It's Time for a Rom-Com Renaissance
WHEN’S THE LAST time you watched a romantic comedy? If you’re relatively on top of new releases, maybe you’ve seen Anyone But You, the 2023 film starring Sydney Sweeney and Glen Powell, which so far has grossed over $170 million. If not, maybe your most recent was Crazy Rich Asians, the box-office hit from 2018; that was six years ago, in case you’re counting. Aside from those couple of notable releases, try to recall any other recent major rom-coms that actually found success. I mean, a real, well-marketed movie with known actors whom audiences showed up for. If you can’t, don’t blame yourself: rom-coms aren’t the cultural touchstone they used to be.
When The Avengers premiered in 2012, it sparked a (now waning) era of superhero smash hits. Any up-and-coming star in the last decade or so has almost instantly found themselves in consideration for a Marvel or DC film, no matter how small the part. The constant churn of releases have taken over the box office, almost entirely eliminating out the rom-com as a pick in the major studio playbook. But there should be enough room for both.
Major stars want to revive the genre, too. Dave Bautista and Daniel Radcliffe are two major male stars who have admitted they’d like to star in a rom-com, although both have recently found themselves in more eccentric roles. In a recent interview with Variety, Kate Hudson also said she was interested in returning to the genre that undoubtedly landed her on the A-list. But when asked why they’re not getting made, her response was blunt: you need better star power, and, more importantly, better writers. So, if all these people want to be in romantic comedies, and audiences are showing up for Anyone But You, what gives? We want more rom-coms, and we want them now.
The truth is that romantic comedies are getting made, but many don’t draw audiences in. Prior to the success of Anyone But You, Winona Ryder and Keanu Reeves starred in 2018's Destination Wedding, and Meg Ryan and David Duchovny starred in What Happens Later just last year. Hear anything about those? Even if the most minimal of chatter made its way to your ears (or social media feeds), diminished distribution and little-to-no hype left both films dead on arrival. Lack of starpower, in those cases, clearly isn’t the problem, so what was? Reviews of both generally critiqued not the lack of chemistry, but hitting the same notes of rom-coms past and playing to familiar tropes without offering anything new; it might be a decent time watching once, but why rewatch Destination Wedding when it doesn’t do anything that a classic does better?
One standout hit in recent years, however, was Ticket to Paradise, starring Julia Roberts and George Clooney. With a mid-sized budget of $60 million, the film went on to make over $170 million at the box office. Star power? Check. Good writing? The film was directed and written by Ol Parker, best known for penning Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, A Boy Called Christmas, and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. Whether those movies were great is up for debate, but they’ve got their fans, and, perhaps more importantly to the studios calling the shots, found financial success. So, we’ll call it a check. Kate Hudson was onto something.
Look back into the ‘90s and 2000s, and romantic comedies were as prevalent then as superhero movies are now: Sleepless in Seattle (1993), You’ve Got Mail (1998), 10 Things I Hate About You (1999), How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003), John Tucker Must Die (2006), 27 Dresses (2008), The Proposal (2009). The list goes on. Rom-coms used to be a way for both ascending and well-known actors to show off their likability and charisma, while younger and more obscure actors could find fame as heartthrobs or girls next door. Hell, supporting roles also led to stardom; think about Bradley Cooper’s breakout appearance as a jerk boyfriend in Wedding Crashers, or Judy Greer’s many hilarious supporting turns.
Quality be damned, we love those movies and their stars. Decades later, and they have a rewatchability that make them timeless classics. Want a Valentine’s Day flick to set the mood with your partner? You’ll always find a solid pick on streaming or a cable marathon from years past. Julia Roberts, Matthew McConaughey, Meg Ryan, Hugh Grant, and many more built their fame not on thrillers, dramas, or Oscar-bait biopics, but mid-budget romantic comedies. And to this day, we’re still talking about the lighthearted ‘90s fare that made these stars the household names they remain today.
And while many may blame superhero flicks for causing actors to ignore the genre in lieu of a hefty paycheck, that argument is getting tired, like saying millennials ruin everything. If anything, superhero movies can sometimes fill the void rom-coms have left behind. Actors may join for the money, but when done right, they can feature a strong physicality and charming light comedy. Just about half of the Iron Man films are built on flirty banter between Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, and it’s fun! Every movie doesn't need a tearful monologue, a rousing motivational speech, or a scene reenacting a major historical event. Sometimes a little banter between two charismatic stars does the trick just fine. We all need a fun escape from the bleakness of daily life, however we’re going to get it.
But it’s also that the world changed, and the rom-com became a casualty.
If rom-coms were to be declared dead, streaming be a chief murder suspect. And, honestly, it’s a fair point. When Netflix or Prime Video churn out Hallmark-quality (no shade!) films at an alarmingly high rate, or bury newer releases in arbitrary categories, how can audiences ever find what they’re actually looking for? If you’d never heard of Crazy Rich Asians, would eyeing it in the technological bargain bin that is Netflix’s collection page convince you to watch? Or would you keep scrolling until you found Clueless, safe in the comfort of choosing a film you know will make you feel warm and fuzzy inside? Give audiences the choice between experimenting and sticking with what they know, and more often than not, they’re probably going to go with old faithful.
Back in, say, 2017, when it still felt novel for Netflix and other streamers to make their own original shows or movies, this theory would have been moot. 2018’s Set It Up and 2019’s Someone Great and Always Be My Maybe earned solid reviews on Rotten Tomatoes from both audiences and critics, and arguably marked the tail end of the streaming rom-com renaissance. But now, less than five years later, in a time when 2023’s Rye Lane (one of the year’s best-reviewed films) premiered on Hulu and the only way audiences discovered it was through brief clips on TikTok, we can’t call streaming the savior to this now-largely-dormant genre. Now, for a film to be a hit, it has to not only hit all the vital genre notes, but also have audiences ready to build hype via word of mouth and social media.
Take Your Place or Mine, Ashton Kutcher and Reese Witherspoon’s 2023 Netflix rom-com. The film’s writer had a strong background: Aline Brosh McKenna co-created Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, and wrote genre hits 27 Dresses and The Devil Wears Prada. But critiques of the film centered on the stars’ lack of chemistry and a predictable story. Even with star power and presumably good writing, it faltered in its execution. And while critics and audiences often disagree on the quality of rom-coms, audiences are generally willing to fight for a film that’s enjoyable, even when it’s not exactly competing for Oscars. There don’t seem to be a ton of Your Place or Mine defenders out there, no matter how you slice it.
David Sims argued in The Atlantic that Anyone But You worked because of the buzz, the star power, and, importantly, because Sony doesn’t have a streaming service of its own as a distribution option. If studios have the option between streaming and theatrical release, but don’t believe in a film’s box office draw, the movie will disappear into that streaming black hole sooner rather than later. Perhaps due to nothing more than a lack of options, Sony has let Anyone But You breathe at the box office—and it’s become a major hit as a result.
To revive rom-coms, it’ll take more than actors and audiences talking about their favorite films and postulating what went wrong. It’ll take studios paying attention, greenlighting good ideas, releasing more rom-coms in theaters, and devoting genuine effort into marketing them.
Thankfully, we don’t have to lament about the “death” of the genre. Anyone But You (hopefully) proved to studios and audiences that rom-coms are a fun and worthwhile investment. It’s even possible that the film’s success has spurned new interest in the genre. Deadline reported just this month that Celine Song, writer/director of the Oscar-nominated Past Lives, has a new rom-com in the works with Dakota Johnson, Pedro Pascal, and Chris Evans set as the leads. Star power? Check. Extra buzz as the follow-up to one of 2023’s most acclaimed films? Check.
Fingers crossed—this could be the dawn of a brand new rom-com era.
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