Aside from the generally formulaic story structure and predictable endings, it is shocking how many romantic comedies mistake creepy romantic gestures as actual romance. One of the biggest examples of this is the whole "running to stop someones wedding at the last minute to tell them that you love them" trope. It happens in so many movies. Just off the top of my head there's The Graduate, Shrek, Wedding Crashers, A Philadelphia Story, The Sweetest Thing, Made of Honor, and Runaway Bride. It's not just a coincidence that this trope recurs so often in movies. In romantic comedies that climax is always the one main character finally working u the nerve to do some big romantic gesture and finally say "I love you" or "lets get married". This has lead to the popularization of the "Don't marry that person!" trope, because people see it somehow as the ultimate expression of love to destroy other love. As if love is somehow a finite resource and there's some sort of zero sum trade off dynamic in the world of romance.
In all these movies you have people all set to get married and start a life together, when someone rushes in and gives some big eloquent speech about how much they love the person who is getting married. As if that's all that goes into love, big sweeping romantic gestures. In romantic comedies you have people who presumably have had a relationship together for at least some time. They are happy together, so much so that they decided to get married. Yet they decide to throw it all away in an instant as if the only thing that matters in romance is who can express their feelings in the grandest way. The couple getting married has presumably already gone through some stuff together, they presumably love each other. Yet all of that is meaningless when some yahoo comes barging in shouting "I object!". When these characters, these "protagonists", storm into someone's wedding with professions of love it's actually really creepy. They make it seem as if that is what a real relationship is and it isn't. A relationship is more about how you feel about someone the rest of time, when they aren't waxing on about how great you are. Anyone can be won over by some big speech but that can't be your entire relationship. That is what makes the trope so creepy. Somehow barging in and ruining someone's happy and presumably love filled relationship for some spur of the moment fling thing is seen as good, as romantic.
I completely agree, and this is part of the reason that some romantic comedies don't sit well with me. It seems that the type of people represented by these actors are as mature as children. If you're willing to call off your wedding for your ex-boyfriend shouting "I object!" as the eleventh hour, you clearly were attached to him the entire time and waiting vainly for his declaration of love in return, but while doing so, you were casually marrying another man?
ReplyDeleteLike you said it is usually the protagonist that is the one rushing in to stop the wedding. The work usually tries to make the reader/viewer sympathize with this person but, as you say, it is actually quite creepy. In these situations I always feel a little bad for the person who is then jilted at the altar but it seems like writers purposely make this person bad so that you will agree with the relationship that is intended to be more romantic.
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