Whether it be a sweet movie you throw on with your partner or a tear-jerking love story you watch with your best girl friends for Valentine’s Day, romantic comedies have made a mark on society — and here’s why.
In my opinion, I think everyone wants to experience that feeling of falling in love again. With all the hidden glances and quick winks in passing, it can feel amazing to try and relive those feelings a second time through watching rom-coms.
I believe most people who like these types of movies want to experience kissing in the rain or the thrill of an airport chase trying to board their partner’s plane before it leaves. Rom-coms can give these feelings of love and excitement to people.
Also, these sweet, humorous films can give people who have never experienced love a chance to romanticize these feelings and give them hope that they can find a certain kind of love for themselves. Perhaps it’s a love that would persuade Noah to build Allie’s dream house from “The Notebook,” blue shutters and all, or a love that would make Peter Kavinksy drive all the way across town to get Lara Jean’s favorite yogurt from “To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before.”
With that being said, a movie that I find has had an impact on lovers and best friends alike is “How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days.” With the iconic pastel yellow dress that Andie wears and the film’s use of Carly Simon’s classic “You’re So Vain,” it took the world by storm when it was released in 2003, and it’s still iconic to this day. Every Halloween, I see girls trying to snag the recognizable yellow dress and best friends singing “I had some dreams, they were clouds in my coffee, and you’re so vain you probably think this song is about you.”
“How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days” has everything a rom-com could wish for: cringey moments, a huge fight that could determine the course of the relationship and a sweet kiss to wrap things up.
However, what I think the film has that lures people in is its inherent optimism. It reinforces the hope that no matter how bad you screw up or how angry you are at your lover, they will always forgive you.
How many people would forgive someone for dating them for a bet (like Ben was doing to Andie), and how many people would forgive Andie for trying to sell magazines at the expense of Ben’s emotions? Not many, I would assume.
Another way that I think rom-coms attract people is their reliability. The formula to most of these movies goes like this: boy meets girl, girl falls in love, a big fight occurs and then magically at the end of the film, the characters are back together. I think the fact that most people know this formula and see this pattern within rom-coms is what makes them so comforting to people. The audience knows that there will be no dark twist or tragic death and that is what entices them in; they know at the end of the movie they will feel happy emotions.
All in all, this inherent optimism found in rom-coms serves as a comforting and hopeful narrative, offering an escape from the complexities of reality and providing a reassuring belief in the power of love. Between reliability, tears, laughter and the feeling of hope, this is what makes romantic comedies so special to society.
