural to make rom-coms for as long as possible: new, up-and-coming actors and simple sets made the movies fairly cheap to make and consistent audience response helped the movies turn a significant profit. But why did audiences like rom-coms so much? In my opinion, they are the perfect balance between fantasy and reality. While the rom-com is often criticized for being too unrealistic, that is precisely what viewers look for. They escape from the menial, mundane nature of everyday life by inserting themselves into a life of fantasy. Rom-coms were not just an escape from their everyday lives, but an escape to an (unrealistically) happier world. Vivian, Julia Roberts’ character in Pretty Women, perfectly articulates her desire for this, saying “I want the fairytale,” when, after many years of turbulent dating, she is offered a stable (but unromantic) life. This is where the balance comes in: because although the events of these rom-coms may have been unrealistic, in many ways characters were painfully relatable. From the longing for love to the excruciatingly awkward situations from which rom-coms derive their humour, many people took comfort in the fact that characters so similar to themselves experience things that they dreamed about and had such happy endings. Considering everything the genre had going for it, and its popularity in the eighties and nineties, one might never predict its fall. So, how did Hollywood end up saying goodbye (or, rather, see you later) to the genre which had us at “hello”?
The movie industry is cyclical, with various genres rising and falling throughout history. By the late 2000s, the rom-com genre seemed to have experienced less of a fade-out, and more of an all-out death. Rom-coms had a fairly standard, cookie-cutter plot, barring the occasional outlier like Sleepless in Seattle, where the leads don’t meet each other until the end of the movie. By the time the industry finally started to evolve, with the comedy getting raunchier, and the romance more realistic (taking inspiration from Julia Roberts’ My Best Friend’s Wedding, where the lead is single in the end), the audience lost interest. Moreover, as the events of these movies became more predictable, their flaws - no longer masked by the excitement of the plot - became more apparent. Lack of diversity was a primary issue, with most rom-coms of the time featuring straight, rich, white characters facing no problems other than their lack of true love (much like the people writing and producing them). So while audiences may be able to see themselves in 10 Things I Hate About You protagonist Kat Stratford’s love of feminist prose and thai food, large parts of their identity - be it gender, race, religion, or sexuality - were underrepresented. The main culprit for the death of the rom-com, though, was a shift in interest among viewers brought on by a new age of technology. They no longer wanted to see the feel-good movie ending with the guy getting the girl. They wanted something fresh and exciting and were looking for a movie to satisfy this desire. Enter: Avatar. The 2009 film showed viewers a new thrill-seeking way of movie watching, and showed movie-makers that sometimes you need to put in the money (the film cost a not-so-modest three hundred million dollars to make) to see the money (Avatar became the second highest-grossing movie in history). With this shift in priorities, romance seemed to take a backseat, reduced only to surface-level, conflict-free subplots used to give the audience time to breathe, and CGI-artists time for their lunch break.
In the late 2010s, the industry seemed to make a slow but promising comeback. Though the exact origin of this resurgence is unsure, I would place it on the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians. This film was the whole package, and what rom-com lovers and critics alike were searching for. The old, tried-and-true romantic gestures, heartfelt professions of love, and fish-out-of-water lead that we loved in the classic rom-coms of decades past, with a new, fresh twist. The movie featured diversity, not only in race but also in cultural values, with much of the film’s conflict coming from the main character Rachel’s more western views conflicting with potential mother-in-law Eleanor’s eastern values. This tension climaxed in the movie’s famous Mahjong scene, which highlighted both characters’ perspectives in a way that was not particularly antagonizing to either. With Crazy Rich Asians leading the movement, it seems the resurgence of the rom-com is looking promising.
During quarantine, a phrase I heard often from celebrity actors, singers, and artists was “in times of trouble, we turn towards art.”. While the tone-deafness of this statement has been justly noted, it has proven to be true, as almost every conversation I had over zoom eventually turned to discuss the most popular show or movie of the time. When reality seemed so bleak, Netflix provided an escape through outside-of-reality, feel-good media. People fled to the rom-com, indulging in a genre filled with endings found only in fairytales, causing old classics to be rewatched, and new releases, like To All the Boys: P.S. I Still Love You to rise to the top of Netflix’s most-watched list.
No movie genre is immune to the ebb and flow of interest and trends. While the romantic-comedy may have crashed further and harder than many genres, it was bound to undergo a resurgence. This is not only due to the cyclical nature of the film industry but also because of its core central theme: love, a feeling which is seen in all times and places. Recent rom-coms only provide further confidence that the genre used its sabbatical to come back funnier, more romantic, and better than before.
Works cited:
https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/what-is-profitable-movie-ever-1
https://screenrant.com/romantic-comedies-died-2000s-revival-how/
https://www.google.ca/books/edition/From_Hollywood_with_Love/XIA1EAAAQBAJ?h
l=en&gbpv=1&printsec=frontcover