Instead Of The Same Old RomCom....

[MargoChanning]

What elements do you think elevate this genre to something above (way above) the norm? Characters you can identify with? A "screwball" plot, or something more plausible? A protagonist with Tourette's...what?

I'm struggling with mine and wondering if maybe I'm over-thinking the damn thing.


Thanks, guys.

[roscoegino]

Stop expanding sitcom-type plots into films.

These days alot of 80s buddy movie stuff is being converted into rom-coms. But the finished product still has to be funny. I'd like to see rom coms fused with other genres like CHARADE or FOUL PLAY where something else is at stake other than romance.

[Bob Smargiassi]

Originally Posted by smcguinn

What elements do you think elevate this genre to something above (way above) the norm? Characters you can identify with? A "screwball" plot, or something more plausible? A protagonist with Tourette's...what?

I'm struggling with mine and wondering if maybe I'm over-thinking the damn thing.


Thanks, guys.

Go watch The Bounty Hunter and The Ugly Truth. After every comedic and romantic beat that doesn't work, write down why you think it's not working. What character/plot elements are keeping that moment from being effective.

Then watch When Harry Met Sally and The African Queen. After every comedic and romantic beat that does work, write down why you think it works. What is it about these characters and the plot itself that sends off those positive vibes throughout your body.

Take those lessons you've learned and apply them to your script.

[ylekot43]

It doesn't get any more formulaic than a rom-com. To me, their recent/ongoing failure is due to a huge amount of predictability. Audiences are on to the formula. As such, IMO, the all hope is lost moment rarely works.

It is just so obvious that they will end up together that the story carries no real dramatic tension. Most of the time, the "other person" just isn't fleshed out enough or doesn't get enough screen time so we see them as more of a road bump than an actual antagonist.

Wedding crashers worked because we didn't know we were watching a rom-com disguised as a buddy movie so we didn't expect the formula.

My best friend's wedding worked because we had no clue if they would end up together.

My recommendation would be that you either need to disguise it in another genre, or have additional three dimensional characters that legitimately place the story in doubt.

[Lisa Super]

For me, the reason romantic comedies aren't working lately is because they're not living up to their namesake. There's no romance. There's no falling in love, no genuine emotion. The comedy part is all well and good, but if you're paying to see a rom com you're paying for the rom just as much as the com. Putting pretty people together doesn't equal chemistry, and the box office is reflecting that.

The New York Times had this interesting article awhile back: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/op...dowd.html?_r=1

[Laura Reyna]

Originally Posted by Lisa Super

For me, the reason romantic comedies aren't working lately is because they're not living up to their namesake. There's no romance. There's no falling in love, no genuine emotion. The comedy part is all well and good, but if you're paying to see a rom com you're paying for the rom just as much as the com. Putting pretty people together doesn't equal chemistry, and the box office is reflecting that.

The New York Times had this interesting article awhile back: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/04/op...dowd.html?_r=1

Lisa makes a good point. I think this is true. Most Rom coms just aren't that romantic.

Every time this subject comes up-- and the crappines of recent rom coms comes up frequently-- people always say they have to be more like other genres in order to fuel the plot & make them less predictable. And I agree to a point-- I love action/romance movies (when they're good).

But rom coms need to be both comedic AND romantic. They're not hitting the romance element.

And I hate to point this out but... I suspect the real reason they've become so underwhelming lately is b/c the people making them just aren't that good at it. It's a tough genre.

[hscope]

Originally Posted by Lisa Super

For me, the reason romantic comedies aren't working lately is because they're not living up to their namesake. There's no romance. There's no falling in love, no genuine emotion. The comedy part is all well and good, but if you're paying to see a rom com you're paying for the rom just as much as the com. Putting pretty people together doesn't equal chemistry, and the box office is reflecting that.

Exactly. Romcoms are nice and romantic and heartwarming and funny. And they must have characters the audience believe can fall in love in order to will them on through the movie.

The romcom 'formula' must be the simplest in the movie spectrum, but it's also one of the hardest to do well. Hence the reason why When Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle are still held up as shining examples; movies made in 1989 and 1993.

[MargoChanning]

All points worth noting.

[Bob Smargiassi]

Originally Posted by hscope

Exactly. Romcoms are nice and romantic and heartwarming and funny. And they must have characters the audience believe can fall in love in order to will them on through the movie.

The romcom 'formula' must be the simplest in the movie spectrum, but it's also one of the hardest to do well. Hence the reason why When Met Sally and Sleepless in Seattle are still held up as shining examples; movies made in 1989 and 1993.

And every actress in this town knows that the quickest way to the A-list is by knocking a medium-budget Romcom out of the park.

Julia Roberts - Pretty Woman
Sandra Bullock - While You Were Sleeping
Reese Witherspoon - Legally Blonde
Kate Heigl - Knocked Up
Cameron Diaz - There's Something About Mary
Jennifer Aniston - The Break-Up

That's why good Romcom material will always be in high demand.

[StoryWriter]

Originally Posted by smcguinn

What elements do you think elevate this genre to something above (way above) the norm? Characters you can identify with? A "screwball" plot, or something more plausible? A protagonist with Tourette's...what?

I'm struggling with mine and wondering if maybe I'm over-thinking the damn thing.


Thanks, guys.

To me -- the absolute core of a Romantic Comedy is to have a man and a women that everybody in the audience KNOWS needs to be together from the first moment they meet. Both the men and women in the audience are rooting for them to get together.

The comedy part is a misunderstanding (or misunderstandings) that the audience is in on. Often this "misunderstanding" is very contrived, but it doesn't really seem to matter as long as there is one (or more).

The job of the misunderstanding is to keep these two people, who belong together, apart until the end, when they finally figure it out. It's really a fairly simple formula, but somehow people manage to screw it up nowadays.