Romantic comedy films, colloquially known as romcom, are movies with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered around romantic ideals such as a true love able to surmount most obstacles. Romantic comedy films are a sub-genre of comedy films as well as of romance films. Because of their appeal to women, romantic comedies are sometimes dismissed as "chick flicks". True love can refer to: True love, the emotion of love True Love (Asimov), a science fiction short story by Isaac Asimov True Love (Fumiya Fujii song), a 1993 song by Fumiya Fujii. ... Comedy film is genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humor. ... While most films have some aspect of romance between characters (at least as a subplot) a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot (the premise of the story) revolves around the romantic involvement of the storys protagonists. ... The term chick flick is slang for a movie that appeals mainly to women or young girls, either by design or popular consensus. ...

Description

The basic plot of a romantic comedy is that two protagonists, usually a man and a woman, meet, part ways due to an argument or other contrived obstacle, then ultimately reunite. Sometimes the two protagonists meet and become involved initially, then must confront challenges to their union. Sometimes the two protagonists are hesitant to become romantically involved because they believe that they do not like each other, because one of them already has a partner, or because of social pressures. However, the screenwriters leave clues that suggest that the characters are, in fact, attracted to each other and that they would be a good love match. The protagonists often separate or seek time apart to sort out their feelings or deal with the external obstacles to their being together. While most films have some aspect of romance between characters (at least as a subplot) a romance film can be loosely defined as any film in which the central plot (the premise of the story) revolves around the romantic involvement of the storys protagonists. ... A comedy is a dramatic performance of a light and amusing character, usually with a happy conclusion to its plot. ...

While the two protagonists are separated, one or both of them usually realizes that they are ideal for each other, or that they are in love with each other. Then, after one of the two makes some spectacular effort to find the other person and declare their love, (this is sometimes called the grand gesture), or due to an astonishing coincidental encounter, the two meet again. Then, perhaps with some comic friction or awkwardness, they declare their love for each other and the film ends happily. The couple does not, however, have to marry, or live together "happily ever after." The ending of a romantic comedy is meant to affirm the primary importance of the love relationship in its protagonists' lives, even if they physically separate in the end (e.g. Shakespeare in Love, Roman Holiday)^[1]. Happy ending may refer to: Happy ending in fiction, when everything turns out well in the end Happy Ending (story), a science-fiction story by Henry Kuttner Happy Ending (song), a song by London-based singer Mika Happy Ending (Fredric Brown), a science-fiction story and title of a collection... Shakespeare in Love is an award-winning 1998 romantic comedy film. ... Roman Holiday is a 1953 romantic comedy. ...

There are many variations on this basic plotline. Sometimes, instead of the two lead characters ending up in each other's arms, another love match will be made between one of the principal characters and a secondary character (e.g., My Best Friend's Wedding). Alternatively, the film may be a rumination on the impossibility of love, as in Woody Allen's film Annie Hall. The basic format of a romantic comedy film can be found in much earlier sources, such as Shakespeare plays like Much Ado About Nothing and A Midsummer Night's Dream. This article is about the Julia Roberts film. ... Woody Allen (born Allen Stewart Konigsberg; December 1, 1935) is a three-time Academy Award-winning American film director, writer, actor, jazz musician, comedian and playwright. ... Annie Hall is a 1977 romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen from a script he co-wrote with Marshall Brickman. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ... Much Ado About Nothing is a comedy by William Shakespeare. ... For other uses, see A Midsummer Nights Dream (disambiguation). ...

History

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Comedies since ancient Greece have often incorporated sexual or social elements. It was not until the creation of romantic love in the western European medieval period, though, that "romance" came to refer to "romantic love" situations, rather than long Roman novels.^{[citation needed]} Shakespearean comedy and Restoration comedy remain influential. The creation of huge economic social strata in the Gilded Age^{[citation needed]}, combined with the heightened openness about sex after the Victorian Age^{[citation needed]} and the celebration of Freud's theories, and the birth of the film industry in the early twentieth century, gave birth to the screwball comedy.^{[citation needed]} As class consciousness declined and World War II unified various social orders, the savage screwball comedies of the twenties and thirties, proceeding through Rock Hudson-Doris Day-style comedies, gave way to more innocuous comedies.^{[citation needed]} Greek comedy is the name given to a wide genre of theatrical plays written, and performed, in Ancient Greece. ... Court of Love in Provence in the 14th Century (after a manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris). ... The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Refinement meets burlesque in Restoration comedy. ... <math> </math></math> The Breakers, a gilded-age mansion in Newport, Rhode Island. ... Queen Victoria (shown here on the morning of her Accession to the Throne, June 20, 1837) gave her name to the historic era. ... Sigmund Freud His famous couch Sigmund Freud (May 6, 1856 - September 23, 1939) was an Austrian neurologist and the founder of the psychoanalytic school of psychology, a movement that popularized the theory that unconscious motives control much behavior. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... The tone or style of this article or section may not be appropriate for Wikipedia. ... Doris Mary Ann von Kappelhoff (born April 3, 1924)[1] is an American singer, actress, and animal welfare advocate known as Doris Day. ...

The French film industry went in a completely different direction^{[citation needed]}, with less inhibitions about sex^{[citation needed]} Virginia Woolf, tired of stories that ended in 'happily ever after' at the beginning of a serious relationship, called Middlemarch by George Elliot with its portrayal of a difficult marriage 'One of the few English novels written for grown-up people.' France has been influential in the development of film as a mass medium and as an art form. ... (Adeline) Virginia Woolf (née Stephen; 25 January 1882 – 28 March 1941) was an English novelist and essayist regarded as one of the foremost modernist literary figures of the twentieth century. ... Happily Ever After can refer to: Happily Ever After, a compilation double-LP comprising The Cure albums Seventeen Seconds and Faith; it was a U.S.-only issue by A&M Records. ... For the town in New Zealand, see Middlemarch, New Zealand. ... George Elliott may refer to: George Eliot, pen name of Mary Anne Evans (1819–1880), English novelist George Elliott (politician) (1813–1901), British Member of Parliament for Chatham 1874–1875 Category: ...

Examples

Examples of romantic comedy films include:

Early Romantic Comedies

• It Happened One Night
• The Philadelphia Story
• Bringing Up Baby
• My Man Godfrey
• His Girl Friday
• The Lady Eve
• Trouble in Paradise
• The Awful Truth
• Ninotchka
• Arsenic and Old Lace
• Adam's Rib
• Born Yesterday
• The Shop Around the Corner

It Happened One Night is a 1934 romantic comedy directed by Frank Capra, in which a pampered socialite (Claudette Colbert) tries to get out from under her fathers thumb, and falls in love with a roguish reporter (Clark Gable). ... The Philadelphia Story is a 1940 romantic screwball comedy starring Jimmy Stewart, Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant. ... Bringing up Baby is a 1938 screwball comedy which tells the story of a scientist who winds up in various predicaments with a woman who has a unique sense of logic and a leopard named Baby. ... My Man Godfrey is a screwball comedy film released in 1936 by Universal Pictures. ... His Girl Friday is a 1940 screwball comedy, a remake of the 1931 film The Front Page, itself an adaptation by Charles Lederer, Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur of their play of the same name. ... The Lady Eve is a 1941 romantic screwball comedy film which tells the story of a couple who meet on a luxury liner. ... Trouble in Paradise is a 1932 romantic comedy film which tells the story of a master thief who meets up with a beautiful pickpocket. ... The Awful Truth is a 1937 romantic comedy (also screwball comedy) film. ... Ninotchka is a 1939 American film by Ernst Lubitsch, starring Greta Garbo and Melvyn Douglas. ... Arsenic and Old Lace is a play by Joseph Kesselring, which was made into a film by director Frank Capra. ... Adams Rib is a 1949 film starring Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy and directed by George Cukor. ... For the 1950 film version, see Born Yesterday (1950 film) For the 1993 remake, see Born Yesterday (1993 film) Born Yesterday is a play written and first directed by Garson Kanin and adapted into a successful 1950 film. ... The Shop Around the Corner (1940) is a romantic comedy film, directed by Ernst Lubitsch, and starring James Stewart and Margaret Sullavan. ...

Later Romantic Comedies

• Carry On Loving
• Sweet Home Alabama
• Monster-in-Law
• Wedding Date
• The Wedding Singer
• 10 Things I Hate About You
• 27 Dresses
• Beautiful Girls
• Bridget Jones's Diary
• The Cutting Edge
• French Kiss
• The Holiday
• Kate & Leopold
• Love, Actually
• Moonstruck
• Music and Lyrics
• My Sassy Girl
• Never Been Kissed
• Notting Hill
• Pride and Prejudice
• Romancing the Stone
• Serendipity
• Sleepless in Seattle
• Something's Gotta Give
• The Sweetest Thing
• The Wedding Planner
• When Harry Met Sally
• You've Got Mail

The Carry On films were a long-running series of British popular low_budget comedy films, directed by Gerald Thomas and produced by Peter Rodgers. ... Sweet Home Alabama can refer to: A song by Lynyrd Skynyrd A movie starring Reese Witherspoon and Josh Lucas This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might otherwise share the same title. ... Monster-in-Law is a 2005 romantic comedy film, directed by Robert Luketic. ... The Wedding Singer is a 1998 romantic comedy film written by Tim Herlihy and directed by Frank Coraci that stars Adam Sandler as Robbie Hart, a wedding singer, and Drew Barrymore as Julia Sullivan, the object of his affections. ... 10 Things I Hate About You is a 1999 American romantic comedy film. ... 27 Dresses is a 2008 romantic comedy film directed by Anne Fletcher and written by Aline Brosh McKenna. ... Beautiful Girls (1996) is a film directed by Ted Demme and starring Matt Dillon, Uma Thurman, Mira Sorvino, Annabeth Gish, Timothy Hutton, Lauren Holly, Natalie Portman, Martha Plimpton, Michael Rapaport and Rosie ODonnell. ... Bridget Joness Diary is a 2001 film, based on the novel, also called Bridget Joness Diary, by Helen Fielding. ... The Cutting Edge is a 1992 romantic comedy film directed by Paul Michael Glaser. ... A French kiss can refer to a style of kissing using the tongue. ... The Holiday is an upcoming movie being directed by Nancy Meyers. ... DVD cover Kate & Leopold is a 2001 romantic comedy motion picture that tells a story of a Duke who time travels from 1876 to the present and falls in love with a career woman in New York. ... Love Actually is a romantic comedy first released in cinemas in October and November 2003. ... Moonstruck is a 1987 romantic comedy film directed by Norman Jewison. ... Music and Lyrics is a romantic comedy film released by Warner Bros. ... My Sassy Girl (엽기적인 그녀; literally, That Bizarre Girl) is a 2001 South Korean romantic comedy film. ... Never Been Kissed is a 1999 comedy directed by Raja Gosnell and starring Drew Barrymore, David Arquette, Michael Vartan, Molly Shannon, Leelee Sobieski, John C. Reilly, Jessica Alba, Marley Shelton, James Franco, Giuseppe Andrews, Jeremy Jordan and Garry Marshall. ... Notting Hill is a 1999 romantic comedy film set in the Notting Hill district of London, England, UK. The screenplay was written by Richard Curtis who had previously written Four Weddings and a Funeral. ... This article is about the novel. ... Romancing the Stone is an American 1984 action-adventure film. ... Serendipity is a 2001 romantic movie, starring Kate Beckinsale and John Cusack. ... Sleepless in Seattle is a 1993 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Nora Ephron. ... Somethings Gotta Give is an American movie released in 2003. ... For the U2 song, see Sweetest Thing. ... The Wedding Planner is a romantic comedy released in 2001 starring Jennifer Lopez and Matthew McConaughey. ... The gate under which Harry meets Sally in the film; located on the campus of the University of Chicago When Harry Met Sally. ... Youve Got Mail is an American romantic comedy released in 1998 by Warner Brothers. ...

Top grossing romantic comedies

• Sex and the City: The Movie
• Pretty Woman
• Tootsie
• There's Something about Mary
• Jerry Maguire
• My Best Friend's Wedding

Pretty Woman is a 1990 American romantic comedy motion picture. ... George Fields and Dorothy Michaels at the Russian Tea Room Tootsie is a 1982 comedy film that tells the story of a talented but volatile actor whose reputation for being difficult makes it hard for him to find work. ... Theres Something About Mary is an American film released in 1998 by 20th Century Fox, directed by Bobby Farrelly and Peter Farrelly (the Farrelly brothers). ... Jerry Maguire is a 1996 American comedy-drama film starring Tom Cruise, Cuba Gooding, Jr. ... This article is about the Julia Roberts film. ...

References

1. ^ Billy Mernit, "Writing the Romantic Comedy" (2000, Harper/Collins)

External links

• Romantic Comedy Movies - from 1940s to future releases, with box office performance The Numbers
• Market Performance of Romantic Comedies in United States - year-by-year analysis of box office performance of romantic comedies The Numbers
• Romantic Comedy Movies - Top 290 (1978-present) by Box Office Mojo
• Top 10 Romantic Comedies by Billy Mernit