Are typical ROM COMS kind of dead?

[pretty reckless]

Lately most of them have flopped badly...What's your numberHow do you do?I dont know how she does itLarry crowneGoing the distanceIt seems like only comedy rom coms do well now

[fmpro]

they´re not dead..They just needs to make them better

[ladyevenstar22]

i don't know when last in that genre i've seen a true romance film....personally the last few i saw i find that the comedy component was a bit heavy and left little to the romance which in turn just doesnt make you empathise with the charactersthis past week i found myself watching old 80's movies , or reruns on tv like sleepless in seattle

[Electric]

They're not dead at all.We have higher standards for them.

[Cochofles]

Lately most of them have flopped badly...What's your numberHow do you do?I dont know how she does itLarry crowneGoing the distanceIt seems like only comedy rom coms do well now

Nah. No genre is truly dead, although some-musicals, westerns-are barely on life support, if we go by how very few films of those get released. I feel romcoms is one of those genres, like horror, that a lot of people think can be done easily (Just put two attractive leads in a run-of-the-mill romantic plot, and voila! Hit! Right?), which explains how many crappy romcoms we get. But as along as people fall in love, and as long as audiences want to escape reality by falling for a Hollywood romantic fantasy, there will be romcoms made.

[Jonwo]

The Vow did very well but that was more of a romantic drama than a comedy. We haven't a romantic comedy being a huge hit in a long time. I like the Richard Curtis films like Four Weddings and a Funeral and Notting Hill and hope About Time lives up to those films.

[acab]

Actually i feel that most of Apatow's films (including the ones he produces) are rom-com films in disguise.Forgetting Sara MarshallBridesmaidsThe 40-Year-Old VirginKnocked UpThey are not dead just a bit transformed.

[JackO]

No because we will always get new Nicholas Sparks movie in February but I do agree that traditional rom coms not quirky or based on established properties are a tough sell.

[The Movie Man]

No because we will always get new Nicholas Sparks movie in February but I do agree that traditional rom coms not quirky or based on established properties are a tough sell.

So if nick sparks movies ate Rom com like a walk to remember??? Then is Silver Linings Playbook. At least a Dark ROM Com?????

[Accursed Arachnid!™]

Women aren't willing to just accept the typical How to Lose a Guy Who's Just Not That Into You crap Hollywood was spewing out for so long. They want more edge, more crudeness and a plot.

[The Movie Man]

Women aren't willing to just accept the typical How to Lose a Guy Who's Just Not That Into You crap Hollywood was spewing out for so long. They want more edge, more crudeness and a plot.

Also the past actresses have pasted. Meg Ryan, Sandra Bullock, Julia Roberts, Mandy Moore, Lindsay Lohen, Hateaway, Seiefried, Winslet, even Kate Hudson slowed down with life. And who has taken there place? Forget the notebook girl but she took time off and doing serious movies, as is Natalie portman, keira Knightley, Blake Liveley, etc. So who are the true Rom com girls of 2010 decade????And a lot are young teens so that maybe in 5 years.

[Sims]

I don't really know what the difference is between a "romantic comedy" and a "comedy romantic comedy."

[Walt Disney]

Actually i feel that most of Apatow's films (including the ones he produces) are rom-com films in disguise.Forgetting Sara MarshallBridesmaidsThe 40-Year-Old VirginKnocked UpThey are not dead just a bit transformed.

Bridesmaids was definitely a rom-com. They just added some crude humor to it to spice it up.

[PatrickvD]

I think they're only successful if they're not targeted towards women only.The reason a movie like Bridesmaids or hell, even The Proposal breaks out is because they appeal towards the dating crowd, not just women. Plus, they need to be well made.

[Ozymandias]

Yes, they're dead. Thats why Jennifer Aniston's career tanked awhile ago.

[Taylor]

Yes, they're dead. Thats why Jennifer Aniston's career tanked awhile ago.

... Aniston has two $100m films last year.

[grim22]

This article just came out a couple of weeks ago, goes into a lot of detail about the decline of the forumlaic rom-com:  http://www.villagevoice.com/2014-03-05/film/who-killed-the-romantic-comedy/full/

 

The corpse lay crumpled on the conference table, close enough that the studio executive could tug on the red heel of her Louboutin. She'd been lying there unnoticed, or perhaps just ignored, for quite some time. Her wedding veil was tattered, and someone had spilled coffee on her white satin dress. A receipt had been crudely shoved in her bouquet.

Once, she'd been worth a fortune -- at least $100 million, according to her friends, who sat at home and rewatched tapes of her at her prime. Every woman had wanted to be her: Julia, Meg, Sandra, Reese. Not anymore.
 

The romantic comedy is dead.
 

In 1997, there were two romantic comedies among the top 20 box office performers. In 1998 and 1999, there were three. Each cracked $100 million in sales. Even as recently as 2005, five romantic comedies topped $100 million at the box office.

Contrast that with 2013: There's not one romantic comedy in the top 50 films. Not even in the top 100.

Men and women are still falling in love, of course. They're just not doing it onscreen -- and if they do, it's no laughing matter. In today's comedies, they're either casually hooking up or already married. These are comedies of exasperation, not infatuation.

It's not only that audiences are refusing to see romantic comedies. It's that romantic comedies aren't getting made, at least not by the major studios. The Big Wedding, 2013's sole boy-meets-girl-meets-matrimony comedy, was unceremoniously dumped into theaters by big indie Lionsgate and limped to No. 101 on the chart.

What happened?

Edited March 20, 2014 by grim22

[Jawa]

The Room didn't do very well either, if I recall.

[Jay Beezy]

Blended resurrecting the genre?

 

I know the author is trying to keep an open and unbiased mind about something that has yet to be released, but there is no way Blended will do so.

Edited March 20, 2014 by Jay Beezy

[a2k]

I think society has evolved and we don't have a stereotyped view of romance anymore. Everyone's experiences are unique and the diversity of those experiences has probably left it better suited for sitcoms where the characters can appear repeatedly for multiple seasons and the entire complexity of romance can be subtlety captured in full detail.

Edited March 20, 2014 by a2knet