This just came up on my substack home page and it’s the definitive rom com scholarship I never knew I needed. The vibe encapsulations are so on point it’s outrageous!
I recently attended a rom com trivia night, at which I was disappointed to hear that there were more questions about the Judd Apatow era than the Meg Ryan era — and they tried to pass off Dirty Dancing and The Notebook as rom coms! (Love DD but it is not a rom com! It is not at all com!) it was balm for my soul to see you lay it all out like this and there are definitely some gaps in my knowledge!
Honestly, my favorite is The Wedding Date, peak Mulroney-Messing and just prior to the recession, so there's a lot of conspicuous wealth on display, so Nancy-Meyers-ish without the age factor? I loved it so much that I wrote a novella in homage where the mother of the bride needs an escort for her daughter's wedding.
The Wedding Date is so cute, and it’s also hilarious to me that it’s early enough in Amy Adams’s career that she’s playing the selfish sister and not the romcom heroine
RIGHT? And she was terrifyingly good at it, too! Every time I re-watch it (and it has been MANY, many times) I'm also blown away by how many capital-N Names are in that movie.
this was so LOVELY to read (the type of romcom criticism & analysis that i devour — especially as we seem to be getting more!) i would genuinely read the 400 page book expanding on these!!
it also had me thinking about what the future of romcoms looks like (in terms of the criteria u listed out). rn, the vibe seems nostalgic — a desperation to recreate the magic of older romcoms as opposed to really exploring what it’s like to fall in love in this current age. feel like it also shows in the leading cast (established romcom actors). however, with the success of ‘anyone but you’, i’m curious as to if there’s going to be a new type of romcom that develops from the zoey deutch romcom
apologies for the long comment 😩 thanks for writing this!!
i was watching the new Alison Brie/Jay Ellis movie last night (Somebody I Used To Know is what I think its called?) and I realized I really love rom-coms about people who are either really good at their jobs (Michael Mann make a romantic comedy) or people who are workaholics (Broadcast News), which last night's movie definitely was. unfortunately it was kinda cringe because Alison Brie's character was NOT okay.
We watched that movie too! And yes, due to Alison Brie’s character being SUCH a mess, plus the Amy Sedaris cameo and the Haley Joel Osmont bit part, it felt to me like a Duplass.
Broadcast News is such a great movie, and even though it’s clearly a love triangle movie, I definitely think of it as a movie about workaholics first.
It's just missing 90s/00s Teen Era (perhaps the Julia Stiles era?): Can't Hardly Wait, 10 Things I Hate About You, She's All That, Never been Kissed, Save the Last Dance, Drive Me Crazy, Clueless, etc. The vibes: teens and schemes, the leading men: teen heartthrobs (Heath Ledger, Freddie Prinze Jr., etc) and the occasional hot but completely inappropriate love interest (teachers and former stepbrothers).
And perhaps the brief but brilliant Amanda Bynes era (What a Girl Wants, Sydney White, She's the Man, maybe even Easy A), with slapstick vibes.
A subset would definitely be The Shakespeare Era/Classic lit era (10 Things, She's The Man, O + Easy A and Clueless if all classics are allowed).
This is spot on!!!
Thank you much!!
The Stick Stickly comparison sent me!
The girls who get it get it!
Ooohhh I loved this read sm, you hit so many eras I had never noticed to define (especially the Duplass era!!)
The Duplass era had sadbois in a chokehold!
This just came up on my substack home page and it’s the definitive rom com scholarship I never knew I needed. The vibe encapsulations are so on point it’s outrageous!
I'm so glad it found you!
I recently attended a rom com trivia night, at which I was disappointed to hear that there were more questions about the Judd Apatow era than the Meg Ryan era — and they tried to pass off Dirty Dancing and The Notebook as rom coms! (Love DD but it is not a rom com! It is not at all com!) it was balm for my soul to see you lay it all out like this and there are definitely some gaps in my knowledge!
I get so annoyed when people call anything with a central romantic plot a romcom! Love & Basketball is not a comedy either!
such a good read. forwarding this to all of my girlfriends!
Thank you so much!
Honestly, my favorite is The Wedding Date, peak Mulroney-Messing and just prior to the recession, so there's a lot of conspicuous wealth on display, so Nancy-Meyers-ish without the age factor? I loved it so much that I wrote a novella in homage where the mother of the bride needs an escort for her daughter's wedding.
The Wedding Date is so cute, and it’s also hilarious to me that it’s early enough in Amy Adams’s career that she’s playing the selfish sister and not the romcom heroine
RIGHT? And she was terrifyingly good at it, too! Every time I re-watch it (and it has been MANY, many times) I'm also blown away by how many capital-N Names are in that movie.
this was so LOVELY to read (the type of romcom criticism & analysis that i devour — especially as we seem to be getting more!) i would genuinely read the 400 page book expanding on these!!
it also had me thinking about what the future of romcoms looks like (in terms of the criteria u listed out). rn, the vibe seems nostalgic — a desperation to recreate the magic of older romcoms as opposed to really exploring what it’s like to fall in love in this current age. feel like it also shows in the leading cast (established romcom actors). however, with the success of ‘anyone but you’, i’m curious as to if there’s going to be a new type of romcom that develops from the zoey deutch romcom
apologies for the long comment 😩 thanks for writing this!!
I loved reading this!!
i was watching the new Alison Brie/Jay Ellis movie last night (Somebody I Used To Know is what I think its called?) and I realized I really love rom-coms about people who are either really good at their jobs (Michael Mann make a romantic comedy) or people who are workaholics (Broadcast News), which last night's movie definitely was. unfortunately it was kinda cringe because Alison Brie's character was NOT okay.
We watched that movie too! And yes, due to Alison Brie’s character being SUCH a mess, plus the Amy Sedaris cameo and the Haley Joel Osmont bit part, it felt to me like a Duplass.
Broadcast News is such a great movie, and even though it’s clearly a love triangle movie, I definitely think of it as a movie about workaholics first.
It's just missing 90s/00s Teen Era (perhaps the Julia Stiles era?): Can't Hardly Wait, 10 Things I Hate About You, She's All That, Never been Kissed, Save the Last Dance, Drive Me Crazy, Clueless, etc. The vibes: teens and schemes, the leading men: teen heartthrobs (Heath Ledger, Freddie Prinze Jr., etc) and the occasional hot but completely inappropriate love interest (teachers and former stepbrothers).
And perhaps the brief but brilliant Amanda Bynes era (What a Girl Wants, Sydney White, She's the Man, maybe even Easy A), with slapstick vibes.
A subset would definitely be The Shakespeare Era/Classic lit era (10 Things, She's The Man, O + Easy A and Clueless if all classics are allowed).