Romantic Comedies

Lately I have taken a slight interest in romantic comedies, yet I can't seem to figure out exactly why. I normally hate predictable movies, and romantic comedies are always predictable. There is always at least one guy and one girl who either have great chemistry or they think they hate each other; there is always some random problem that involves those two people; and in the end, they always end up together. The actors may use language to equivocate viewers into thinking something bad is going to happen, or there is some ruse that tricks most people for at least a few seconds. However, we all know that the final scene is going to be just fine, peachy in fact. 

So why so much interest in these cliche movies? 

No matter what time period, whether it's the late 18th century or present day, the feeling of love is always the same. It doesn't matter whether the setting takes place in some baroque building or in the middle of a deserted island because the viewer knows that there's some connection being made between the characters. It shows that love has no limits, and this is exactly what viewers want. Viewers want the feeling of extreme happiness even during the worst times or want to view the strife and hardships in order to achieve happiness. We want to watch a parvenu on screen who has risen from the dirt to the highest ranking in society, and we want to see that person find true love. 

The funny thing is, we do not think about what COULD happen after the story ends. We are left with a small hint that the couple falls in love and that they live happily ever after. We never think that a character could fall out of love. We do not think that there could be a divorce of some sort because of one character's perfidy. Viewers live to dream of such a perfect scenario; a scene that most likely would never come true. We want to watch something happen in a movie that wouldn't happen in real life; it is some sort of escape for everyone.

Sometimes I wonder how people can come up with so many different scenarios that all results in the same, happy ending. I've seen movies involving people who could make just about anything comestible (since they were chefs), and I've seen a movie where even an anathema is able to find love; she may be cursed, but somehow she still finds her soul mate. Weird, right?

In my opinion, there needs to be a moratorium of romantic comedies; maybe just for about half a year. There have been too many movies produced with predictable endings and feel-good finales. We need to realize that scenarios such as those will never really happen, and we need to produce movies that are more realistic. We shouldn't watch movies where there is always a happy ending because, well, life just isn't like that. Not at all. (But who am I to give such a suggestion? Whether I like to admit it or not, I enjoy watching these movies.)

I'm not trying to deprecate romantic comedies, since I know I'm guilty of watching them pretty frequently. I love the feeling of knowing that everything turned out right in the end, and I love seeing how random the scenes can get before the man and woman are finally together. I like watching how a man proposes in a surreptitious manner or when a person's choler (typically a woman) is completely gone after meeting the love of his or her life. I can't really disparage romantic comedies since I enjoy watching them; it would be like insulting my own interests. I enjoy seeing characters exorciate each other, but at the same time it only brings them closer together somehow. 

So what is my take on these movies? They may all seem similar, but I can't help but enjoy them. They're the typical "chick flicks" that we love watching, and we just can't get enough of them. Those moments where a major problem erupts and we find the characters in a seemingly implacable situation, just grabs the viewer. We all just want a little taste of a dream; even if it means watching it acted out on screen.