O, that everyone could enjoy a romantic comedy like the couple in this picture. You do think they're watching a romantic comedy, don't you? Come-on now, a guy and a girl at the theatre. Drink, pop corn and smiles on their faces -- what else could they be watching -- "Elmo Saves Christmas"? I don't think so.
Shame that not all movie goers don't view romantic comedy's with the rose-covered glasses that I do. BUT I am always willing to entertain alternate points-of-view, and slay misprecptions. And in this post we're going to explore one drawback the naysayers have on the romantic comedy genre. As some people contend that romantic comedy's are "predictable."
So what is meant by this harsh word, "predictable." Well, if you watch enough romantic comedies, you may well be aware of some commonalities.
Romantic comedies deal with a guy and girl -- and at least one of them is interested in the other. IF you study the form of romantic interplay in the movies you'll find there is a common meet-looses-gets paradigm that many others more enlightened than I have expounded on and brought to light after watching many rom-com movies and breaking them down.
I think the predictablity label is bias before one actually start watching a romantic comedy. I'll use my dad as test subject one. 'Cuz I can remember watching a movie when the opening credits were rolling and he went on to say what he predicted in a fashion Nostradamus himself would have been proud of, how the movie was going to unfold, even before it began. In short, my dad predicted what he thought the movie would be JUST before we watched it; it was a puzzle that he thought he'd solved.
I pose the thoughtthat EVERY genre has some given given expectations by its audience members BEFORE the movie begins. In slasher-horror; you expect an attractive girl to be chased by a weapon baring masked, ugly deranged dude. In action-adventure; you expect the "bad guys" to chase the "good guys" and for the "good guys" to narrowly escape. In espionage genre films: you expect some suave, good-looking male spy to out-fox some rich menace with the latest gadgetry -- and a hottie in a trench coat doesn't hurt either! Just sayin'.
So what are the audience's expectations going into a rom-com? Are you hoping to laugh? Are you hoping to see sparks fly between the lead couple? Or are you looking at your watch the whole time hoping this uncomfortable mess ends quickly so you satisfy your girlfriend or wife's needs, then get to some needs of your own...
I think a movie genre's stigma of being "predictable" largely rests on the mental make-up of the one levying the "predictability" accusation. If refined soul, who looks into the deeper meanings of things, and is able to find entertainment in what's being done right in the movie that they're watching.
Here's some common falacies levied by the rom-com naysayers:
1. All romantic comedies end the same: guy gets girl. Ever seen the movie "(500) Days of Summer" ? Well in it, guy does not get girl In fact guy agonizes greatly throughout -- yet "(500 Days of Summer" is clearly a romantic comedy.
BUT I will concede that MOST romantic comedies DO have a happy ending. Why? Because that's part of the audience's preconceived expectation. You see people flock to a genre BECAUSE they expect their expectations to be met in some fashion. AND the expectations one has when watching a a romantic comedy are notably different than say a horror/slasher flick, a sci-fi, or an action adventure.
2. Romantic Comedies are for women. Fuck that. Ever seen the movie "The 40-Year-Old Virgin" , that movie is ALL GUY. Were talking guy-humor raunchiness, the whole 9-yards.
A second fuck that goes out to the notion that romance is all women. Guys have a part to play in that. EVEN if you say this is a "chick flick" genre, guys are an integral part of the plot. AND, I believe, romantic comedies are valuable teachers, which empower men in their pursuit of women.
3. Meet-loses-gets gets old. Sure romantic comedies deal with some sort of courtship between men and women, but the ride of the movie does differ. "Something About Mary" is not the same as "Romancing the Stone", or "Sleepless in Seattle," "13 Going on 30" or "My Big Fat Greek Wedding." What spices up meet-loses-gets is the different circumstance, and the accent arround the romance. Meet-loses-gets only gets old IF the story is cliche, or falls flat due to poor plot points.
So what it the key to enjoying a romantic comedy?
Keep an open mind. A good film-maker will fill the screen with lots of stuff to make the ride go easy on you -- even if when things get romantic you have a tendency to squirm in your seat. "My Big, Fat Greek Wedding" is LOADED with family rifts; Gus Portokalos; played by Michael Constantine is a fun guy to see in action. "Sleepless in Seattle" is a the kind of film that tries to harken you back to an earlier time, when destiny takes a hand in bringing two people together. "How to Loose a Guy in 10 Days" is LOADED with supporting characters that are really fun to watch: Babe Newerth of "Cheers" fame, Annie Anderson's friends, Benjamin Barry's friends -- all cool, fun, hip good-looking folks who make two fly by quite quickly. "13 Going on 30" has GREAT, breezy performance in it by lead actress, Jennifer Garner. And some people NEVER thought she get out of the shadow of Syndey Brisco from the ABC TV series, "Alias". Well, shame on you. It all helps to... "Help, the medicine go down, (sing along if you know the words) / The medicine go down..." Didn't think I break a Marry Poppins rift on your ass? Think again, Skippy!
O shit, she's back! BUT at least this time, she's on my side -- at least I THINK she's on my side. Hard to tell with that blonde bombshell.
No one, wants to hear that their movie was "predictable," but sadly some rom-coms are downright bad. These movies fuel the "predicable" bias out there. One romantic comedy that sticks out in my mind as being notably bad, was "Just Like Heaven" (Reece Witherspoon, Mark Ruffalo). " BUT then I don't keep score of the bad stuff. Rather, I'm more of the guy who lauds when Hollywood gets it right. And make no mistake about it, E.C. Henry LOVES a good, romantic comedy.
- E.C. Henry from Bonney Lake, WA
P.S. Still hard at work editing, "A Heart Built on the Sand." Had a rough week of work, working 15 1/2 hours last Monday, 10-12 1/2 the rest of the week. HOPEFULLY this week will be lighter, so I can finish this story up, and work on my spec. script soundtrack artwork. JUST finished a new rev of this script this evening. Now, I just gotta listen to it in Final Draft again to make sure it's as good as I can take the material.
P.S.S. Spent most of the day, today up on the roof working on getting a new antenna I bought working. VERY disappointed in the reception I got. This thing was supposed to have a range of 150 miles, but I can barely get the common stations in: locally broadcasted NBC, CBS, ABC and FOX. Sigh... Some things in life just piss me off.
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