Stereotypes of Romance Films

‘Mr. Right’ finds her initially annoying

At the start of a romantic comedy the audience unusually don’t expect the couple to be together at the end as they initially hate each other or one of the characters thinks that the other person is really annoying. Example of these are one of the main characters does not like the other for some mistaken reason, one of the characters is in a relationship or their family is making it impossible for them to be together. This normally makes the audience more interested and find it unexpected when the two characters get together.  

Montages

A montage is very common in romantic comedy’s as it shows the couple’s relationship grow and develop over a long period of time. It usually is shown half way through the film and sums up the events that have occurred in the past. This may be used in a film as it stops film form becoming long and boring for the audience, it also means they have more film space for other aspects of the film.

Pushy mother and subordinate father

Sometimes in romantic comedies there is a pushy mother or a subordinate father. The parents are very often seen as the ‘villain’ in the film, this gives the couple something to concur and overcome. It demonstrates the good cop bad cop situation and makes the story not so straight forward.

Faithful side kick

In many romantic films there is a faithful best friend who the main character can confide in about their ‘difficult’ love life. This lets the audience hear what the character is thinking and gives them another opinion. It sometimes adds a comedy aspect.

Happy ending

A romantic comedy always has a happy ending as it makes the audience feel happy and gives a positive vibe. It causes the audience to think that the couples love will last for the rest of their lives and be happy ever after.