This essay will attempt to delineate the ways in which the rom-com genre has been revitalized through contemporary film, it will briefly explain the generic conventions of the rom-com, before examining two key case studies which underpin the examples of revitalization in the rom-com genre. The two case studies which this essay will utilize are John Hamburg’s I Love You Man [2009] and Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind [2004]. Both attempt to subvert the conventional rom-com mode in order to attempt to breathe life back into the genre. Due to the popularity of the genre, this essay has a wide range of theoretical texts to call on, some of these include two of Lesley Harbidge’s articles. Firstly, A New Direction in Comedian Comedy?: Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Punch Drunk Love and the Post-Comedian Rom Com. Secondly, Redefining screwball and reappropriating liminal spaces: The contemporary bromance and Todd Phillips’ The Hangover DVD. Moreover, the essay will use Peter Kunze’s article Masculinity in the Contemporary Romantic Comedy: Gender as Genre / Reading the Bromance: Homosocial Relationships in Film and Television.
It is useful to first define what this essay means by genre. Stephen Neale offers a useful summary. He states, “[Genre] is a system of orientations, expectations and conventions that circulate between industry, text and subject” (Neale 1980, p.19).
The romantic comedy or ‘rom-com’ as it is affectionately known is often dismissed due to its often simplistic nature but as Grindon argues “It has a pedigree that includes William Shakespeare, Jane Austen, and Oscar Wilde. Moreover, these films reward study because they deal with dramatic conflicts central to human experience. From those conflicts arise the familiar conventions that form the foundation for the romantic comedy and portray our social manners surrounding love and romance, intimacy and friendship, sexual choice and orientation” (Grindon 2011, p.8).
The rom-com is perhaps the easiest genre / sub-genre to study when exploring genre theory, this is due to the industry’s creation of rom-com’s formulaic, conventional texts which allows the subject to know exactly what they are getting before they get it. Therefore, the industry provides the subjects with titles such as When Harry Met Sally [1989] which accentuates the concept of the heterosexual couple, a key trope of the rom-com. Filmmakers will then allude to conventions which are viewed to work from previous texts, ultimately forming a criterion for following filmmakers to borrow and add to. Subjects will then view films with the anticipation that they will see a text they are already familiar with, however at the same time expecting to potentially extrapolate a new meaning from the text. It is therefore clear, as Neale states, that there is a clear bond between the industry, text and subject. Something which is not commonly found in art cinema, a clear indication of the profitable aim of the rom-com genre.
The classic romantic comedy conventions form around familiar settings, characters, and narratives. Typically, a romantic comedy will utilize an ordinary, everyday setting such as big cities like New York, London and Paris, which can be seen in films such as Annie Hall [1977], Bridget Jones’ Diary [2001] and Midnight in Paris [2011]. However, some films will originate it’s plot in the setting of a big city but will include a change of setting, to somewhere more remote, in order to represent a character’s escape from social order. This is utilized in Myers’ The Holiday [2006]. Characters in rom-coms tend to be likeable, down to earth people, in order to fit into their settings. Female protagonists tend to be women with self-esteem issues who have to conquer these in order to find love, this is seen in films such as Bridget Jones’ Diary [2001] and The Devil Wears Prada [2006]. Male protagonists are often work focused characters who fall in love by accident. This is the case with characters such as Joe Fox (Tom Hanks) in You’ve Got Mail [1998], The Prime Minister (Hugh Grant) in Love Actually [2003] and Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) in Music and Lyrics [2007]. Narrative in the rom-com is typically the conventional ‘boy meets a girl’ structure, or vice versa. They fall in love but have to overcome a myriad of obstacles in order to be together, ultimately getting married or having a child. A model for the narratives in the romantic comedy is displayed in Grindon’s 2011 book The Hollywood Romantic Comedy: Conventions, History and Controversies. It illustrates some of the common narrative elements of a romantic comedy.
Firstly, ‘Unfulfilled Desire’ where the film begins with a displeasing status for the protagonists. Secondly, ‘The Meet Cute’ where two protagonists from different social situations come together and fall in love. Thirdly, ‘Happy Together’ where the two protagonists spend the majority of the film together, allowing for diverse conversations and scenery to be shown to the subject. This is best seen in Linklater’s trilogy Before Sunrise [1995], Before Sunset [2004] and Before Midnight [2013]. Additionally, ‘The Journey’ illustrates a protagonist overcoming difficulties in their life in order to find love. Finally, ‘The Happy Ending’ where the love between two characters is confirmed at the denouement.
This essay will now explore the first of it’s two case studies, Hamburg’s I Love You Man, with the aim of illustrating how the revitalization of the conventional romantic comedy modes has been introduced into contemporary rom-com. This section will begin with a description of the films plot before detailing ways in which this film has utilized fresh features which aim to reinvigorate the rom-com mode, mainly through factors such as character and narrative.
I Love You Man centers around a male protagonist named Peter Klaven, a real estate agent living in Los Angeles who has just become engaged to his girlfriend Zooey. During the early stages of the film it is pointed out to the audience that Peter has very few, if any, male friends. Instead he shares the news of his engagement with family and a few female acquaintances. Turning to Robbie, his homosexual brother, Peter asks him for help in meeting men. He begins meeting various men in the aim of forming a groomsmen party, but all of these prove to be a disaster. After nearly giving up on his aim of making friends, Peter meets Sydney Fife at Lou Ferrigno’s open house, organized by Peter. Sydney confesses he is only at the open house for the free food and to meet divorced women. The two instantly hit it off and begin a friendship based on their mutual admiration of the progressive rock band Rush. Peter eventually introduces Sydney to Zooey, in the process Sydney makes an inappropriate toast. The two spend one afternoon buying tuxedo’s for Peter’s wedding, Sydney asks Peter two questions, firstly why he is marrying Zooey, to which Peter has no answer. Secondly, if he can borrow eight thousand dollars for investments. Peter accepts and offers Sydney the position of best man at the wedding. Peter then, back at home, asks Zooey the same question Sydney had asked him, why are they getting married? Zooey becomes angry at the preposition and leaves. The spectator later finds out that Sydney has used the eight thousand dollars to buy a series of billboard advertisements to help Peter sell Lou Ferrigno’s house. Peter angry at the billboards and frustrated about the situation with Zooey terminates their friendship. Peter then reconciles with Zooey, they prepare for the wedding while Sydney is feeling alone at his house, his other friends engaged in family activities. Peter comes to realize that the advertising campaign has been a success. Peter feels bad about unfriending Sydney but does not invite him to the wedding. Instead, Zooey, seeing Peter looking down before the wedding, decides to invite Sydney herself. However, it turns out that Sydney was already on his way to the wedding before the call from Zooey. Sydney arrives thrillingly on his moped just before the vows are read, he makes up with Peter and the wedding commences with Sydney as Peter’s best man.
I Love You Man clearly demonstrates a variety of inversions of the rom-com mode aimed at revitalizing the genre. This is partly due to the film falling into the sub-genre of Bromantic comedy and therefore usurping a message aimed at guidance through relationships of the platonic nature rather than sexual or romantic. The film follows the typical structure of a romantic comedy however it inverts the structure and plot points in order to leave the spectator feeling as if this is a new concept before their eyes. One of the first inversions of the rom com mode occurs at the very beginning of the film. The film starts with Peter and Zooey getting engaged, this is a convention of the rom com, however, this convention would usually be seen in the denouement of the narrative rather than the beginning. In a way the purpose of this inversion is to take romance off the table as it clears up any of the typical suspense usually attributed to the rom com mode, instead allowing the narrative to focus on a heterosexual, platonic relationship. Whether this is for better or worse is subjective but this type of revitalization certainly has its critics however as Kunze states, “While the misogyny and homophobia in bromance narrative remains nearly omnipresent, such films and television shows also provide a rich space for exploring the discourses surrounding contemporary (largely white) heteromasculinity. We can surely hold these films accountable for their regressive and, at times, offensive content, but let us not ignore what they reveal, for better or worse, about some recent strains of masculinity.” (2015, p.120). Moreover, another instance of the inversion of the rom com mode occurs when Peter is ‘courting’ new friends, there is a conventional rom com montage of humorous failed encounters. However, in I Love You Man, the montage is of Peter meeting heterosexual men, as oppose to the conventional boy meeting girls or girl meeting boys. Clearly illustrating the film reinvigorating the rom com mode.
Additionally, another aspect of the rom-com mode which is inverted by I Love You Man is the use of the motif of fate in order to drive it’s narrative. In a conventional romantic comedy film the man or woman would eventually give up on their search for romance and it would be at this point in the plot where fate intervenes and they find a partner. This occurs in I Love You Man but once again the filmmaker has applied this formula to the narrative but altered it, basing the same motif of fate on Peter meeting various straight men in a series of comedic failures before meeting his eventual best man Sydney at a chance encounter after giving up on his search.
Furthermore, I Love You Man continues with the revitalization of the rom-com mode by inverting the sequence of falling in love. Conventionally a man or woman would begin a relationship and realize they have many things in common. In I Love You Man it is Peter and Sydney who realize this, bonding over the band Rush. Moreover, this honeymoon period of Peter and Sydney’s friendship ultimately comes to an end. Once again following the conventional equilibrium-disequilibrium-equilibrium structure of a romantic comedy, although revitalizing this by applying it to a different type of relationship.
Additionally, the film employs other techniques in order to provide a revitalization of the genre, this includes Peter’s chance meeting with Sydney, a man who admits he is only at the location in order to meet divorced women. This can be interpreted as an undermining of the typical rom-com convention of the sanctity and specialness of marriage. Furthermore, this is reinforced at the end of the film when another convention of the rom-com is dismantled. Sydney arrives at the wedding at the vows, the attendees at the wedding assume this is in order to object to the wedding, proving that the conventions of the rom-com exist even inside the diegesis of the film. However, once again the film inverts this convention and instead of a man objecting to his soul mate marrying another man, it is a man objecting to his best friend getting married without him there.
This essay will now explore the second of it’s two case studies, Michael Gondry’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, with the aim of illustrating how the revitalization of the conventional romantic comedy modes has been introduced into contemporary rom-com. This section will once again begin with a description of the films plot before detailing ways in which this film has utilized fresh features which aim to reinvigorate the rom-com mode.
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind centers around a shy timid man named Joel Barish and his girlfriend Clementine Kruczynski. They both have very different personality traits, Joel is a quiet, withdrawn man and Clementine is a free spirit but they are drawn to each other nonetheless. Neither of them are aware but they were both involved in a relationship with each other two years prior. This relationship culminates in a nasty fight ultimately provoking Clementine to have all memory of Joel wiped from her mind. Joel learns of this procedure, he is distraught and visits the doctor who prescribed the treatment to Clementine. He himself begins the treatment for the same procedure with the aim of wiping all traced of Clementine from his mind. However, while undergoing the procedure, and unconscious, Joel realizes this is not what he wants and changes his mind. The film is set inside of Joel’s mind as he attempts to safeguard his memories of Clementine. The employees at the mind wiping surgery, called Lacuna, then become central characters. The film reveals that one of the employees, Patrick, has been using Joel’s memories in order to court Clementine. The Lacuna receptionist, Mary, learns through Joel’s memory wipe that she herself had undergone the same procedure when she had an affair with the chief doctor of the procedure, Dr. Howard Mierzwiak. Mary subsequently quits her job and sabotages the operation by mailing out Lacuna’s records to all the clients. The film cuts to the present, just after Joel and Clementine have met on the train, they both then learn of the procedure they have had at Lacuna, shocked at first, they ultimately agree to begin their relationship again.
Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind clearly demonstrates a wide variety of inversions of the rom-com mode aimed at revitalizing the genre. On the surface level, the film offers an unusual use of casting. Instead of using a conventional romantic comedy male lead, the film uses Jim Carrey a comedian synonymous with silly, over the top comedy, playing a depressed withdrawn character. Allowing his to form a basis of what Harbidge calls the ‘post-comedian comic’. She states, “In stripping Carrey of baggage, in distancing him from our expectations, and, further, allowing the relationship/romance plots to somehow reinvigorate them, a new type of comedy comic, the post-comedian comic, emerges.” (2008, p. 181). Moreover, where I love You Man utilized narrative inversions to revitalize the rom-com mode, instead of filmic techniques. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind utilizes multiple unconventional filmic techniques relating to mise-en-scène, editing and cinematography to revitalize the conventions of the romantic comedy mode. Beginning with cinematography, the film uses a bleak unsaturated colour scheme in order to convey the despair of Joel’s mind. In a conventional rom-com the color scheme would likely be saturated with bright colors and convey hope and happiness. In reference to sound, the film utilizes no major key, upbeat, non-diegetic soundtrack, which would be found a conventional rom-com. Instead the film offers a tense, suspenseful, minor key, string soundtrack in order to illustrate Joel’s anxiety. Additionally, the films editing pattern changes throughout, however the majority of the film the editing lends itself to Russian montage as oppose to the conventional rom-com continuity editing. The film utilizes unusually cutting tempos in order to represent Joel’s mind. Sequences come and go like thoughts, some quick and some slow. Each of these techniques helps to inform the viewer that the film is an introspective into Joel’s mind, this itself is an unconventional technique to be found in a rom-com. It could be argued that the film uses elements of the horror genre, using the suspenseful music, fast, jarring editing, and warped, disfigured faces in order to convey the horror in Joel’s mind.
Moreover, the film uses more than just micro elements in order to revitalize the rom-com mode, it also makes uses of an experimental narrative platform.
Firstly, the film is told in a non-linear fashion, this is done to convey the uncertainty in Joel’s mind about both life and Clementine. This is in stark contrast to what is found on a conventional romantic comedy, where the boy-meets-girl narrative has been a stalwart for decades. Moreover, the equilibrium-disequilibrium-equilibrium structure is done away with in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, instead any happy moments for Joel are extremely short lived. Even at the denouement of the film where the narrative seems to be in a state of equilibrium, the spectator assumes this will not last long.
Additionally, the film makes use of inversions of the tropes of the conventional rom-com mode, much the same way as I Love You Man does, however, to a much greater degree. This is illustrated first by the break-up period, in a conventional romantic comedy the break-up period would not last the length of the film, as it does in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind. Moreover, the breakup would not be as intense, the fact that Clementine gas Joel erased form her mind goes above and beyond the conventional break up seen in the typical rom-com mode. Additionally, the film inverts conventional rom-com tropes like marriage and children. Instead of having this as the result of the couple coming through the break-up into the state of equilibrium in a conventional rom-com, the film disperses these denouement topes throughout the narrative. These tropes are also regarded negatively in the film, Joel replies to Clementine with “Clementine, do you really think you could take care of a kid?” sparking off an argument between the two. This once again contrasts the usually over joyous depiction of children in the conventional rom-com mode.
Finally, perhaps the most seamless invention of a conventional romantic comedy mode occurs when Joel and Clementine are sitting at a drive through movie, an infamous motif of a romantic comedy. However, the couple are not parked inside the designated area for cars, instead they are parked outside of the fence, cutting off the bottom corner of the screen. This subtly illustrates the conventional nature of both the relationship between Joel and Clementine and also the nature of the narrative.
In conclusion, it is clear through this essay’s two case studies that an attempt to reinvigorate the rom-com mode has been made in contemporary film. This reinvigoration has occurred through both micro and macro film elements, whether it be through the inversions of conventional rom-com mise-en-scene, cinematography and editing in Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind, or the inversion of conventional rom-com narrative tropes in I Love You Man.