Romantic comedy

Short description: Film genre

For other uses, see Social:Romantic comedy (disambiguation).

The hitchhiking scene from It Happened One Night

Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how love is able to surmount all obstacles.[1] Romantic comedy evolved from Ancient Greek comedy, medieval romance, and 18th-century Restoration comedy, later developing into sub-genres like screwball comedies, career woman comedies, and 1950s sex comedies in Hollywood.

Over time, the genre has expanded beyond traditional structures, incorporating unconventional themes, challenging gender roles, and addressing adult topics while maintaining its core focus on romance and humor.

A common convention in romantic comedies is the "meet-cute", a humorous or unexpected encounter that creates initial tension and sets up the romantic storyline.

## Contents

* 1 History
* 2 Evolution
* 3 Contrived romantic encounters: the "meet cute"
* 4 See also
* 5 References
* 6 External links

## History

Kathryn Grayson in Seven Sweethearts (1942), a musical romantic comedy film

Comedies, rooted in the fertility rites and satyr plays of ancient Greece, have often incorporated sexual or social elements.[2][3]

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."[4]

It was not until the development of the literary tradition of romantic love in the Western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations. They were previously referred to as the heroic adventures of medieval chivalric romance. Those adventures traditionally focused on a knight's feats on behalf of a lady, so the modern themes of love were quickly woven into them, as in Chrétien de Troyes's Lancelot, the Knight of the Cart.[5]

File:Philadelphia Story 13.jpgThe Philadelphia Story, considered a pinnacle of romantic comedy

The contemporary romantic comedy genre was shaped by 18th-century Restoration comedy and 19th-century romantic melodrama.[6] Restoration comedies were typically comedies of manners that relied on knowledge of the complex social rules of high society, particularly related to navigating the marriage-market, an inherent feature of the plot in many of these plays, such as William Wycherley's The Country Wife.[7] While the melodramas of the Romantic period had little to do with comedy, they were hybrids incorporating elements of domestic and sentimental tragedies, pantomime "with an emphasis on gesture, on the body, and the thrill of the chase," and other genres of expression such as songs and folk tales.[8]

In the 20th century, as Hollywood grew, the romantic comedy in America mirrored other aspects of society in its rapid changes, developing many sub-genres through the decades. We can see this through the screwball comedy in response to the censorship of the Hays Code in the 1920s–1930s,[9] the career woman comedy (such as George Stevens' Woman of the Year, starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy) post-WWII, and the sex comedy made popular by Rock Hudson and Doris Day in the 1950s–1960s.[6]

## Evolution

Marilyn Monroe and Tom Ewell in the Seven Year Itch (1955) trailer

Over the years, romantic comedies have slowly been becoming more popular with both men and women. They have begun to spread out of their conventional and traditional structure into other territory and to explore 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"[10] but with more complexity. Some romantic comedies have adopted special circumstances for the main characters, as in Warm Bodies where the protagonist is a zombie who falls in love with a human girl after eating her boyfriend. The effect of their love towards each other is that it starts spreading to the other zombies and even starts to cure them. With the zombie cure, the two main characters can now be together since they do not have a barrier between them anymore.[11] Another strange set of circumstances is in Zack and Miri Make a Porno where the two protagonists are building a relationship while trying to make a pornographic film together. Both these films take the typical story arc and then add strange circumstances to add originality.

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, have the two main interests to end up separated but still content and pursue other goals and love interests.

File:The apartment trailer 1.JPGThe Apartment has come to be regarded as one of the greatest films ever made, appearing in lists by the American Film Institute and Sight and Sound magazine. In 1994, it was one of 25 films selected for inclusion to the Library of Congress National Film Registry.[12][13]

Some romantic comedies use reversal of gender roles to add comedic effect, popular in screwball comedies.[14] These films contain characters who possess qualities that diverge from the gender role that society has imposed upon them, as seen in Forgetting Sarah Marshall, in which the male protagonist is especially in touch with his emotions. It can also be seen in Made of Honor, in which the female bridesmaids are shown in a negative and somewhat masculine light to advance the likability of the male lead.[15]

Other remakes of romantic comedies involve similar elements, but they explore more adult themes such as marriage, responsibility, or even disability. Two films by Judd Apatow, This Is 40 and Knocked Up, deal with these issues. This Is 40 chronicles the mid-life crisis of a couple entering their 40s and Knocked Up addresses unintended pregnancy and the ensuing assuming of responsibility. Silver Linings Playbook deals with mental illness and the courage to start a new relationship.

All of these go against the stereotype of what romantic comedy has become as a genre. Yet, the genre of romantic comedy is simply a structure, and all of these elements do not negate the fact that these films are still romantic comedies.

## Contrived romantic encounters: the "meet cute"

Main article: Engineering:Meet cute

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[16] or the Associated Press's Christy Lemire[17] have called a "meet-cute" situation. During a "meet-cute", scriptwriters often create a 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").

Roger Ebert describes the concept of a Meet Cute as "when boy meets girl in a cute way". As an example, he cites "The Meet Cute in Lost and Found [which] has Jackson and Segal running their cars into each other in Switzerland. Once recovered, they Meet Cute again when they run into each other while on skis. Eventually, they fall in love."[18]

## See also

* Bromantic comedy
* Chick flick
* Screwball comedy
* Sex comedy
* Sitcom
* List of romantic comedy films
* List of romantic comedy television series

## References

1. ↑ Johnson, Bill. "The Art of the Romantic Comedy". http://www.storyispromise.com/wromance.htm.
2. ↑ "comedy". Philip's. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199546091.001.0001/acref-9780199546091-e-2649..
3. ↑ Bermel, Albert (January 2005). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Theatre and Performance. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-860174-6. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198601746.001.0001/acref-9780198601746-e-867. Retrieved 2 July 2022.
4. ↑ Cited in Answers.com http://www.answers.com/topic/romantic-comedy-1 Accessed June 20, 2011
5. ↑ C.S Lewis, The Allegory of Love, p 19 ISBN 0-19-281220-3
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Kuhn, Annette; Westwell, Guy (25 June 2020). "romantic comedy". A Dictionary of Film Studies. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-883209-6. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198832096.001.0001/acref-9780198832096-e-0593. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
7. ↑ Baldick, Chris (23 July 2015). "Restoration comedy". The Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-871544-3. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780198715443.001.0001/acref-9780198715443-e-971. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
8. ↑ "melodrama". An Oxford Companion to the Romantic Age. Oxford University Press. 1999. ISBN 978-0-19-924543-7. https://www.oxfordreference.com/view/10.1093/acref/9780199245437.001.0001/acref-9780199245437-e-436. Retrieved 10 July 2022.
9. ↑ Gehring, Wes D.. "Defining Screwball". https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=157123451&site=eds-live&scope=site.
10. ↑ "Romantic comedy – Define Romantic comedy at Dictionary.com". Dictionary.com. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/romantic+comedy.
11. ↑ Johnson, Bill. "The Art of the Romantic Comedy". A Story is a Promise. http://www.storyispromise.com/wromance.htm.
12. ↑ "25 Films Added to National Registry" (in en-US). The New York Times. 1994-11-15. ISSN 0362-4331. https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/15/movies/25-films-added-to-national-registry.html.
13. ↑ "Complete National Film Registry Listing". https://www.loc.gov/programs/national-film-preservation-board/film-registry/complete-national-film-registry-listing/.
14. ↑ The Big romance of Something Wild?: romantic comedy today
15. ↑ Guys Are the New Girls
16. ↑ Ebert, Roger (18 April 2004). "Ella Enchanted". RogerEbert.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20040409/REVIEWS/404090304/1023. "She has a Meet-Cute (three, actually) with Prince Charmont (Hugh Dancy)"
17. ↑ "Review: McGregor, Plummer delight in 'Beginners'". Deseret News (Deseret). Jun 1, 2011. https://www.deseret.com/2011/6/1/20195497/review-mcgregor-plummer-delight-in-beginners#in-this-film-publicity-image-released-by-focus-features-christopher-plummer-is-shown-in-a-scene-from-beginners.
18. ↑ Ebert, Roger (28 June 1979). "Lost and Found". RogerEbert.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/19790628/REVIEWS/906280301/1023.

## External links

* Romantic Comedy Movies – worldwide movies from the 1940s to upcoming releases, with box office performance from The Numbers
* Market Performance of Romantic Comedies – U.S. movies box office performance from The Numbers

* v
* t
* e

Film genres

By style|

* Action
* Arthouse
* Heroic bloodshed
* Hong Kong action
* Adventure
* Survival
* Art
* Biographical
* Christian
* Comedy
* Black
* Commedia all'italiana
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Bromantic
* Dramedy
* Gross out
* Horror
* Parody
* Mo lei tau
* Thriller
* Remarriage
* Romantic
* Sex
* Screwball
* Silent
* Slapstick
* Documentary
* Animated
* Docudrama
* Mockumentary
* Mondo
* Pseudo
* Semi
* Travel
* Drama
* Dramedy
* Historical
* Legal
* Melodrama
* Korean
* Erotic
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Pink
* Sexploitation
* Thriller
* Educational
* Social guidance
* Epic
* Sword-and-sandal
* Experimental
* Exploitation
* see Exploitation film template
* Fantasy
* Comedy
* Contemporary
* Fairy tale
* Fantastique
* High
* Historical
* Magic realism
* Science
* Film noir
* Bad girl
* Neo-noir
* Occult detective
* Pulp noir
* Tech noir
* Gothic
* Romance
* Southern
* Space
* Suburban
* Urban
* Horror
* Body
* Cannibal
* Chinese horror
* Comedy
* Eco
* Fantastique
* Found footage
* German underground
* Ghost
* Giallo
* Holiday
* Japanese horror
* Korean horror
* Lovecraftian
* Mumblegore
* Natural
* New French Extremity
* Occult detective
* Psycho-biddy
* Psychological
* Religious
* Science fiction
* Slasher
* Splatter
* Satanic
* Mumblecore
* Mumblegore
* Musical
* Backstage
* Jukebox
* Musicarello
* Operetta
* Sceneggiata
* Mystery
* Giallo
* Occult detective
* Pornographic
* Hardcore pornography
* Softcore pornography
* Propaganda
* Reality
* Romantic
* Comedy
* Bromantic
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Paranormal
* Thriller
* Science fiction
* Comedy
* Cyberpunk
* Fantastique
* Fantasy
* Gothic
* Horror
* Japanese cyberpunk
* Military
* Mundane
* New Wave
* Parallel universe
* Planetary romance
* Space opera
* Steampunk
* Tokusatsu
* Western
* Thriller
* Comedy
* Conspiracy
* Erotic
* Financial
* Giallo
* Legal
* New French Extremity
* Political
* Psychological
* Romantic
* Techno
* Transgressive
* Cinema of Transgression
* Extreme cinema
* New French Extremity
* Trick

By theme|

* Animals
* Beach party
* Blaxploitation
* Body swap
* Bourekas
* Buddy
* Buddy cop
* Female
* Cannibal
* Chicano
* Colonial
* Coming-of-age
* Concert
* Crime
* Gangster
* Gentleman thief
* Gokudō
* Gong'an
* Heist
* Heroic bloodshed
* Hood
* Mafia
* Mafia comedy
* Mumbai underworld
* Poliziotteschi
* Yakuza
* Dance
* Disaster
* Apocalyptic
* Drug
* Psychedelic
* Stoner
* Dystopian
* Economic
* Ethnographic
* Extraterrestrial
* Food and drink
* Funny animal
* Gendai-geki
* Ghost
* Goona-goona epic
* Gothic
* Romance
* Southern
* Space
* Suburban
* Urban
* Ecchi
* Girls with guns
* Harem
* Hentai
* Tentacle erotica
* Lolicon
* Kaitō
* Magical girl
* Mecha
* Shotacon
* Yaoi
* Yuri
* Homeland
* Jidaigeki
* LGBT
* Luchador
* Martial arts
* Bruceploitation
* Chopsocky
* Gun fu
* Kung fu
* Wuxia
* Mecha
* Mexploitation
* Monster
* Giant monster
* Jiangshi
* Kaiju
* Vampire
* Werewolf
* Zombie
* Mountain
* Mouth of Garbage
* Muslim social
* Nature
* Environmental issues
* Opera
* Outlaw biker
* Ozploitation
* Partisan film
* Pirate
* Prison
* Women
* Race
* Rape and revenge
* Road
* Rubble
* Rumberas
* Samurai
* Sexploitation
* Bavarian porn
* Commedia sexy all'italiana
* Mexican sex comedy
* Nazi exploitation
* Pornochanchada
* Nunsploitation
* Sex report
* Shomin-geki
* Slavery
* Slice of life
* Snuff
* Crush
* South Seas
* Sports
* Spy
* Eurospy
* Superhero
* Surfing
* Swashbuckler
* Sword-and-sandal
* Sword and sorcery
* Travel
* Trial
* Vigilante
* War
* Anti-war
* Euro War
* Submarine
* Western
* Acid
* Florida
* Meat pie
* Northern
* Ostern
* revisionist
* Space
* Spaghetti
* Weird
* Zombie
* Zombie comedy

By movement
or period|

* Absolute
* New Objectivity
* Australian New Wave
* Auteur films
* Berlin School
* Bourekas
* Brighton School
* British New Wave
* Kitchen sink realism
* Budapest school
* Cannibal boom
* Cinéma du look
* Cinema Novo
* Cinema of Transgression
* Cinéma pur
* Commedia all'italiana
* Documentary Film Movement
* Dogme 95
* Erra Cinema
* European art cinema
* Film gris
* Free Cinema
* French New Wave
* German Expressionist
* German underground horror
* Nigerian Golden Age
* Grupo Cine Liberación
* Heimatfilm
* Hollywood on the Tiber
* Hong Kong New Wave
* Iranian New Wave
* Italian futurist
* Italian neorealist
* Japanese New Wave
* Kammerspielfilm
* L.A. Rebellion
* Lettrist
* Mumblecore
* Neorealist
* New French Extremity
* New German
* New Generation
* New Hollywood
* New Nollywood
* New Queer
* No wave
* Nuevo Cine Mexicano
* Parallel cinema
* Persian Film
* Poetic realist
* Polish Film School
* Poliziotteschi
* Praška filmska škola
* Prussian film
* Pure Film Movement
* Remodernist
* Romanian New Wave
* Spaghetti Western
* Socialist realist
* Social realist
* Kitchen sink realism
* Soviet Parallel
* Structural
* Surrealist
* Sword-and-sandal
* Telefoni Bianchi
* Third Cinema
* Toronto New Wave
* Yugoslav Black Wave

By demographics|

* Adult
* Black film
* Children and Family
* Teen
* Men
* Stag
* Women
* Chick flick

By format,
technique,
approach,
or production|

* 3D
* Actuality
* Animation
* anime
* cartoon
* computer
* stop-motion
* traditional
* Anthology
* Art
* B movie
* Black-and-white
* Blockbuster
* Bollywood
* Masala
* Cinéma vérité
* Classical Hollywood cinema
* Collage
* Color
* Compilation
* Composite
* Computer screen
* Cult
* midnight movie
* Database cinema
* Docufiction
* Ethnofiction
* Experimental
* Abstract
* Feature
* Featurette
* Film à clef
* Film noir
* Film-poem
* Found footage
* Grindhouse
* Hyperlink cinema
* Independent
* Guerrilla filmmaking
* Interstitial art
* Live action
* animation
* Low-budget
* Major studio
* Making-of
* Message picture
* Meta-film
* Mockbuster
* Musical short
* Lollywood
* Mythopoeia
* Neorealist
* No-budget
* Paracinema
* Participatory
* Poetry
* Postmodernist
* Reverse motion
* Sceneggiata
* Semidocumentary
* Serial
* Shinpa
* Short
* Silent
* Socialist realist
* Sound
* Underground
* Video nasty
* Z movie

* v
* t
* e

Comedy

Topics|

* Comedian
* Comedic device
* Comedy festival
* Comedy troupe
* Comic timing
* Farce
* Humorist
* Humour
* Impersonator
* Impressionist
* Irony
* Joke
* Prank call
* Punch line
* Satire
* Visual gag
* Wit
* Word play

Film|

| Country|

* American
* British
* French
* Italian

|

Genre|

* Fantasy
* Horror
* Parody
* Remarriage
* Romance
* Science fiction
* Screwball
* Sex
* Italian
* Silent
* Slapstick
* Stoner

Theatre|

| Country|

| Europe|

* Ancient Greek comedy
* Comédie-Française
* Comédie-Italienne
* Corral de comedias
* Theatre of ancient Rome

|

Asia|

* China
* Xiangsheng
* Mo lei tau
* Japan
* Kyōgen
* Manzai
* Owarai
* Rakugo
* Sarugaku

Genre|

* Boulevard theatre
* Comedy-drama
* Comedy of errors
* Comedy of humours
* Comedy of manners
* Comedy of menace
* Commedia dell'arte
* Double act
* Farce
* Improvisational
* Macchietta
* One-person show
* Pantomime
* Restoration comedy
* Sentimental comedy
* Comédie larmoyante
* Shadow play
* Shakespearean comedy
* Sketch comedy
* Spex
* Stand-up comedy
* Street theatre
* Theatre of the Absurd
* Tragicomedy
* Vaudeville

Music &
dance|

* Ballad opera
* Cabaret
* Café-chantant
* Café-théâtre
* Comédie-ballet
* Comedy club
* Light music
* Music hall
* Musical theatre
* Opéra bouffe
* Opera buffa
* Opéra comique
* Operetta
* Revue

Media|

* Music
* Album
* Rock
* Hip hop
* Parody
* Musical comedians
* Novel
* Radio
* Television
* Mockumentary
* Roast
* Sitcom

Subgenres|

* Alternative
* Black
* Blue
* Character
* Christian
* Clown
* Cringe
* Deadpan (dry humor)
* Documentary
* Gallows
* High / low
* Horror
* Insult
* Observational
* Physical
* Prop
* Shock
* Sick
* Slapstick
* Topics
* Surreal
* Ventriloquism
* Zombie

* Category
* Portal

0.00

(0 votes)

Original source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Romantic comedy. Read more

|

Retrieved from "https://handwiki.org/wiki/index.php?title=Social:Romantic_comedy&oldid=4166040"
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template