The 5 Signs Of The Classic Rom-Com
What makes a rom-com so good that makes you want to watch it over and over again?
When you’re watching a rom-com, you can always know what to expect. The same could be said for many genre films. There is always some tell-tale sign or some predictable pattern that many follow. While some have executed this method to perfection to give us the iconic movies that defined the genre, some, of course, have fallen flat. Although much of my research came to tell me what led to the decline of rom-coms, I also sought out to find what are the things that make a rom-com withstand the test of time.
Welcome to the final installment of What Happened To The Rom-Com? In our last piece here, we take the time to explore what it is about rom-coms that we love so much. What are the makings of a good one? Is it the stars, the setting, the story? Or a mix of it all. I believe in my research there are five signs of a good rom-com, that if a rom-com has one or all of these things, it is what tends to make it a hit. It is why movies seem to hold up, and whenever you ask someone what some of their favorite movies are, a lot of these titles tend to make it into their lists
Sign 1: The Meet-Cute
This is essential for any rom-com how our two lovebirds meet. The meet-cute is the charming and amusing scenario in which our two characters meet that leads to the eventual romantic relationship blossoming between them, whether it is an 18-hour car ride to New York City between two polar opposites like Harry and Sally in When Harry Met Sally. Or when Vivian Ward gets in Edward Lewis’ car in Pretty Woman and charges Edward for directions to get to Beverly Hills, he hops into his car without his permission. You get the delightful exchange of banter between the two characters, and you begin to see some of their personalities, and you wonder just where this meeting will take them and will they, won’t they? It gets the ball rolling.
You have many classic moments of this in plenty of other movies, too, like when Matthew McConaughey saves Jennifer Lopez’s character in The Wedding Planner from being run over by a dumpster after her shoe gets stuck in a sewer grate. We get the classic line, “you smell like sweet plums and grilled cheese sandwiches.” In her dazed state. These scenarios sometimes give you some of the most iconic lines in a film and even make you laugh at the impossible situation of it all.
Sign 2: Romantic Heroes
Another very essential thing that every great rom-com needs are two loveable lead characters. The people you meet onscreen chemistry should have you rooting for them right from the start. As mentioned in one of my previous posts, one of the reasons why rom-coms had such a steep decline was that many studios were trying to pack as many big-name actors into a movie as possible. There was no real chemistry between these characters and without it, it can become hard to believe that these people actually have any sort of romantic feelings for each other.
Sure, movies like You’ve Got Mail, Runaway Bride, and Notting Hill boasted huge stars like Meg Ryan, Tom Hanks, Julia Roberts, Richard Gere, and Hugh Grant. However, there is no mistaking that when you watch these movies you are drawn to the sparks that fly between these two characters and it was what propelled many of these actors into the legendary status that they remain in now. Julia Roberts and Meg Ryan all but ruled the woman that any man would fall head-over-heels crazy in love for. Tom Hanks and Billy Crystal were charming, witty, and although not considered conventionally attractive. Many women, myself included, wondered if someday they would come across their own Joe Fox, or Harry Burns.
Sign 3: The Conflict
When you watch a rom-com, you allow yourself to get transported to a place where for about an hour or two, life seems a bit easier, and while many of us enjoy watching rom-coms to escape from the daily grind. However, you cannot have any story without conflict. Because love never comes easy, and even in rom-coms, that makes us feel warm and fuzzy on the inside. If everything is too easy or too pleasant, you will probably lose interest. Although we root for our couples to get together, the conflict is what keeps us engaged. In You've Got Mail! Kathleen and Joe may be romantic and flirty in their email exchanges, but in their daily lives, Kathleen is trying to save her family's bookstore from being shut down by the chain store that Joe runs. The two of them come to blows every time they meet before discovering the truth about the other.
In Runaway Bride, Maggie keeps leaving her fiance's at the altar until Ike comes to town to learn more about why the bride is so skittish to get married. Until finally, at the end, when Ike and Maggie reunite again in New York, only to get married in a private ceremony because Maggie had taken the time to discover who she is outside of the men she almost married. Overall these movies always tend to have a happy ending. However, the ending is always much more satisfying after the conflict when our two main characters finally get together in the end.
Sign 4: The Grand Romantic Gesture
Of course, the staple in any rom-com is the grand gesture. It’s the scene in every rom-com that has us on the edge of our seats. It is the scene in the movie where our characters are typically running through the rain to find their realized love, or uttering famous lines in a movie. “So, what happened after he climbed up the tower and rescued her? She rescues him right back.” Scenes like Harry running across New York City to profess his love for Sally on New Year’s Eve, and Nick following Rachel onto her airplane in Crazy Rich Asians to propose to her. It is Patrick Verona in 10 Things I Hate About You inflitrating their school’s speaker system to sing and dance his proclamation of infatuation for our bristly Kat Stratford during soccer practice in his rendition of Frank Valli’s Can’t Take My Eyes Off Of You.
It’s the scene in the movies where the characters fight against all the odds. Traffic, bad weather, and sometimes yes there are even musical numbers! We rejoice because in these moments of outrageous proclamations of love we know that our two leads realize that they were made for each other and that they had loved each other all along. It is these scenes that defined the genre and set the standard for many rom-coms to follow. I believe this is one of the most significant factors in a rom-com, almost every single one you watch has one. I dare you to find one that doesn’t!
Sign 5: And They Lived Happily Ever After
Much like the grand romantic gesture, they lived happily after always tying a lovely ribbon on our movie. These are the scenes we see after all the trials and tribulations our leading heroes had to endure. To reach this point, you get them together. Some rom-coms end in weddings, like Runaway Bride, some with new beginnings for the character. Like In All The Boys I Loved Before: Always and Forever, the final scene is of Lara Jean in her dorm at NYU, happy to begin her new life at college, knowing that something like distance can't crush their love. Finally, it is the ending interview scene of When Harry Met Sally, where the two talk about what brought them together and how long they've been together, and just how happy they are that they're finally together.
The films give you a glimpse into the future and leave the audiences with a sense of satisfaction, knowing that perhaps the couples remained together in the far-off future. Some married, some started families. However, one thing rang true is that through all the circumstances and obstacles, they found each other in the end and that their love got them to the finish line.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this series. It was a project I sincerely enjoyed writing and researching. As someone who has logged in many hours watching rom-coms, it was fun for me over the last month to write about them in-depth. Again, I enjoyed writing this series, and I hope you all did as well. Next month for October, I have some things planned and perhaps a seasonal piece for Halloween.
If you ever want to talk more about anything you’d like to see me write about, feel free to reach me over on Twitter @mirandatorys I will be setting up a CuriousCat at some point if you care to leave something anonymously instead.