I love many movies and book genres, but one that I think is excelling in the book world but floundering in the movie world are romantic comedies.
According to Book Riot, one of the predictions for 2024 in the book world was the rise of romance subgenres — including the rom-com. Over the past couple of years, many popular romantic-comedy novels have come out, such as “The Unmatchmakers,” “Book Lovers,” “Get a Life, Chloe Brown” and “Love, Theoretically.”
Despite a clear love of this genre in one medium, it’s been very quiet in the film department. The most recent rom-com to my memory to make some waves was “Anyone but You.” And yet it was met with only slightly above average reviews getting six out of 10 stars on IMDB. Not to say it wasn’t a good movie, but many rom-com fans felt the movie was missing that rom-com magic.
The 90s rom-com had a way of balancing romance and comedy that can be harder to find. Many of these rom-coms emphasize the comedy side through witty dialogue, similar to old Hollywood films like “Singing in the Rain” or “His Girl Friday.” Especially in the late 2000s, the comedy side leaned more into slapstick or physical comedy.
This isn’t to say one type of comedy is better than the other. Many effective rom-coms use multiple styles of comedy. But for a rom-com to be a rom-com, it also must create a compelling love story. The romance side is very reliant on the two lead’s chemistry, the clear understanding of why the two like each other and a plot that creates a love story that is believable for the world these characters exist in.
“Bridget Jones's Diary” is one example of a rom-com that creates a balance between the comedies, chemistry between the leads and a compelling love story. There are elements of witty dialogue, such as the work email sent between Bridget and her boss/pseudo lover interest Daniel. There are physical gags like during Bridget’s first day of work at the TV station.
But there is also the romance side, loosely based off of Pride and Prejudice, it is an enemies to lovers story. Yet, by the end of the story it’s clear why Bridget has fallen for Darcy and why Darcy has fallen for Bridget. There is of course the famous line given by Darcy to Bridget of, “I like you, just the way you are.” That acts as the crux of the love story as so much of the film is Bridget finding ways to change herself to who she thinks she should be.
Of course, it’s not just “Bridget Jones’s Diary” that strikes this balance, you can make the same argument for “When Harry Met Sally,” “Pretty Woman,” “Sleepless in Seattle,” “Notting Hill,” “Legally Blonde,” “Clueless,” etc.
There have been some rom-coms in more recent years that have captured that balance like “Crazy Rich Asians” or “To All the Boys I've Loved Before,” both of which were based on books. So perhaps it’s time for Hollywood to take a page, or perhaps a whole book, from the publishing industry. People are craving rom-coms so let’s put it back on the menu.
Abigail Murphy is the Dadeville beat reporter for Tallapoosa Publishers Inc. She can be reached at abigail.murphy@alexcityoutlook.com.
