I think we all miss when rom-coms ruled the world of Hollywood. And with Christmas right around the corner, it is all we are reminded of. Bridget Jones’s Diary and Love Actually are airing every couple of nights and the season of Jimmy Stewart and his heart-shaped eyes is surely among us. But every time I scroll through a streaming app, I am introduced to the countless newly released, straight-to-digital romantic comedies. All of their posters look the same, and all of their synopses seem to be recycling a past film for the worse. What could be so hard about writing and directing a good romantic comedy? A modern-day Bringing Up Baby, I’ll even take another How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days. We see filmmakers successfully recycling ideas all the time, why haven’t we seen a good rom-com in years? When is the rom-com renaissance beginning?
As I feel anyone would when debating this heavy topic, I turned to my mother. “I think rom-coms are definitely rarer than they used to be,” she stated strongly. When asked why she thinks this is the case, she paused for a second. “Because Nora Ephron died.” But seriously, “I think they don’t write women as smart as they used to in these rom-coms. Meg Ryan was always a smart kind of character.” Probably the most iconic era of Hollywood for romance was that of the 1940s and 50s, with its screwball comedies starring either Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, or all of the above. However, closely following that would have to be the 1990s, known as the peak of the rom-com genre mostly due to the Meg Ryan/Nora Ephron classic run of When Harry Met Sally (1989), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), and You’ve Got Mail (1998). When looking at these individual films, there is always a common quality, and that is that the women are always meant to be real. Tracy of The Philadelphia Story (1940) was as strong and witty as they come, Anna of Notting Hill (1999) was a fiery leading film star, and Loretta of Moonstruck (1987) was a wildly independent woman. Every central female character was a fully developed woman who allowed herself to fall in love, and that in itself was never a sign of weakness or dulling.
“I don’t think the studios are making [romantic comedies] because they rarely make movies for women,” my mother added. With the sweep of superhero action films (specifically rising to the surface after Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy and the creation of the MCU), production companies have let many of the smaller film genres become a thing of the past. Hollywood has additionally found that catering to mainly male audiences is a succesful money maker. However, after the summer release of Greta Gerwig’s blockbuster Barbie, which made over one billion dollars at the box office, channeling women through film has been proven economically effective, as long as the work is well written and creatively made; a rule that can be applied to almost any form of entertainment. “Everything is about money,” my mom explained, “Let’s face it, a rom-com is not going to bring in half a billion dollars.” Recently, when a rom-com is placed in theaters, it usually stars a previous “it” girl of the genre, like Julia Roberts in Ticket to Paradise (2022) or Jennifer Lopez in Marry Me (2021), and this is because they are known to gather audiences. There is a new, young actress with the potential to be this generation’s Drew Barrymore, our Sandra Bullock, she has just yet to be found in the lack of search and material.
Despite the genre not being completely “alive,” it is certainly not dead. A good rom-com has always been like a gem (although now more rare), streaming services can have some wonderful films deep within their selections. “I will say this, I thought I Want You Back was great,” my mom said, talking about the Amazon Prime original released in 2022. Although the selection is scarce, small, young directors are proving the capability of the resurrection of the genre. But for a genre to fly, it often needs the availability and promotion that comes with being released in theaters, mainly in hopes of studios gaining money to create more.
Despite the notion that rom-coms may be dated due to their unproven ability to adjust with the times, nearly nobody can pass up the genre that you sit down to cozily watch with your mom or close girlfriend. Of course, one could connect with some of the many characters currently on big screens, but the feeling of warmth and awe that forms after watching a rom-com is unmatched. Seeing something that seems so attainable, a piece of yourself in a character on screen, and watching that character fall so cutely in love, forms so much hope and yearning for love in one’s mind. And that in itself is something that makes the genre utterly timeless. It is just up to the great writers of the world to create something magical again, and in the meantime, I will wishfully think about the future rom-com renaissance just waiting to emerge.
