It is no secret that many people have an infatuation with the movie industry. The thrill of watching a newly released movie that has been anticipated for weeks is a feeling that those who love film yearn to feel again and again. Whether it is romance, action or comedy, movie buffs just cannot get enough.
The one genre that I think is particularly excellent is romantic-comedy. Arguably, rom-coms are one of the best genres because they have the warmth of romance with the added humor of comedy. In other words, it has the best of both worlds.
“I like the plot of rom-coms because they are funny and there is always a happy ending,” said Calleigh Lamb, a freshman nursing major. “It takes us away from our life.”
In movies, we are transported into a reality that is not our own. What better way to do that than to mix comedy with a little bit of romance that we do not typically see in real life? My fellow rom-com lovers and I enjoy them because they take us to a fantasy of a relationship we crave to have, and they give us the happy ending we do not always see in our own lives.
The recent rom-com “Anyone But You,” released Dec. 22, 2023, is a great example of why I think rom-com is one of the best genres of film.
Popular young actors Sydney Sweeney, who plays Bea, and Glen Powell, who plays Ben, brought a natural charm to the screen. Despite an amazing first date, the two leave off with the wrong first impression of each other because of a little miscommunication. I was transcended by their love-hate relationship.
This movie had a nice mix of quick wit and sweet, romantic charm. Bea and Ben were two people who truly had a passion for one another, but their own misconceptions of each other got in the way of their relationship. Personally, I love this enemies-to-lovers trope that “Anyone But You” brings to the big screen because it adds something different to romance.
“Hate can be the secret sauce of a rom-com, the spice that makes it come alive,” said “Variety” magazine’s Owen Gleiberman.
Hate does make a romance seemingly more interesting because hate between the couple is not something that is usually connected within a love story. However, it does make the couple feel so much more real and the story more in tune with real life. Not all relationships are the lovey-dovey kind that we see in romance movies.
Sometimes relationships are complicated. There are many emotions involved that are so much more than just love like jealousy, joy, and even hatred. When you love someone, you love all of them. You love the good and the bad. You love their flaws as well as their strengths. There is baggage and brokenness involved, but you love them for who they are.
Instead of having all the lightheartedness of a typical rom-com, this film went over some very real and relatable scenarios that come with relationships. Bea felt like her life was being led in a different direction than to be a lawyer and felt like her parents would not understand. Ben lost his mom when he was young. They both had painful past relationship experiences. Most romance in real life is messy and complex, and that is what this movie brought to the surface.
“For someone who is not big into rom-coms or romance in general, I was thoroughly impressed,” said Baylee Williamson, a GC alumna. “There are not a lot of rom-coms that I would go watch again, but this would be one of them.”
What “Anyone But You” did that made it so worthwhile was bring the topic of false first impressions to its viewers and made it into something that was entertaining to watch. It brought a different approach to this genre. After the mess that was Bea and Ben’s story, they still had a happy ending, and with that, came a journey of bellyaching laughter and heartfelt scenes that brought a simultaneous “awe” to the audience.
“Before ‘Anyone But You,’ the last romantic comedy to make more than $100 million at the worldwide box office was the 2016 movie ‘Bridget Jones’s Baby,’” said ScreenRant’s Greg MacArthur.
This movie can be a great beginning to opening the door for rom-coms to make their comeback in 2024.
