Romcoms: the genre people love to hate and hate to love.
When the second trailer for Celine Song’s upcoming film The Materialists came out on May 8th, romcom lovers far and wide rejoiced. Based on the trailer alone, many have claimed that the film is a return to the form and style of classic romcoms.
The genre saw the most popularity in the late 90s and early 2000s. Over time, the movies grew less and less popular. Audiences felt the form was repetitive and boring, and movie studios shifted their attention to high-budget blockbuster films.
But romcom lovers stayed loyal in the face of the genre’s box office decline, and it looks like their resilience is finally being rewarded. Celine Song and A24’s new romcom feels like just the movie they’ve been waiting for.
Not only social media users who felt this way; on the same day the trailer was released, responses from previews of the film came out alongside it. In their reviews, critics hailed Song as a master in her domain and a savior of romcoms.
As a casual enjoyer of the genre, this response from viewers and critics made me wonder: what makes Song’s upcoming work so special? How does it innovate the form, while also bringing something new to it? To figure this out, we’ll have to go back to the very beginning.
The Beginnings of The Romcom
Romcoms are derived from the Screwball era of Hollywood comedies, which were popular in the 1930s. Screwball comedies were believed to have originated from early vaudeville and slapstick movies. These genres were popular as movies began to transition from silent films to major motion pictures. Screwball comedies focused on a romantic relationship between two characters in a dramatic and silly way.
A common trope in these movies was a relationship between two characters of different classes. The movies exaggerate the differences between them as they came from wildly different backgrounds. Though polar opposites, they eventually find common ground in their romantic attraction for one another.
Screwball comedies also relied on tropes like the battle of the sexes and fake relationships to create jokes between the two lovers—themes that still play in romcoms today.
The First RomCom
The 1934 film It Happened One Night is believed to be the first romcom.
It follows an heiress named Ellie Andrews after her father separates her from her new husband out of fear that he only married her for his cash. Ellie sneaks away from isolation to try and find a way back to him. While on the run, she meets a newspaper reporter named Peter Warne. Warne decides to help her reunite with her husband, but as he spends more time with Ellie, he starts to fall in love with her.
The film has elements of classic screwball tropes, such as the characters constantly running into hijinks and finding themselves in intimate yet comedic situations. But ultimately, it focused on the growing romance between Ellie and Peter, as it ends with the two falling in love and getting married.
The popularity of the new form was evident by its award-winning success. It’s one of three films in history to win all five major Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay. The film blended comedic stunts, an enticing love story, and a bit of playful raunchiness to create something that stands the test of time.
Romcom’s Heyday
The romcom’s most popular era was from the mid ’90s until the early 2000s. Some iconic films from this period are 10 Things I Hate About You, How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days, and Bridget Jones’ Diary.
Though each romcom has something that makes it unique, there’s a formula to the genre that keeps making us come back. Of course, there’s the classic love story, but there are also the different tropes that each movie puts a spin on.
’90s Romcoms Explained
Ten Things I Hate About You is an enemies-to-lovers story. Kat Stratford, a pretentious literature lover, loathes her classmate Patrick Verona, a class clown. But as they’re forced to spend time with each other outside of class, his charming nature sneaks its way into her heart.
As the movie unfolds, her soft side for him is revealed. The two eventually fall in love, but only on her terms.
How to Lose A Guy in Ten Days follows two characters who both make bets on their relationship. Andie Anderson bets that she can make a guy fall in and out of love with her in ten days, while Ben Berry bets he can hook up with Andie in ten days.
Since the viewers are privy to this bet, we get to watch the push and pull of each character’s motivations act on each other, and we feel the heartbreak when the truth of their intentions is revealed. But it only gets even sweeter when they realize their true feelings for each other, and run to each other for the dramatic reveal in the end.
Bridget Jones’ Diary revolves around a love triangle between the titular Bridget, her childhood friend Mark, and her boss Daniel. The movie follows the characters as they vie for each other’s attention in hilarious and obscene ways.
The viewer is never sure who to root for. Each man is flawed in one way, but attractive in another. In the end, when she chooses Daniel, it feels like the perfect choice.
How Does “The Materialists” Compare?
Like many classic romcoms, the Materialists revolves around a love triangle. Lucy, played by Dakota Johnson, is a professional matchmaker who struggles to find love in her personal life.
In the same night that she connects with her ex, John, played by Chris Evans, she meets a suave, rich guy named Harry, played by Pedro Pascal. The movie follows Lucy as she explores relationships with both men. In the end, she’ll have to choose who will be her true love.
The Materialists does something that harkens even further back than the ’90s romcoms we know and love. There’s a class element at play between the competing relationships. John is a waiter at the fancy event where Lucy meets Harry, a millionaire. Lucy says in the trailer that she’ll either die alone, or marry rich. But when a past love comes back, will she change her mind?
Fans also pointed out an aspect of the trailer that reminds them of popular ’90s romcoms: the narrator. The trailer is narrated by a male voice, who gives the viewer a cheeky insight into the story and its players. Many viewers were reminded of trailers of the 90s and 2000s, where the narrator was a standard for romcoms.
Conclusion
It’s clear that Celine Song knows her romcom history. And it’s even clearer that she’s equipped to innovate the genre while staying true to what makes the romcom so successful. Though the movie focuses on a love triangle, Lucy is not a helpless woman who needs saving by either man. She’s successful in every aspect of her life except for love, so all of the courtship happens on her terms.
Though The Materialists relies on classic romcom tropes, it seems to not just innovate them, but elevate them. It’s easy to see why rom-com lovers are so excited for the upcoming movie.
