Where did the love go?

            There was an article by Amy Nicholson of the St. Louis Riverfront Times titled “Who Killed the Romantic Comedy?” and after I read the piece it got me thinking about the question at hand. I am a movie buff and as such I have seen mostly every genre of film. And every genre of film does have its merits, and that does include romantic comedies. But after looking at some facts, I do believe making a successful romantic comedy will be very difficult for future film makers.

            I grew up a “80s baby”, so I remember the onslaught of John Hughes movies which stylized Caucasian teenage angst and made some of the most popular movies of the decade. Why aren’t there any more movies like Sixteen Candles? Moreover, why do people not really care to see the genre of film? I posed the question on my Facebook page and started thinking about it myself. I think I have some reasons.

            One big reason is that there are no longer any marketable stars for the genre. Meg Ryan used to crank out romantic comedies like tic tacs. French Kiss, Sleepless in Seattle, even the moronic You’ve got Mail. Not all the movies were good, but they made money. Then there was the Sandra Bullock era, the Julia Roberts era, the Reese Witherspoon era, and unfortunately the Katherine Heigel era. I loved Knocked Up, although I think Anne Hathaway would have been better in Ms. Heigel’s part, but her other movies, particularly Killers and One for the Money, were just abysmal. Some people will disagree with the opinion that romantic comedies are dying and mention 500 Days of Summer. It was a great movie. But all it really was about was a nice guy who psychologically ruins himself because he misinterpreted The Graduate, and creates a mental concept of a relationship that is a façade. Funny? Yes. But it’s also kind of jacked up.

            According to Ms. Nicholson’s article, there were no romantic comedies in the top 100 grossing films of 2013. People still go to movies, obviously, but maybe people don’t go as often. I don’t think people have the financial resources to go see a movie multiple times, like people did for Titanic. The average adult movie ticket for an evening show is about $12.50. If someone adds concessions, that can be an additional twenty dollars. So, to have a date night, it roughly costs fifty bucks. I’m not going to lie, if I actually had to pay for all the movies I watch, I would not go that often. Blu ray players, Netflix accounts, and the ability to pirate movies are all discouraging factors in actually going out to a movie. Why spend fifty dollars, battle traffic, battle lines, and sit in a cramped theater when one can simply go their local Redbox and rent a movie for a fraction of the price?

            Another factor Ms. Nelson mentions are the fact that she believes men don’t like the romantic comedy genre or won’t admit it if they do. I personally have no qualms about seeing a good movie. Romance is ok and comedy is too. But combining the two together and synthesizing a believable romance, which suspends disbelief is difficult. I think more men would go see a romantic comedy if the movies were more realistic in their depiction of what a relationship is like. Not just in terms of what real people look like, but in terms of real problems. Like people who cannot afford to get married, like people living in a blended family, like the way a family can affect the way significant others see each other. Romance is complex. Just adding two Abercrombie models to a stylish setting and saying “action” isn’t going to cut it.

           

To piggyback off the previous statement, and agreeing with Ms. Nicholson’s article, the scripts for romantic comedies are really bad.  They are almost embarrassingly so. I’m not going to lie; it’s difficult to construct a plausible scenario in which two people fall in love. Synthesizing a process in two hours which takes months and sometimes years to develop is no easy feat, but audiences just have a hard time believing that people with perfect features have a hard time finding a date. For every Before Sunset there are movies like The Big Wedding and How Do You Know, which circumvent a plausible plot for A list stars and fancy production design. Making a good romance does not require a big budget, i.e. My Big Fat Greek Wedding, Before Sunrise, or even sound, i.e. The Artist. But screenwriters cannot be lazy or insult the intelligence of its target audience.

            Another factor which I think has changed is that as a culture I don’t think we believe in “happily ever after” any more. It’s a clichéd and archaic notion. Generation X and the “millennials” are all witness to the staggering rate of divorce. Most of our parent’s marriages did not go the distance. Therefore, we are less inclined to see it on the big screen. People are getting married later now and dating longer. The whole notion of “the one” is pretty passé. I am not writing off people as jaded, but more realistic. It would be fantastic if a relationship lasted until “death do you part” but unfortunately life has a way of making things more problematic.

            Ms. Nicholson’s article referenced Bridesmaids as the potential cure to the decline of the romantic comedy genre. My question to that theory is, was the movie really a romantic comedy? Moreover, will those films resonate with a male audience over time? Bridesmaids was a decent movie and was very successful. I reviewed the film on this blog. It reminded me of a very long “Saturday Night Live” sketch. It had a predominantly female cast and most are skilled comediennes. The film was not unimpressive, but I didn't feel compelled to want to see it again or that I was the target audience. For me, seeing a female be vulgar is not exactly appealing. What I mean is that if the essence of the comedic value of the film is tied to the fact that a female or group of females can be as lewd and offensive as their male counterparts that is not good writing. And a lot of men would probably feel the same. Melissa McCarthy has made a career of being the loud, obnoxious female in film and television. Nothing is wrong with being the female version of Chris Farley, but I believe the late Mr. Farley wanted to do more than fall through furniture and I believe Ms. McCarthy should want to do more than be profane and take a fall. Wasted talent is not funny, it’s pretty tragic.       

The final factor on why the romantic comedy genre is fading is that the nerds have come to power. The same kids who grew up with He-Man, Transformers, and X-Men cartoons are in the golden age of cinema. Marvel has been kicking ass since X-Men came out in 2000 and fourteen years later Marvel is still putting its superhero sized foot in the butts of all competitors and releasing X-Men: Days of Future Past. For years, my fellow nerds pined for the cinematic vision of our childhood dreams and over the past 14 years Marvel and DC, to a much lesser extent, have made those dreams into blockbusters. I do not know how much longer comic-based movies will continue to be produced. My guess is that I have about a decade, until the millennials take over and send the nerds back to the nerdery. Since the younger generation do not read comic books, or much of anything of value really, the romantic comedy MIGHT make a comeback with them. But remember that their superstars are Honey Boo Boo, Jaden Smith, and the youngest Kardashian media whores. And they were raised on “Teen Mom” and “Tosh.0”. God help us all.

I do believe that there are some decent romantic comedies that exist. For instance, the remake of About Last Night starring Michael Ealy, Kevin Hart, and Regina Hall was pretty good. While the film was definitely raunchy, it did offer a realistic interpretation of the ups and downs of a relationship. But the film was just a drop in the bucket for a fading genre. In this age of social media, everyone wants to stay connected in every possible way except the one that actually matters. People still fall in love and still believe in the concept of love but the essence of romance has been lessened. Maybe it is the fact that a lot of people are struggling financially. Maybe it’s the fact that people are becoming less infatuated with the idea as being part of a union and more about themselves. I think that the genre needs to make a comeback because many films are making the human experience into a cinematic joke. And love, when it is genuine and reciprocated, is probably the best part of the human experience. Hopefully some talented filmmaker will be able to replicate it on screen soon.