Historical Development

• The first Romantic comedies were wrote by Shakespeare in form of plays including ‘A Midsummers Nights Dreams’ and ‘Twelfth Night’. Known as Rom-Com’s they tend to focus on the lives of misunderstood (mainly) young lovers. It is believed that love was not a serious commitment until the medieval times.

Narratives.• The typical narratives of a Romantic Comedy consist of two

characters, usually a man and woman who meet in an ironic way, they both face a lot of obstacles being alone or together but typically end up together. For example in “Just My Luck” the boy and girl meet in a club, they kiss but he takes her ‘luck’ so she goes on a journey to track him down going through a lot of obstacles, she gives up but then finds him and they end up falling in love.

Typical Characters• In a Rom-Com the audience expect to a good looking man and woman who both play the

lead. The audience usually expect the woman to either be a girl who is strong, independent and plays hard to get or a dumb, ditsy girl who brings the comedy to the film.

• The man tends to either be a cool, laid back, sporty, masculine man or a smart, funny, business man who also brings the comedic vibe to the film. The men are also portrayed as ‘players’ in rom-com film

• The jock/cheerleader• The princess• The geek/nerd• The rebel• The misfit• The average boy/girl• The new boy/girl• The loner• The band geek• The joker

IconographyThe locations and settings of Rom-Coms are usually based around a teenage atmosphere so tend to be located in high schools, parties, and city based areas.In rom-coms their costumes represent their group and status for example jocks wear varsity jackets to show their prestigious authority in their school.The lighting in rom coms is always high and bright to match the mood of the film and keep up the comedic vibe. The sound is used to help the audience connect with the film, they usually use pop genre music to create the happy atmosphere and when the film has its low point they’ll play something sad to match it but the song will always be known by the audience as they uses very recent chart songs. Usually at the end of rom coms the final shot is of the couple in the centre showing the happy ending.