How to lose a guy in 10 days, Notting Hill, 10 things I hate about you, Clueless… These are just a few of the well-known Hollywood films that fall into the genre of rom-coms. Believe me when I say that I could list many more as I have seen all – or almost all – of them. For the record, if you don’t already know rom-coms or romantic comedies are romantic movies – as the title suggests – with quite a few comic aspects. So, these movies were booming in America in the ‘90s and during the start of my favorite ‘00s.
There have been so many rom-coms produced over the years that it took me a fair amount of time to see them all. But it was worth it! I love this genre and I’m sure I’m not the only one.
Are they full of clichés? Yes! Do they portray ideal images of what love relationships between people are like? Once again, yes! However, they are definitely the guilty pleasure of many of us! They are the movies that have been with us throughout our teen years so when we rewatch them it’s like opening a locker of memories that takes us back to our fifteen-year-old selves who were happy with the joy of rom-com heroes.
Beyond the door they open to our teen years, these movies are a way out of the stressful and difficult days of adulthood. For me, there are some days when I am so exhausted from studying or working that all I want to do is completely empty my head of thoughts and worries. So, putting on one of my so lovely and enjoyable favorite comedies makes me feel relaxed and I find the peace I seek.
Another reason that makes romantic movies so beloved is the fact that the ending is predictable. We know that 99.9% of the time, statistically, there will be a happy ending. This unconsciously gives us – at least to me – the feeling that we are able to control even a small part of our lives. It gives us a temporary relief, a sense that we can be “in control” even of this very small thing. Rom-coms have a sense of magic, and it is this magic that attracts and draws us in while watching them. Yet despite their magical element, they are set in a realistic social setting and this makes us daydream and dream by putting ourselves in the shoes of the main characters.
At the same time, we would be lying if we said that we have not fallen in love at least once in our lives. That is the reason why we relate to and perhaps see a part of ourselves in the sufferings of the main characters when we are in love or how we would like to be – even how we would like our own “love story” to have turned out or to turn out.
In the very end, here is the best and most important for me: in these movies we see people changing for the better to win the person they love. Okay, maybe this change doesn’t always happen in a realistic way or in a realistic amount of time during the plot of the movie, but at least it gives us hope or inspiration for how we want to be as people or how we imagine our ideal romantic partners to be. You could argue that the role models they create are too perfect and utopian but, in this post, I’m going to dwell on the pros of rom-coms.
So, as you will have figured out by now, I urge you to re-watch your favorite rom-coms. If you fall into the category of those who have never seen any of these movies, I assume you have already joined a subscription platform and are looking for the titles I wrote about at the very beginning. If I still haven’t convinced you at all I hope at least the movies and genres you watch will entertain you as much as rom-coms entertain me!
