What Happened To The Rom-Com?
An exploration of why one of the most beloved genres is all but absent from the big screen. New post every Friday!
When life can become a bit too stressful, I have found that there is no better balm than turning on a rom-com that you have seen about 200 times. For about an hour and a half or two, you forget about your crowded inbox, that rude stranger you encountered at the store. You allow yourself to get swept away by a charming lead and laugh at all the predictable jokes and when the two main characters finally get together. They kiss, the embrace, the moment is so satisfying it makes the day a little easier. You feel a little more hopeful that not everyone you encounter is a total schmuck.
Love, whether lost or gained it has managed to captivate an audience no matter what the genre. No genre has captured the attention, the heart of an audience, than that of the rom-com. So many movie genre trends come and go, the silent film, westerns, and musicals. Yet none persisted in the way that a rom-com had. That is until the ushering in of the new millennium, we began to see the slow decline of the films. The same movies that made us believe in love and had an audience secretly wishing the love of their life would show up in the rain confessing their undying love and sweep us up into a pair of strong arms for a kiss began to fizzle out.
What happened? Where did the rom-com go? Where are the stars that we would eagerly await to see on our screens that made our hearts swoon? Among all the gritty and explosive superhero movies and action flicks, where are the films that soothe the soul like a warm bowl of soup on a rainy day?
I love rom-coms. Ask anyone who has read my writings for short stories or seen snippets of my novel. They have said that I have managed to sneak some of the elements that make rom-com’s so irresistible into my writing. The movies made up most of my viewing growing up, even as much as I tried to deny their charm during my “not like other girls” phase. I always found myself reaching to rewatch these stories, whenever I needed to laugh, cry, and feel.
In this three-part series, I wanted to take some time to explore what happened to this beloved genre that was a part of my life so heavily. That has so greatly influenced my work. I wanted to explore the following topics:
The decline: What happened? Why is no one watching rom-coms anymore? Why aren’t they being released on the big screen? Where are the rom-com actors?
The setting: Rom-com’s, much like real estate, has a significant factor in common: location, location! So I wanted to explore how New York City became one of the most romantic cities in many rom-coms throughout the years.
Finally: What are the makings of a good rom-com? What things make it a classic? The must-haves of a rom-com!
In today’s post, we will focus on the decline, what happened to the rom-com?
During the 90s, rom-coms had accounted for 7.4% of the releases in the theaters, and it has now dwindled down to about 0.1%. What other movies are holding the attention of movie-goers that the genre has all but almost disappeared from the big screen? There is a myriad of issues that led to the downfall of the rom-com, studios choosing to fund large blockbusters over mid-budget films, the lack of genre stars, and for a genre that was all about promoting the love among people it was extremely white, heterosexual, and able-bodied.
It isn’t unusual for a film genre to gain massive popularity and then to die out. Hollywood has seen it happen when movies transitioned from silent films to one with sounds. Westerns and musicals had audiences filling the seats of theaters before eventually giving away to the next big movie craze, yet, none has persisted quite like the rom-com. Even with love present in other genre films, the moment love becomes a stake in your story an audience cannot help but root for the characters to overcome their obstacles to be together in the end. Because there is no more classic storytelling element than love conquering all.
It can be said that with the superhero franchises and action flicks like the Fast and Furious, Star Wars, and, The Avengers, movie-goers are going to movies to see fast cars, explosions, and heroes saving the world. Although, with that metric, you’d think we would have also seen a decrease in other genres, however, there has also been an uptick in the releases of dramas and horror movies.
Many studios like Sony/Columbia, and Paramount, were beginning to see the decline of rom-coms performances in the theaters. Instead of looking to invest in mid-budget films, they are choosing to fund the next big action-packed flick over a heart-warming movie. We have seen that in the mid-2000s that studios tried to put together many big-name actors into movies, ones like He’s Just Not That Into You, Valentine’s Day, and What To Expect When You’re Expecting, just to name a few all boasted these huge casts of celebrities but failed terribly at the delivery of a quality story overpacking as many massive stars into a cast as possible. Studios didn’t think the risk was worth it in the end if a rom-com flopped, yet the same studios didn’t seem to mind too much if their latest action flick failed at the box office, since the numbers appeared to make up for the fact that even though it sucked, people still went and watched it.
Many rom-coms have found their homes on streaming sites, like Netflix and Hulu. For example, All The Boys I Loved Before saw significant success on Netflix, each installment of the series went on to become the #1 trending movie on the site, and a whole new fan base fell in love with lead actors Noah Centieno and Lana Condor.
When you think of rom-coms, you can’t help but think of some of the big names that come to mind. Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, Sandra Bullock, Richard Gere, and Tom Hanks, just to name a few. Many of these actors got their breaks from these films. They are the ones that define the genre. Whenever you saw one of their names in the credits, you knew by the end of a movie you’d be feeling warm and fuzzy all over. Rom-coms had a way of taking lesser-known actors and propelling them into stardom. Although now it seems you don’t see many actors trying to be in rom-com’s like before, many of them want to tackle more serious roles that showcase their range, whether from a dreary drama or some indie flick huge on the festival circuit.
Julia Roberts had us falling in love with Vivian Ward before she stunned us with her performance in Erin Brokovich. But, unfortunately, it seems many celebrities would rather not have to leap from one genre to the next.
You’ll notice from that list above, though, that with the way the media landscape is progressing, there has been more demand for diverse casts in all types of movies. The most glaring optic of rom-coms was their extreme lack of diversity. Films set in these major cities like L.A. or New York City all boasting primarily white casts, with maybe one or two POC or Black characters in the movie as a supportive friend or, for the most part, non-speaking roles.
It was why when Crazy Rich Asians were released in theaters boasting an all Asian cast and crew, it saw record-breaking numbers in the box office—making over $238.5 million in its theatrical run. It was the first time we saw a fully diverse cast of Asian actors that led the movie into stardom and worked into launching the careers of actors Henry Golding, Gemma Chan, and Constance Wu.
People demanded to be more represented on screen and seen in the stories where people fall in love. Through the years, many classic rom-com films have come under fire for their lack of diversity, racist depictions of characters, the romanticization of abusive and toxic behaviors from many of the leading men who often stalked harassed their leading lady, and unrealistic portrayals of women. When you watch movies like How To Lose A Guy In 10 Days, you’re immediately met with Andie Anderson, who portrays all the worst traits that women are often demonized for to scare off potential new beau Ben Berry portrayed by Matthew McConaughey. Her portrayal as the clingy, overly emotional woman who drove Ben away was not favored as audiences watch the film now and criticize it for its unrealistic portrayal of women.
In the film There's Something About Mary, Ted, played by Ben Stiller, has a massive crush on the beautiful Mary, played by Cameron Diaz. However, when he asks her out to a dance in high school, he suffers a very embarrassing incident that causes him to miss the dance, and Mary quietly slips out of his life. He is left wondering for 13 years after what would have happened had he not suffered from a regrettable accident with a zipper. Ted even goes as far as to hire a private eye, adopt a new persona, and attempts to woo Mary again. The movie goes on to romanticize stalking. There is that fine line that gets blurred between romantic pursuits. Mary's outright stalking has many viewers questioning why any such behavior was okay to begin within any of these movies.
Many of these factors added up to the steep decline in the genre. However, while big studios aim to make the following significant action hit, rom-coms are finding more of their home among streaming sites and studios seeking to gear the movies more towards a teenage demographic than the one that adults once dominated. Movies like The Half Of It, Love, Simon, for example showing teens the diversity of love and the warm, heartfelt films missing for LGBT viewers who had longed to see themselves portrayed on-screen as more than just the supportive gay best friend.
Like all trends in Hollywood, I am confident the rom-com will make its comeback to the big screen. There are plenty of rom-com gems that can be found on streaming sites, and of course, the classics are always there waiting for you to return home to them.
Do you think we will see a rom-com resurgence? If so, do you think it will be a return to the big screen, or is streaming the new home of the rom-com? Next week I plan to explore how in so many rom-coms, New York City has become the most romantic city in the world. Why do so many of our beloved rom-coms take place there? What is about the Big Apple that we love so much?
Thank you so much for reading! I’ll see you next week!