romantic comedy

romantic comedy, movie genre produced since the 1930s by Hollywood and other film industries. The romantic comedy, or rom-com, is characterized by a narrative organized around the pursuit of love, the lighthearted manner in which this quest is depicted, and a conclusion that almost always offers a happy resolution. Conflicts in many romantic comedies take the form of a battle of the sexes, as the vast majority of rom-coms revolve around a heterosexual romance (although there are exceptions, particularly beginning in the 2020s). Other tropes of the genre include the meet-cute (the notable way the protagonists meet), quirky best friends, the near breakup, and the grand romantic gesture.

Origin

The romantic comedy arose in the early 1930s, during the Great Depression. With film attendance in decline, Hollywood movie studios such as Columbia Pictures sought to attract potential moviegoers with stories that acknowledged contemporary struggles, while also showing the protagonists triumphing over adversity. Studios at this time were also constrained by the Hays Code (1934–68), which was a set of self-imposed guidelines by Hollywood studios that regulated the moral content of films. Portrayals of certain romantic relationships, such as those between interracial or same-sex couples, were against the code. Explicit mention of sexual relationships, especially those between unmarried characters, was prohibited. Instead, verbal sparring and physical comedy took the place of sexuality in these movies. What resulted were films such as It Happened One Night (1934; although it was released before the Hays Code, it follows much of what would be implemented just months later), Bringing Up Baby (1938), and The Lady Eve (1941), in which Cary Grant, Clark Gable, Henry Fonda, and other Hollywood leading men exchanged double entendres and pratfalls with gifted, glamorous comedians such as Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Stanwyck and Claudette Colbert. Overseen by studio directors such as Frank Capra, Ernst Lubitsch, and Preston Sturges, these films were referred to in the trade press at the time as “screwball comedies” and often depicted elegantly dressed men and women in opulent Art Deco settings engaged in madcap antics, their shared capacity for mischief-making and play serving as proof of their suitability as lovers.

Innovations in the mid-20th century

In the 1950s the genre of the romantic comedy underwent significant changes, motivated in part by broader shifts in societal norms, particularly those concerning public discussion of sex. Thanks in part to the publication of the bestselling Kinsey reports, Sexual Behavior in the Human Male (1948) and Sexual Behavior in the Human Female (1953), it became socially acceptable for newspapers, magazines, and other popular media to discuss once-taboo subjects such as premarital sex. At the same time, the Hays Code that Hollywood had long used to police its own content was undergoing new challenges, as producers and directors such as Otto Preminger refused to abide by it. In this new, more licentious climate, Hollywood produced romantic comedies that included racier dialogue and acknowledged the existence of sex and desire. Often described at the time as “sex comedies,” films such as Pillow Talk (1959), Come Blow Your Horn (1963), and Sex and the Single Girl (1964) showed leading men such as Rock Hudson, Tony Curtis, and Frank Sinatra expressing their longing for and attraction to stars such as Doris Day, Marilyn Monroe, and Natalie Wood and employing all manner of tricks, lies, and subterfuge in their efforts to seduce them. Importantly, the leading women are also portrayed as desiring sexual relationships, as well as employing their own deceptions; the key difference is in their insistence that the sex be preceded by marriage, while the men attempt to avoid marriage.

Romantic comedies also responded to the political climate of their day. Perhaps most prominently, the romantic comedy-drama Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967) explored the difficulties of an interracial relationship in the mid-20th-century United States. Following the civil rights movement, the women’s liberation movement, protests against the Vietnam War, beginnings of the gay rights movement, and other campaigns for social and political change, the 1970s were famously described by journalist Tom Wolfe as “The ‘Me’ Decade,” a term meant to capture a turning away from social engagement and toward introspection. In this context, Hollywood produced comedies that portrayed both men and women as uncertain about the possibility that they can either achieve or sustain a loving relationship. In The Goodbye Girl (1977), Annie Hall (1977), and An Unmarried Woman (1978), these doubts about the viability of romance are expressed through a willingness to break with the genre’s conventions, with Annie Hall going so far as to jettison the obligatory happy ending. Labeling these films as “radical romantic comedies,” film scholar Tamar Jeffers McDonald points out that this type of romantic comedy tries to temper its romance with realism, choosing gritty urban settings such as 1970s New York City as the backdrop for its protagonists falling in and out of love.

Resurgence and attempts to broaden the appeal

After a relative dry spell of roughly a decade, the late 1980s saw a resurgence of the genre. For the most part jettisoning the experimentation favored by filmmakers in the 1970s, directors such as Nora Ephron, Rob Reiner, and Garry Marshall adhered to the genre’s earlier conventions as attractive protagonists traversed various plot contrivances on their journey to reach their happy ending. This golden age of romantic comedy, as some have called the 1990s, began with the release of When Harry Met Sally… in 1989 and continued through the 1990s. Films such as Pretty Woman (1990), Sleepless in Seattle (1993), While You Were Sleeping (1995), My Best Friend’s Wedding (1997), and You’ve Got Mail (1998) showcased the charisma of stars such as Meg Ryan, Julia Roberts, and Sandra Bullock as they denied their attraction to leading men such as Richard Gere, Tom Hanks, and Bill Pullman, all the while displaying their obvious chemistry against picturesque depictions of New York City, Chicago, Seattle, and other cities. Although mainstream hits during this era overwhelmingly starred white characters, a number of beloved Black romantic comedies were released during this golden age for the genre, including Love Jones (1997), How Stella Got Her Groove Back (1998), and The Best Man (1999).

The early 21st century saw a decline in box office revenue for romantic comedies. By 2015 romantic comedies grossed about $130.5 million in the United States and Canada, down from nearly $836 million at their peak in 1999. The industry thus made a consistent effort to broaden the appeal of romantic comedies about this time. One prominent way was to make romantic comedies, often derisively called “chick flicks,” appeal to male audiences. This trend in the genre is exemplified by films such as What Women Want (2000), Wedding Crashers (2005), The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007) and associated with directors such as Judd Apatow and stars such as Seth Rogen, Owen Wilson, and Steve Carell. These films, although ultimately invested in the success of a romantic relationship, focus on the male lead and his male friends. Directors such as Nancy Meyers and Nicole Holofcener innovated in the genre by shifting away from its longstanding emphasis on youth and young people in love. Films such as Something’s Gotta Give (2003), It’s Complicated (2009), and Enough Said (2013) feature Diane Keaton, Meryl Streep, and Julia Louis-Dreyfus finding romance later in life.

Streaming and diversification

Although a number of romantic comedies hit theaters in the late 2010s and early 2020s, including the critically acclaimed The Big Sick (2017) and the wildly successful Crazy Rich Asians (2018), box office numbers continued to decline. However, the genre found new success on streaming services, such as Netflix and Hulu. Unlike larger Hollywood studios that produce films that have to compete with blockbusters at theaters, these streaming services are able to create relatively niche content to deliver to viewers. This has led to a number of well-received, streaming-original romantic comedies, including To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018, Netflix), Always Be My Maybe (2019, Netflix), and Palm Springs (2020, Hulu). The 2020s also saw the rise of several well-received rom-coms featuring gay and lesbian protagonists, including Happiest Season (2020), Fire Island (2022), and Red, White & Royal Blue (2023).