‘And they lived happily ever after…’: On Romantic Comedies
In circa 500 to 400 BC, the ancient Greeks revolutionised theatre with a new genre of dramatic art — comedy. Some 1500 years later, in the early 20th century, comedy evolved as Hollywood introduced romantic comedies to the world.
Romantic comedy (noun): a film or a play which is intended to make people laugh and involves a love story
This is the superficial, literal meaning from the dictionary. Romantic comedies are never complicated. They are designed to be simple, so simple that even a dog can understand. The basic formula of a classic Hollywood rom-com would be:
- A meets B, and in many cases alongside a meet cute.
- At certain point of the story, one falls for the other.
- Somehow, challenges and frustrations come into the picture, and they either have a fight or break up.
- Eventually, they get back together as they realise that they belonged to each other.
Structurally, a romantic comedy is pretty much a love story with a humble start, ups and downs and most essentially, a happy ending, yet it’s in fact, so much more than that. Good romantic comedies make us relate, serving as remedies for our problems in life.
When we’re too proud of our achievements in life, romantic comedies show us that however great we are, we may still fall over one day. Yet they may also be driving forces that allow us to make the best of ourselves and move on. When we’re fed up with all the hustle in life, or hurt by this crazy, cruel world, romantic comedies are cures, anaesthetics, escapes, ways to survive from the pain caused by loss of love and lack of warmth on our days of dwelling in this world without something to actually depend on whilst feeling vulnerable.
‘At last, the Knight rescues the Princess from the vicious dragon, and they lived happily ever after.’
Many argue that the idea of ending with happiness and optimism behind fairytales is the most tragic and delusive lie in literature, that a happy ending is the last thing we should believe in human existence. We human beings never stop fighting with each other, as we are selfish to the core, which is why we could never afford happy endings. So do romantic comedies only double as fantasies that we’ve been daydreaming of? No.
As all human activities lies within the artist’s scope, what the artist depicts would and should be part of achievable reality, if not the truth. If you see romantic comedies as grownup versions of fairytales, it all makes sense. See, why do fairytales exist? If they are such ridiculous and useless inventions, why have writers created so many of them that they are even categorised as a major literary form? Simple, because they make us believe in hope.
‘Love should end with hope.’ — A Knight’s Tale
Similar to dreams, romantic comedies are unrealistic and impractical, yet this is exactly why we need them so much. A good romantic comedy has the power not just to comfort you, but to soothe the gaping wound in your heart. Even further, it may become what you eventually expected in real life. You know it’s not going to work (as if hoping the endings in fairytales could come true), but your subconscious still tells you that rom com plots may possibly turn into your reality one day. That does the trick. That’s the magic of romantic comedies — the power of hope. With hope in our heart, we dare to love, and dare to dream about the unknown.
I’ve seen someone write an essay claiming that people who love classic Hollywood romantic comedies are ignorant about the films’ prejudices and discrimination against women, race and gender. For in most rom coms the leading actors are white males and females, and the females are fragile, with flawed personalities (sometimes the other way around). And most of the time the love in the stories is heterosexual. For my part, this is just deliberately being difficult with the matter. It’s political correctness going mad? Can’t we just be quiet and enjoy the film?
Romantic comedies often cast a spell on us. If it’s a film related to one we had a crush on or even our old flames, we shall be more than enchanted by its magic. Any romantic comedy fanatic will understand just how addictive rom coms are. They are like sugar, eight times more addictive than cocaine, but still legal and truly fascinating.
Romantic comedy films draw us back into memory lane, bringing along the happiest, saddest and the most important moments of our lives. They teach us how to love and how not to hurt. They heal our wounds and comfort us. They are always handy when we need them the most. And most importantly, they grant us an opportunity to give hope a second chance.
