What makes a good Romantic Comedy?

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Written by Caeden Tipler (they/them) | @caedentipler | Letterboxd: @ctipler | News Editor

It’s time for a Romantic Comedy revival. The world lacks the intimate cosiness of films like When Harry Met Sally. This isn’t about pure nostalgia, or a deep need for distraction from the world today (although both may be factors) - instead, I believe we’re missing a level of intellectual capability that can only come from rom-com creators with a passion for the genre.

Romantic comedies are far more intelligent than what they are often given credit for. They were practically invented by Shakespeare (think As You Like It). Jane Austen honed the genre with her novels like Pride and Prejudice in the 19th Century, and by the 1930s we had the kind of screwball comedy that would pave the way for the genre. Plays, novels, and films that were considered cheap at their time, like the rom-com, but are now regarded as highbrow. 

Sure, we had Anyone But You earlier this year. The film that was poised to be exactly what I claim we’re missing. Based on Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, it had a gorgeous cast and the director of past beloved comedies. However, despite utilising Hollywood heavyweights and the classic rom-com formula, it missed the magic. This all begs the question, if there can be bad romantic comedies, what makes a good one? And what exactly are films like Anyone But You missing?

Film critic Benjamin Lee argues the romantic comedy genre “is not loved for its gritty realness - but there has to be something deeper, something to make us care for the will or the won’t of the formula.” Characters need to have obvious flaws to match their strengths, and rich lives outside of their romances.

The supporting cast plays a significant role in this. It is my belief Carrie Fisher is the stand-out performance of When Harry Met Sally, and this is largely because the film allows her to do so. She brings out a different side to Sally we don’t get when she’s around Harry. Fisher’s character has her own ambitions in love and a rom-com subplot that could rival the main characters. 

British romantic comedies have mastered the supporting cast. Bridget Jones’s Diary and Notting Hill both have strong-willed friend groups that make the lives of the characters feel richer. Of course, what makes Four Weddings and a Funeral so great is the cast of characters who grow together over the decades and make the film feel whole.

Another key component of making a rom-com great is the relatability of the characters. I can relate to the intensity of Sally Albright with her over-specific restaurant orders, refusal to process her break-up, and breakdown over turning forty “someday.” I can relate to Bridget Jones with her messy public speeches and falling for the fuckboy. I cannot relate to Beatrice from Anyone But You being too hot and perfect to the point of ridiculousness.

The most crucial component of a fantastic romantic comedy is the creators' clear investment in the story. When Harry Met Sally came from Director Rob Reiner’s period of singleness and subsequent loneliness. The film developed from a bittersweet ending when Reiner no longer believed in love to the iconic one we know today because Reiner fell in love again. Crucially, When Harry Met Sally also had writer Nora Ephron. 

Nora Ephron famously invented New York City and the season of ‘fall’ - kind of. She formalised making New York City feel like a small-town community and the changing of seasons feeling like its own character. Her writing motto is ‘make them care.’ She wrote and produced her own scripts based on her own experiences. She brought vision and realness to the genre. 

Everything I have described as making a good romantic comedy was pioneered by Ephron. It was her intelligence for the genre that made the films look so easy to make. She credits this, her sharp observations when it comes to character and her gift for the written word, with her training as a journalist. To make loveable films you also need a love for film, and she had a cinephile streak with her adoration for the golden age of Hollywood. 

Good romantic comedies won’t make a comeback just because studios think they’ll make good money. For romantic comedies to feel like they used to we need a new generation of creatives with the passion, intellect, and experience of Ephron. In short, we need a new generation of filmmakers who ‘make them care.’

By no means is the genre perfect. These films are overwhelmingly white and heterosexual. They often feature inappropriate quips and make minorities the butt of the joke. But it is possible to make films more appropriate for the 21st Century without losing the magic of the past. Films like Crazy Rich Asians and Rye Lane do prove this is possible. They’re getting closer, but they’re either not quite romantic comedy enough or not quite blockbuster enough.

When Harry Met Sally is widely credited with kicking off the rom-com craze of the 90s and early 2000s. That’s the kind of film rom-coms need to come back on the scene with. They need to return with a bang.