Research into Romantic Comedies (our chosen genre)

Conventions of Romantic Comedies

Audiences expect a certain structure from romantic comedies. Generally the basic outline of a romantic comedy is that boy meets girl via some sort of event or communication. For example, in the film “Notting Hill” the superstar “Anna Scott” meets the average, ordinary, English man “William Thacker” when he accidentally spills orange juice down her top, in a market street of Notting Hill. This is a typical beginning to a romantic comedy as the audience are shown that, “Will” and “Anna” share an attraction even though they are so different by their status and roles, it’s seems an impossibility.

However the is always some sort of obstacle between the two. Such as, in “You’ve Got Mail”, “Kathleen Kelly” is a small time bookshop owner; her shop is under the threat of closer. Due to a huge, new book chain store shop just opened nearby, owned by “Joe Fox”. The audience know that they are the perfect couple, by the way that they have been communicating via email, and are pinning for the couple to work out their differences and realise the are meant for each other. Unfortunately, the “perfect couple” are separated by their roles, as “Fox’s” company eliminates competition via discounts and “coffee”. “Kelly” and “Fox” are at a business war that can only end in the death of a business.

Finally, the climax of the story is when the character that realises their feelings at the last moment makes public statement, or does something such as an extraordinarily romantic gesture towards the person that knew their feelings all along. For example, in the film “Bridget Jones’s Diary”, “Marc Darcy” already knows his feelings, where as “Bridget Jones” doesn’t realise hers until the latest possible moment. Therefore means that she makes a heart-warming, embarrassing statement, which the audience greatly appeals to.

Also, in romantic comedy films there is a lot of pathetic fallacy used (when the weather matches the mood), for instance, in “Wimbledon” when “Peter Colt” and “Lizzie Bradbury” spend the day training together realising their feelings for each other, the weather is spectacular. The film shows a beautiful, bold, colourful sunset; which is a typical romantic situation, which the audience just falls in love with. In contrast further on in the film when “Bradbury” and “Colt” have an argument the weather is dark, gloomy and upsetting. Also, to add to the setting, there is rain on the ground when “Colt” turns up to “Bradbury’s” house to apologise, which symbolises the tears and upset which is keeping them apart at the moment.

The music/audio has a huge affect upon the audience and determines their feelings, meaning that the music indicates to the audience what they should be feeling at that particular moment. For example, if the music was slow, delicate and moving, the audience know that they should be feeling sympathy for that particular character or set of characters.

“Bridget Jones’s Diary: The Edge Of Reason” and “Notting Hill” uses a narrator throughout the film, or at the start, which is also an example of non-diagetic sound. This gives an insight about the character towards the audience, for instance they get a sense of the characters education, and personality. Also they feel as if they are a part of the film, especially when the film writers use rhetorical questions, which help the audience to see their point of view.

Within romantic comedies sometimes certain things happen that lack verisimilitude, such as in “27 Dresses”, when “Jane” finally realises her feelings for “Kevin” she crashes a wedding reception. This is a classic example of when a film hasn’t included verisimilitude, as the bride was ecstatic and excited to let this wedding crasher stand up and make a speech, which wouldn’t happen in real life.

The characters are also, quite typical, as there is one that realises their feelings first are generally the male, and the character that makes a public statement or romantic gesture is the female. This is the case with many romantic comedies such as: “Runaway Bride”, “Bridget Jones’s Diary” one and two, “Wimbledon”, “27 Dresses”, “There’s Something About Mary”, “The Proposal” and “Roxanne” so on so forth.

However, there are a few romantic comedies that have the male realise their feelings last the female first, such as: “Shallow Hall”, “He’s Just Not That Into You” and “The Break Up”. Which go against the audience’s conventions but make the movie a whole lot more enjoyable.

The main convention of a romantic comedy is the structure, meaning that the beginning starts off with boy meets girl, (either for the first time, or haven’t seen for a long time) there is some sort of obstacle keeping them apart. Then during finale/climax, the obstacle is removed and the last character realises their feelings makes a public statement, or romantic gesture.

Questionnaire Results
The majority of people we asked were female who watched romantic comedies quite often. The males we asked said they hardly ever watched rom-coms but they did admit to enjoying them when they did get the chance to watch one. The males that did enjoy these films said they liked them because they had better storylines than a lot of other genres. They also confessed to rom-coms being good date movies and being films that allowed them to have a good cry. The males that didn't like rom-coms said that other genres had stronger story lines with stronger characters.
The perfect age group for the main characters appears to be between 20 and 30 years old. There are several reasons for this: 1) people aged 20 and above can relate to these characters if they have similar personalities or if they have been in situations like the main characters. 2) people under the age of 20 have something to aspire to and can picture themselves in similar situations when they are older. However, two of the teenages we asked said they prefer films with teenage characters in. This could be because they can easily relate to these characters and find it harder to relate to the characters aged 20-30.
From our questionnaire, it is apparent that the main twists people like to see are love triangles and affairs. Reasons for this could be that people have experienced a partner cheating on them or having an affair. Most people, at some point in their life, will no doubt be part of a love triangle which, the majority of the time, will lead to an affair in some way or another.
The personalities of the different characters are very similar. The male character has been described as being a romantic man who is also manly and can stand their ground. This has been described because a lot of females would like their partner to have these characteristics. None of the people we asked said that they wanted uncaring males in the films. This shows that women want to be with someone who will love them as well as being someone like a friend. The main characteristics of the female character has been described as an outgoing woman. Sometimes a bit ditsy and someone with a high class job. The reasons of women being depicted in this way could be because men like to see this in their partner but also because a lot of women want to be this type of character if they aren't already.

Chosen Colour Scheme

As a group it was decided that we would use mainly black and white throughout our opening sequence.

However there is one exception to this; we will be using two purple items for each of the main characters. These two purple items would be seen as a way to give the two characters an instant connection, a way of setting them apart from everyone else, whilst bringing them closer through the use of the same colour.

We thought it would be best to do a black and white theme as it would mean that the purple will stand out a lot more in comparison to using colours.

We researched colours and decided on the colour purple for a number of reasons; the first of these reasons being that it would set this movie apart and didn’t follow the usual conventions found in romantic comedies, which would use pinks and reds as their main colour.

In many cultures, purple is also the colour of passion and romance, with its warm blend of ‘passionate red and tranquil blue’. It is also a colour that induces mystery, sophistication, spirituality and royalty.

The two items that we were thinking of making purple were a pair of shoes and a tie. This is because these items are known to ‘finish an outfit’ and are often the article of clothing that stands out the most, therefore it would be noticeable and effective. The audience would see these items and instantly predict a possible storyline outcome.

Number of romantic comedies released since 2000



Spring 64 This is because it’s the season of valentines and start of new life/love/relationships.

Summer 69

Autumn 54

Winter 58


Top 20 Romantic Comedies



1) My Big Fat Greek Wedding - 19/04/02 - LifeTime Gross £145,174,380

2) What Women Want – 15/12/00 - LifeTime Gross £109,922,851

3) Hitch – 11/02/05 - LifeTime Gross £107,928,882

4) Pretty Woman – 23/03/90

5) There’s Something About Mary – 15/07/98

6) Sea And The City – 30/05/08

7) Runaway Bride – 30/07/09

8) Knocked Up – 01/06/07

9) As Good As It Gets – 23/12/97

10) Bringing The House Down – 07/03/03

11) The Proposal – 19/06/09

12) Coming To America – 29/06/88

13) Sweet Home Alabama – 27/09/02

14) My Best Friends Wedding – 20/06/97

15) Sleepless In Seattle – 25/06/93

16) Mr Deeds – 28/06/02

17) Something’s Gotta Give – 12/12/03

18) 50 First Dates – 13/02/04

19) The Break Up - 06/02/06

20) Notting Hill – 28/05/99


Things you can legally include in different rated films

U
Discrimination
No discriminatory language or behaviour unless
clearly disapproved of.
Drugs
No references to illegal drugs or drug misuse unless
they are infrequent and innocuous, or there is a clear
educational purpose or anti-drug message suitable
for young children.
Horror
Scary sequences should be mild, brief and unlikely to
cause undue anxiety to young children. The outcome
should be reassuring.
Imitable behaviour
No potentially dangerous behaviour which young
children are likely to copy. No emphasis on realistic
or easily accessible weapons.
Language
Infrequent use only of very mild bad language.
Nudity
Occasional natural nudity, with no sexual context.
Sex
Mild sexual behaviour (for example, kissing) and
references only (for example, to ‘making love’).
Theme
While problematic themes may be present, their
treatment must be sensitive and appropriate for
young children.
Violence
Mild violence only. Occasional mild threat or
menace only.

PG
Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely to
be acceptable unless clearly disapproved of or in an
educational or historical context. Discrimination by
a character with which children can readily identify
is unlikely to be acceptable.
Drugs
References to illegal drugs or drug misuse must be
innocuous or carry a suitable anti-drug message.
Horror
Frightening sequences should not be prolonged or
intense. Fantasy settings may be a mitigating factor.
Imitable behaviour
No detail of potentially dangerous behaviour which
young children are likely to copy. No glamorisation
of realistic or easily accessible weapons.
Language
Mild bad language only.
Nudity
Natural nudity, with no sexual context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be implied, but should be
discreet and infrequent. Mild sex references and
innuendo only.
Theme
Where more serious issues are featured (for example,
domestic violence) nothing in their treatment should
condone unacceptable behaviour.
Violence
Moderate violence, without detail, may be allowed,
if justified by its context (for example, history,
comedy or fantasy).

12
Discrimination
Discriminatory language or behaviour must not be
endorsed by the work as a whole. Aggressive
discriminatory language or behaviour is unlikely
to be acceptable unless clearly condemned.
Drugs
Any misuse of drugs must be infrequent and should
not be glamorised or give instructional detail.
Horror
Moderate physical and psychological threat may be
permitted, provided disturbing sequences are not
frequent or sustained.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be
copied, or appear pain or harm free. Easily accessible
weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
Moderate language is allowed. The use of strong
language (for example, ‘fuck’) must be infrequent.
Nudity
Nudity is allowed, but in a sexual context must be brief
and discreet.
Sex
Sexual activity may be briefly and discreetly portrayed.
Sex references should not go beyond what is suitable for
young teenagers. Frequent crude references are unlikely
to be acceptable.
Theme
Mature themes are acceptable, but their treatment must
be suitable for young teenagers.
Violence
Moderate violence is allowed but should not dwell on
detail. There should be no emphasis on injuries or blood,
but occasional gory moments may be permitted if
justified by the context.
Sexual violence may only be implied or briefly and
discreetly indicated, and must have a strong contextual
justification.

15
Discrimination
The work as a whole must not endorse discriminatory
language or behaviour.
Drugs
Drug taking may be shown but the film as a whole must not
promote or encourage drug misuse. The misuse of easily
accessible and highly dangerous substances (for example,
aerosols or solvents) is unlikely to be acceptable.
Horror
Strong threat and menace are permitted unless sadistic
or sexualised.
Imitable behaviour
Dangerous behaviour (for example, hanging, suicide and
self-harming) should not dwell on detail which could be
copied. Easily accessible weapons should not be glamorised.
Language
There may be frequent use of strong language (for example,
‘fuck’). The strongest terms (for example, ‘cunt’) may be
acceptable if justified by the context. Aggressive or repeated
use of the strongest language is unlikely to be acceptable.
Nudity
Nudity may be allowed in a sexual context but without
strong detail. There are no constraints on nudity in a
non-sexual or educational context.
Sex
Sexual activity may be portrayed without strong detail.
There may be strong verbal references to sexual behaviour,
but the strongest references are unlikely to be acceptable
unless justified by context. Works whose primary purpose is
sexual arousal or stimulation are unlikely to be acceptable.
Theme
No theme is prohibited, provided the treatment is
appropriate for 15 year olds.
Violence
Violence may be strong but should not dwell on the infliction
of pain or injury. The strongest gory images are unlikely to
be acceptable. Strong sadistic or sexualised violence is also
unlikely to be acceptable.
There may be detailed verbal references to sexual violence
but any portrayal of sexual violence must be discreet and
have a strong contextual justification.

18
In line with the consistent findings of the BBFC’s public
consultations and The Human Rights Act 1998, at ‘18’ the
BBFC’s guideline concerns will not normally override
the principle that adults should be free to choose their
own entertainment. Exceptions are most likely in the
following areas:
• where the material is in breach of the criminal law,
or has been created through the commission of a
criminal offence
• where material or treatment appears to the BBFC to
risk harm to individuals or, through their behaviour,
to society – for example, any detailed portrayal of
violent or dangerous acts, or of illegal drug use,
which may cause harm to public health or morals.
This may include portrayals of sexual or sexualised
violence which might, for example, eroticise or
endorse sexual assault
• where there are more explicit images of sexual
activity which cannot be justified by context. Such
images may be appropriate in ‘R18’ works, and in
‘sex works’ (see below) would normally be confined
to that category.
In the case of video works (including video games),
which may be more accessible to younger viewers,
intervention may be more frequent than for cinema films.
Sex education at ‘18’
Where sex material genuinely seeks to inform and
educate in matters such as human sexuality, safer
sex and health, explicit images of sexual activity may
be permitted.
Sex works at ‘18’
Sex works are works whose primary purpose is sexual
arousal or stimulation. Sex works containing only material
which may be simulated are generally passed ‘18’. Sex
works containing clear images of real sex, strong fetish
material, sexually explicit animated images, or other
very strong sexual images will be confined to the ‘R18’
category. Material which is unacceptable in a sex work
at ‘R18’ is also unacceptable in a sex work at ‘18’.

This information was taken from the British Board of Film Classification website: http://www.bbfc.co.uk/about/