Nothing makes for a more perfect Valentine’s Day than a heart shaped box of chocolate , emotional notes professing undying love and ending the day with a heartwarming romantic comedy.
The original rom-coms can be traced back to Elizabethan times and William Shakespeare’s plays.
Modern filmmakers even pay homage to Shakespeare’s unique love stories in popular films like “10 Things I Hate about You” (1999)which was inspired by “The Taming of the Shrew.”
According to Britton Perelman in her article “The Nine Elements of All Great Rom-coms”, most modern romantic comedies typically follow a formula.
Meet-Cute: Every romantic comedy begins with the “meet-cute.” This plot staple brings together the two characters for the first time.
“In movies through the ages, meet-cutes have ranged from zany to thrilling, from romantic to silly. The mark of a good one is not only a clever or entertaining setup, but also how the story follows through,” According to Cady Lang in her article “20 of the Sweetest, Funniest, and Most Outrageous Meet-Cutes in Rom-Com History.”
For example, in the 2004 film “50 First Dates” Henry (Adam Sandler) goes out to breakfast every morning until Lucy (Drew Barrymore) catches his eye while working on a waffle tower. Henry offers his toothpick to keep the tower together, and the two immediately hit it off.
Setting: Another important element is the setting. Beautiful locations like New York or romantic cities like Paris allow viewers to feel in the moment with the movie.
In the new film “Anyone but you” Bea (Sydney Sweeney) and Ben (Glen Powell) find themselves later to be in a wedding in Australia which gives a incredible background to impress the audience with such a beautiful performance.
Super Fun Montage: Understanding the relationship between the characters by showing the fun moments and when the partners get to know each other is known as a super fun montage.
“My forever favorite mini montage in a movie has to be in the popular film ‘How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days’,” junior Ava Gorny said. “In the middle of the film, Andie [Kate Hudson] and Benjamin [Matthew McConaughey] go to his family’s house for the weekend, and a montage of their fun moments together while away has to be one of the most lovable moments I have seen in a rom com.”
Sidekick: No rom-com is complete without the obligatory best friend or sidekick. These characters can even end up being the audience’s favorite character throughout the movie because of their funny personality, sage advice or their unforgettable lines.
Just try to imagine what “Notting Hill” (1999) would have been like without Spike’s (Rhys Ifan) impressively inappropriate T-shirts or Penny (Judy Greer) from “The Wedding Planner” (2001) unskillfully removing herself from a situation with the line: “Oh no, darnit… I just remembered that I promised my friend’s brother’s godmother that I would help her change her fax cartridge because she’s going out of town tomorrow… on an African safari.”
“In the 1995 film ‘Clueless ‘Cher [Alicia Silverstone] always has her best friend Dionne Stacey Dash] with her through every emotion she is feeling,” junior Laney Trepachko said “Dionne has always been a favorite because of the humor she adds to the film along with some relatable scenes.”
Conflict: Every romantic comedy has a unique, troublesome situation that puts the couple’s relationship to the test and temporarily splits them apart. This is usually caused by a major argument, a misunderstanding or a lie. The seemingly insurmountable issue is typically resolved by the end of the film with the couple reuniting to express their love is a whole hearted moment to the audience.
In “She’s the Man”(2006), Viola Johnson (Amanda Bynes) coupons a foolish act to dress like her twin brother and takes his place at boarding school but can’t help falling in love with her roommate Duke (Channing Tatum). As chaotic as that is, Viola ‘s twin comes back from his time away and everyone finds out his replacement was his twin sister. After all that time Duke spent with Viola, nothing stopped him from falling in love.
Grand Gesture: In any romantic comedy, there is the defining moment when one character proves his / her love for the other. This can take the form of confessing their love in front of a group of people, stopping the plane or writing the perfect love song.
“In the movie ‘10 Things I Hate about You’, the most heartwarming scene is toward the end when Kat [Julia Stiles]confesses her love for Patrick [Heath Ledger]while sharing with the class a poem she wrote herself,” junior Laney Trepachko said.
Lightbulb Moment: The best part of a romance movie is the moment when the two characters realize the love that they share. It is always the most heartwarming moment in a movie and is usually showcased in the trailer.
The 1999 film “She’s All That”, shows the best light bulb moment when Laney Boggs (Rachel Leigh Cook) walks down the stairs impressing Zack Siler (Freddie Prinze Jr.) into making him fall in love with her new look and regretting his secret bet. Laney slowly walks down the stairs with the tune “Kiss me” by Sixpence None The Richer lightens the moment, Zach is left speechless.
According to Reel Women in the article “Teen movie makeovers, pt. 7:” She’s All That The camera first shows us Zack, looking mildly apprehensive, then cuts to Laney’s feet (clad in strappy red heels, of course), slowly panning up her body and the short, red dress that Zack brought her before finally revealing her lightly made-up, glasses-free face and flattering new bob.
Happy Ending: It is the most predictable yet heartfelt part of a movie. Before the credits roll, the couple admits their undying love for each other, and the viewers are left with the feeling that the characters “live happily ever after” like in a fairytale.
Who can forget Dorothy’s (Renee Zellweger)“You had me at Hello” to Tom Cruise in “Jerry McGuire” (1996), or Kathleen’s admission of “I wanted it to be you” to Joe (Tom Hanks) from 1998’s “You’ve Got Mail”?
According to Rafa Boladeras from Movieweb, ‘When Harry Met Sally’ (1989) has the perfect romantic ending. After a whole movie where the lead characters Harry (Billy Crystal) and Sally (Meg Ryan), have gone from acquaintances to friends, then best friends and lovers, they have broken up. It’s here that Harry makes the final romantic gesture and goes in search of Sally on New Year’s Eve to tell her how he feels, because as he puts it, “When you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible”.
